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 Location
One of the centrally located
cities of Punjab, Ludhiana
stands on the banks of river
Sutlej. It borders Ropar and
Fatehgarh Sahib and in the west,
areas of Faridkot touch its
boundaries. Towards the south
lie the district of Sangrur and
Patiala. Its topography is
representative of an alluvial
plain and divides the district
into the flood plain of Sutlej
and the Upland plain.
History
Ludhiana's history goes a back a
long way to 1481 when it was
just a small village called Meer
Hota. Initially ruled by yodhas
from the 1st to the 4th century,
it subsequently came under King
Samudragupta and the Rajputs
.The original Ludhianavis
actually settled here much later
in the 9th century. And then
came the Punjabi races of Sidhus,
Gills, Sandhus and Grewals from
the jungle of Jagraon.
In the early 19th century, it
has been under the reign of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1806) for
a short period. During that
time, it became an important
British cantonment before the
British took it over in 1809.
They confined the Maharaja's
control to the right bank of the
River Sutlej and the British
troops were permanently
stationed in Ludhiana.
The
City
Primarily an industrial town,
Ludhiana is the center of most
commercial activity in Punjab.
The prosperity of the place can
be attributed to spirit of
enterprise and
 business sense
displayed by the people here. It
is renowned world over for its
hosiery goods which form a major
part of exports to Canada and
Russia. Other major items of
exports are machine tools, motor
parts, dyes, mopeds, cycle parts
and sewing machines. Its
satellite town Khanna is the
biggest grain market in Asia.
However, the city of Ludhiana is
not just about its commercial
success alone. It also happens
to be an important pilgrimage
center with a number of
Gurudwaras located within and
around the place. Another
important historical monument is
the Fort of Lodhi which is about
500 years old and was built by
the Muslim ruler Sikander Lodhi
along the banks of River Sutlej.
On the education front, Ludhiana
has some of the most prestigious
institutions. There are two
Medical Colleges, an Engineering
College and the famous Punjab
Agricultural University modelled
on the "Land Grant of America".
The university has played a key
role in ushering the 'Green
revolution' in Punjab.
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