Batala

Batala is a city and municipal council in the Gurdaspur district of the Indian state of Punjab. It is the largest city in the district by population and one of the oldest urban settlements in the Majha region of Punjab. Batala lies in the plains between the Beas and Ravi rivers, and serves as an important industrial, educational and commercial centre of north-eastern Punjab.

Key facts

Geography

Batala is situated on the plains of the Bari Doab, the tract lying between the Beas and Ravi rivers. The city is connected by road and rail to Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Qadian. The Upper Bari Doab Canal system passes through the surrounding agricultural belt, which is dominated by wheat, paddy and sugarcane cultivation.

History

Batala was founded in the late fifteenth century. According to local tradition, the town was established in 1465 by Rai Ram Deo, a Bhatti Rajput, during the reign of Bahlul Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate. The town subsequently passed under Mughal authority and grew as a regional market and administrative centre.

Batala holds a place of importance in Sikh history. The marriage of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, to Mata Sulakhni took place in Batala, and the event is commemorated at the Gurdwara Kandh Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in the city. Sikh pilgrims gather in Batala annually to mark the anniversary of this event (Babe di Lohri).

During the eighteenth century, the area came under the control of the Sikh misls and later formed part of the Sikh Empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After the British annexation of Punjab in 1849 following the Second Anglo-Sikh War, Batala became a tehsil town in Gurdaspur district under the Lahore Division.

At Partition in 1947, Batala was one of the towns whose communal composition changed sharply, with most of its Muslim population migrating to Pakistan and incoming Sikh and Hindu refugees from West Punjab settling in the city.

Economy

Batala has a long-established industrial base, particularly in foundries and the manufacture of agricultural implements, machine tools, sugar mill machinery and castings. It is among the older centres of the iron foundry industry in Punjab, and units in the city supply components for agriculture, sugar, paper and rice-shelling industries across northern India. Trade in agricultural produce, especially grain, is also significant.

Education

Batala is home to several long-standing educational institutions, including Baring Union Christian College, one of the older colleges in Punjab, established by Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century and later affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. The city also has government and private schools, technical institutes and a campus presence of the local universities.

Religion and culture

The city contains a number of historical religious sites:

• Gurdwara Kandh Sahib – associated with the marriage of Guru Nanak.
• Gurdwara Dera Sahib – marking the place where Guru Nanak's marriage party stayed.
• Shamshir Khan's Tomb – a Mughal-era monument.
• Anarkali Tomb (Hazira) – a sixteenth-century Mughal structure attributed to Shamsher Khan, foster brother of Akbar.
• Baoli Sahib – an old stepwell connected to Sikh tradition.

Batala is also known for its Christian community and historic churches associated with the work of Presbyterian and other missions in nineteenth-century Punjab.

Transport

Batala railway station lies on the Amritsar–Pathankot line of the Northern Railway, providing connectivity to Amritsar, Pathankot, Jammu and Delhi. The city is served by state highways linking it to Amritsar (about 40 km to the south-west), Gurdaspur (about 30 km to the north) and Qadian.

Administration

Batala is the headquarters of Batala tehsil within Gurdaspur district. Civic administration is handled by the Municipal Council, Batala. The city is part