Khanna is a city and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

in the Ludhiana district of the Indian state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

. It is well known for being Asia's largest

grain market The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

.. KHANNA It is a city which centers a national highway and buildings settled around a web of roads descending from National Highway to various State Highways to different Directions. It has a huge market place which attracts customers from all around the area, namely Guru Amardas Market.

Toponymy

''Khanna'' is a Punjabi word, which means ''one quarter'' (1/4 or 0.25). The city was named thus because it used to be very small, just a quarter of what a normal city should be.

History

Khanna has the largest grain market in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, followed by the grain market of

Rajpura Rajpura () is a city in Patiala district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, situated along the border of the Indian state of Haryana. It is located 26 KM Patiala city, towards East from District Head Quarter. It is Tehsil Head Quarter. Rajp ...

(

). History reveals that

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

built a number of sarais (inns) at every 12 to 15 miles along the

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

road. One of the sarais was built in this area which is still known as the ''Purani Sarai''. After the decline of Mughal rule in the Punjab,

Banda Bahadur Banda Singh Bahadur (born Lachman Dev) (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a commander of Khalsa army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery a ...

captured the area from

Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and fema ...

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the fourteenth century. In 1809, it was occupied b ...

. After that a

Jathedar A jathedar ( pa, ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ) is a leader of high regard chosen to head and ensure discipline within a jatha, a body of Sikhs. The Jathedar of the Akal Takht is the central head of the Sikhs worldwide, who makes all important decisions ...

of Dahedu controlled and occupied the whole of the area from Dahedu to

Nabha Nabha is a city and municipal council in the Patiala district in the south-west of the Indian state of Punjab. It was the capital of the former Nabha State. Nabha is also a sub-division city which comes under Patiala district. Geography Nabha ...

. He married his daughter, Daya Kaur, to the King of Nabha. When a family dispute arose between the King and his new wife, she left Nabha for good and went back to live with her parents in Dahedu. According to Indian conventions she could not remain there forever. Therefore, her father gave her a "kann", or a "small portion", of the territory between Dahedu and Nabha that was well known for its agriculture. Over time, the pronunciation of the name changed from "Kann" to "Khanna". The city is 40 km from the city of

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. I ...

on the

Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

(National Highway 1) and is home to Asia's largest grain market. Its area is about 70 km². Villages nearby include Baghaur(Aujla),Kauri, Payal, Ikolahi, Rahoun, Issru, Harion Kalan , Aloona Miana, Bulepur, Rasulra, Ghutind, Bhattian, Libra, Ratan Heri, Bahumajra, Salana, Ramgarh, Salaudi singha and Mohanpur.

Demographics

As per provisional data of 2011 census Khanna had a population of 128,130, out of which males were 67,811 and females were 60,319. The literacy rate was 84.43 per cent.

Education

Khanna has following institutes/schools/colleges: # A S College Khanna # Shri Sarswati Sanskrit College Khanna, affiliated to

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

, Chandigarh #A. S. Women College, affiliated to Panjab University Chandigarh #Gulzar Group of Institutes (GGI) #IGNOU Regional Centre, Khanna #Radha Vatika Women college #Sanjeevni Nursing College #Rimt University #Delhi Public School Khanna #Khanna public School,Lalheri #A.S. Group of Institutions, Khanna

Transport

Khanna railway station is situated on

Ambala–Attari line The Ambala–Attari line is a railway line connecting in the Indian state of Haryana and in Punjab. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway. History The Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway completed the Multan–L ...

under

Ambala railway division Ambala railway division is one of the five railway divisions under Northern Railway zone ( NR ) of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed on 1 July 1987 and its headquarters is located at Ambala in the state of Haryana. Delhi railway ...

Northern Railway zone The Northern Railway (NR) is one of the 19 Railway zones of India and the northernmost zone of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Baroda House in New Delhi. History Officially notified as a new railway zone on 14 April 1952, i ...

Gallery

Notable people

Bhagat Puran Singh Bhagat Puran Singh (4 June 1904 – 5 August 1992) was an Indian writer, environmentalist, and philanthropist. As a young man he decided to dedicate his life to humanitarian work, and in 1947, he established Pingalwara, a home for the sick and ...

, social worker *

Karan Aujla Jaskaran Singh "Karan" Aujla (born 18 January 1997) is an Indo-Canadian and Punjabi singer, rapper and songwriter. He is known for his single tracks, 14 of which have been featured in the UK Asian chart by ''Official Charts Company'', while se ...

, singer, lyricist * Jassi Gill, singer *

Sardool Sikander Sardool Sikander (15 January 1961 – 24 February 2021) was an Indian singer associated with Punjabi-language folk and pop music, who made his first appearances on radio and television in the early 1980s with his introductory album, "Roadways ...

, singer * Dilpreet Dhillon, singer * Narinder Batth, lyricist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanna, India Cities and towns in Ludhiana district Punjab