Khem Karan is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and a

nagar panchayat A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

, just 56km from

Tarn Taran Sahib Tarn Taran Sahib is a city in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, in northern India. It is the district headquarters and hosts the municipal council of Tarn Taran district. Gurdwara Sri Tarn Taran Sahib, a prominent Sikh shrine is l ...

in Tarn Taran district of Patti

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...

of the

Majha Majha (Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi); ''Mājhā'') is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region split between India and Pakistan. It extends north from the right banks of the river Beas, and reaches ...

region of Indian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. It was the site of a major

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...

battle in 1965. The

Battle of Asal Uttar The Battle of Asal Uttar (Hindi : आसल उत्ताड़ , Punjabi: ਆਸਲ ਉਤਾੜ) was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It was fought from 8 to 10 September 1965, when the Pakist ...

was the second largest tank battle of the

1965 Indo-Pakistani War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was ...

. The battle led to the creation of Patton Nagar (or Patton City/Graveyard) at the site of the battle viz, Khem Karan.

History

Khem Karan is an old town, once visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675). Previously in Lahore District before the

partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, it became a part of Amritsar District afterwards. Now it is in Tarn Taran district. Many of the town's residents migrated from nearby villages in modern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

between 1947 and 1965, such as Nathuwala, Qadiwind, Rohiwal, and Sehjra. The town's Muslim residents migrated primarily to the city of

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...

, 8 km away in Pakistan. The town used to be easily accessible to the city of

only 8 km away, and to

Ferozepur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...

35 km away, but since India and Pakistan enacted border controls in 1953, and further restricted travel in 1965, the residents of the Khem Karan have been essentially cut off from both towns - Kasur lies in Pakistan, while the road to Ferozepur cuts through Pakistan, resulting in a detour of an extra 70 kilometre's drive. The townspeople, and those from surrounding villages, must now travel a long distance to Patti,

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...

or Tarn Taran to procure any major goods, causing great inconvenience and economic stagnation.

India-Pakistan war of 1965

The tank battles of 1965 form part of military history as the most intense armored battles between the end of World War II and the 1991 Gulf War. Close to a four hundred tanks, on both sides, took part in the pitched battles and offensives. At the start of the war, Indian strength was limited to one armored division and one independent armoured brigade, along with six armoured regiments supporting infantry divisions. Pakistan had two armored divisions, with the then very modern M-48 Patton tanks. India had an equivalent tank in the Centurion, but their strength was limited to only four armored regiments.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Khem Karan had a population of 13,446. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Khem Karan has an average literacy rate of 61.55%, lower than the state average of 75.84%: male literacy is 67%, and female literacy is 54.85%. In Khem Karan, 12.14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Politics

The city is part of the Khemkaran South Assembly Constituency.

Tourism

In this village is the mausoleum (mazaar) of a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

saint known as Pir Baba Sheikh Brahm. Twice in a year a mela is held here.

Agriculture

Khemkaran is mostly an agricultural village.

Notable people

Deepak Dhawan Deepak Dhawan was the State Committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) representing Punjab and also Joint Secretary of Khet Mazdoor Union, a mass organisation of CPI(M), which campaigns for the rights of landless agricul ...

References

{{Tarn Taran district Battles of Indo-Pakistani wars Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Cities and towns in Tarn Taran district