Jalandhar

Jalandhar (Punjabi: ਜਲੰਧਰ) is a district in the Indian state of Punjab and also the name of an ancient capital city in this District. It was the capital of Trigarttas (people living in the "land between three rivers": Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) in the times of Mahabharata war. It has an urban population of almost a million, and another million live in the rural areas outside the city. The city is located almost 375 kms from Delhi, and about 90 kms from Amritsar. Jalandhar is named after Jaldhar, a demon king who lived in water as his name suggests (Jal=water, dhar=in). It was the capital of Punjab until 1953, when it was replaced by Chandigarh. Others say Jalandhar is derived from the fact that it is located between two rivers JAL (water) & ANDHAR (inside). During British occupation in 1846, after the first Anglo Sikh Wars it was called Jullundur.

History

In ancient time, the district or Kingdom of Jalandhar comprised the whole of the Upper Doabas from the Ravi to the Satluj. According to the Padama Purana, as quoted by General Conningham the country takes its name from the great Daitya King Danava Jalandhara the son of the Ganga by Ocean.

In the Ancient times it was the seat of the Nath Yogis, (Ascetics), and Saints, who meditated in this region, more than 5000 years go. And before the arrival of Sikhism, Shiva, was worshiped by the whole population, and Hindu Temples, and Jathera's, (Ancestor Worshiping), were built which were common, in all of the Punjab, about 1000 years go, from about 2nd century A.D. upto 1500, when Sikhism, started to spread.

The earliest historical mention of Jalandhar occurs in the region of Kanishka, the Kushan King of northern India in whose time a council of Buddhists theologians was held near Jalandhar about 100 AD to collect and arrange the sacred writings of Buddhism and to bring about reconciliation between its various sects. This makes Jalandhar along with Multan the oldest surviving city of the Punjab region.

From the later half of the tenth century up to 1019, the district was included in the Hindu Shahi Kingdom of the Punjab and Jalandhar was an important city in the region, of this Great Hindu Shahi Dynasty. The City was named after Jalandhar Nath, a Yogi, who was defeated, In an fight with other Yogi's, making him leave his native Himalayan Mountains, migrating to Punjab, Where he later founded, Jalandhar, after his name.

In the 7th Century, when the famous Chinese traveller and pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited India during the reign of Harsha Vardhana, the Kingdom of Jalandhar or Trigartta under Raja Utito (Whom Alexender Cunningham identifies with the Rajput Raja Attar Chandra). It was said to have extended 167 miles (269 km) from east to west and 133 miles (214 km) from north to south, thus including the hill states of Chamba, Mandi and Suket (Himachal Pardesh) and Satadru or Sirhind in the plains. Raja Utito was a tributary of Harsh Vardhana. The Rajput Rajas appear to have continued to rule over the country right upto the 12th century, interrupted some time or the other, but their capital was Jalandhar and Kangra formed an important stronghold. According to Chinese pilgrim Fahien, who traveled India in the seventh century AD, there were so many Vihars of Buddhism in India. In the Jalandhar District, there were as many as 50 Vihars of Buddhism. Hinduism, was the main religion, in the region, and the Jatts of this area, worshiped Shiva, in very large numbers. until their conversion to Sikhism, in very large numbers, during the time of fifth Sikh Guru, Sixth Sikh Guru, seventh Sikh Guru, and Ninth Sikh Guru. Some Jatts of Jalandhar, worshiped, Sakhi Sarwar, a Mystical Saint, but they to had to abandon this.

Baba Sang Ji, who belonged to village Sang Dhesian, when he became a Sikh, during his childhood, along with his parents, later he was made the Preacher of Manjke Region, present day Jalandhar District, now part of Doaba.

In 1931, Census, of Punjab

• 160,286 Jatt Sikhs (82%)
• 20,879 Muslim Jatts (11%)
• 12,574 Hindu Jatts (2%)

Hindu Jatts, who formed, 2%, In Jalandhar District, converted to Sikhism, between, 1940-1947, by Sikh Preachers, integrating in to the Jatt Sikh Population, who formed a Majority, about 82% In, Jalandhar District of Punjab. Their will be a tiny number of Jatt Sikhs, who's grandfather, was a Hindu Jatt, and he later converted to Sikhism.

External Links

• Blog and Info Pages on Jalandhar