Ludhiana

About the city

The Punjabi spirit of enterprise and business savvy is best exemplified by the city of Ludhiana which is renowned the world over for its hosiery goods. It is no exaggeration to say that in Ludhiana every household is a mini hosiery unit and everybody seems to be involved in some way or the other in this lucrative business. From Moscow to Montreal, shopping malls retail both cotton and woollen products from Ludhiana. However, Ludhiana's claim to fame is not its commercial enterprises alone. It is an important pilgrimage center as there are many historic Gurdwaras.

Ludhiana, the site of a great battle in the First Sikh War (1845) is now Punjab's most populated metropolitan city. This city situated on the banks of the Sutlej River, was founded in 1480 by Lodhi princess from Delhi. It is a major textile and light engineering centre. Its hosiery goods are in great demand in all the markets of the east and the west. It exports woolen garments, machine tools, dyes, cycle parts, mopeds, sewing machines and motor parts to all over the world. The famous Punjab Agricultural University is situated on the outskirts of Ludhiana. It has a large grain market and is famous for rural Olympics.

History

Ludhiana's history goes a back a long way to 1481 when it was just a small village called Meer Hota. Initially ruled by yodhas from the 1st to the 4th century, it subsequently came under King Samudragupta and the Rajputs .The original Ludhianavis actually settled here much later in the 9th century. and then came the Punjabi races of Sidhus, Gills, Sandhus and Grewals from the jungle of Jagraon.

In the early 19th century, it has been under the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1806) for a short period. During that time, it became an important British cantonment before the British took it over in 1809. They confined the Maharaja's control to the right bank of the River Sutlej and the British troops were permanently stationed in Ludhiana.

The City

Primarily an industrial town, Ludhiana is the center of most commercial activity in Punjab. The prosperity of the place can be attributed to spirit of enterprise and business sense displayed by the people here. It is renowned world over for its hosiery goods which form a major part of exports to Canada and Russia. Other major items of exports are machine tools, motor parts, dyes, mopeds, cycle parts and sewing machines. Its satellite town Khanna is the biggest grain market in Asia.

However, the city of Ludhiana is not just about its commercial success alone. It also happens to be an important pilgrimage center with a number of Gurudwaras located within and around the place. Another important historical monument is the Fort of Lodhi which is about 500 years old and was built by the Muslim ruler Sikander Lodhi along the banks of River Sutlej.

On the education front, Ludhiana has some of the most prestigious institutions. There are two Medical Colleges, an Engineering College and the famous Punjab Agricultural University modelled on the "Land Grant of America". The university has played a key role in ushering the 'Green revolution' in Punjab.