Ludhiana district

Ludhiana district Lodhipur
District of Punjab
Location in Punjab
Coordinates: 30°53′N75°51′E / 30.883°N 75.850°E / 30.883; 75.850
Country	India
State	Punjab
Headquarters	Ludhiana
Area
• Total	3,767 km2 (1,454 sq mi)
• Rank	1 (out of 23)
Population  (2011) [1]
• Total	3,498,739
• Rank	1 (out of 23)
• Density	975/km2 (2,530/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Punjabi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Sex ratio	1000/873 ♂/♀
Literacy	73.5%
Lok Sabha constituency	1
Vidhan Sabha constituency	14
HDI (2006)	0.761 [2] (High)
Website	www.ludhiana.nic.in
^  ‡: Population increase (2001–2011): 15%

Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters.

The main industries are bicycle parts and hosiery. Ludhiana is a hub of ladies footwear manufacturing, with around 10,000 small-scale units. The district is made up of seven tehsils, seven sub-tehsils and twelve development blocks. ^[3]

Ludhiana district has the highest HDI in Punjab at 0.761 (2004 UNDP). ^[4]

History

Ludhiana gets its name from the Lodhi Dynasty, which is believed to have founded the city in 1480. During the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, the area formed part of the Sarkar of Sirhind. Chakar, Talwandi Rai in 1478 AD, Raikot in 1648 AD and Jagraon in 1688 AD were founded by the Rai family of Raikot. ^[5] It is said that one of the Rai rulers of Raikot, named Rai Kalha (chaudhary of Raikot and Jagraon), gave sanctuary to Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 in the aftermath of the Battle of Chamkaur and Uch-da-Peer (meaning "saint of Uch") episode of the tenth Guru's life, when the Mughal armies were in hot pursuit of the religious leader. ^[6] In thanks for this, the Guru gifted a sword with an inscribed blade to the Rai dynasty of Raikot, known as the Raikot sword. ^[6]

In the latter period of Mughal rule the western part of the district was leased to the Rais of Raikot. By the early eighteenth century, they had become semi-independent of the Mughals. The villages in Ludhiana district remained independent and under the rule of local powerful village Sikh chieftains, from 1707 to 1835. In 1747 Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded and battled the imperial army near Khanna. Although the Mughals were able to stop Ahmad Shah, his subsequent invasions weakened the Mughals, which allowed the Rais to take control of Ludhiana town in 1760. ^[7]

During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Ludhiana became an important British cantonment. Initially, in 1805, Ranjit Singh occupied Ludhiana. However, in 1809, the British decided to curb his advance eastward and sent troops to confront him. Ranjit Singh was forced to sign the treaty of 'perpetual friendship' with the British, which confined his activities to the right bank of the Sutlej. British troops were permanently stationed in Ludhiana and the Cis-Sutlej states came under British protection.

According to the 1901 census, Hindus numbered 269,076, or 40% of the total; Muslims, 235,937, or 35%; and Sikhs, 164,919, or 24%. ^[8] The majority of the Muslim population within the district migrated to Pakistan as a result of the communal violence following the Partition of India. ^[9]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	685,038	—
1911	527,575	−2.58%
1921	579,161	+0.94%
1931	687,387	+1.73%
1941	839,622	+2.02%
1951	858,487	+0.22%
1961	1,078,269	+2.31%
1971	1,384,957	+2.53%
1981	1,778,689	+2.53%
1991	2,428,382	+3.16%
2001	3,032,831	+2.25%
2011	3,498,739	+1.44%
source: [10]

Geography

Ludhiana is a centrally located city of Punjab, which is on the Grand Trunk Road from Delhi to Amritsar at latitude 30.55 North and longitude 75.54 East in Northern India.

Ludhiana is the most centrally located district in the Malwa region of the state of Punjab. For administrative purposes, it has been placed in the Patiala Division. It lies between north latitude 30°-34' and 31°-01' and east longitude 75°-18' and 76°-20'.

It is bounded on the north by the Satluj River, which separates it from Jalandhar district. The river forms its northern boundary with Hoshiarpur district. On other sides it shares common boundaries with Rupnagar district in the east, Moga district in the west, and Barnala, Sangrur and Patiala districts in the south and southeast, respectively. ^[3]

Topography

The topography of the district is a typical representative of an alluvial plain. It owes its origin to the aggravation work of the Satluj River. The alluvium deposited by the river has been worked over by the wind, which gave rise to a number of small dunes and sand mounds. Most of these dunes have been levelled by farmers.

The district can be divided into the flood plain of the Satluj and the upland plain.

Climate

Ludhiana features a semi-arid climate under the Köppen climate classification, with three defined seasons; summer, monsoon, and winter. This climate is characterised by dryness except for a brief spell of monsoon season, a very hot summer, and a bracing winter. The cold season is from mid-November to the early part of March. The succeeding period until the end of June is the hot season. July, August and half of September constitute the southwest monsoon. The period of mid-September to about the middle of November may be termed as a post-monsoon or transitional period.

June is generally the hottest month. Hot and scorching dust-laden winds blow during the summer season. December and January are the coldest months. Ludhiana on average sees roughly 809.3 millimetres (31.86 in) of precipitation annually. The official weather station for the city is in the compound of the Civil Surgeon's Office to the west of Ludhiana. Weather records here data back to 1 August 1868.

v t e Climate data for Ludhiana Airport (1991–2020, extremes 1868–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	29.2 (84.6)	33.3 (91.9)	41.1 (106.0)	46.1 (115.0)	48.3 (118.9)	47.9 (118.2)	47.8 (118.0)	44.4 (111.9)	41.7 (107.1)	40.0 (104.0)	35.8 (96.4)	29.4 (84.9)	48.3 (118.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	17.9 (64.2)	21.8 (71.2)	27.3 (81.1)	34.8 (94.6)	39.0 (102.2)	38.0 (100.4)	34.1 (93.4)	33.4 (92.1)	33.1 (91.6)	31.9 (89.4)	27.1 (80.8)	20.9 (69.6)	29.9 (85.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	6.1 (43.0)	8.7 (47.7)	13.0 (55.4)	18.2 (64.8)	23.5 (74.3)	26.1 (79.0)	26.6 (79.9)	25.9 (78.6)	23.5 (74.3)	17.3 (63.1)	11.2 (52.2)	6.8 (44.2)	17.2 (63.0)
Record low °C (°F)	−2.2 (28.0)	−1.1 (30.0)	1.4 (34.5)	7.1 (44.8)	11.7 (53.1)	18.0 (64.4)	17.4 (63.3)	18.0 (64.4)	15.2 (59.4)	8.4 (47.1)	0.3 (32.5)	−1.1 (30.0)	−2.2 (28.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	28.0 (1.10)	36.2 (1.43)	27.0 (1.06)	17.5 (0.69)	21.2 (0.83)	87.4 (3.44)	217.1 (8.55)	187.2 (7.37)	138.4 (5.45)	18.8 (0.74)	3.9 (0.15)	8.6 (0.34)	791.1 (31.15)
Average rainy days	2.1	2.9	2.1	1.7	1.7	4.9	8.6	8.7	5.5	1.0	0.4	0.9	40.6
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST)	66	58	48	27	26	42	67	73	65	50	50	62	53
Average dew point °C (°F)	8 (46)	12 (54)	15 (59)	16 (61)	19 (66)	23 (73)	26 (79)	26 (79)	24 (75)	19 (66)	13 (55)	10 (50)	18 (64)
Average ultraviolet index	4	5	7	8	9	9	8	7	7	6	5	4	7
Source 1: India Meteorological Department [11] [12] Time and Date (dewpoints, 2005-2015) [13]
Source 2: Weather Atlas [14]

Rainfall

The rainfall in the district increases from the southwest toward the northeast. About 70% of the rainfall is received during the period of July through September. The rainfall between December and March accounts for 16% of the rainfall; the remaining 14% rainfall is received in the other months.

Pollution

Ludhiana has one of the worst air pollution problems in India, with particulate matter being over six times the World Health Organization recommended standard, making it the 13th most polluted city in the world in the year 2014. ^{[15] [16]} Industrial water pollution is also of significant concern in portions of Ludhiana, notably along the Budha Dariya. ^[17]

Rivers and drains

The Sutlej and its tributary, the Buddha Nala, constitute the chief hydrographic features of the district. A brief description of these is as follows.

Sutlej River

originates from Lake Manasarovar in Tibet. After flowing through Himachal Pradesh, it debouches from the Shivaliks. Just about Rupnagar, 32 km east of the boundary of Samrala Tehsil, it flows due west along the top of the district for 96 km and turns, as it leaves Jagraon Tehsil, slightly north toward its junction with the Beas at Harike. It maintains an east-west direction. It can be devastating during floods. The Sutlej has experienced a westward drift during recent times. Old towns and villages, such as Bahlulpur, Machhiwara, and Kum Kalan, were built on its banks. The river has since been dammed at Bhakhra, which has considerably checked its flooding menace in the district.

Buddha Nala

It runs parallel to the Satluj on its south for a fairly large section of its course in the district and ultimately joins the Satluj at Gorsian Kadar Baksh in the northwestern corner of the district. It floods during the rainy season, but in the dry season, it can be crossed on foot at certain points. Ludhiana and Machhiwara are to the south of the Buddha Nala. The water of the stream is polluted after it enters Ludhiana City.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Ludhiana district has a population of 3,498,739 ^[1] roughly equal to the nation of Panama ^[18] or the US state of Connecticut. ^[19] Ludhiana district has a total of 2,560,225 literates which constitutes 73.5% of the population, of which male literary is 76.5% and female literacy is 69.4%. The effective literacy of 7+ population of Ludhiana district is 82.20%, of which male is 86% and female literacy is 77.9%. The sex ratio of 873 females for every 1,000 males. ^[1] The total Scheduled Caste population is 923,358 (26.39%). There were 716826 households in the district in 2011. ^[1]

The number of workers in the district is 1285,000, which means a work participation rate of 36.7%. Out of the total workforce of the district, 18.7% are engaged in the agriculture sector, 5.6% are working in the household industry, and the rest are employed in other sectors/industries. ^[20]

Gender

The table below shows the sex ratio of Ludhiana district through decades.

Sex ratio of Ludhiana district ^[21]

Census year	Ratio
2011	873
2001	824
1991	844
1981	860
1971	848
1961	856
1951	852
1941	832
1931	791
1921	784
1911	765
1901	829

The table below shows the child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in the rural and urban areas of Ludhiana district.

Child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in Ludhiana district ^[22]

Year	Urban	Rural
2011	860	859
2001	819	815

Religion

Religion in Ludhiana district (2011) [23] Religion Percent Sikhism   53.26% Hinduism   42.94% Islam   2.22% Jainism   0.56% Christianity   0.47% Other or not stated   0.55%

Religious groups in Ludhiana District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1901 [24]		1911 [25] [26]		1921 [27]		1931 [28]		1941 [29]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Hinduism [lower-alpha 1]	269,076	39.98%	131,370	25.4%	135,512	23.87%	120,161	17.87%	171,715	20.98%
Islam	235,937	35.05%	176,043	34.04%	192,961	33.99%	235,598	35.03%	302,482	36.95%
Sikhism	164,919	24.5%	207,042	40.03%	235,721	41.53%	312,829	46.52%	341,175	41.68%
Jainism	2,217	0.33%	1,849	0.36%	1,796	0.32%	1,419	0.21%	1,279	0.16%
Christianity	947	0.14%	888	0.17%	1,613	0.28%	2,477	0.37%	1,913	0.23%
Zoroastrianism	1	0%	0	0%	19	0%	5	0%	1	0%
Buddhism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	5	0%	0	0%
Judaism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	50	0.01%
Total population	673,097	100%	517,192	100%	567,622	100%	672,494	100%	818,615	100%
Note: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Religion in Ludhiana District

Religious group	2011 [23]
	Pop.	%
Sikhism	1,863,408	53.26%
Hinduism	1,502,403	42.94%
Islam	77,713	2.22%
Christianity	16,517	0.47%
Others	38,698	1.11%
Total Population	3,498,739	100%

The table below shows the population of different religions in absolute numbers in the urban and rural areas of Ludhiana district. ^[30]

Absolute numbers of different religious groups in Ludhiana district ^[30]

Religion	Urban (2011)	Rural (2011)	Urban (2001)	Rural (2001)	Urban (1991)	Rural (1991)
Hindu	12,89,159	2,13,244	10,46,285	1,58,843	4,71,801	1,14,722
Sikh	6,80,189	11,83,219	5,83,996	11,60,450	2,78,566	9,31,420
Christian	13,469	3,048	9,900	1,756	3,229	811
Muslim	53,201	24,512	35,022	17,198	2,336	6,977
Other religions	33,690	5,008	18,450	931	8,208	842

Language

Languages of Ludhiana district (First Language) (2011) ^[31]

   Punjabi (79.65%)

   Hindi (18.19%)

  Others (2.16%)

At the time of the 2011 census 79.65% of the population spoke Punjabi and 18.19% Hindi as their first language. Hindi is spoken mainly in urban areas. ^[31]

Health

The table below shows the data from the district nutrition profile of children below the age of 5 years, in Ludhiana, as of year 2020.

District nutrition profile of children under 5 years of age in Ludhiana, year 2020 ^[32]

Indicators	Number of children (<5 years)	Percent (2020)	Percent (2016)
Stunted	58,009	22%	30%
Wasted	15,436	6%	18%
Severely wasted	2,577	1%	3%
Underweight	32,712	12%	28%
Overweight/obesity	16,856	6%	1%
Anemia	184,062	78%	61%
Total children	262,962

The table below shows the district nutrition profile of Ludhiana of women between the ages of 15 to 49 years, as of year 2020.

District nutritional profile of Ludhiana of women of 15-49 years, in 2020 ^[32]

Indicators	Number of women (15-49 years)	Percent (2020)	Percent (2016)
Underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m^2)	113,226	10%	9%
Overweight/obesity	504,983	45%	35%
Hypertension	294,321	26%	15%
Diabetes	171,799	15%	NA
Anemia (non-preg)	727,404	65%	66%
Anemia (preg)	NA	NA	46%
Total women (preg)	62,825
Total women	1,119,944

Government and politics

Politics

The district is a part of the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency. Ravneet Singh Bittu from Congress is the MP since 2019. Following is a list of the assembly constituencies in the district.

This table is an excerpt from Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency § Punjab Legislative Assembly segments.[ edit ]

No	Name	District	Member	Party
60	Ludhiana East	Ludhiana	Daljit Singh Grewal		Aam Aadmi Party
61	Ludhiana South		Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina		Aam Aadmi Party
62	Atam Nagar		Kulwant Singh Sidhu		Aam Aadmi Party
63	Ludhiana Central		Ashok Prashar Pappi		Aam Aadmi Party
64	Ludhiana West		Gurpreet Gogi		Aam Aadmi Party
65	Ludhiana North		Madan Lal Bagga		Aam Aadmi Party
66	Gill (SC)		Jiwan Singh Sangowal		Aam Aadmi Party
68	Dakha		Manpreet Singh Ayali		Shiromani Akali Dal
70	Jagraon (SC)		Saravjit Kaur Manuke		Aam Aadmi Party

MLAs

No.	Constituency	Name of MLA	Party		Bench
57	Khanna	Tarunpreet Singh Sond		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
58	Samrala	Jagtar Singh		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
59	Sahnewal	Hardeep Singh Mundian		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
60	Ludhiana East	Daljit Singh Grewal		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
61	Ludhiana South	Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
62	Atam Nagar	Kulwant Singh Sidhu		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
63	Ludhiana Central	Ashok Prashar Pappi		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
64	Ludhiana West	Gurpreet Gogi		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
65	Ludhiana North	Madan Lal Bagga		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
66	Gill (SC)	Jiwan Singh Sangowal		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
67	Payal (SC)	Manwinder Singh Gyaspura		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
68	Dakha	Manpreet Singh Ayali		Shiromani Akali Dal	Opposition
69	Raikot (SC)	Hakam Singh Thekedar		Aam Aadmi Party	Government
70	Jagraon (SC)	Saravjit Kaur Manuke		Aam Aadmi Party	Government

Administrative divisions

For the administrative purpose, Ludhiana district is divided into seven tehsils, which are: -

1. Jagraon
2. Khanna
3. Ludhiana (East)
4. Ludhiana (West)
5. Payal
6. Raikot
7. Samrala

Ludhiana West Tehsil is a tehsil in Ludhiana district. It has 125 villages.

Main article: Villages in Ludhiana West Tehsil

Ludhiana East Tehsil is a tehsil in Ludhiana district. It has 181 villages.

Main article: Villages in Ludhiana East Tehsil

Also, there are seven sub-tehsils in Ludhiana district: -

1. Dehlon
2. Koom Kalan
3. Ludhiana Central
4. Machhiwara
5. Maloud
6. Mullanpur Dakha
7. Sidhwan Bet

Economy

Main article: Economy of Ludhiana

Culture/Cityscape

Places of interest

• Alamgir
• Chupki
• Chhapar
• Jaipura
• Katana Sahib
• Kila Raipur
• Killa Hans
• Madpur
• Nanaksar
• Pandher Kheri
• Serai Lashkari Khan
• Sidhwanbet
• Sudhar
• Sarabha

Notable people

• Aditi Avasthi, an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Embibe, an artificial intelligence educational technology platform
• Amit Bhalla (Ninja), a Punjabi singer and actor
• Praveen Chaudhari, an Indian-American physicist who has contributed to the field of material physics
• Gippy Grewal, a singer and actor
• Rachpal Singh Gill, an influential civil engineer responsible for important engineering projects such as the Bhakra Nangal hydro power complex and many others
• Kartar Singh Sarabha, an Indian revolutionary
• Dalip Singh, a track and field athlete, who competed in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics
• Jagmohan Singh, a hurdle athlete, who competed in 1960 Summer Olympics
• Dalip Kaur Tiwana, a Punjabi-language writer
• Nehal Wadhera, an Indian cricketer who plays for Punjab cricket team in domestic cricket, having previously represented the India under-19 cricket team

References

1. "District Census Hand Book – Ludhiana" (PDF). Census of India . Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
2. "United Nations HDI report - Punjab".
3. "Administrative Set-Up". District official website. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
4. "Punjab". UNDP in India. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
5. Ludhiana Dist. Gazetteer 1888-89 & 1904. Chiefs of Punjab 1890, 1909 & 1940
6. Singh, Kulwant (2002). "Search for the Sacred Swords". Nishaan Nagaara magazine (annual issue) (PDF). pp. 52–54.
7. "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 16, page 200 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu.
8. "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 16, page 202 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu.
9. "Violence, Displacement and the Issue of Identity - 1947". 9 March 2005. Archived from the original on 9 March 2005.
10. Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
11. "Station: Ludhiana Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 449–452. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
12. "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M171. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
13. "Climate & Weather Averages in Ludhiana, Punjab, India". Time and Date. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
14. "Climate and monthly weather forecast Ludhiana, India". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
15. Majeed, Shariq (26 March 2014). "Ludhiana worries over its PM". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014.
16. Preet, Jatinder (16 October 2011). "Ludhiana fourth most polluted city in the world". The Sunday Guardian. Delhi, India. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014.
17. "How air and water pollution plagues Indian cities". Hindustan Times. 1 December 2013. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014.
18. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Panama 3,460,462 July 2011 est.
19. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Connecticut 3,574,097
20. "Population of Ludhiana, Ludhiana Population 2018". www.punjabdata.com.
21. "District-wise Decadal Sex ratio in Punjab". Open Government Data (OGD) Platform India. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
22. "District-wise Rural and Urban Child Population (0-6 years) and their sex ratio in Punjab". Open Government Data (OGD) Platform India. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
23. "Table C-01 Population by Religious Community: Punjab". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
24. "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. p. 34. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25363739 . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
25. "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. p. 27. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25393788 . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
26. Kaul, Harikishan (1911). "Census Of India 1911 Punjab Vol XIV Part II". p. 27. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
27. "Census of India 1921. Vol. 15, Punjab and Delhi. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. p. 29. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25430165 . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
28. "Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1931. p. 277. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25793242 . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
29. "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab". 1941. p. 42. JSTOR   saoa.crl.28215541 . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
30. "Open Government Data (OGD) Platform India - All Religions". data.gov.in. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
31. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Punjab". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
32. "Ludhiana District Nutrition Profiles" (PDF). NITI Aayog . Retrieved 14 December 2023.

1. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis

External links

• Official website