Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the historical Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected junction for both rail and road networks. The National Highway 1 (NH1), crosses Jalandhar, further enhancing its connectivity. The city is located northwest of the state 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 ...

, southeast of the city 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 ...

, and north of Ludhiana. The national capital,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, is approximately .

History

The history of Jalandhar District comprises three periods — ancient, medieval and modern.

Ancient

The city may be named after Jalandhara, a Nath Guru who was from here. The city was founded by Devasya Verma as mentioned in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

. Other possibilities include that it was the capital of the kingdom of

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

, son of

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

or that the name derives from the vernacular term ''Jalandhar'', meaning area inside the water, i.e., tract lying between the two rivers Satluj and Beas. The whole of Punjab and the area of present Jalandhar District was part of the

Indus Valley Civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...

. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are the sites where remains of the

Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the Northwestern South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...

have been found extensively. The archaeological explorations made during recent years have pushed the ancient times of Jalandhar District of the Harappa period. Jalandhar was known as Prasthala during the Vedic period and it was the capital of the Trigarta Kingdom.

Medieval

Jalandhar and the Doaba may have been conquered around 1070 by the Ghaznavids during the reign of Ibrahim of Ghazni. The city was conquered by Raja Jasrat in 1431. It later formed part of the province of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

during the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

and

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, 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 18th century saw upheaval in Jalandhar amidst an anarchy caused by the disintegration of the Mughals and power struggles involving Persians, Afghans 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'' ...

. It was captured by the Faizullahpuria Misl in 1766, and in 1811 Maharaja Ranjit Singh incorporated it within the Sikh Empire. In 1849, following the annexation of the Punjab by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, the city of Jalandhar, written in English as Jullundur by company officials, became the headquarters of the division and

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of the same name. In 1858, company rule in India ended and the city became part of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. In the mid to late 19th century, the Punjab administration regarded Jullundur as too densely populated and farmed to capacity. This led to the district being a chief recruitment area for settlers to colonise the newly irrigated Punjab Canal Colonies, in western Punjab.

Modern

The Khilafat Movement started in the district in the early 1920s to bring pressure on the government to change their policy towards

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

extended sympathy and support to this movement, however in response, the District was declared a 'Proclaimed Area' under the Seditious Meetings Act. In 1924, Pakistani general and military dictator

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

was born in the city. Prior to the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, Muslims were in plurality in Jalandhar district. According to the 1941 census,

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

made up 45.2% of the population, compared to

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

being 27.6% and 26.5% respectively. Within a period of 10 years, from 1941 to 1951, the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

population in Jalandhar district reduced from 45.2% to 0.2%.

Geography

Climate

The city has a hot semi-arid climate with cool winters and long, hot summers. Summers last from April to June and winters from November to February. Temperatures in the summer vary from average highs of around to average lows of around . Winter temperatures have highs of to lows of . The climate is dry, except during the brief southwest monsoon season during July and August. The average annual rainfall is about . In 2018, Jalandhar witnessed unusually heavy rainfall, with an over 20% increase from average rainfall levels. Since it is located in the northern plains, the area feels quite cold during winters and very hot during summers.

Rainfall

The city receives an average annual rainfall of approximately . However, fluctuations are not uncommon, as observed in 2018 when Jalandhar experienced a significant increase in precipitation. The city registered over a 20% increase from its average rainfall that year, which marked it as a year of heavy rainfall. Despite the variations in climate across seasons, one thing remains constant: the extremity of temperatures, with winters feeling notably cold, and summers, feelings markedly hot due to Jalandhar's location in the northern plains.Jalandhar has been ranked 39th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 2 3-10L Population cities) in India.

Demographics

Population

As per the 2011 census, Jalandhar had a population of 868,929, of which 460,811 were male, and 408,118 female. The literacy rate is 86.20%: for males are 88.81% and females 83.26%. Children of 0-6 years are 90,044 (10.36%), with a sex ratio of 867 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes are 27.26% of the population.

Religion

As per the census of 2011,

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

is the predominant religion in Jalandhar city, with adherents of

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

being a significant minority.

At the time of the 2011 census, 81.48% of the population spoke Punjabi and 15.63%

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

as their first language.

Economy

Jalandhar is notable for its sports goods industry. With an employment of 60,000 to 70,000 people, it is estimated to be 1,700 crore industry, with 400 crore export and 1,300 crore domestic supply. In 2022, the Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association in Jalandhar, with collaboration from local self-help groups, started an initiative to train 1,500 women in stitching soccer balls, ensuring financial development and welfare in the district. Another significant contributor to Jalandhar's economy is its leather industry, having a turn over of 1,200 to 1,500 crore, and 400 crore export.

Smart City Project

In the second phase of the Indian Government's Smart City Project, Jalandhar has been selected to participate, marking a pivotal shift in the city's development.

Transport

By air

The nearest airport is Adampur Airport, northwest of Jalandhar, which currently only handles scheduled operation on maiden flights of the private carrier Spicejet, to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

. The nearest fully-fledged International Airport is Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, in

. It is the second busiest airport in North India, and is connected to other parts of the country by regular flights. Several airlines operate flights from abroad, including London Stansted,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, and

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

. The airport handles as many as 48 flights every week up from the occasional, intermittent ones some years ago. Jalandhar Railway Station

By rail

Direct train service is available for other major cities like

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, Guwahati,

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, Haridwar, Varanasi,

, Jhansi, Gwalior, Bhopal and Jammu Tawi. Some prestigious trains that halt in Jalandhar City railway station include the Howrah Mail, Golden Temple Mail (Frontier Mail), New-Delhi Amritsar Shatabdi Express, and the Paschim Express. Now, many trains of Jammu route are extended up to Mata Vaishno Devi-Katra. Jalandhar City Railway Station is well-connected to other parts of the country. Jalandhar City is a major stop between the Amritsar-Delhi rail link, which is serviced by Shatabdi Express, Intercity Express, among others. Direct Services to major cities such as

, Guwahati,

, Haridwar, Varanasi,

and Jammu Tawi are available. There are prestigious services such as the Howrah Mail, Golden Temple Mail (Frontier Mail), New-Delhi Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Paschim Express.

By road

There is one of the largest networks of bus services of Punjab at Shaheed-e-Azam, Sardar Bhagat Singh ISBT (Jalandhar),

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

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 ...

, Pepsu,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

State Roadways, apart from private operators.

Religious places

*Shri Paramhans Adwait Matt Ashram, Shri Anandpur Wale, St. No. 3, Central Town (organized by Shri Shabad Punitanand ji (Veena Bai ji) *Historical temple of Shri Bawa Lal, Dayal Mandir, Partap Bagh *Shaktipeeth Mata Tripura Malini ji Dhaam * Church of Signs and Wonders * Gurudwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib Dham * Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Dham * Devi Talab Mandir * Dera Baba Murad Shah * Gurdwara Guru Ravidas, Guru Ramdas Nagar * Dera Sach Khand * Gurdwara Singh Sabha * Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar * Geeta Mandir Jalandhar

Leisure

* Niku Park *Prithvi's Planet *Smmash *Wonder Land

Media

Doordarshan Kendra, Jalandhar is an Indian television station in Jalandhar, owned and operated by state-owned Doordarshan, the television network of Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India). It was established in 1979 and produces and broadcasts the 24-hour

Punjabi language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...

TV channel, DD Punjabi, which was launched in 1998 and covers most of the state of

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

. The city is the region's headquarters for newspapers, national television and radio stations. These include '' Daily Ajit, Jagbani, Punjab Kesari, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, Hindustan Times, The Tribune, Truescoop News, Hind Samachar'', etc. State-owned

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

has a local station in Jalandhar that transmits programs of mass interest. FM local radio stations include: * Radio city 91.9 MHz * BIG FM 92.7 92.7 MHz * 94.3 FM-My Fm- 94.3 MHz * Radio Mirchi 98.3 MHz *

102.7 MHz

Healthcare

The Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar claims that the city has over 800 hospitals, making it the city with the highest number of hospitals per capita in Asia. Three new Health Centres were set up in Jalandhar on 9 September 2020.

Sports

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is very popular in the grounds and streets of Jalandhar. There is an international-standard stadium at Gandhi Stadium, formerly known as Burlton Park. The Indian cricket team played a Test Match against the Pakistan cricket team on this ground on 24 September 1983.

Kabaddi

Major Kabaddi matches are usually held at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium.

Guru Gobind Singh Stadium

Guru Gobind Singh Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Jalandhar. It is usually used for football matches and served as the home stadium of JCT Mills FC. People can be seen jogging, playing soccer, weight-lifting, etc. in the stadium most of the time. The Punjab government has started new projects at the stadium.

Surjit Hockey Stadium

Surjeet Hockey Stadium is a field hockey stadium in Jalandhar, Punjab, India. It is named after Jalandhar-born Olympian Surjit Singh. This stadium is home of the franchise Sher-e-Punjab of the World Series Hockey.

Sports college

There is a Government Sports College in the city and it is a focus for many of the National Sports Councils. In this college, many sports are played like

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, hockey,

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Education

Higher education institutions in Jalandhar include;

Universities

* D.A.V. College, Jalandhar * DAV Institute of Engineering & Technology * DAV University * Doaba College * Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar * GNA University * Guru Nanak Dev University * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University * Lovely Professional University * Kanya Maha Vidyalaya * Lyallpur Khalsa College for Women * Lyallpur Khalsa College * Mata Gujri Institute of Nursing * Mehr Chand Polytechnic College * Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences

Schools

* St. Joseph's Boys' School, Jalandhar, Defence Colony

Jalandhar Cantonment

Notable people

File:DrJahangirKhan.png, Jahangir Khan –

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

er and javelin thrower File:Ahmad Raza Khan.png, Ahmed Raza – Civil servant and

er File:WajidBurki.jpg, Wajid Ali Khan Burki – Pakistani ophthalmologist and Army Medical Corps general File:JamshedBurki1962.png, Jamshed Burki –

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

Captain and Interior Secretary of Pakistan File:Inder Kumar Gujral 071.jpg, I. K. Gujral – 12th

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

File:General Muhammad Zia-Ul-Haq.jpg, Zia-Ul-Haq – 6th President of Pakistan and 2nd Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) File:Khalid Mahmud Arif.jpg, Khalid Mahmud Arif – Vice Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan) File:Diljit Dosanjh during Soorma promotion 05.jpg, Diljit Dosanjh File:Sugandha mishra.jpg, Sugandha Mishra File:Amrish Puri.jpg, Amrish Puri File:Harbhajan Singh bowling.jpg, Harbhajan Singh File:Rannvijay Singh (2).jpg, Rannvijay Singh File:Fzdfs.jpg, Dharam Singh Uppal

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Jalandhar district Former capital cities in India