Jalandhar

Jalandhar is one of the oldest cities of the Punjab region, with roots going back to ancient times. The area formed part of the Trigarta kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata and other early texts, located between the rivers Beas and Sutlej. Some traditions link the city’s name to the demon Jalandhara from Puranic mythology, while others derive it from “jal” (water) and “andhar” (inside/below), referring to the low-lying, river-fed plains of the doab.

During the Mauryan, Kushan and Gupta periods, this belt was woven into larger north Indian empires and important trade routes. In the early medieval era it came under various Rajput and local rulers, but from the 11th century onward it repeatedly saw incursions by Ghaznavid and later Delhi Sultanate armies advancing into the Punjab. Under the Mughals, Jalandhar became an administrative centre for the fertile doab and a base on the route between Delhi and Lahore.

In the 18th century, as Mughal authority weakened, Jalandhar and its surroundings came under the influence of different Sikh misls, before being consolidated into the expanding Sikh kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After the Anglo-Sikh wars, the city passed to the British, who developed it as a district headquarters and later a major cantonment town. Following Partition in 1947, Jalandhar became part of Indian Punjab and evolved into an important centre for sports goods manufacturing, media, education and NRIs, while retaining its identity as a historic heart of the Doaba region.