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About Ludhiana

Ludhiana is said to have come into existence during the period of Sikandar Lodhi, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. It is said that Sikandar sent an army led by two Lodhi chiefs, named Nihang Khan and Ysaf Khan, on a complaint made by the people living in areas surrounding the present Ludhiana, about the frequent raids of Baluchis. The two achieved their objectives, and Nihang Khan remained in the village known as Mir Hota. He later called the place Ludhiana, and was succeeded by his son and grandson. There was also a fort built by his grandson, Jalal Khan, but it is hard to find any trace of it today.

When the Mughals came into power, the Lodhis of Ludhiana were relegated to a position lower than before. Ludhiana was soon merged with Sirhind, a division of the Delhi province established by the Mughal rulers. The decline of the Mughal empire led many local powers to emerge and vie for the area surrounding Ludhiana, during much of the eighteenth century. The Rais of Rajkot, Raja Ala Singh of Patiala, Rai Kalha II and Sikhs were the main actors of power struggle in the region.

The prevailing situation in that period of time attracted foreign invaders, and we see many expeditions led by Nadir Shah and his successor Ahmad Shah Durrani. After his invasion in 1760, Ahmad Shah handed over the territory of Ludhiana to the Rais. They took advantage of the weakening Mughal power and extended their rule further to include the entire of Sirhind under their authority. By the close of the eighteenth century, the Rais had to face the challenges posed by the rising power of the Sikhs, chiefly under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The success of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in his expeditions against the Rais in Ludhiana made the imperialist ruler of Delhi to come in terms with him, and later a treaty was signed in 1809. The British established a cantonment and its troops were stationed permanently in the city, and in lieu of that, it had to pay compensation to the Raja. Ludhiana came under direct control of the British in 1835 as result of a British rule, known as the doctrine of lapse.

Ludhiana saw its emergence as a prime trading center of the country after independence. Its economy is driven mainly by industries, which includes knitwear factories, hosiery yarn mills, woolen yarn mills, bicycles, sewing machine, generators and companies producing common goods. The city has an airport and its own stock exchange known as Ludhiana Stock Exchange. It is a place most frequently visited by petty traders from all across the country, which led to growth of all kinds of hotels in the city. In recent years, the growth in the demand of residential properties has given an unprecedented fillip to the the real estate industry here.