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Batala | |
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City | |
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  Batala Location in Punjab, India Show map of Punjab Batala Batala (India) Show map of India Batala Batala (Asia) Show map of Asia | |
| Coordinates:31°49′07″N75°12′10″E / 31.8186°N 75.2028°E /31.8186; 75.2028 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Punjab |
| District | Gurdaspur |
| Region | Majha |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local Self Government |
| • Body | Batala Municipal Corporation |
| Area (2015) | |
• City | 42 km2 (16 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 8th |
| Elevation | 249 m (817 ft) |
| Population (2015) | |
• City | 211,594 |
| • Density | 5,000/km2 (13,000/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 617,780 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Punjabi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 143505 |
| Telephone code | 01871[1] |
| Vehicle registration | PB-18 |
| Distance from Amritsar | 39 kilometres (24 mi) NE (land) |
| Distance from Jalandhar | 78 kilometres (48 mi) NE (land) |
| Distance from Chandigarh | 203 kilometres (126 mi) NE (land) |
| Distance from Delhi | 470 kilometres (290 mi) NE (land) |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| Punjab Legislative Assembly constituency | Batala Assembly Constituency |
Batala is the eighth largest city in the state ofPunjab, India in terms of population afterLudhiana,Amritsar,Jalandhar,Patiala,Bathinda,Mohali andHoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is amunicipal corporation (since 3 March 2019) inGurdaspur district in theMajha region of the state of Punjab. It is located from holy city Amritsar 39 km and about 32km fromGurdaspur, the headquarters of the district. It is also aPolice 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 forSikh devotees.Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion was married here to Mata Sulakhni, the daughter of Mul Chand Chauna in 1485.[2] Manytemples andgurdwaras 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 6thguru of Sikhs,Guru Hargobind.
Batala was once known as the "Iron Bird of Asia" as it produced the highest amount ofcast iron, agricultural and mechanical machinery. Batala is still one of the leading cities inNorthern India in manufacturing of cast iron and mechanical machinery. It is also an agricultural marketplace and industrial center. Cotton ginning, weaving, sugar refining, and rice milling are some of other industries.
The city was founded in 1465 by Abhay Pratap Bal ofKapurthala under the suzerainty ofSultanBahlul Lodi. Later, during theMughal rule,Akbar gave it injagir to his foster brother, Shamsher Khan. Batala was a very famous city of the Punjab region, just likeLahore,Jalandhar and other major cities in the 16th century, and it is 109 years older thanAmritsar. 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 aregurdwaras whereGuru Nanak stayed during his lifetime. There are also numerous other gurdwaras of significant importance toSikhs and therefore attract thousands of Sikhs from around the globe.
InBritish India, Batala was the headquarters of atehsil in the Gurdaspur district of thePunjab Province. The allocation of the Gurdaspur district during thepartition of India was highly contested because it was in central Punjab and had roughly equal proportion of Muslim and non-Muslim populations. ViceroyLord Wavell allocated three eastern tehsils of the district (Gurdaspur, Batala andPathankot) 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 theIndian Independence Act 1947 and the issue was referred to thePunjab 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%.
The city is part of theBatala Assembly Constituency.
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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 theirgender ratio, as of 2011 census.
| 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 |
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.
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Located in Gurdaspur district, 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Amritsar on the KashmirGrand 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 withSikh history and theMughal period. The city consists of several churches constructed during theBritish Raj.
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.
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.
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 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 smadh of Veer Haqiqat Rai and Sati Lakshmi Devi.
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 ofPunjab 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.
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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.
Batala railway station (station code BAT) is on theAmritsar–Pathankot line of the Firozpur division of theNorthern Railway zone of theIndian 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.
Guru Ram Das International Airport serving the city ofAmritsar is the nearest international airport and is located about 40 km from the town.Pathankot Airport inPathankot, situated 70 kilometres (43 mi) away from Batala is the nearest military airport.
Batala has a number of hospitals, schools and colleges affiliated to different boards.
DuringRanjit 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. MaharajaRanjit Singh had donated a bigjagir (estate) for the maintenance of this school. This jagir was later taken back by the British during their rule.[13]
Colleges
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Schools
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