Ludhiana is situated in the Indian state of Punjab and it is the largest city in Punjab. The city is located on the bank of the River Sutlej and is one of the commercial hubs of north India. According to the World Health Organization, Ludhiana is the fourth most polluted city in the world.

History of Ludhiana

The original name of the city was Lodi Ana meaning the place of Lodi. The city was established during the rule of Lodi dynasty. The ruler Sikandar son of Bahlol Lodi sent Yusaf Khan and Nihang Khan to protect the people from Baluchis. Jalal Khan the grandson of Nihang Khan built the fort of Ludhiana. When the grandsons of Jalal Khan, Alu Khan and Khizr Khan were ruling over, they were defeated by Babar and Mughal Empire was established. Ludhiana was made as one of their parganahs.

Sikhism became prominent after the death of Mughal emperor Akbar in 1705. Rais of Raikot claimed their independence and Ludhiana came under the control of Raja Ala Singh of Patiala. There was a struggle for power between Ala Singh and Rai Kalha III and Nadir Shah took advantage of this situation and invaded. Again this place was invaded by Ahmed Shah Durrani in 1747. Ahmad Shah invaded the place and took possession of Ludhiana. Zain Khan was made as the Governor of the place and he was defeated by the Sikh armies in 1763.

Sikhs attacked Ludhiana in 1798 under the leadership of Bedi Sahib Singh of Una. But Phulkian chiefs defended them and they were driven out of the area. This led to the establishment of the Sikh Empire. Ranjit Singh was threatening to occupy the place in 1809 and so the East India Company sent Colonel David Ochterlony to defend the city. After the Treat of Lahore signed in 1809, British had their station there. When the Jind family ruled over in 1835, they did not have any heirs and so according to the Doctrine of Lapse, Ludhiana came under the control of the East India Company.

Geography and Climate

The city of Ludhiana spreads about 310 square kilometers and is situated at an altitude of 262 meters above mean sea level. It is divided into Old City and New City. The New City has the residential and official buildings and is also called as Civil Lines. The other one is the Old Cit or Army Lines where there was the army of the British once.

The vegetations that are mostly found in this region are kikar, acacia indica, eucalyptus, gulmohars and jacarandas. The place has a semi arid climate and has three seasons summer, winter and monsoon. Summer is very hot and dry and the temperature rises to as much as 40 degree Celsius and the lowest temperature in winter is 7 degree Celsius. The monsoon season lasts from July to September. The average annual rainfall of Ludhiana is 730 mm.

Some of the areas of Ludhiana are Rishi Balmiki Nagar, Janta Nagar, Sherpur Khurd, Industrial Focal Point, Jamalpura Awana, Sahewal, Chhawani Mohalla, Gurdev Nagar, MCI Colony, New Janta Nagar, Simlapuri, Dugri, Vill Jawadi, Aggar Nagar, Jamalpur, Jagdishpura, etc.

River Sutlej and its tributary Budha Nallah flows through this district. River Sutlej originates from the Mansarovar Lake in Tibet and flows along the top of the Ludhiana district for about 96 km and takes a westward drift. Bhakhra dam is built in the district to check its flooding menace. Budha Nallah runs parallel to Sutlej and joins Sutlej at Gorsian Kadar Baksh. It has floods in rainy season and is very thin during other seasons. As the stream enters the city of Ludhiana, the water gets polluted.

People and Culture

The population of Ludhiana according to the 2010 census is 1,740,249 people and the average density of the city is 5614 people per square kilometer. Among them 57% of the people are males and 43% of the people are females. The average literacy rate of the city is 70% among which the male literacy rate being 72% and the female literacy rate being 68%.

Though Punjabi is the official language of the place, other languages such as Hindi, English, Rajasthani and Himachali are also spoken. It is the main center of Punjabi culture and so painting, photography and Punjabi songs are famous here. There are many Punjabi language publishing houses located within the region. People of all the religions such as Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Jains and Christians belonging to various states of India live here in harmony.

Many social activists have launched their programs here. Some of the important people from Ludhiana are Sufi Barkat Ali, Majid Khan, Pankaj Kapur, Bobby Deol, Dharmedra, Sunny Deol, Abhay Deol, Ishmeet Singh, Juhi Chawla, Simi Garewal, Divya Dutta, Tiger Jeet Singh, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Sukhdev thapar, Udham Singh, Priyanka Sharma, David Dhawan, Anand Mahindra, Jay Ranade, Dr. Vijesh Kalra, Sanjiv Singla, Nirmaljeet Singh Sekhon, Kartar Singh Sarabha, etc.

The festivals celebrated in Ludhiana are Lohri celebrated on the last day of Poh, Basant Panchami celebrated on the onset of spring, Holi, the festival of colors, Baisakhi celebrated to welcome the harvesting season, Janam Ashtami celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Krishna, Dusera, Diwali, Teej, Tika, Sikh Gurupurabs, Mahavir Jayanti and Muslim festivals like Bara Wafat, Moharram, Ramzan, Id Ul Alha and Sabe Barat.

Bhangra, Gidha and Jhummar are the three types of traditional dances of Ludhiana. Bangra dance is performed during the festival of Baisakhi, Gidha is the folk dance performed by women enacting the verses called bolis and Jhummar is the dance of ecstasy and performed during melas. Luddi, Sammi, Gatka, Dhamal, Jaago, Dankara, Julli and Kikli are the other forms of dances of this region.

Punjabi cuisine is famous in Ludhiana and the varieties are prepared with tandoors. Some of the food items are tandoori chicken, murg makhani, rumali roti, naan, laccha parathas, makki ki roti, sarson ka saag, lassi, ma kid al, rajma, stuffed parathas, roghan josh, etc. Milk, curd and desi ghee are used liberally in cooking.

The sports landmarks in the city are Guru Nanak Stadium, Basket Ball Indoor Hall, Multipurpose Hall, Cycling Velodrome, Astroturf Hockey Ground and Rural Olympics Sports.

Economical and Educational Details About Ludhiana

Ludhiana is one of the riches cities of India and ranked number one in per capital income until 2008. There are many small scale industries that manufacture auto parts, machine parts and garments and hosiery. More than 50% of the bicycles manufactured in India are manufactured here. The Hero Group, Oswal Group, Nahar Group, Avon Cycles and Ralson are located here. 60% of the tractor parts of India are manufactured here. Other industries here are sewing machines manufacturing industry, woolen sweaters manufacturing units, agri products industry, dairy product industry and consumer products industry.

The Punjab Agricultural University and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University are located in Ludhiana. Three main engineering colleges here are Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bhutta College of Engineering and Technology and Ludhiana College of Engineering and Technology. University Institute of Laws is the one law school here. The medical colleges situated in Ludhiana are Lord Mahavira HMC and H, Sri Guru Nanak Dev HMC and H, All Saints Medical College, Christian Medical College and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.

Other Colleges here include B. C. M. College of Education, Kamla Lohtia College, Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management, Arya College for Boys, SCD Government Colleges for Boys and Girls, Khalsa College, SDP College for Women, etc.

Some of the schools in Ludhiana are Alpine International Sr. Sec. School, Atam Public Sr. Sec. School, DAV Public School, CFC Public School, Bharatiya Vidhya Mandir Sr. Sec. School, and Everest Public Sr. Sec. School, GMT Public School, Ryan International School, Sacred Heart Convent Sr. Sec. School, Sanatan Heart Sr. Sec. School, Tagore Public School, Wylie Memorial High School, Spring Dale Public School, Shivalikwala Doon School, etc.

Internal Infrastructure of Ludhiana

There are more than 20 shopping malls in Ludhiana and some of them are Ansal Plaza, West End Mall, Flamez Mall, MBD Neopolis Mall, Gold Soak Grande, JMD Mall, Omaxe Plaza, Elite Arcade, Ansal Bouleward, Kunal Towers, Silver Arc, Sarabha Nagar Market, Caliber Plaza, Model Town Main Market, Chaura Bazar, Ghumar Mandi, etc. The cinema halls here are Manju Cinema, Orient Cinema, Wave Cinemas, Deepak Cinema, Aarti Cinema, Chand Cinema, PVR Cinemas, etc.

Some of the restaurants here are McDonald, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Gigabyte, Subway, Café Coffee Day, Dominos, Sartaj Bikaneri, Khushi Ram, Lovely Sweets, Bikanerwala, Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee, etc.

Some of the hotels to stay here are Fortune Klassik Hotel, Samrat Hotel, Hotel Classic, Majestic Park Plaza, Hotel Taksonz, Imperial Hotel, Ginger Hotel, Dhodha Regency Hotel, Nanda Hotel, Embassy Hotel, Zimidara Hotel, Keys Hotel Ludhiana, Maharaja Regency, etc.

Some of the hospitals in Ludhiana are Christian Medical College and Hospital, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Hero DMC Heart Institute, B. L. Kapoor Memorial Hospital, Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Hospital, Lord Mahavira Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Bhai Ghanyia Charitable Hospital, Satluj Hospital, Satguru Partap Apollo Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib Hospital, etc.

Some of the places of worship in Ludhiana are Christ King Church, Shri Durga Mata Mandir, Jama Masjid, Holy Cross Church, Gurudwara Manji Sahib, Gurudwara Sahib, Gurudwara Degsar Sahib, Gurudwara Attari Sahib, Gurudwara Gurusar Sahib, Gurudwara Kanga Sahib, Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Bhaini Sahib, etc.

Some of the parks and recreational places here are Chattar Singh Park, Boat Club, Fountain Chowk, Leisure Valley, Hardy’s World, Traffic Park, Tiger Safari, Nehru Rose Garden, Rakh Bagh Park, Tiger Safari, McDonald’s Restaurant and Nehru Planetarium. The museums in Ludhiana are Guru Nanak Bhawan, Jassal Art Gallery, Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum, Museum of Rural Life of Punjab, Punjabi Bhawan, Soil Museum, Uppal Museum and Valmiki Bhawan.

Details About Ludhiana Transport

Ludhiana is connected by rail, road and air to all the important located of India. Ludhiana Airport is the domestic airport in the city where Air India and Kingfisher runs regular services to New Delhi. It is also called as Sahnewal Airport. It is located at a distance of 5 km from the main city. The government is planning to build new international airport here.

Ludhiana Railway Station is an important railway junction. It is connected to various places like Jalandhar, Dhuri, Delhi, Jammu, Amritsar, Mukerian, Pathankot, Mumbai, etc by train. This railway station comes under Ferozepur Railway Division.

Ludhiana Metro system has been initiated with the consent of Delhi and this light transit system is to be operated with two corridors. For moving around the city, there are buses, mini buses, auto rickshaws, pedal rickshaws and cabs.

Places of Interest in Ludhiana

Some of the historical landmarks of the city are Battle of Aliwal – A War Memorial, Sunet – Historical Village, Mosque Koom Kalan, Subhani Building, Clock Tower, City Kotwali, Bhir, Baba Gajjuji Thapar Shrine, Mali Ganj, Lodhi Fort, Lakkar Pul, Islamia High School, Daresi Ground, Mougal Sari at Doraha, Lakkar Paul, etc.

Baba Gajjuju Thapar Shrine: This was built 300 years back and is located in the Gurdev Nagar. It has a dome and an octagonal shrine.

Clock Tower: It was inaugurated on 18^th October 1906 by Sir Charles Montgomery and is also called as Ghanta Ghar. It was then called as Victoria Memorial Clock Tower.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort: When Maharaja Ranjit Singh defeated Sudh Singh Kakara in 1807 he converted the Serai into a fort by adding structures to it.

Lodhi Fort: It was built 500 years back by the Muslim ruler Sikander Lodhi and is now in ruins. It spreads about 5.6 acres on the bank of the River Sutlej. In 19^th century it went into the hands of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Battle of Aliwal – A War Memorial: This monument was built 150 years ago in memory of the Anglo-Sikh war. It was constructed in 1846 by the British in memory of 400 British soldiers who lost their lives in the battle of Aliwal.

Punjab Agricultural University Museum: This has a collection of local arts, crafts and other ancient objects and was set up in 1962.

Ludhiana is a place of bravery and courage and it is one of the important historical places in India.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On January 06, 2012lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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