Karnal

Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between Nader Shah of Persia and the Mughal Empire took place in this city in 1739.

Etymology

The city associates itself with the mythological character Karna from the Indian epic Mahabharata.King Karna returns to his land — Karnal. Mythology inspires ambitions, a larger-than-life portrayal of past events in order to add awe, plus a few nickels to the government kitty by way of tourism.
/ref> A tank in the city also bears the name Karna Tal and a city gate is called Karna gate.

History

Ancient

At the end of 6th century A.D., the area was under the rule of the Vardhanas of Thanesar. The 7th century was a period of eclecticism in religion, Buddhism was declining and Hinduism was resurging in the Indo-Gangetic plains. The region was under Kanauj rule under the Pala Emperor of Bengal (770-810 A.D.). The authority of Mihira Bhoja (836-885 A.D.), the Pratihara ruler of Kanauj penetrated as far as Pehowa, including Karnal.

Medieval

The Tomaras descending from Raja Jaala established themselves as rulers of this region in the middle of the 9th century. About the beginning of the 10th century, as the Pratyahara power began to decline, the Tomaras assumed independence. One of the Tomara rulers, Amanpal Tomar, found the city of Delhi and made it his capital, with the area of Karnal and modern-day Haryana being under his realm. The Tomaras came into conflict with the Chauhan's of Shakambhari, but continued to rule the Haryana country until the middle of 12th century when they were overthrown by the Chaha mana Vighnaraja IV. The country between the Satluj and the Yamuna including Karnal experienced relative peace for a century and a half except the plundering invasions and eventual conquests of Mahmud of Ghazi. The region then came under Ghurid rule after the Second Battle of Tarani when Muhammad Ghori captured the area. It remained under the Delhi Sultanate until 1526.

In 1526 at the First Battle of Panipat, Mughal emperor Babur defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, and captured India along with Delhi and Panipat. He then established the Mughal Empire.

Karnal is listed in the Mughal Ain-i-Akbari as a pargana under Delhi sarkar, producing a revenue of 5,678,242 dams for the imperial treasury and supplying a force of 800 infantry and 50 cavalry.

In A.D. 1739, Nader Shah of Persia invaded the Mughal empire and Karnal was the scene of the famed Battle of Karnal in which Nader Shah decisively defeated Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah. Axworthy, Michael (2009) Muhammad Shah along with an enormous army occupied a strongly fortified camp at Karnal, but he yielded to the invader as his supplies were cut off from the open country by Shah and was starved into submission. The tactical defeat drastically weakened the Mughal Empire, while the Persian Empire prospered and subsequently hastened the establishment of the British Empire in India. The region then came under Afghan rule.

Sikhs appeared on the scene in the 18th century. The importance of Karnal grew in the time of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind State who after its capture in A.D. 1763 built the boundary wall and a fort and under whose rule the town increased considerably in size. On 14 January 1764, Sikh Chiefs defeated and killed Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Durrani Governor, and took possession of the whole of Sirhind province as far south as Panipat including Karnal.

Modern

During the Indian independence movement, a district political conference was organized at Karnal with Lala Lajpat Rai as its chairman.

Climate

Demographics

The population of the city as of 2011, is 357,334

Politics

The city is part of the Karnal Assembly constituency and Manohar Lal Khattar is the MLA from Karnal constituency.

Sanjay Bhatia is the current elected MP from the Karnal Lok Sabha constituency.

Facilities

Karnal was ranked 24th (1st in Haryana) among 4000+ cities in the list of the cleanest cities of India under the government survey named '' Swachh Survekshan 2019''.

Karnal was selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a ''smart city'' under the Union government's plan Smart Cities Mission.

Places of interest

* Victoria Memorial Hall built in 19th century AD, is a fine example of Indo-British Architecture constructed on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s visit to Karnal.
* Cantonment Church Tower was constructed in AD 1806 by the British.
* Karnal Railway station this was constructed in year 1892 A.D. by the British.
* Karna Lake is a major tourist attraction in the Karnal district of Haryana.
* Mehmadpur, is a village on the banks of the Yamuna River.
* Noor Mahal, is a five-star deluxe hotel in Karnal, renowned its palatial architecture.
* Karnal Fort was built in the mid eighteenth century by Raja Ganpat Singh. The fort now houses an important office of the city.
* Kalendar Shah's Tomb is a Dargah built by Ghiyas-ud-din, the Emperor of Delhi which holds the memory of the Muslim sage Bo-Ali-Qalandar Shah.
* Babur's Masjid, built-in 1528 by the Mughal emperor Babur to commemorate his victory over Ibrahim Lodhi, this mosque stands as an architectural marvel that is a must-visit in Karnal.
* Atal Park Karnal, located in the Sector-8 area of the city is a massive park which spreads over an area of 55 acres. It includes a lake spread over 4 acres as well. It houses open-air gyms, a lily pond, swings, walking routes, a few fountains and a large statue of former Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the eponym of the park.
* Karan Tal Park is also a prominent park in the city. It has all amenities such as an open air gym, pond, swings and walking routes. The main attraction of this park is the 18-ft statue of Raja Karan in whose honor the park as well as the city is named.

Sports

* Karnal Golf Course is situated on the banks of West Yamuna Canal.

Education

* R.S. Public Sr. Sec. School, Karnal
* Delhi Public School, Karnal
* National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal.
* Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kachhwa Road.
* St. Theresa's Convent Sr. Sec. School.
official website.
* Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College.Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College
/ref>
* Pratap Public School.
official website.
* Maharana Pratap Horticultural University.Maharana Pratap Horticultural University, Karnal
official website.
* Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayaya University of Health Sciences.
* Sainik School in Kunjpura.
* Babu Moolchand Jain Industrial Training Institute, Karnal. ( Also known as Govt ITI)
* Dyal Singh College, Karnal
* Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation (HICA) ( Also known as Karnal Flying Club)
*ICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute.
*Horticulture Training Institute

Notable people

* Kalpana Chawla, first Indo-American woman astronaut. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members that died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
* Mool Chand Jain, a leader of the Indian Independence movement.

* Anish Bhanwala, Indian shooter. He was brought up in Karnal, Haryana and competes in the 25 meter rapid fire pistol, 25 meter pistol, and 25 meter standard pistol events.
* Navdeep Saini, Indian cricketer
* vaibhav aggarwal, National roller skater

Notes

References

External links

{{Forts of Haryana

Cities and towns in Karnal district
Smart cities in India