JALANDHAR, or Jullundur, a British district in the lieutenant-governorship of the Punjab, India, lies between 30° 56' 30" and 31° 37' N. lat., and between 75° 6' 30" and 77° 49' 15" E. long., forming the southernmost district in the division of the same name. It is bounded on the N.E. by the district of Hushiârpur, on the N.W. by the native state of Kapurthäla and the river Biâs, and on the S. by the Sutlej. The blunt triangular tongue of land enclosed by the confluent streams of the Sutlej and the Biâs bears the general name of the Jalandhar Doâb. Its submontane portion belongs to Hushiârpur; the remainder is divided between Kapurthâla state and the district of Jalandhar. Below the hills, the whole Doâb consists of one unbroken alluvial expanse, whose fertility extends from river to river. A well-defined bank marks the bed of the Sutlej on the Jalandhar side. In winter the river contains about 15 feet of water in its deepest parts, and is navigable at all seasons for large flat-bottomed country boats. The main channel shifts from year to year through the wide bed, often forming new islands by slight changes in its course. The Biâs touches upon the district for a few miles only. The torrents from the Siwâlik hills in Hushiârpur district unite in two main streams, the White and the Black Ben, the former of which runs through the whole of Jalandhar. The White Ben receives numerous affluents, which meet it at right angles; and, following a serpentine path in a deep channel, it finally falls into the Sutlej 4 miles above its junction with the Biâs. Several marshy lakes (fhils) collect a considerable quantity of water in the· rains, which they retain throughout the dry season....
The chief staples are wheat, barley, gram, rice, sugar-cane, Indian corn, joàr, cotton, and moth. Except on the low alluvial tract of the Sutlej, irrigation is carried on by means of wells, worked with Persian wheels. Water lies everywhere near the surface, and is absolutely necessary for the higher cereals and sugar-cane, so that well irrigation prevails very generally. The traffic of the district consists mainly in its agricultural produce. Sugar-cane forms the chief commercial crop, and sugar and molasses are largely manufactured. English piece-goods and draught cattle are the principal imports. Cotton cloth, silver wire, and gold and silver lace are manufactured at Jalandhar town. The Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway passes through the district, with stations at several of the principal towns. Education was carried on in 1875-76 by means of 1615 aided schools, with a total roll of 7876 pupils. The proximity of the hills renders the climate of Jalandhar comparatively moist, and the annual rainfall for the seven years ending 1872-73 amounted to 28 - 6 inches. Malarious fever in an endemic form proves the chief cause of mortality, but small-pox often appears as an epidemic, and dysenteric complaints are frequent. There are five Government charitable dispensaries, which afforded relief in 1872 to 34,308 persons.
Jalandhar ranks first in the density of its population amongst all the Punjab districts, and is only exceeded by those of Benares, Jaunpur, and Ghazipur in the North-Western Provinces. The enumeration of 1868, taken over an area of 1332 square miles, disclosed a total population of 794,764 persons, of whom 436,689 were males and 358,075 females. As regards religion, Hindus numbered 318,401; Mahometans, 358,427; Sikhs, 117,167; and others, 769. The district contained eleven municipal towns in 1875-76, whose names and populations were as follows :—Jalandhar, 48,933; Kartarpur, 10,953; Alawalpur, 4873; Adampur, 3269; Banga, 4508; Nawashahr, 4946; Rahon, 14,394; Phillaur, 7535; Nur-mahal, 7866; Mahatpur, 6374; and Nakodar, 8800. The following towns had populations exceeding 5000 in 1868 :—Basti Shaikh, 80Ö0; Bilga, 6441; Jan<liala, 6439; Malsian, 6286; and Rurkha Kalan, 5721. The district contains a total cultivated area of 657,094 acres, of which 200,097 are artificially irrigated.
The Jalandhar Doab in early times formed a separate Hindu kingdom, ruled by a family of Rajputs, whose descendants still exist in the petty princes of the Kangra hills. Under Mahometan rule the Doab was generally attached to the province of Lahore, in which it is included as a sarkAr or governorship in the great revenue survey of Akbar’s reign. Its governors seem to have held a partially independent position, subject to the payment of a fixed tribute into the imperial treasury. The Sikh reaction extended to Jalandhar at an early period, and a number of petty chieftains established themselves by force as independent princes throughout the Doab. In 1766 the town of Jalandhar fell into the hands of the Sikh confederacy of Faiz-ulla-puria, then presided over by Khushal Sinh. His son and successor built a masonry fort in the city, while several other leaders similarly fortified themselves in the suburbs. Meanwhile, Ranjit Sinh was consolidating his power in the south, and in 1811 he annexed the Faiz-ullâ-puria dominions in the Doab. By the autumn of the same year the maharaja’s authority was successfully established. Thenceforth Jalandhar became the capital of the Lahore possessions in the surrounding Doab up to the date of the British annexation, which took place at the close of the first Sikh war.
Jalandhar, a municipal town and cantonment in the above district, is situated in 31° 19' 50" N. lat. and 75° 37' 20" E. long. It lays claim to considerable antiquity, having been the original capital of the Râjput kingdom of Kâtoch, which dates back to the period before Alexander’s invasion. Hweu Tsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim of the 7th century, describes the town as 2 miles in circuit, the metropolis of a considerable state. Ibrâhîm Shâh of Ghazni reduced the town to the Mahometan yoke, and it appears as a place of considerable strength during the early Musalmân times. The modern city consists of a cluster of wards, originally distinct, and each enclosed by a wall of its own. Some of them still remain detached, but the majority have now united. The cantonment is 4 miles from the town, and was established in 1846. It has an area of 7∣ square miles, and a population (1868) of 11,634 persons. Numerous suburbs, known as hastis, surround the city. The trade, though considerable, presents little special interest. The staples of local traffic are English piece-goods and country produce. In 1871-72 the imports were valued at £105,248, and the exports at £96,020. The population in 1868 was 50,067, of whom 15,921 were Hindus, 33,601 Mahometans, 468 Sikhs, and 77 Christians.
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