About Ludhiana

From being a small village called Meer Hota in 1481 to later Lodiana and now Ludhiana, the city has never been caught napping. Under theYodhas from the first to the fourth century, it later came under the rule of Samudragupta. But the Original Ludhianavis settled here much later in the ninth century. These were the Rajputs from south and then the Turks and the Afghans  who took the Bet area of Sutlej on lease from Mohammad Gami. Later, the Sidhus, Gills, Sandhus and the Grewals came from the jungles of Jagraon and camped here.

Sikandar Lodhi sent Yusaf and Nihang to stop the approaching Baloachs. They crossed Sutlej and after defeating Khokhars of Doaba, established  Sultanpur Lodhi. Nihang stayed back at village Meer Hota as Naib. He was the one who changed the name of the village to Lodiana. Later, his grandson, Jalal Khan, built the Lodhi Fort there. His two sons Aloo Khan and Khijar Khan divided among themselves the area around the fort but were dethroned by Babur who even demolished Nihang's tomb. That didn't end the travails of this town. During Akbar's reign, it was a tehsil along with Tihara. 
Hathur, Bhundri, Machiwara, Payal and Doraha. Not many of us know that Guru Gobind Singhji traveled through Jharsahib, Machiwara, Kanech, Alamgir, Lama Jatpura and Lakha and finally at village Dina and wrote the famous Zafarnama in 1806. Maharaja Ranjit Singh also came to Ludhiana twice. On the pretext of solving the Patiala crisis, he won the area around Sahenewal and gifted 54 villages to Raja Bhag  Singh of Jind. Diwan Mohkam Singh was made the ruler. The Brits too, traipsed along with Capt. Akhtar loni (1809-1815), an English political agent, followed by Capt. Maney and Sir Matton (1833-1838). After the death of Raja Sangat Singh, the Britishers captured  80 villages and Ludhiana came under Assistant Political Agent. During the First English-Sikh War, there were only 4,000 white soldiers. Ranjodh Singh Ladwa burnt this cantonment and looted the English at Baddowal. At Aliwal's War, however, Henry Smith defeated Ranjodh Singh. 

The 1857 sepoy mutiny didn't amount to much as Deputy Commissioner Ricket successfully thwarted it with the help of Nawab of Malerkotla, Nabha patti. The Bet Muslims, however, revolted while urban Hindus and Sikhs remained pro government. In fact, fellow Ludhianvi Rai Kishan Chand Dhandari was the official advocate of the English at Lahore! Bassian Kothi was the biggest armour at that time and many secret agents lived in that area. Maharaja Dilip Singh was also kept for one night at Bassian Kothi. Kaonkey Kalan is another of the historical places in Ludhiana where antique coins were found along with bricks of 12inchX10inch size. It was also the main control area during the English Sikh War, while Chaoni Mohalla was an armament dump. English dug canals for irrigation and they helped their loyals to settle in bars that were vacated after the Partition. Maulana Shah Abdul Kadar led the Punjab mutiny. He was persuaded by blind Jaman Shah to settle here. It's here that he constructed a house and a masjid at Mouchpura now known as Masjid-do-Manjila. Jaman Shah would come here daily, bare-footed five times a day, to offer prayers. The Shah signed an agreement here in 1839 and the English crowned him king of Kabul. February 1921 saw Mahatma Gandhi at Daresi Ground in the city. At the end of the year, 3,000 freedom fighters from Ludhiana were arrested and sentenced to prison. Another 475 joined the Quit India Movement. Politically, Ludhiana has contributed five chief ministers, namely Bhim Sen Snahan, Justice Gurnam Singh, Gian Singh Rarewala, Lachaman Singh Gill and Beant Singh. The Goa War took 87 of its young soldiers.

Now, after partition of Punjab, its population has grown very fast and the small Cottage Industry also developed. The formation of new Punjab in 1966 made Ludhiana the central city of Punjab and so it became an attraction for everyone. Ludhiana is the central district of Punjab. It has its boundaries common with seven districts of Punjab. In the North, it has district Jalandhar and Nawan Shahar with river Sutlej forming the seperating line, in the North-East the district Ropar and Fatehgarh Sahib in the South-East. Ferozpur and Moga are in the West of Ludhiana. In the South Sangrur District. Ludhiana(East), Ludhiana(West), Jagraon, Khannna,  Samrala, Payal and Raikot are the seven Tehsils (Sub-Divisions) of this District.

The city of Ludhiana with the population of more than 35 Lacs, is the District Headquarters of Ludhiana. More than 50,000 people from around Ludhiana come everyday for different purposes. It is situated on Delhi-Amritsar Grand Trunk Road (National Highway No. 1). It is at a distance of 320 K.M. from Delhi and 136 K.M. from Amritsar. From the State Capital of Punjab i.e. Chandigarh, it is around 100 K.M.. There is a daily Air Service from Ludhiana to Delhi direct Railway Service to any part of the country.

Besides its historical and Geographical attraction, it is the Manchester of India. There have been great achievements by the people of Ludhiana in Agriculture, Education, and Industry.
Wheat and Rice are the main crops cultivated in this area. Punjab Agricultural University (Estd. here in 1962) is the Torch Bearer of the World Agriculture. In Wheat, Ludhiana is known to have a record per hectare yield in the world. Ludhiana also manufacture world class agricultural implements.

In Education side, Ludhiana have two Medical colleges - Christian Medical College and Dayanand Medical College. the city have an engineering college named Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College. There are more than twenty colleges affiliated to Punjab University, Chandigarh. Literacy rate is very high in Ludhiana and is comparable to any well-literate corner of the country. In Industry, Ludhiana have more remarkable achievements. Ludhiana produces the largest number of bicycles in the world with Hero, Avon and Neelam the most popular brands. In Hosiery, city is exporter to Russia, Europe, and every other corner of the world. Whether it is America or Arabian countries it is hard to find a place where Ludhiana made Sewing Machines are not sold. Ludhiana also produces good quality of cloth and export quality Woolens. Plastic, Rubber and Chemical, electrical and Electronics industry is also growing rapidly here.