Pathankot

Pathankot
ਪਠਾਣਕੋਟ
पठानकोट
City

Pathankot
Nickname(s): PTK
Pathankot

Location in Punjab, India

Coordinates: 32°16′01″N 75°36′00″E / 32.266814°N 75.6°ECoordinates: 32°16′01″N 75°36′00″E / 32.266814°N 75.6°E
Country India
State Punjab
District Pathankot
Founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Named for Pathania Rajput
Government
 • Type Municipality
 • Body Municipal Corporation Pathankot
 • Deputy commissioner Sukhvinder Singh
 • Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kaushal (PPS)
 • Member of Parliament Vinod Khanna, Lok Sabha
 • Mayor Anil Vasudeva
Elevation 331 m (1,086 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 148,937
Languages
 • Official Punjabi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Pin Code 145001
Telephone code 0186
Vehicle registration PB-35
Largest city Pathankot
Website pathankot35.com

Pathankot is a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Punjab. In 2011 it became the capital of Pathankot district in Punjab, India. According to Sikh history, it is believed that Pathankot was founded by the first Sikh Guru – Guru Nanak Dev Ji during the Medieval period. The name Pathankot comes from Pathania Rajput, who was the king of Nurpur. Pathankot was the capital of Nurpur prior to 1849. Pathankot is at the meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Due to its ideal location, Pathankot serves as a travel hub for the three northerly states. Pathankot is the ninth most populous city in the state of Punjab. It is the last city in Punjab on the national highway towards Jammu and Kashmir. Situated in the foothills of Kangra and Dalhousie, with the river Chakki flowing close by, the city is often used as a rest-stop before heading into the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, Dalhousie, Chamba, and Kangra, deep into the Himalayas.

History

Pathankot is an ancient city and has historical significance. It was ruled by many rulers. Till 1781, Pathankot was ruled by a Muslim descendant of Raja Sayed Khan of Nupur State. From the end of the 17th century, this region was the part of the princely state – Nurpur and was ruled by the Rajputs. Nurpur state was established by Rana Bhet, a Taur Rajput of Delhi, who is well known as Jatpal. Jatpal established his dynasty at Pathankot and took the control of whole country in the foot of the hills. In the end of the 17th century, he shifted his capital to Nurpur. Now Pathankot is a district of Indian Punjab, located in the north zone of the state. Pathankot city is the district headquarters. The district was created on 27 July 2011. In Mughal records it was known as Paithan, an abbreviation of Pratishthan from which the Pathania Rajputs derive their name. Pathania is the name of the branch of the Tomara Clan of Chandravanshi, Rajputs, who claim a mythological descent from Arjuna, the hero of Mahabharata. They mostly live in and around Himachal Pradesh, in North India. It was an ancient traditional custom of the Rajputs for the king, almost in all instances, to take his name from the name of the country where he exercised his dominion. The capital was shifted from Pathankot to Dhameri Nurpur during the reign of Raja Basu Dev 1580–1613.[1][2]

History of Pathania Rajput

Rana Jethpal (1100?), the younger brother of King Anangpal II of Delhi, came to Jallandhar Doab (also called Bist Doab) to conquer a territory for himself. After crossing the Beas river he captured a fort called Bhet, therefore acquiring the name Rana Bhet. After this he came upon the city of Pathankot (possibly ancient Pratisthana), and following the tradition of Rajputs, in which the king typically took his name from the name of the country where he exercised his dominion, he became known as a Pathania Rajput, instead of as a Tomara.

The Kingdom of Nurpur had its capital at Pathankot, now a district of Punjab, India. The kingdom included Pathankot and a large tract on the plains of the Punjab; also the whole of the present Nurpur Tahsil of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, with the addition of Shahpurkandi, now in Gurdaspur, and also a small tract to the west of the Ravi, called Lakhanpur, now in Jammu & Kashmir State. The Kingdom was bounded on the north by Kangra and Chamba, on the south by the Punjab plains, and on the west by the Ravi river. The Capital was at Pathankot, which was known as Paithan in the medieval times. Throughout their history the Pathania clan rebelled against the foreign invaders. Though the Pathania kings sometimes held the high offices of generals known as Mansabdar in the Mughal military, and captured many a kingdom for the Mughal Emperor in Hindustan and beyond the Indus up till Uzbekistan. Yet, they repeatedly rebelled against the Mughal's and other foreign invaders. The most popular uprising was by Wazir Ram Singh Pathania who led a rebellion against the British Raj and was subsequently defeated by the British after a hard-fought battle. He was deported to Rangoon where he died in prison. Locals still sing ballads for their brave warrior, and a statue commemorating his deeds was erected on Pathankot Punjab-Dalhousie Himachal Highway.

Raja Jagat Singh Pathania (1618–1646) succeeded Suraj Mal (his elder brother) as the king of Dhameri (now Nurpur) in present-day Himachal, India. He was the second son of Raja Basu Dev. The golden period of Pathania rule on Nurpur (then Dhameri) came under the reign of Raja Jagat Singh. Raja Jagat Singh ruled until 1644 and during his reign rendered assistance to Mughal forces in Qandhar, Kabul.

After independence

After the independence of India, Pathankot, has developed as an important town in many aspects. The strategic point of location has prompted the establishment of the army and for the air force station for the defence of India. The Indian army and Indian air force has successful defended the territory of India in times of war. Traders supplying the army needs have also increased their business. After the partition of India, a huge amount of refugees came from newly formed Pakistan and settled in and around Pathankot. Most of them started trades of different kinds and many those businesses have grown into large business houses.

Geography

Pathankot has an average elevation of 332 metres (1,089 ft). It is a green town surrounded by the Ravi and Chakki rivers. Shiwalik foothills on the south and east and snow-capped Himalayas in the back drop in north.

Average temperature

Climate data for Pathankot
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 28
(82)		 29
(84)		 35
(95)		 43
(109)		 46
(115)		 49
(120)		 46
(115)		 41
(106)		 40
(104)		 40
(104)		 35
(95)		 29
(84)		 49
(120)
Average high °C (°F) 18
(64)		 21
(70)		 26
(79)		 33
(91)		 37
(99)		 39
(102)		 34
(93)		 33
(91)		 33
(91)		 31
(88)		 25
(77)		 19
(66)		 39
(102)
Average low °C (°F) 8
(46)		 11
(52)		 16
(61)		 22
(72)		 26
(79)		 29
(84)		 28
(82)		 28
(82)		 26
(79)		 21
(70)		 14
(57)		 9
(48)		 9
(48)
Record low °C (°F) −4
(25)		 0
(32)		 4
(39)		 10
(50)		 15
(59)		 19
(66)		 19
(66)		 20
(68)		 19
(66)		 9
(48)		 4
(39)		 −1
(30)		 −4
(25)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 71
(2.8)		 80
(3.15)		 81
(3.19)		 46
(1.81)		 34
(1.34)		 78
(3.07)		 356
(14.02)		 370
(14.57)		 140
(5.51)		 25
(0.98)		 16
(0.63)		 38
(1.5)		 1,335
(52.57)
Avg. precipitation days 5 7 8 5 3 4 12 13 8 2 1 3 71

Transport

Pathankot is well connected by rail and road with the rest of the country. It has direct train links with Delhi, Jammu and other Indian cities. All trains going to Jammu pass through Pathankot. The important trains include Jammu Tawi-Mumbai Express, Pooja Express from Jammu-Jaipur. Super fast trains do not enter city Pathankot. They stop at outer Railway Station called 'Chakki Bank'. The distance from main Railway station & Chakki Bank is just 4 km. Pathankot is also connected by a vast network of private and public-sector bus services to other cities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir. Important destinations include Delhi, Shimla, Chandigarh, Jammu, Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Amritsar.Pathankot is also used as a gateway for Chamba and Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh and for various locations in Jammu and Kashmir like Jammu City Mansar Lake, Srinagar, Udhampur, Holy Cave at Amarnath, Patni Top and Holy Cave of Mata Vashino Devi (Katra) 155 km away from Pathankot.

By Air

Train

Pathankot city is one of the rarest cities in North India, having 4 railway stations of its own, with Pathankot Junction railway station under A-category. Pathankot is a major railroad junction and the nearest mainline station to Dharamsala. Lines from Amritsar (2 hrs) and Delhi (8 hrs) merge here, and all services to Jammu (2 hrs) pass through. In addition to Pathankot station itself, there is a second station called Chakki Bank renamed Pathankot Cant just 4 km away, which serves some express trains that do not stop in Pathankot station. Nowadays the majority of the Jammu trains stop only at Chakki Bank(a.k.a. Pathankot Cant ) and not at Pathankot citi.

In addition, Pathankot is also served by the narrow-gauge Kangra Valley Railway (a.k.a. Kangra Toy Train) built by the British, which crawls 128 km through stunning scenery to Joginder Nagar via Palampur and Kangra (near Dharamsala). However, the luxury Kangra Queen services were terminated back in 2003, leaving about 6 departures daily of slow, often packed second class trains, taking over six hours. Bookings for these can only be done locally at Pathankot station. Some of these trains run to Baijnath Paprola and a few to Joginder Nagar. The main stations on this line include Kangra and Palampur, although Dalhousie and Dharmasala are not on the line. The town is the lower terminus of the narrow gauge Kangra Valley Railway, thereby connecting the mountainous regions of western Himachal Pradesh to the network of Indian Railways.

Bus

Maharana Pratap Inter State Bus Terminal Pathankot. It's close to the railway station. Public HRTC buses to Dharamsala take 3–4 hours and cost Rs 75, while buses to Amritsar take 3 hours and cost the same. Dalhousie famous destination for honeymoon couples is at just 80 km from Pathankot. The famous Hindu Pilgrimage Vaishno devi is just 160 km from Pathankot. From Chandigarh, you can reach here in just 6 hours. It is well connected with bus services from Punjab roadways, Haryana Roadways, Himachal Roadways J&K transport, and private AC volvo buses.

To get the schedule of buses, click Time Table.

One can stop over in Pathankot en route to Mukerian (40), Dharamshala (100 km), Dalhousie (100 km), Amritsar (108), Palampur (100 km), Chamba (100 km) & Jammu (100 km), Hoshiarpur (100 km), Kangra (100 km), Jalandhar (108 km), Srinagar (400 km) all in different directions from Pathankot via Jalandhar-Srinagar National highway (NH-1A), Dabwali-Pathankot National highway (NH-54) and Pathankot-Mandi National highway (NH-20).

Economy

Pathankot is an economically prosperous city compared to many other towns of the Punjab or Himachal Pradesh.

Historically, Pathankot's economy was based upon the timber trade. Good quality wood was transported from Himachal to Pathankot, where it was cut and distributed to various parts of northern India. In the early 1990s, however, the timber trade shifted to Jammu. Now, the main economy of Pathankot is based on stone crushing. Pathankot is situated in the foothills where the Chakki, Ravi and Beas rivers enter the plains and these rivers deposit boulders. There are more than 200 stone crushers in and around Pathankot.

After the liberalisation of the Indian economy, Pathankot emerged as a commercial center of wholesalers and distributors of consumer goods and services, catering to Himachal Pradesh, J&K and northwest Punjab.

Additionally, Pathankot economy has greatly increased by supplying crude oil, which is located near IAF and Pathankot Cantt. (Chakki bank). Pathnkot deal with Plastic storage tanks also. Cotton and musturd oil are also manufactured here in Pathankot.

Restaurants

Demographics

As per provisional data of 2011 census Pathankot urban agglomeration had a population of 159,909, out of which males were 84,145 and females were 75,764. The literacy rate was 88.71 per cent.[3]

Hotel And Resort

Shopping Mall

College And School

Tourist Places

Pathankot city is surrounded by both the Shivalik range, part of what makes up the foothills of The Himalayas, and the river Chakki. Places worth visiting near Pathankot include Shahpur Kandi with a hanging rest house, Ranjit Sagar Dam which is the highest gravity dam in Asia. Madhopur (Madhopur, Punjab) head works which date back to the Mughal era. head works of Upper Bari Doab, Shahpur Kandi are the attractions of this area. Another place of interest could be Keshopur Chhamb which is home to many Migratory Birds

Auto rickshaw

One can take an auto rickshaw or a cycle rickshaw at cheap rates. You can reach at any part of Pathankot by spending just Rs 5 or a maximum of Rs 10. These are quite the safest modes of transport in Pathankot

Notable People

References

  1. ↑ The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh V. 1 By Mark Brentnall, Indus Publishing, p. 350
  2. ↑ History of the Panjab Hill States By J. Hutchison, J.P. Vogel, Asian Educational Services, p. 213
  3. ↑ "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2012.

External links