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Batala

Coordinates: 31°49′07″N 75°12′10″E / 31.8186°N 75.2028°E / 31.8186; 75.2028
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This article is about the city in Punjab, India. For other uses, see Batala (disambiguation).

Batala
City
Gurudwara Kandh Sahib, Kali Mata Mandir, Haqiqat Rai temple, Batala railway station entry
Batala is located in Punjab
Batala
Batala
Location in Punjab, India
Batala is located in India
Batala
Batala
Batala (India)
Batala is located in Asia
Batala
Batala
Batala (Asia)
Coordinates: 31°49′07″N 75°12′10″E / 31.8186°N 75.2028°E / 31.8186; 75.2028
Country India
StatePunjab
DistrictGurdaspur
RegionMajha
Government
 • TypeLocal Self Government
 • BodyBatala Municipal Corporation
Area
(2015)
 • City
42 km2 (16 sq mi)
 • Rank8th
Elevation
249 m (817 ft)
Population
 (2015)
 • City
211,594
 • Density5,000/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
 • Metro
617,780
Languages
 • OfficialPunjabi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
143505
Telephone code01871[1]
Vehicle registrationPB-18
Distance from Amritsar33 kilometres (21 mi) NE (land)
Distance from Jalandhar78 kilometres (48 mi) NE (land)
Distance from Chandigarh203 kilometres (126 mi) NE (land)
Distance from Delhi470 kilometres (290 mi) NE (land)
Lok Sabha constituencyGurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency)
Punjab Legislative Assembly constituencyBatala Assembly Constituency

Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corporation (since 3 March 2019) in Gurdaspur district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab. It is located about 32 km from Gurdaspur, the headquarters of the district. It is also a Police district. Batala holds the status of the most populated town of the district with 31% of the district's total population. It is the biggest industrial town in the district.

Batala is an important place for Sikh devotees. Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion was married here to Sulakhni, the daughter of Mul Chand Chauna in 1485.[2] Many temples and gurdwaras related to the guru's marriage attract devotees from near and far. Every year celebrations are conducted on the anniversary of Nanak's marriage (Babe Nanak Da Viah) at Gurudwara Kandh Sahib. There is also a historical gurdwara Satkartarian Sahib related to 6th guru of Sikhs, Guru Hargobind.

Batala was once known as the "Iron Bird of Asia" as it produced the highest amount of cast iron, agricultural and mechanical machinery. Batala is still one of the leading cities in Northern India in manufacturing of cast iron and mechanical machinery. It's also an agricultural marketplace and industrial center. Cotton ginning, weaving, sugar refining, and rice milling are some of other industries.

History

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Further information: Punjab and Radcliffe Line

The city was founded in 1465 by Abhay Pratap Bal of Kapurthala under the suzerainty of Sultan Bahlul Lodi. Later, during the Mughal rule, Akbar gave it in jagir to his foster brother, Shamsher Khan. Batala was a very famous city of the Punjab region, just like Lahore, Jalandhar and other major cities in the 16th century, and it is 109 years older than Amritsar. The whole city was lying within a fort. It had 12 gates as entrances and exit. These gates are still known by their old names, e.g. Sheran Wala Gate, Khajuri Gate, Bhandari Gate, Ohri Gate, Thathiari Gate, Hathi Gate, Pahari Gate, Mori Gate, Kapoori Gate, Achli Gate etc. Some of them still survive although their condition is in need of attention.[3]

Other historic places in Batala are gurdwaras where Guru Nanak stayed during his lifetime. There are also numerous other gurdwaras of significant importance to Sikhs and therefore attract thousands of Sikhs from around the globe.

In British India, Batala was the headquarters of a tehsil in the Gurdaspur district of the Punjab Province. The allocation of the Gurdaspur district during the partition of India was highly contested because it was in central Punjab and had roughly equal proportion of Muslim and non-Muslim populations. Viceroy Lord Wavell allocated three eastern tehsils of the district (Gurdaspur, Batala and Pathankot) to India, and one western tehsil (Shakargarh) to Pakistan. However, it continued to be contested. The whole district was shown as part of Pakistan in the 'notional partition line' in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and the issue was referred to the Punjab Boundary Commission. The final partition line ('Radcliffe Line') eventually confirmed Wavell's division of the district, with the result that Batala became part of India. For three days, 14–17 August 1947, Batala was regarded as part of Pakistan, then added to Indian territory.[4][5][6]

At the time of partition in 1947, Batala had a majority Muslim population. After the partition line was announced, Muslims left Batala and went to Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs migrated from Pakistan to Batala. The city now has a Hindu majority which holds more than 56% of city's total population with a large Sikh minority at 38%.

Politics

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The city is part of the Batala Assembly Constituency.

See also: List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh

Villages

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Name Population
Araianwali 155
Badowal Khurd 1,378
Bajjuman 1,836
Basarpura 1,659
Bajjuman 1,836
Balarwal 1,229
Basrai 3,565
Bhadur Hussain 2,209
Bhagtupur 1,420
Bhalowali 1,106
Bhamboi 2,504
Bhamri 3,327
Bharathwal 948
Bhole Ke 1,739
Bijliwal 1,685
Bishniwal 543
Bohja 2,155
Bujjianwali 984
Bure Nangal 1,171
Chahgill 278
Chahal Khurd 477
Chak Bhagtupur 67
Chak Chao 670
Chak Sidhwan 63
Chak Tara 418
Chak Wassan 398
Chandke 207
Chandu Suja 774
Chataurgarh 1,111
Chaudhriwala 2,654
Cheema Kalla 194
Chhapianwali 293
Chhelowal 968
Chhit 1,080
Choranwali 604
Chuhewal 1,138
Dewaniwal 2,141
Dhadialanatt 3,878
Dhandoi 2,015
Doburji 606
Kazampur 834
Mathola 2,403
Meekey 1,285
Mehmedpur 416
Mehtewal 465
Missarpura 1,717
Mollowali 309
Mulianwali 2522
Nangal Buttar 1,047
Nangal Jhawar 1,455
Nathwal 1,155
Nawan Pind Barqiwala 395
Nawan Pind Mahmawala 324
Nawan Pind Milkhi-wala 751
Parowal 1,407
Phulke 1,034
Pind Purana 1,439
Pinda Rori 526
Pirowali 589
Punwan 947
Purian Kalan 2,153
Purian Khurd 736
Qila Lal Singh 2,141
Qila Tek Singh 1,000
Rajputan 754
Rikhia 848
Rupowali 988
Sagarpur 451
Sahan Pannu 69
Sakhowal 1,560
Sangherah 945
Sarchur 1,989
Sarupwali 2,294
Sarwali 1,987
Seikhwan 924
Shahpur Araian 366
Sham Sherpur 2,558
Sheikhowali 215
Sheikhwan 1,592
Sokala 1,486
Talwandi Bha-rath 3,150
Talwandi Goraya 1,179
Talwandi Jhunglan 1,718
Tenaniwal 198
Thindh 861
Thirriyewal 1,151
Udhanwal 2,088
Ugrewala 975
Winjwan 1,460
Withwan 640

Demographics

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Religion in Batala City[7]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 56%
Sikhism
 
 37.82%
Christianity
 
 4.35%
Others
 
 1.83%

As per provisional data from the 2011 census, the Batala urban agglomeration had a population of 158,404, out of which males were 83,536 and females were 74,868. The literacy rate was 85.28 per cent.[8]

The table below shows the population of different religious groups in Batala city and their gender ratio, as of 2011 census.

Population by religious groups in Batala city, 2011 census[9]
Religion Total Female Male Gender ratio
Hindu 88,825 41,750 47,075 886
Sikh 59,996 28,406 31,590 899
Christian 6,897 3,289 3,608 911
Muslim 383 169 214 789
Jain 114 56 58 965
Buddhist 30 14 16 875
Other religions 34 14 20 700
Not stated 2,342 1,268 1,074 1180
Total 1,58,621 74,966 83,655 896


Economy

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Minerals

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Foundry sand is found in Dharamkot, near Batala; the deposits are located 6.5 km west of Batala. Exposed on both sides of Batala–Dera Baba Nanak road, the Dharmkot sand is a natural moulding sand, containing about 20% clay. Another deposit which is about 4 metres thick, occurs at about 6 km from Batala on the Batala Qadian road. The sand has a yellowish tinge on the surface, but is reddish brown at a depth of about 1 metre.

The sand deposits are also found at Bhagwanpur about 15 km west of Batala on Dera Baba Nanak Road and about 10 km from Gurdaspur on the Gurdaspur Naushera Road (20 percent clay).

Salt petre occurs in the district at the villages of Thikriwala, Pandori in the tehsils of Gurdaspur and Dhawan, Chataurgarh and Badowal in the tehsil of Batala. It is a source of potassium nitrate which can be used for making crackers and gunpowder, in the match and sugar industries, and as fertilizer. It is also famous because of village bodhi di khui and also famous for bajwa people in it.

Landmarks

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Located in Gurdaspur district, 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Amritsar on the Kashmir Grand Trunk road. One of the older towns in the province of Lahore in earlier times, Batala is home to many monuments of religious and historic importance, such as Hazira Park, Barah Dari, Hakikat Samadh. These monuments are connected with Sikh history and the Mughal period. The city consists of several churches constructed during the British Raj.

Jal Mahal (Baradari)

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The Jal Mahal and the palace of Maharaja Sher Singh were built by the Maharaja (CE 1780–1839). The palace is under the control of the authorities of the local Baring Union Christian College. The administrative offices of the college are housed in it. Jal Mahal is under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Jal Mahal (Baradari) and the palace of Maharaja Sher Singh were connected through a tunnel. According to some senior citizens, Shamsher Khan Tank of Jal Mahal used to be filled with water through the tunnel, which was further connected to a long tunnel (canal) to the Beas, near Kahnuwan. The remnants of the tunnel can be seen near Baring Christian College.

Maharaja Sher Singh used to hold meetings of his courtiers in Jal Mahal. The water reservoir was built by Shamsher Khan while the beautiful Baradari in the centre of the tank was constructed by Maharaja Sher Singh. It has a square room in the centre of a pavilion with a passageway. The entry to the first floor is by a staircase with concave-shaped steps on the north-eastern canal. Jal Mahal has eight doors in the lower part of the building and four in the upper storey. The inner wall contained beautiful art glass carvings and wall paintings. However, major parts of the paintings have been erased or damaged. The roof of the pavilion has also fallen. The Municipal Council provided a tubewell to fill up the tank till the eighties. All sides of the reservoir were lined with Nanakshahi bricks. However, with the passage of time the brick lining has been destroyed. Nowadays, on one side of the tank is located a vridh ashram owned and managed by the Dainik Prarthana Sabha. There also exists Bhadr Kali Mandir and Shivala. The upper portion of Jal Mahal is in a dilapidated condition and the time is not far when this magnificent structure will pass into oblivion.

Gurdwara Kandh Sahib

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Gurudwara Kandh Sahib

Guru Nanak Dev Ji was married here to Bibi Sulakhani Ji. He was engaged to the daughter of Mul Chand Chauna who along with the Brahmin priests insisted on a traditional Hindu marriage while Guru Nanak Dev Ji wanted a simple marriage. Guru Nanak Dev ji was sitting beside a crooked mud wall (kandh) discussing the marriage plans with the Brahmin clergy. It was planned to push the wall on top of the Guru but Guru Nanak Dev ji was warned of the plan by an old woman. Guru Nanak Dev Ji just smiled and said "This wall will not fall for centuries. The will of God shall prevail." The wall is still preserved within the Gurdwara and a celebration is held here every year on the anniversary of Guru Nanak's marriage. At walking distance of two minutes there is Gurudwara Dera sahib, which was house of Mata Sulakhni Ji (bride of Guru Nanak dev ji). An ancient well is situated in Gurudwara dera sahib, it is said that water of well is having special curing powers in itself.

Kali Dwara Mandir

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Photo of kalidwara mandir

Another very famous and the most-visited devotional place here is the temple dedicated to Goddess Kali. It's situated in the heart of city i.e., Chakri Bazar and maximum rush is seen on Tuesdays. During Navratri time, a lot of people from city and surrounding region visit the temple. People of Batala and outside have true faith on Mata Kali Dwara Mandir. Many other temples are also situated in Batala City.

Sati Lakshmi Devi Smadh

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Fountain in smadh park

Sati Laxmi Devi Smarak is located in the Smadh road of Batala opposite to Hanuman Akahara, The Smadh of Sati Lakshmi devi is there, who was engaged to Veer Hakikat Rai, When Laxmi Devi heard the news of death of her becoming husband, She became Sati (throw herself in fire and burn to death), her age was 10 years at that time, On that place a big public park is made by Local People on the smadhis[check spelling] of Veer Haqiqat Rai and Sati Lakshmi Devi, Reason for the death of Veer Haqiqat Rai is mentioned below:

Haqiqat Rai Puri was born into a Hindu family, in Sialkot, Punjab, Mughal India with his caste being a Puri Khatri.[6] His father's name was Bagh Mal Rai, a Hindu trader. At the age of 14, Rai was sent to a Maulvi to learn Persian. One day some of his Muslim classmates were making fun of various Hindu deities, ridiculing his religion. In return he asked them how they would feel if anyone insulted Muhammad or Ayesha. For this, his classmates reported this to the Maulvi as it was taken as an insult of Islam.

As a result, he was taken to Lahore (then a provincial capital in the Mughal Empire), where he was given the option to convert to Islam to save his life, but he refused. As a result, he was beheaded at the age of 14, during the governorship of Zakariya Khan. Quasi Abdul Haq, who was responsible for the Fatwa, was also beheaded later by Sardar Dal Singh and Saradar Mana Singh and shown around the city of Batala

Transport

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Batala is an important industrial town famous for the manufacture of machine tools and woolen products. Therefore, it is well connected with the other cities and towns of Punjab by road and railways. Government and private buses are the main source of journey to other cities. Batala has the only government bus depot in the district.

Bus

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Bus Stand Batala (Buses for Jalandhar side)
Bus Stand Batala (Buses for Gurdaspur side)

Bus Stand Batala is near Gandhi Chowk and people can normally commute to different cities via buses, everyday around 1,000 buses ferry more than 40,000 passengers.

Rail

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Batala railway station Entry
Batala railway station board

Batala railway station (station code BAT) is on the Amritsar–Pathankot line of the Firozpur division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Amritsar Junction railway station located about 38 kilometres (24 mi) from the town is the nearest major railway station. Train to Qadian is another diversion from Batala. Ministry of Railways has accepted in 2010 Budget plan to connect the Batala–Quadian rail link to Jalandhar via Beas Junction. The project would start soon. This project will help connect Batala to high-speed Amritsar–Delhi section and cutting travel time to Jalandhar by 1 hour, with no need to go via Amritsar.

Air

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Guru Ram Das International Airport serving the city of Amritsar is the nearest international airport and is located about 40 km from the town.Pathankot Airport in Pathankot, situated 70 kilometres (43 mi) away from Batala is the nearest military airport.

Hospitals

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Batala has a number of hospitals, schools and colleges affiliated to different boards.

  • Satsar Hospital, Batala[10]
  • Mahajan Hospital, Batala
  • Navtej Humanity Hospital & Club[11][12]
  • Johal Surgical Hospital
  • Civil Hospital, Batala
  • Batala Hospital, Dera Road, Shukerpura, Batala
  • Jagt Da Hospital

Education

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During Ranjit Singh's rule, Qadri family, which was known for its scholarship, used to run a large prominent school in Batala, which used to attract students from as far as Iran and Afghanistan. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had donated a big jagir (estate) for the maintenance of this school. This jagir was later taken back by the British during their rule.[13]

Colleges

Schools

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Telephone directory of Gurdaspur district". gurdaspur.nic.in. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  2. ^ "About District". Archived from the original on 2 August 2005.
  3. ^ "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 7, page 133 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  4. ^ Tan, Tai Yong; Kudaisya, Gyanesh (2000), The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia, Routledge, pp. 91–, ISBN 978-1-134-44048-1
  5. ^ Sialkoti, Zulfiqar Ali (2014), "An Analytical Study of the Punjab Boundary Line Issue during the Last Two Decades of the British Raj until the Declaration of 3 June 1947" (PDF), Pakistan Journal of History and Culture, XXXV (2)
  6. ^ Ilahi, Shereen (2003). "The Radcliffe Boundary Commission and the Fate of Kashmir". India Review. 2 (1): 77–102. doi:10.1080/714002326. ISSN 1473-6489. S2CID 153890196.
  7. ^ "Batala City Population 2023 | Literacy and Hindu Muslim Population". www.census2011.co.in. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  9. ^ https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11389, India - C-01: Population by religious community, Punjab - 2011, Batala (M Cl + OG)
  10. ^ "Home". satsarhospital.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  12. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  13. ^ Syed, Robinashoeb. "Refocusing on the Education System under the Sikh Rule".
  14. ^ "Baring Union Christian College, Batala". www.buccbatala.org.
  15. ^ "Baring Union Christian College, Batala". buccbatala.org. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Batala Institute of Medical Science". batalainstituteofmedicalsciences.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  17. ^ "RR Bawa DAV College For Girls". rrbdavc.org.
  18. ^ "S.L.B DAV College – Imparting Education to the Rural & Urban Youth". slbdavbatala.in.
  19. ^ "St Francis School, Batala". www.stfrancisbatala.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Mumtaz Mufti | Free Urdu Novels". Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  21. ^ "Who's who in India, Containing Lives and Portraits of Ruling Chiefs, Notables, Titled Personages, and Other Eminent Indians". Newul Kishore Press. 31 August 1911 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ Aziz, Khursheed Kamal (2002). Pakistan: Studies in history and politics. Vanguard. ISBN 978-969-402-358-8.
  23. ^ Grewal, J. S. (1975). In the By-lanes of History: Some Persian Documents from a Punjab Town. Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
  24. ^ P, Kabad: Waman. "Indian Who's who". Yeshanand & Company – via Google Books.
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