Ambala Cantonment

Ambala Cantonment
अम्बाला छावनी
ਅੰਬਾਲਾ ਛਾੳੁਣੀ
City
Grand Trunk Road, at Ambala Cantonment, during British Raj
Nickname(s): Science City
Ambala Cantonment
Location in Haryana, India
Ambala Cantonment
Ambala Cantonment (India)
Coordinates: 30°21′43″N 76°50′53″E / 30.361915°N 76.8480778°E / 30.361915; 76.8480778Coordinates: 30°21′43″N 76°50′53″E / 30.361915°N 76.8480778°E / 30.361915; 76.8480778
Country  India
State Haryana
District Ambala
Government
 • Body Cantonment Board Ambala
Population (2011)
 • Total 55,370[1]
Languages
 • Official Hindi
English
Punjabi
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration HR 01, HR 37
Website haryana.gov.in

Ambala Cantonment (Hindi:अम्बाला छावनी) is a cantonment town in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India. It is some 200 kilometres north of Delhi and 55 km south from Chandigarh. Delhi-Kalka & Saharanpur-Ludhiana's railway lines and G.T. Road also passes through Ambala Cantt. This Cantt. was established in the year 1843 and is an important centre for manufacturing of scientific & surgical instruments. It is also called the science city due to huge exports of scientific instruments [2]

Overview

people waiting at a railway station

The cantonment is from the British times, as it lies at an important junction; from here, one can take the road north to Chandigarh and onwards to Simla, or turn south towards Panipat and Delhi, or turn east towards Uttar Pradesh, or go west to Ludhiana and onwards to Jalandhar and Amritsar - Lahore. Ambala Cantt is very famous for manufacturing scientific lab equipment. Mr. Anil Vij, the health minister of Haryana, belongs to Ambala Cantt. Last but not least, Indian actress Parineeti Chopra, who appears in Hindi films, also belongs to Ambala Cantt.

Ambala Cantonment railway station

It is a prominent junction and is located on the Grand Trunk Road. Just across the railway station is the bus stand. It is the main terminal that connects all railway stations from south, east, west, and north.

British Raj

It has a lot of colonial bungalows and wide tree-lined roads, typical of British cantonments in the subcontinent. It also gets a mention in the Rudyard Kipling book Kim: The formation sign of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Area (earlier Punjab Area) located here (a Taurus on a Red background) is a theme in the book. The formation sign still exists for an Indian Army formation in Shimla, with some units affiliated to it still using the sign in Ambala.

European Cemetery

The historic Ambala European Cemetery is located here.

History of Ambala

One historical version says that the name is a corruption of Amba Wala, or "the mango-village," stemming from the mango groves that existed in its immediate neighborhood. Still another story is that the district has taken its name after the goddess Bhawani Amba, whose temple still exists in the Ambala city.

Indian Army & Airforce Base

Sukoi -su 30 Gen 2 at ambala airforce base for show at republic day at Delhi, capital on India

It is currently the headquarters of II Corps (India) (raised in 1970, formation sign Kharga) and an important forward Indian Air Force base. It played an important role during the 1965 and 1971 war between India and Pakistan.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census,[3] Ambala Cantonment had a population of 55,370,. Males constitute 61% of the population and females 39%. Ambala Cantonment has an average literacy rate of 91.24%, higher than the national average of 74%; with 95.07% of the males and 85.32% of females literate. 11.41% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Visitor attractions

  • Gurudwara Lakhnaur Sahib
  • Gurudwara Manji Sahib
  • Gurudwara Panjokhra Sahib
    Gurudwara Panjokhra Sahib, Haryana
  • a temple in ambala cantt
    Hathi Khana Shiv Mandir
  • ST. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church
  • Holy Redeemer Church
  • Saint Paul’s Church
  • Indira Park
  • Christian Cemetery
  • Raja Ka Talab
  • Rani Ka Talab
  • Kharga Golf Club
  • Hathi Khana Mandir
  • Neta ji Subhash Park

Education

Many colleges have now been established in the area for higher education from last few decades. It mainly includes Engineering Colleges which are affiliated to Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.[4] Moreover, some Historic Colleges which were established before independence of India are also present, an example of that is Sanatan Dharma College on Ambala–Jagadhri Highway, established in 1916 in Lahore and Government College for boys and girls in Amabla Cant, Lord Mahavir Jain Public School,Government School, Kendriya vidyalayas, Army public school, DAV public schools etc. are among the best schools for the locals.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ambala Cantt. City Population Census 2011 - Haryana".
  2. ↑ For the above info, http://www.ambalayellowpages.com/about.html
  3. ↑ "Census of India". Census Commission of India. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  4. ↑ List of Engineering Colleges affiliated to Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
  • Saint paul church before being damaged by the missile
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