LUDHIANA, Pujab

Main Attraction: TIGER SAFARI, AMALTAS

Zoo in Ludhiana known as Tiger Safari is situated on GT Road (Ludhiana- Jalandhar Highway); it is 6 kms from the main city. Tiger Safari here is stretched out on 25 acres. It was established in 1993 and people can see black bucks, sambhars, rabbits and lots of peacocks in the safari. Majestic tigers roaming about in the dense jungle offer a thrilling experience.

Of course, the Tiger Safari is one place where the children love going. It is quite exciting for children to see the tigers bathing and roaming freely from the windows of the van. We all have seen the tigers in a zoo. But it was exciting to see the tigers sleeping under the bushes to protect themselves from the fierce sun. It is really enjoyable & thrilling to see the tigers bathing in the pool.

Brief History

It is presumed that this tract formed a portion of the Kingdom of Magadh at the time of Alexander’s invasion and ruled by the Nanda kings. Chander Gupta Maurya overthrew the Nanda dynasty and extended his Empire to Afghanistan. Later, during the reign of the Kushan kings, the territory comprising the Ludhiana district was included in their empire, which at one stage included Uzbekistan and Tazakistan now in southern Russia. With the fall of the Guptas, Ludhiana formed a part of the Empire of Harsha, who built his capital at Thanesar. With the break-up of the Harsha’s Empire, the tract of Ludhiana was ruled by the Tomar Rajput Kings of Delhi, the Chauhans, and the Pal Dynasty.

Towards the end of the 10th century, the Turks of Central Asia, who were new converts to Islam. They occupied the whole of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkistan. The Hindus were defeated at Ohind and later at Peshawar. All attempts of Anand Pal and his son failed to check the Turks from ingression into India. Their Generals occupied the Punjab, right up to Lahore. It was at this time that Basil Dev, grandfather of Prithvi Raj Chauhan, established a strong Rajput kingdom in the area of Ajmer and Delhi and Ludhiana tract formed a part of his kingdom. Ghazni dynasty was over thrown by another tribe headed by Mohd. Gauri, a Turko Afghan Chief, who dreamt of establishing Muslim Empire in northern India. Jai Chand, the Rajput king of Kannauj sent him an invitation to invade India and promised all help against his cousin and son-in-law, Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Mohammed Gauri defeated Prithvi Raj at Taroari in 1913 and established his rule over Delhi.

The later Muslim rule is so well known that it needs not to be recounted here. The name of Ludhiana find mention conspicuously when in 1421, a powerful Khokhar Chief, Jasrat, rose in revolt, occupied Ludhiana and made a strong bid for the Empire of Delhi. For some time, Ludhiana remained in possession of Jasrat Khokhar. Ludhiana was also the base of Jasrat Khokhar’s attack on Sirhind. However, he had to abandon the town, when the imperial forces under Sultan Mubarak Shah Sayyad advanced towards Ludhiana. Malik Tughan and Jasrat had to retreat across the Satluj.

It was in the reign of Sikander Lodhi that the town of Ludhiana was founded. During his reign, the people in the tract of Ludhiana were oppressed by the plundering Biluchis. Sikander Lodhi sent two of his Generals, Yusaf Khan and Nihang Khan with an army to protect the people against the onslaught of the Biluchis. Yusaf crossed the Satluj to save the people of the Jalandhar Doab against the plundering by the Khokhars. He settled at Sultanpur. The other General, Nihang Khan, continued to reside at Mir Hota as the representative of the Sultan. He called the place, Lodhiana or the town of Lodhis. His grandson, Jalal Khan, built a fort at Ludhiana on the bank of the Satluj. At that time, the Satluj flowed just by the town of Ludhiana, at the place where the Buddha nala now exists. Sometimes later, Ludhiana was made a part of the province of Delhi and the Sirhind Division, which was directly under the control of the Lodhi kings.

During the reign of Babar, Ludhiana and the country around it was a mahal (district) of the sirkar (division) of Sirhind in the suba (province) of Delhi. When Humayun, son of Babar was turned out of India, Ludhiana fell into the hands of Sher Shah Suri. After the death of Sher Shah, Sikander Shah Suri, who was the Governor of Punjab held Ludhiana. In 1555 Humayun defeated Sikander Shah Suri at Machhiwara, 25 miles from Ludhiana, leading to his reinstatement as the Emperor. During the reign of Akbar (1556-1605), People from other areas were brought and settled in the eastern parts of Ludhiana district. In the Ain-i-Akbari, Ludhiana has been mentioned as one of the mahals in the Sirhind Sirkar of the Suba of Delhi and this position continued during the reign of Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh, a long drawn out struggle between the Sikhs of the cis-Satluj States and the Muslim Governors of Sirhind commenced. The district of Ludhiana with the adjoining country to the south, specially the forests near Machhiwara, were the places of the Guru’s encounters with the enemy. Being defeated by Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sirhind in 1705, Guru Gobind Singh went to Deccan. From there he inspired Banda Bahadur, a Dogra from Jammu and Kashmir State, to continue the fight. Banda gathered some forces in Punjab and defeated and killed Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sirhind. He ran-sacked the town of Sirhind and over-ran the country between the Satluj and yamuna. Farukhseer was the Emperor of Delhi at that time and he sent his army to curb the activities of Banda. In 1715, Banda was defeated at Gurdas Nangal and later executed. The Sikhs remained depressed and persecuted for some time, but rose again against the tottering Mughal Empire. The Chiefs of the Phoolkian tribe, after some struggle, established Kingdoms for themselves on the ruins of the Mughal Empire. Ala Singh, the founder of the Patiala house, was a contemporary of Rai Kahla of Raikot. Ala Singh ruled at Patiala while the tract of Ludhiana was under Rai Kahla, who had held the lease of a considerable tract of land from the Mughal Emperors. Rai Kahla asserted his independence. A part of Ludhiana was also under Raja Ala Singh of Patiala and a part under the Muslim Governor of Sirhind. In 1741, the Governor of Sirhind and Raja Ala Singh combined to defeat Rai Kahla and threw him out of his territory, though for a short period.

Nadar Shah Durrani invaded India in 1739. He crossed the Satluj at Ludhiana and marched through the District to Delhi along almost the same course as the present Grand Trunk Road. Ludhiana district saw another big fight in 1747 when Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the first time. When he reached the Satluj, he found his passage blocked by the Mughal army. Ahmad Shah Abdali made a long detour up the right bank of the river Satluj and crossed it near Machhiwara or Behlolpur while the Mughal army was waiting for him near Ludhiana. A battle was fought between the contending armies near the villages of Manupur and Barwali, a few miles to the northeast of Khanna. Ahmed Shah Abdali was defeated.

Ahmed Shah Abdali, however, invaded Punjab many a time after that but to his subsequent invasions no resistance was offered by the imperial troops in Sirhind, though his armies were constantly harassed by the Phoolkian Chiefs and the Rais. The Phoolkian Chiefs held sway over Patiala, Jind, Nabha and Faridkot, etc., while the Rais ruled over Raikot and some other parts of Ludhiana district. The Rais were permitted by Ahmed Shah Abdali to take possession of the town and the fort of Ludhiana in about 1760. In 1761, Ahmed Shah Abdali invaded India for the fourth time to punish the Marhattas who had ousted his son, Timur and the Afghan Garrison from Lahore. Marhattas had come under the leadership of their Chief, Raghoba up to Lahore and after defeating the Afghans, had become supreme force in Punjab also.

They appointed Adine Beg as their Viceroy at Lahore. When Ahmed Shah Abdali came in 1761, Adina Beg fled to the hills. Ahmed Shah Abdali fought a decisive battle with the Marhattas at Panipat and deated them. Zain Khan was appointed the Governor of Sirhind. In 1762 there was a formidable combination of Phoolkian Cheifs and other Sikh leaders assisted by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and other Sikh leaders from the Majha tract against Zain Khan. Ahmed Shah Abdali, who was at Lahore heard of this and marching the Satluj in two days, crossed it at Ludhiana, and fell upon the allies. The Sikh army was cut into pieces and they were badly defeated near Barnala. This great disaster is known as ghalu ghara in the Sikh history. In 1763, however, the Sikhs again got together and rose against the Governor of Sirhind. The cis-Satluj Sikhs were aided this time fully by the Sikhs across the Satluj. Zain Khan was defeated and Sirhind fell into the hands of the Sikhs.

With the fall of Sirhind, finished the last vestige of the Mughal control over the division of Sirhind. The next year (1764), Ahmed Shah Abdali passed through the country and recognized Raja Ala Singh of Patiala as the Governor of Sirhind. In 1774, Ahmed Shah Abdali came to India for the last time, but did not proceed beyond Ludhiana. Amar Singh, grandson of Raja Ala Singh was confirmed as the Governor of Sirhind and given the title of Maharaja. The whole of this rich tract thus came to the phoolkian chiefs and their Majha allies; the Mughals had no control whatsoever over them. A part of the district was also in possession of the Rais of Raikot. Their northern boundary was the river Satluj and they also held sway over the town of Ludhiana. The low lands opposite their territory were held by Kakkar Sardars and Diwan Mohkam Chand. The whole of the present uplands of Jagraon and Ludhiana Tahsil, with considerable part of the Moga and Zira Tahsils of the Firozpur district, belonged to the Rais. The land now comprising Samrala tahsil was divided amongst the Sikh leaders. A famous leader of the Sikhs, Tara Singh Ghaiba established himself at Khanna, and Jassa Singh Ahluwiala of Kapurthala got about 30 to 40 villages near Isru.

Twelve years after the fall of Sirhind, in about 1775, the Satluj river changed its course and the whole of the bet tract, which is about 50 miles in length and 5 to 6 miles in width, came to this side of the river. The condition of the Ludhiana tract, during that period, was very good, people were prosperous and the rule of the Rias was just and mild. It is said that they got only 1/4th of the produce land as land revenue from the people without any other tax. The peace of the area was however, disturbed by a Sikh Sardar, Bedi Sahib Singh of Una. In 1794, he crossed the Satluj with an army and proclaimed war against the Nawab of Malerkotla. He was, however, defeated by the Maharaja of Patiala, who was a friend of the Nawab. But he came again in 1798 and attacked the Rias of Raikot. The Rias sought the help of the Maharaja of Patiala and an English general, George Thomas, from Hansi and they all defeated the Bedi Chief.

In 1803, Delhi was captured by the East-India Company and this brought the British Government in contact with the Sikh chiefs of the cis-Satluj states. At that time Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Lahore, was thinking of extending his dominion beyond the Satluj. A dispute was then brewing up among the Sikh rules of Patiala, Nabha and Jind and this afforded an opportunity to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In 1806, he crossed the Satluj. Ludhiana town was then in the hands of the Rais and was controlled by Bhag Bhari, the wife of the last Rai ruler, and by Nur-ul-Nisa, his mother. They offered no resistance to Ranjit Singh, who took possession of the town and fort of Ludhiana. He passed on this area to his nephew, Raja Bhag Singh of Jind. Ranjit Singh also took Naraingarh in Ambala district in 1807. In these expeditions, Ranjit Singh took possession of the entire territory of the Rais, except two or three villages which were given to them for maintenance. A part of the territory was given to the Raja of Jind and another part consisting of Jagraon Tahsil and Dakha Pargna was given to Sardar Fateh Singh Ahluwalia of Kapurthala. Bhai Lal Singh of Kaithal got 16 villages about Gujjarwal and the Nabha Chief got some area in Pakhowal. Diwan Mohkam Chand became the Governor of the portion of the country reserved by Ranjit Singh for himself.

By 1809, the British decided that the progress of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, on this side of the river Satluj, should be stemmed and that the Sikh Chiefs of the cis-Satluj States be taken under their protection. In 1809, a treaty was concluded between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Mr. Matcalfe to the effect that Maharaja Ranjit Singh would not extend his territory beyond the river Satluj and that all the rulers of the cis- Satluj States would be considered to be under the protection of the British Government. The fort of the Ludhiana was occupied by the British army and Ludhiana town became a military outpost. A British resident was appointed at Ludhiana for the protection of the cis-Satluj chiefs. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had to set up his own fort at Phillaur as a frontier fort of his territory.

When Raja Sangat Singh of Jind died in1835, the British Government acquired about 80 Villages around Ludhiana and Bassian and appointed an Assistant Political Agent to administer this territory with his headquarters at Ludhiana. Confusion and disorder followed when Ranjit Singh died in 1839. In 1845, the Khalsa army crossed the Satluj and thus started the First Sikh War. Firozpur was the main point of their attack. The Sikh General Ranjodh Singh Majithia appeared with a force of 10,000

infantry at Phillaur and crossed the Satluj. Nihal Singh Ahluwalia of Kapurthala played a double game. His troops fought the British near Firozpur. A considerable body of these troops had joined Ranjodh Singh near Ludhiana, while Raja Nihal Singh professed friendship to the British Government. He said that he had no control over his army. Ranjodh Singh was able to subdue the garrison at Ludhiana. Sir Henry Smith was then sent from Firozpur with 4,000 men to go to the help of the Ludhiana garrison but near Baddowal, this force was attacked by the Sikhs. The British troops were defeated. Ranjodh Singh was joined by some regular troops of the army from Lahore and his strength increased to some 50,000 men. Another battle was fought at Aliwal and there the Sikhs were defeated by the British army led by Sir Henry Smith. 

The Sikh troops were either driven across the river or dispersed over the uplands or got drowned in the river. After a month, the final victory was won by the British over the Khalsa army at Subraon that ended the First Sikh War. The British Government annexed the territory of Lahore Government on this side of the Satluj. The possession of the Ahluwalia Chiefs on this side of the river was also forfeited by the British and the Nabha Raja lost about a quarter of his territory. The territory of the other minor Chiefs who had opposed the British Government was also confiscated. From these acquisitions was formed the district of Ludhiana in 1847. In the eventful 1857, the Ludhiana town was garrisoned by a small detachment of infantry who turned hostile, and were joined by the local population and mutineers from Jalandhar. But the ammunition in the fort proved useless and they left for Delhi. The local officers took strong action against the rebels. Many of them were hanged and others were heavily fined. All houses within 300 yards of the fort were leveled. The area was kept safe with the help of the levies of Nabha, Malerkotla and fresh recruits. The Kooka rising also deserves mention. They were suspected of political movtives, and the British got an opportunity to suppress them, when in 1872 some 150 Kookas attacked Malerkotla. These Kookas were, however, over-powered with the help of the forces of the native rulers. Their leader, Satguru Ram Singh was deported to Rangoon where he remained a State prisoner till his death in 1885.

Thereafter, the district began to develop socially and economically. Some industries were set up at Ludhiana and the town became a centre of industry and commerce. The hosiery and textile industries were set up in the early years of the twentieth century. Khanna and Jagraon developed mainly as commercial centre. More and more people shifted their residence from the rural areas to the urban areas. At the time of partition in 1947, the Muslim inhabitants of the district crossed over to Pakistan and displaced persons from western Punjab started settling here in large numbers.