Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is 146 km (91 mi) northwest of the state capital Chandigarh, 83.5 km (51.9 mi) south-east of Amritsar and 61.3 km (38.1 mi) north of Ludhiana. Jalandhar is about 381 km (230 miles) from national capital Delhi. The famous road NH1 crosses from Jalandhar.
The history of Jalandhar District comprises three periods — ancient, medieval and modern.
The city may be named after Jalandhara, a Nath Guru, who was from here.[citation needed]. The city was founded by Devasya Verma as mentioned in Vedas. Other possibilities include that it was the capital of the kingdom of Lava, son of Rama 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.[6] The whole of Punjab and the area of present Jalandhar District was part of the Indus Valley Civilization. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are the sites where remains of the Indus Valley civilization have been found extensively. The archaeological explorations made during recent years have pushed the ancient times of Jalandhar District of Harappa period.
In 1849, following the annexation of the Punjab by the East India Company, the city of Jalandhar, written in English as Jullundur by Company officials, became the headquarters of the Division and District of the same name. In 1858 Company rule in India ended and the city became part of the British Raj. 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.[9]
The Khilafat Movement started in the district in early 1920 to bring pressure on the government to change their policy towards Turkey. Mahatma Gandhi 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 was born in the city.
Prior to the partition of India, Muslims were in plurality in Jalandhar. According to 1941 census, Muslims made up 45.2% of the population, compared to Hindus and Sikhs being 27.6% and 26.5% respectively.[10] Within a period of 10 years, from 1941 to 1951, Muslim population in Jalandhar reduced from 45.2% to 0.2%.[10]
Climate
The city has a humid subtropical 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 48 °C (118 °F) to average lows of around 25 °C (77 °F). Winter temperatures have highs of 19 °C (66 °F) to lows of −7 °C (19 °F). The climate is dry on the whole, except during the brief southwest monsoon season during July and August. The average annual rainfall is about 70 cm. In 2018, Jalandhar witnessed Heavy rainfall, with over 20% increase from average rainfall.[11] Since it is in the northern plains, it feels really cold during winters and very hot during summers.
Jalandhar has been selected in the second phase of the smart city project and 200 crores have been allocated to the municipal corporation for initializing the project.
Jalandhar exports goods like furniture and glass to neighboring cities, and is a global hub for the manufacture of sporting equipment. Jalandhar is famous for its sports industry and equipment manufactured in Jalandhar has been used in many international sporting games including Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, among others. It is also a hub for manufacturing of hand tools.
Jalandhar is also famous for its leather industry, leather for footwear, leather goods, furniture being sold to export houses located at Delhi, Agra, Kanpur and other Indian cities. Together with hand tools it is a major production centre of industrial tool bags being used by workmen in America and Europe.
Many new malls and shopping complexes are being established at a very rapid pace and as such is also a hub of the NRI's many of whom are from the Jalandhar region.
Transport
By air
The nearest airport is Adampur Airport, northwest of Jalandhar which currently handles only scheduled operation on maiden flights of private carrier Spicejet to Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur. The nearest fully-fledged International Airport is Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar. It is 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, Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Doha. The airport handles as many as 48 flights every week up from the occasional, intermittent ones some years ago.
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, and others
There is one of the largest networks of bus services of Punjab at Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh ISBT (Jalandhar), Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Pepsu, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan State Roadways, apart from private operators.
The Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar claims that the city has over 800 hospitals,
[30] that makes it the city with the highest number of hospitals in
per capita in Asia. Three new Health Centres were set up in Jalandhar on 9 September 2020.[31]
Sports
Cricket
Cricket is very popular in grounds and streets of the city. 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.[32]
Guru Gobind Singh Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Jalandhar. It is usually used mostly for football matches and served as the home stadium of JCT Mills FC.[33] 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.
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, hockey, swimming, volleyball and basketball.
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^John Hutchison, Jean Philippe Vogel, History of the Panjab Hill States, Asian Educational Services, 1994 - Punjab Hill States (India), p.122
^Parminder Singh Grover Moga, Davinderjit Singh, Discover Punjab: Attractions of Punjab, Parminder Singh Grover, 20 May 2011
^Tom G. Kessinger, University of California, Berkeley. Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, Vilyatpur, 1848-1968: Social and Economic Change in a North Indian Village, University of California Press, 1 Jan 1974, p.16
^Bhattal, Amardeep (11 February 2000). "Mahindras trounce JCT 3–0". tribuneindia.com. Ludhiana, Punjab: The Tribune Online. Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
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