Phillaur

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Phillaur is a town in the Indian state of Punjab. Phillaur is the railway junction on the border line of Ludhiana and Jalandhar Cantonment(older spellings: Jullundar). It was a junction for Lohian and Ferozepur. In pre-partition days, it was the main Timber market of Punjab Region. It is situated on the banks of River Satluj (Sanskrit word: Shatuddru, one of the seven rivers of Sapt Sindhu river system.). The Timber cut in higher regions of Shivalik range was thrown into the River Satluj and then collected at Phillaur for further transportation. The dedicated railway line still survives till this day but it is not functional. The town stands on the highway of traditional Grant Trunk Road (G. T. Road or Sher Suri Marg, now National Highway 1 - NH. 1). The actual G. T. Raod passes through Phillaur. The older path of actual G. T. Road still survives along the railway bridge which cross over to Ludhiana.

This town was named by a Sanghera Jut called Phul who named it earlier is Phulnagar. However the Naru Rajputs, sent by Rai Shahr, occupied this town when Shahr's son Ratan Pal left Mau and settled in Phillaur.

During Sher Shah Suri times (1540-1545 A. D.), a Sarai (for trading and military purpose) was raised at Phillaur. The Sarai was again revived by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan (1627-1657 A. D.)and used as Postal Center (Dak ghar) and Military camp. After the Amritsar Treaty of 1809 between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and British East India Company, it became the border post of Lahore Empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was kept under Raja Dhanpat Rai who also acted as his munshi for the lands across the River Sutluj which fell in Ludhiana (made military cantonment by British in 1842.)

As of 2001 India census,^GRIndia Phillaur had a population of 22,228. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Phillaur has an average literacy rate of 28%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 24%, and female literacy is 33%. In Phillaur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Shrada Ram Phillauri

Shrada Ram Phillauri was the most illustrious son of Phillaur. He is popular more for Hindu Religious Hymn (Puja) "Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare" which he had written.

He was also the author of Punjabi Grammar, "Punjabi Bat-cheet". It is being taught till this day at school level affiliated to the Punjab State Education Board (PSEB) Mohali.

He is also accredited with writing the first Hindi novel title "Bhagmati". In this novel, he presented the social milieu of Punjab and related customs and traditions influencing the social role of woman. However, many Hindi Scholars refuse to attribute the status of being the first Hindi Novelist to him.

As per the established records, he was born in 1837 at Phillaur. His father was a priest in a temple run by Bhandari Khatri of the town. A temple still stands there in Passian chowk and as per the land records of the temple, it was established in 1865. It was the same year, in which the police (CID as per the oral history popular in Phillaur) had doubted that Shrada Ram was involved in revolutionary activities.

Sharada Ram was against the activities of Arya Samajis. However, some of the major books have been published by Arya Samajis on him. As per Kenneth W. Jones, he was mainly a Sanatani.