Ambala () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and a

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

Ambala district Ambala district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in the country of India with Ambala town serving as the administrative headquarters of the district. District Ambala lies on the North-Eastern edge of Haryana and borders Punjab and Hima ...

in the state of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, located on the border with the Indian state of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

and in proximity to both states capital

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

. Politically, Ambala has two sub-areas:

Ambala Cantonment Ambala Cantonment is a cantonment town in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India. It is 200 km north of Delhi and 55 km southwest of Chandigarh. This cantonment was established in the year 1843 and is an important centre for m ...

(also known as Ambala Cantt) and Ambala City, eight kilometres apart, therefore, it is also known as "Twin City." It has a large

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

presence within its cantonment area. It is located 200 km (124 mi) to the north of

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India's capital, and has been identified as a counter-magnet city for the National Capital Region to develop as an alternative center of growth to Delhi. Ambala separates the Ganges river network from the Indus river network and is surrounded by two rivers – Ghaggar and Tangri – to the north and to the south. Due to its geographical location, the Ambala district plays an important role in local tourism, being located south of

, north of

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...

, southwest of

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

, north of

and southeast of

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

History

Etymology

The town is said to derive its name from Amba

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

who supposedly founded it during the 14th century CE. According to another version, it is named after the goddess "Bhawani Amba," whose Temple still exists in Ambala city.Haryana Gazateer
Revenue Dept of Haryana, Capter-V. The English spelling Umballa has sometimes been used; this spelling was used by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

in his 1901 novel '' Kim''.

Classical era

Archaeological Surveyor C.J Rodgers found

Indo-Parthian Kingdom The Indo-Parthian kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian ...

coins as well as coins of Hunas,

Mihirakula Mihirakula (Gupta script: , ''Mi-hi-ra-ku-la'', Chinese: 摩酰逻矩罗 ''Mo-hi-lo-kiu-lo''), sometimes referred to as Mihiragula or Mahiragula, was the second and last Alchon Huns, Alchon Hun king of northwestern region of the Indian subcont ...

and Toramana which indicated that after the disintegration of the

Mauryan empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

, the area was taken over by Indo-Parthians and later incorporated into the domain of the Hunas.

Late medieval era

In 1709, Battle of Ambala was fought, and

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

captured Ambala from

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

. It was under the rule of

Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

Jats The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in ...

from 1748 to 1825. It was also the capital of

Nishanwalia Misl The Nishanwalia Misl, also spelt as Nishananvali Misl, was a Sikhs, Sikh Sikh Confederacy, misl. The Misl was founded by Dasaundha Singh, Dasaundha Singh Shergill a leader of Nihang, Tarna Dal. The misl was ruled by the Shergill Jat Sikh, Jat ...

. For some time it had been under the rule of Jawahir Singh of Mustafabad, a descendant of Desu Singh Randhawa.

British colonial era

The Ambala Cantonment

=Ambala Army Base

= Ambala Army Cantonment was established in 1843 after the British were forced to leave its

Karnal Karnal () is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. The city is well connected as it lies on National Highway 01, in the south of the city lies the cities of Panipat and Sonipa ...

Cantonment following the malaria epidemic of 1841–42 in as there were not any known effective means to control malaria epidemic in those days. The cantonment houses the '2 Corps', one of the three Strike Corps of the

=Ambala Air Force Base

= Ambala Air Force Base is one of the oldest and largest airbases that were inherited from the British by the IAF. It was from this airbase that Spitfires and Harvards flown by Instructors of the Advanced Flying Training School took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948. Subsequently, Ambala was the front line airfield for many years. It was home to various aircraft that were inducted into the

Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, Ouragans, Hunters, etc. all flew from this base. The airbase was briefly attacked in 1965 by B-57 bombers of the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

. Today, the Airbase houses the '7 Wing' with squadrons of

Jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas an ...

and

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

Bisons. A unit of the French-made

Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...

will also be based at Ambala airbase.

=European Cemetery

is the location of historic

European Cemetery The European Cemetery or Ambala Christian Cemetery is a state protected monument at Ambala district in Haryana. The occupancy right and management of the Cemetery is with the British High Commission. There are 66 graves of martyrs of World War ...

. It is 200 km north of Delhi and 55 km southwest of

= 1857 War Memorial

= First War of Independence Memorial or 1857 War Memorial, completed in 2023 at the cost of Rs300 crore in the honour of Indian rebels of 1857 First War of Independence, is spread over 22 acres on NH-44. The war was started at Ambala on 10 May 1857 by the Indian sepoys of 5th & 60th regiments of

Bengal Native Infantry The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing in ...

stationed at Ambala Cantonment. After the war was over, the execution of Baba Mohar Singh on 5 June 1857 at Ambala Cantonment was the first recorded execution of a captured Indian rebel by the British colonial regime. Ambala rebellion was led by Ananti Mishra, Parmeshwar Pandey, Beni Prasad, Sheikh Faiz Ul-Khan, Bikhan Khan who moved towards

Red Fort The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila () is a historic Mughal Empire, Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, fo ...

in Delhi via Bilaspur,

Sadhaura Sadhaura is a town, near Yamunanagar city with Municipal Committee in Yamunanagar district in the Indian state of Haryana. The city of Yamunanagar, it is of great historic significance. Sadhaura is very old town many historical temples/Dargah ...

, Yamunanagar and

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the public administration, administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Sain ...

. After the war was over, the British authorities burnt the villages of Bilaspur and Sadhaura as punishment for providing aid to the rebels. The 5th & 60th Regiments of the

were also disbanded. The memorial has four sections, an administrative building, second a museum building, third a library and food court, and the fourth is an open air theatre.

Formation of Ambala district

Ambala was given the status of a district in 1847, formed by the merging of the jagir estates of hitherto independent chieftains whose territories had lapsed or had been confiscated by the British Indian Government. In its 160 years of existence as a district, Ambala has witnessed many changes in its boundaries. Previously, it extended across tehsils of Ambala,

, Jagadhri, Pipli, Kharar, Ropar and

Nalagarh Nalagarh is a city and a municipal committee, near the city of Solan in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Nalagarh is a gateway to Himachal Pradesh in North India, from Shimla, from Delhi and from Chandigarh. Hist ...

. Kalka-cum-Kurari State, Pinjore, Mani Majra,

Kasauli Kasauli is a town and cantonment, located in the Solan district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station,Sharma, Ambika"Architecture of Kasauli churches" ''The ...

& Sanawar were also merged later into the district at different times.

1857 rebellion

For their participation in first war of independence, the

Chaudhary Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

s and

Lambardar Numbardar or Lambardar (, , , ) was the village headman responsible for tax collection in the village during the British Raj. They were appointed under the Mahalwari system. Etymology The compound word ''numberdar'' is composed of the English wo ...

s of villages who participated in rebellion were also deprived of their land and property, including 368 people of Hisar and

Gurugram Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...

were hanged or transported for life, and fine was imposed on the people of

Thanesar Thanesar (IAST: Sthāṇvīśvara) is a historic city and Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana, India. It is located approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. The city Kurukshetra's area merge ...

(Rs 235,000), Ambala (Rs. 253,541) and

Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9 (old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the Nationa ...

(Rs. 63,000 mostly on Ranghars, Shaikhs and Muslim Kasai).Satish Chandra Mittal, 1986
Haryana, a Historical Perspective
p58.

Post-independence

Hanging of Nathuram Godse

In November 1949, Mahatma Gandhi's assassin

Nathuram Godse Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) () was an Indian Hindu nationalist and political activist who was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. He shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith praye ...

was hanged at Ambala Central Jail along with

Narayan Apte Narayan Dattatraya Apte (1911 – 15 November 1949) was an Indian assassin and recruiting officer for the Royal Indian Air Force. He was executed by hanging for planning the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Family Apte was born in a Chitpa ...

, a co-conspirator.

Geography

Climate

The climate is a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Koppen: Cwa), with the monsoon season being noticeably rainier than the rest of the year, along with being much hotter and more humid than the winter, which is mild/cold and dry.

Demographics

India census, Ambala UA had a population of 207,934 consisting of 112,840 males and 95,094 females, a ratio of 843. There were 20,687 children 0–6 and Ambala had an average literacy rate of 89.31%, with 91.76% of males and 86.41% of females literate.

Economy

Cloth Market

The Cloth Market is considered to be the largest textile market in this region. The market is known for catering to wedding related shopping. The most commonly bought items are sarees and

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

clothing.

Transport

Ambala is connected to all of the other major cities of

north India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. It is a big interchange for various commuters for all neighbouring states. National Highway

NH 44 National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country. It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh ...

popularly known as GT road earlier known as NH 1 passes through Ambala and connects it to National capital Delhi,

Panipat Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

and

. NH 152 connects it to state capital Chandigarh, Kaithal. Apart from the Interstate service, Ambala also houses one of the oldest local bus services in Haryana, which is run by both Haryana roadways and private companies. Other means of local transportation include

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

s and

cycle rickshaw The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...

Roadways

Bus service is the major means of public transport in this district. Ambala depot came into being on 1 August 1950. The office of the General Manager has situated on the premises of the depot workshop at Ambala City. Ambala depot has a sub depot at Naraingarh. Presently, Haryana Roadways, Ambala has 200 buses, which carry about 34.88 Lac's passengers daily and cover a distance of about 19000 km daily. Out of these, total distance covered on interstate routes is and are operated within

every day. New Bus Stand at Ambala Cantt was inaugurated on 12 July 1999 and the total land of bus stand is . Bus stands in this district exist at Ambala City, Naraingarh and Barara as well. A sub-depot-level workshop has also been provided at Naraingarh. 'Yatri Niwas' exists on the campus of Ambala Cantt. bus stand for the convenience of the commuters who wish to stay for the night. Besides, the Haryana Roadways buses, the government has issued permits to private operators on local routes. Presently 60 such buses are plying in Ambala district. The bus stand is very near to Ambala Cantt Jn. (Railway station). Most of the buses plying on GT road (NH1) stop in front of the Railway station.

Railways

Ambala is a divisional headquarters of the Northern Railway Zone and is an important railway junction. Ambala Cantt station is among the top 100 booking stations in India. The city is served by three railway stations: * Ambala Cantt MB(Junction on Delhi-Kalka line and Moradabad-Ambala line/ Ambala-Attari line) * Ambala City BC(On Ambala-Attari line) * Dhulkot KT(on Delhi-Kalka line) The Ambala Cantonment railway station was founded on the junction of the Delhi-Kalka and

lines. The historic Delhi-Panipat-Ambala-Kalka railway line dates back to 1889 while the Ludhiana-Saharanpur line was built in 1870. Situated north of Delhi, this town is well connected by the rail and road network. Ambala cantt railway station is main station of the city and is well connected with major cities of India. Kalka-Shimla Railway, which is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, also comes under Ambala division. Ambala Cantonment railway station serves maximum Shatabdi Express after

. Ambala railway station was mentioned in the famous story ' The Woman on Platform 8' by

Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author. His first novel, ''The Room on the Roof'', published in 1956, received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books ...

, although in reality there is no platform 8 in Ambala Cantt.

Education

Ambala has a large number of schools and colleges. Notable colleges are as follows: * Convent of Jesus and Mary, Ambala * D.A.V. College (Lahore), Ambala City * E-Max School of Engineering and Applied Research * Government Polytechnic College, Ambala *

Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana, is a private deemed university at Mullana near Ambala in the state of Haryana, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the Lis ...

* Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Sadopur * Philadelphia Hospital & School of Nursing, Ambala * Sanatan Dharma College (S.D. College) * Shri Atmanand Jain Institute of Management and Technology

Notable people

* Zohrabai Ambalewali * Hansraj Behl * Urvashi Butalia * Simi Chahal *

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla Mehta ( Chawla; born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and vivacious on-screen ...

* Parineeti Chopra *

Swadesh Deepak Swadesh Deepak (born 1943) is an Indian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. Deepak has been active on the Hindi literary scene since the mid-1960s and is best known for ''Court Martial,'' a 1991 play. Deepak's most recent book is ''Main ...

* Navneet Kaur Dhillon * Sanjeev Kapoor * Manpreet Kaur * Nasir Kazmi * Sucheta Kripalani * Shalabh Kumar * Selja Kumari * Talib Dehlavi *

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963, he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that had divulged British secr ...

* Ash K. Prakash *

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri, (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Marathi films, as well as ind ...

* Saghar Siddiqui * Sanjiv Sam Gambhir * Sushma Swaraj * Zeba

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Ambala district Ambala district Haryana Populated places established in the 14th century