Kalanaur is a tehsil in

Gurdaspur District Gurdaspur district is a district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, and the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

state in India. It is located 25 km towards west from District headquarters Gurdaspur. This historical town is situated on newly constructed National Highway 354. The town has historical significance as

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, was enthroned in a garden near the Kalanaur by

Bairam Khan Muhammad Bairam Khan (; 18 January 1501 – 31 January 1561), commonly known as Bairam Khan or Bayram Khan was an important military commander, and later commander-in-chief of the Mughal Empire, Mughal army, a powerful statesman and regent at ...

. It was first established as a Principality by Prince Nakhashena, a brother of King Janamejaya, which was further ruled by his descendants known as Jarral Rajputs. Jarral rule in Kalanaur lasted for 350 Years.

Demographics

As per the 2011

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of India, Kalanaur has a population of 13642. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Those under 6 years of age constitute 10.76% of the population. The average literacy rate is 83.97%, which is higher than the Punjab average of 75.84%. Male literacy is at 87.35%, and female literacy at 80.28%.

Geography

Kalanaur is located at . It has an average elevation of 243 metres (797 feet). The town is situated about 25 km to the west of

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the Majha region of the Indian state of Punjab, between the rivers Beas and Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a bord ...

city, on the banks of the Kiran, a minor rivulet that merges into the

Ravi river The Ravi River is a transboundary river in South Asia, flowing through northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, and is one of five major rivers of the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two oth ...

History

Prince "Nakshasena" established a separate independent kingdom at Indraprastha, which later rose to become a dominant force in its own right. With the passage of time, the Bactrian and Scythian invasions of northern India, this Pandava branch established a kingdom at Kalanaur in what is now the modern-day district of Gurdaspur in Punjab (India) establishing the first capital of the Jarral Dynasty. Jarral Rajputs are known as the descendants of the Pandavas and their branch was named after their apical ancestor, Raja Jir Rao, a Rajput descendant of the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. The "Jarrals" are therefore a "brother tribe" to the illustrious Janjua Rajputs of Punjab. Kalanaur was later captured in the twelfth century by the armies of the Ghorid Empire after a battle with the Jarral Rajas. During the 14th-16th centuries, Kalanaur was a major urban centre and several historical events are associated with the town. Firuz Shah Tughluq (1352–88) built a beautiful palace on the banks of the Kiran rivulet. During the reign of

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

Mubarak Shah (1421–35), Kalanaur was ruled by the

Khokhar Khokhar () is a historical Punjabi clan primarily native to the Salt Range of Pakistani Punjab. Khokhars are also found in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Khokhars predominantly follow Islam, having converted to Islam from Hinduism ...

Rajput tribe under the leadership of Raja

Jasrat Jasrat Khan ( – ), also known as Jasrath, was a 15th-century Punjabi Muslim chieftain who ruled parts of Punjab from 1410 until his death in 1442. He had his capital at Sialkot. A son of Shaikha, Jasrat fought against Tamerlane during his i ...

. In February 1556,

, was enthroned in a garden near the Kalanaur by

. The masonry platform, where he was crowned can be visited even today. There is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

that was built during his reign. Emperor Akbar crowning platform

During the period of anarchy in latter half of the 18th century, the Kanhaiya

Misl Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

, a militia under Sardar Haqeeqat Singh Kanhaiya, occupied Kalanaur. His son Jaimal Singh extended his territory up to Fatehgarh Churian and shifted his residence there. Jaimal Singh's daughter Chand Kaur was married to

Kharak Singh Kharak Singh (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the second maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from June 1839 until his dethronement and imprisonment in October 1839. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh ...

, eldest son and heir of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

, in 1812. Later, when the area was annexed by Ranjit Singh, he granted it to Kharak Singh. It was later granted in fief to one

Raja Dina Nath Diwan Dina Nath (1795—1857) was an official of the durbar of the Sikh Empire who served as the Privy Seal, privy seal and finance minister in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was conferred the title of Raja in 1847, eight years after the ...

, and was finally annexed into

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

after the death of

Divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

Dina Nath in 1857.

Culture

Kalanaur was at one time a centre of art, trade and cottage industry. A local saying has it that "a person who has not seen

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

should see Kalanaur" ("Jinne nahi vekheya lahore, oh vekhe kalanaur"). The Gurudwara Banda Bahadur, built on the site of a well excavated by the order of

Banda Bahadur Banda Singh Bahadur, born Lachman Dev (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a Jathedar, general of the Khalsa Fauj, Khalsa Army. At age 15, he left home to become an Sannyasa, ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Baira ...

, is another landmark of the town. There is also a temple of Shiva and a mosque built during the reign of

Education

The list of major

educational institutions An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments a ...

in Kalanaur is given below. *Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Fateh Singh Senior Secondary Public School, Affiliated to CBSE, New Delhi *Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Kalanaur *Gagan International School *Government Middle School, Kalanaur *DAV High School *Government Senior Secondary School, Kalanaur *Kerala International School, Kalanaur

References

External links

History
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Cities and towns in Gurdaspur district