Kapurthala () is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic architecture self-narrate its princely past and for this reason it has often been referred to as the “Paris of Punjab”.
History
Kapurthala as a
City was founded by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia in 1743 upon its capture as a village, prior to this the city was a smaller
Village with an unrecorded name under the tribute of
Mughal Empire who served as feudatories.
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia would name the city after his predecessor Nawab Kapur Singh, who was an influential and respected Sikh leader at the time as well as a mentor to Jassa Singh Ahluwlia.
Princely state
In 1743, Kapurthala which was still a village and had a different name at the time, was seized from Muslim chieftains and was annexed into
Kapurthala State by the Ahluwalia
Sikh rulers.
Kapurthala flag has two color background, with insignia and moto that says "pro rege et patria" (in Latin) meaning "For king and country".
Demographics
As per provisional data of 2011 census Kapurthala had a population of 101,854, out of which males were 55,485 and females were 46,169. The literacy rate was 85.82 per cent.
The table below shows the population of different religious groups in Kapurthala city, as of 2011 census.
India - C-01: Population by religious community, Punjab - 2011, Kapurthala (M Cl)
!Religion!!Total!!Female!!Male |
| 34,263 |
| 18,112 |
| 773 |
| 323 |
| 63 |
| 10 |
| 16 |
| 241 |
| 53,801 |
Climate
The city has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cwa), bordering on a hot
semi arid climate (Koppen: BSh), with its rainfall patterns and weather influenced by the Indian
monsoon and Western Distrubances.
Railway
The Kapurthala railway station is located on the Jalandhar–Firozpur line.
Education
-
NJSA Government College, established in 1856, popularly known as Randhir College, after its founder Randhir Singh of Kapurthala
-
Bebe Nanaki University College Mithra
Culture and films
-
The film 'Tanu Weds Manu' (2011) had some scenes shot in Kapurthala city and Kala Sanghian.
-
Kapurthala gives its name to the Kapurthala stomacher, a wedding gift from the Maharajah to Mary of Teck, the future Queen Mary, in 1893.
-
In the 2010 Pakistani drama Dastaan, a period drama that is set during the Partition of India, Kapurthala serves as the place where Bano, the main Muslim female character, is kept for nearly five years by a Sikh family.
Literature
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Kapurthala is the birthplace of the Urdu Poet, Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi.
External links
