Ambala () is a city and a

municipal corporation A 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 ow ...

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 Hi ...

in the state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

, India, located on the border with the Indian state of

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

and in proximity to both states capital

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which ...

. 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 ...

(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 is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

and

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

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

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

, India's capital, and has been identified as a counter-magnet city for the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

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 Chandigarh, north of

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter 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 Pur ...

, southwest of

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, north of

and southeast of

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 Maj ...

History

Etymology

The town is said to derive its name from Amba Rajput 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 novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

in his 1901 novel ''

Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

''.

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 Hun king of northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent betwee ...

and Toramana which indicated that after the disintegration of the

Mauryan empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

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

Late medieval era

In 1709, Battle of Ambala was fought and Sikhs captured Ambala from

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. It was under the rule of

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many 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 respiration on land provided they ar ...

Jats The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralism, pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval time ...

in the later medieval era (

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore ...

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 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 Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

is one of the oldest and largest airbases that were inherited from the British by the IAF. It was from this airbase that

Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

and Harvards flown by Instructors of the Advanced Flying Training School took part in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, or the First Kashmir War, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars that was fought between ...

. 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 vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

, Ouragans,

Hunters Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler ...

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

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

. 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'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the t ...

and

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

Bisons. A unit of the French-made

Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "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 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 1 The war graves comes under th ...

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 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 administr ...

of Ambala,

Jagadhri Jagadhri is a city and a municipal council in the Yamunanagar district of the Indian state of Haryana. This town lies adjacent to the city of Yamunanagar. The demarcation line between the two is difficult to discern. Jagadhri is around 90 k ...

, Pipli, Kharar, Ropar and Nalagarh. Kalka-cum-Kurari State,

Pinjore Pinjore is a town in Panchkula district in the Indian state of Haryana. This residential 'township', located close to Panchkula, Chandigarh, is set over 1,800 feet above the sea level in a valley, overlooking the Sivalik Hills. Pinjore is kno ...

Mani Majra Mani Majra, also spelled as Manimajra and now renamed as Sector 13, is a Big historical town in Panchkula, India The notifications regarding renaming of this town were issued by the Punjab Governor and Chief Administrator of Chandigarh, VP Sin ...

Kasauli Kasauli is a town and cantonment, located in Solan district in 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 Chaudhary (or Choudhary ; also: Chaudhuri, Choudhuary, Chowdhury) is a hereditary title mainly in South Asia, mainly used by Jats, Gurjar and Bhumihars. Chowdhury ( Hindi: चौधरी/चौधुरी/चौधारी; Urdu: چودھ ...

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

Gurugram Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

were hanged or transported for life, and fine was imposed on the people of Thanesar (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 National Highway 9 (India), NH 9(old NH 10). Rohtak fo ...

(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 the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a Hindu nationalist from Maharashtra who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith prayer meeting in ...

was hanged at Ambala Central Jail along with Narayan Apte, a co-conspirator. Ambala Cantt is also mentioned in the novel ''

'' by

Geography

Climate

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. It is located in sector 7, the central part of the city of Ambala. The market is known for catering to wedding related shopping. The most commonly bought items are

saree A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

s and

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

clothing.

Transport

Ambala is connected to all of the other major cities of

north India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Centr ...

. It is a big interchange for various commuters for all neighbouring states. National Highway NH 44 popularly known as

GT road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

earlier known as NH 1 passes through Ambala and connects it to National capital Delhi, Panipat, Ludhiana and Amritsar. 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 terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

s and

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

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 Haryana Roadways State Transport (HR) is the public transport unit of the Government of Haryana in India. Haryana Roadways is a major part of Haryana Transport Department. It is the principal service provider for passenger transport in the sta ...

, 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 Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub ...

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

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. ...

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

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 is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

World Heritage site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, 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 The Woman on Platform 8 is a short story written by Indian author Ruskin Bond. It is narrated in first person by a schoolboy named Arun, and recounts an encounter with a mysterious woman in a train station. The story was first published in ...

' by Ruskin Bond, 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 Convent of Jesus and Mary, Ambala Cantt or CJM is a girls' day-school in Ambala Cantonment, Ambala District, Haryana, India. The school was founded on 2 December 1909 at the request of Fr Julius, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Agra, then un ...

E-Max School of Engineering and Applied Research Education Maximum School of Engineering and Applied Research is an institute of higher education in Ambala, Haryana, India. It was established in 2009 by the Asa Ram Aggarwal Society of Education and Research and is affiliated to Kurushetra Uni ...

* Government Polytechnic College, Ambala * Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana *

Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Sadopur Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Sadopur (MMU Sadopur) is a private university at Sadopur, Ambala district, near the city of Ambala, in the state of Haryana, India. It was established by the Maharishi Markandeshwar University under the prov ...

* Philadelphia Hospital & School of Nursing, Ambala *

Sanatan Dharma College Sanatan Dharma College commonly known as S.D. College, is a graduate and post graduate college, established in 1916 and situated in Ambala Cantonment, India on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway. Originally established in Lahore, the college was re ...

(S.D. College) *

Shri Atmanand Jain Institute of Management and Technology Shri Atmanand Jain Institute of Management and Technology (AIMT), in Ambala was established in 1996 to provide modern Quality Management Education to students. AIMT is affiliated to Kurukshetra University, and is approved by the All India Counc ...

Notable people

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

Parineeti Chopra Parineeti Chopra (; born 22 October 1988) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. Chopra is a recipient of several accolades, including a Filmfare and a National Film Award. She has appeared in '' Forbes India'' Celebrit ...

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 ''Maine ...

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

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 which had divulged British ...

Ash K. Prakash Ash K. Prakash D.F.A., is a philanthropist and scholar of Canadian art. Career After completing his studies at the University of California and the University of Michigan, and later Harvard, Ash Prakash emigrated to Canada in 1968, settling in ...

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 Bengali, Kannada, English,Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starr ...

Saghar Siddiqui Saghar Siddiqui (born Muhammad Akhtar; 14 Aug 1928 – 19 July 1974), was a Pakistani Urdu poet. Also known as a Saint poet, homeless Siddiqui was found dead on a street corner of Lahore at age 46. His dog also died a year later, reportedly at ...

* Sanjiv Sam Gambhir *

Sushma Swaraj Sushma Swaraj () (''née'' Sharma; 14 February 1952 – 6 August 2019) was an Indian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019. She is only ...

Zeba Shaheen Bano (born 10 September 1945), known professionally as Zeba ( ur, ), is a Pakistani actress. She was one of the top stars of the Pakistani film industry in the 1960s and the early 1970s. Cities and towns in Ambala district Ambala district Haryana