Pathankot
Encyclopedia
Pathankot became 22nd district on 28th July 2011 and a municipal corporation
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

. It was a part of the Nurpur
Nurpur
Nurpur is a city and a municipal council in Kangra district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It was formerly a Kingdom ruled by the Pathania clan of Rajputs, since the 11th century AD. The capital of the Kingdom was at Pathankot, now in Punjab....

 princely state ruled by the Rajputs prior to 1849 AD. It is a meeting point of the three northern states
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

 of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

 and Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

. Due to its ideal location, Pathankot serves as a travel hub for the three northerly states. Pathankot is the fifth largest city in the state of Punjab in terms of population. It is the last city in Punjab on the national highway that connects Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India. 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
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

, Dalhousie
Dalhousie
-Buildings:*Dalhousie Castle, a castle near Bonnyrigg, Scotland, until 2003, was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of Clan Ramsay*Dalhousie Obelisk, a monument in Empress Place, Singapore...

, Chamba
Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
Chamba is an ancient town in the Chamba district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, in northern India. According to the 2001 Indian census, Chamba has a population of 20,312 people...

, and Kangra
Kangra Valley
Kangra Valley is situated in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is a popular tourist destination, with the peak season around March and April.Dharamsala, the headquarters of Kangra district, lies on the southern spur of Dhauladhar in the valley .-Geography:...

, deep into the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

.

Geography

Pathankot has an average elevation of 332 metres (1,089 feet).
Pathankot is a green town with the Ravi and Chakki rivers on either side. Himachal foothills kissing on South and East and snow capped Himalayas in the back drop in North, Pathankot is last but not the least city of punjab. Gandhi chowk, Valmiki chowk, Shimla pahari, Dhruv park and Ramleela ground are some of the famous spots in the city. There are a few reputed educational institutions like Sai Univerisity, Sai Engineering college, Chintpurni medical college, Saint Joseph Convent School. Pathankot has one of the largest and most important military and airforce stations.

History

Pathankot literally translated means, "Fort of Pathans". When the Ghilzai
Ghilzai
Ghilzai are the largest Pashtun tribal confederacy found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also known historically as Ghilji, Khilji, Ghalji, Ghilzye, and possibly Gharzai...

 tribe of the Pathans in Afghanistan grew in power, the other Pathan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

 tribes moved further south of Afghanistan into India. At that time Afghan tribes including the Marwat
Marwat
Marwat مروت, refers to a Pashtun tribe, located primarily in Lakki Marwat District in the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan as well the districts of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan...

, Yusufzai, Khattak
Khattak
Khattak or Khatak , is the name of an Afghan tribe. speaking a variant of the Kandahari Pashto. They are accorded the status of being one of the original and true Afghans. The tribe is settled along the western bank of the river Indus from as north upwards as Sammah; modern day Lund Khwar & Sher...

 and many other Pathan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

 tribes moved into the Punjab and settled into places like Pathankot and Hoshiarpur .

According to another story, Pathankot is not associated with PathansPathan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

 tribes or Pathania Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

 rulers either . Its original name was Pratishthan which changed to Paithan under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh . Paithan and Kot were two different places separated by the river Chakki. When the British named the place in their records it was written as Pathankot.
Even today there are remains of a human settlement on the other side of river chakki as, many a times,pottery and other artifacts are found when there is any sort of excavation taking place in the region.Hence, this claim is far more supported than the preceding one through evidence.

There are also a Village in Pathankot on Jugial Road where the most of the men belongs to indian army name Pangoli. Col. Jaideep Singh Salaria is the hero of this Village who died in 2001 in Jammu and Kashmir.
There is a place called "ABROL NAGAR" which was founded by BA LLB "Late Sh. Daya Ram Abrol" in 1953. Late Sh. Daya Ram Abrol lives there with his wife alongwith four sons and six daughters. This family was the first family of Abrol Nagar. Later, Mr. Abrol gave land to peolpe to people for free of cost to live.

Economy

Pathankot is an economically well off city, as compared to many other towns of Punjab or Himachal Pradesh . The exact data on per capita income is not available.

Historically, Pathankot's economy was based upon the timber trade. Good quality forest wood from Himachal used to come to Pathankot, where it was cut and distributed to various parts of Northern India. In the early 1990s, when the railroad was extended to Jammu Tawi
Jammu Tawi
Jammu Tawi is a Railway station in Jammu, in India. It is very well connected with the major cities of India such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Ahemedabad, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Patna, Lucknow, Varanasi, Vadodara, Gorakhpur, Dehradun,...

, the timber trade shifted to Jammu.
After the liberalization of the Indian economy, Pathankot has emerged as a commercial center of wholesalers and distributors of consumer goods and services, catering to Himachal Pradesh and North-West Punjab.Now, the main economy of Pathankot is based on Stone Crushers. Being on the foothills the Chakki, Ravi and Beas rivers enter the plains in the vicinity of Pathankot and these rivers carry boulders which settle as the rivers enter the plains. There are more than 200 stone Crushers in and around Pathankot. The most well known being Sant Stone Crusher at Narot Jaimal Singh on the Bank of Ravi.
Being in the foothills of Himachal Pradesh, and as the nearest rail link to Himachal Pradesh and on National Highway No. 1, Pathankot has an economically important location. Pathankot is only 30 km from the Indo-Pak border, and the only rail and road link between strategically important Jammu & Kashmir and rest of India. This means a lot of Army and Air Force personnel are stationed at Pathankot and in nearby areas. They contribute heavily to local prosperity. The Army and Air Force award a lot of contracts to local vendors and their personnel consume local goods and services.

Schools

  • N.N.K. Public School Near Nageshwar Mandir Rara Pathankot
  • Sainik public school
  • MONTESSORI CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL Pathankot
  • Angels Public School Pathankot
  • Vivekanand School Pathankot
  • Modern Sandeepni School pathankot
  • Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1
  • Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2
  • Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 3
  • Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 4
  • Guru Harkrishan Public School
    Guru Harkrishan Public School
    Guru Harkrishan Public School, New Delhi, India, is a co-educational, senior secondary school, affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education . It imparts an education inspired by the life and teachings of the Sikh Gurus...

  • Guru Nanak Dev Public School
  • Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School
  • AIR FORCE SCHOOL Pathankot
  • INDIAN HERITAGE SCHOOL Pathankot Dalhousie Road, Bungal, Pathankot
  • Shemford
    Shemford
    Shemford schools are a chain of formal schools in India. They are run and managed by the operators of India's first preschool chain, Shemrock. Shemford has around ten branches across India, including Hajipur, Kashipur, Kaithal, Najafgarh, Rohini, Hosur, Kagsar, Mirzapur, Pathankot, Patna, Rewa,...

     Pathankot- Senior Secondary School
  • J.M.K International Pathankot-High School
  • Pratap World School Pathankot
  • St.joseph school convent school
  • St. Thomas Sr. Sec. School- mission road, Pathankot
  • Presentation Public School
    Presentation Public School
    Presentation Public School is situated at Jugial, 12 km from the city of Pathankot . Established in 2000, the school is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi and runs classes from nursery to class XII. Run under the aegis of J.M.M...

     - Senior Secondary School
  • M.D.K Arya Sr. Sec. Public School
  • arya sr. sec. school dalhousie road pathankot
  • sawan sr.sec.school harial,pathankot
  • himshikha high school  mamoon pathankot
  • avalon girls sr. sec school
  • D.A.V public school
  • Army Public School (Sujanpur)
  • Pathankot Public School (Abrol Nagar)
  • Jyoti Model Public School (Abrol Nagar)
  • Government School (Abrol Nagar)

More information on Schools in Pathankot

'COLLEGESS AND UNIVERSITY'S IN PATHANKOT':
  • AMAN BHALLA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, KOTLI, PATHANKOT
  • AMAN BHALLA FOUNDATION CAMPUS INCLUDING MANY COLLEGES,(amanbhallafoundation.com)*
  • A&M INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER AND TECHNOLOGY
  • A&M INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
  • SAI UNIVERSITY ,BADHANI(PATHANKOT)
  • SAI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHONOLOGY, BADHANI
  • Chintpurni Medical College (BUNGAL)
  • SD College (SD Collage Road)
  • AB College (AB Collage Road)
  • Rama Devi Girls College (Mission Road)
  • Arya Girls College (Mission Road)
  • PATHANKOT POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE (JALANDHAR BY-PASS)

Transportation

Air

Pathankot is connected to Delhi by a biweekly flight.

Train

Pathankot is a major railway junction. Railway lines from Amritsar (110 km or about 2 hours) and Delhi (475 km or about 8 hours) merge here and all trains to Jammu (110 km or about 2 hours away) pass through Pathankot. Pathankot station is within the city and now all major trains do not enter it. Instead they stop at an adjacent station, Chakki Bank (so called because it is on bank of river Chakki) just 4 km away.

Pathankot is also served by the narrow-gauge Kangra Valley Railway that crawls 128 km to Joginder Nagar via Palampur
Palampur
Palampur is a green hill station and a municipal council in the Kangra Valley in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, surrounded on all sides by tea gardens and pine forests before they merge with the Dhauladhar ranges. Palampur is the tea capital of northwest India but tea is just one aspect that...

 and Kangra
Kangra
Kangra is a city and a municipal council in Kangra district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Historically it was known as Nagarkot.-Demographics:...

 (near Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....

). However, the luxury Kangra Queen service on this track was terminated in 2003 and now only about six slow, often crowded second class trains depart from Pathankot taking over six hours to Joginder Nagar. Tickets for these can only be bought at Pathankot station and no reservations can be made on internet. Some of these trains run to Baijnath Paprola and a few to Joginder Nagar.

To know more about Pathankot trains & their schedules Click Chakki Bank Railway Station and Pathankot Railway Station

Bus

The main bus stand has been renovated. It is close to the railway station. Formerly, there were two bus stations: a small one right next to the train station (for Himachal buses) and the main bus stand a few km away. Public HRTC buses to Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....

 take 3 to 4 hours and cost Rs.100 while buses to Amritsar take 3 hours and cost about Rs.70 (as on which date?).

Pathankot is situated at the entry point of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Pathankot is serviced by state transport buses of many states. The famous Hindu cave Vaishno Devi is just 160 km from Pathankot. Travel to Chandigarh takes about six hours.

For more information about Pathankot Bus Stand Click Maharana Pratap Inter State Bus Terminal Pathankot and to get Schedule of Buses Click Time Table

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Pathankot had a population of 159,559. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Pathankot has an average literacy rate of 87%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 90%, and female literacy is 83%. In Pathankot, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. In Pathankot, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...

 is the official and the main spoken language although Urdu, Hindi and Dogri are also spoken .

Pathankot and its people are very warm and cozy. The city itself reflects the affection of its people.Probably the only city in Punjab which was not affected by the dark period of terrorism during the eighties.

Its one of the city of Punjab's golden triangle i.e. Amritsar, Jalandhar and Pathankot are at a distance of 100 km to each other.

Places of interest & Stay

Places worth visiting near Pathankot include Shahpur Kandi with a hanging resthouse, Ranjit Sagar Dam which is the highest gravity dam in Asia, Madhopur headworks which date back to the Mughal era
Mughal era
The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia . It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...

. Church, Head works of Upper Bari Doab, Shahpur Kandi are the attractions of this area.

There are two mosques in the city presenting the city of its name. Pathankot Club is situated in Adhunik Vihar.

There are some caves on the way to Shahpur Kandi which date to the time of the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

. According to a legend, the Pandavas stayed in those caves for a night during their "Agayatwas". A carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

 or mela
Mela Festival
Melas are south Asian events which have spread around the world from the south Asian subcontinent. Mela means 'gathering' and can describe festival, market, trade event, religious gathering and more....

, called Mukesran da mela is held there each year in the month of April to mark Baisakhi.

The ancient Shiva temple- 'Kathgarh'. is approximately 25 km from PTK, During "Naag panchami" gap between two shiva parvati holy stones reduces and during "shivrathri" the gap increases. There is no clue as to how that happens. But truly it's a magic of its own. To reach there one has to go to Indora (HP), which is 20 km away from ptk. Don't miss this temple if you visit Pathankot.

India's foremost hydraulic research stations is situated at Malikpur which is 7 km from Pathankot, where various models of dams and irrigation canal are made before actual work upon them starts.

There is a fort, called the Nurpur Fort built by the Pathania
Pathania
Pathania is the name of the branch of the Tomara Clan of Chandravanshi, Rajputs, descended from Lord Arjuna, the hero of Mahabharata. It is one of the ruling Rajput clans of India. They mostly live in and around Himachal Pradesh, in North India...

 Rajputs, more than 900 years ago. It was damaged due to the great earthquake which struck this region early in 1905 AD 25 km from Pathankot. It is quite famous in North India, and the temple inside attracts tourists from all across. It is 25 KM away from Pathankot.

Shahpurkandi fort is also one of the main attractions of Pathankot city. It was built in 1505 AD by a Rajput chief Jaspal Singh Pathania. It was strategically located to have control over the Kangra and Nurpur region. The fort is in ruins, and is famous for its temples and the view it commands over the Ravi river.

The famous road/colony that forms the heart of city are mission road, Jodhamal colonybarth sahib , green heaven colony and Patel chownk road. Famous temples are Ashapurni mandir, Kali mata ka mandir, Shani Dev mandir, Hanuman Mandir near railway station, Ramlila ground. Also devotees visit CNI church.

Upcoming residential areas in Pathankot include Patel Chownk, Shahenshah Colony, Victoria Estate and DojiRam Nursery land estate. After announcement of Pathankot as a district, the rates in these colonies have started increasing rapidly.

One can stop over in Pathankot en-route to Mukerian (40), Dharamshala (100 km), Dalhousie (70 km), Amritsar (108), Palampur (100 km), Chamba (100 km) & Jammu (100 km), Hoshiarpur (100 km), Kangra (100 km), Jalandhar (108 km) all in different directions from Pathankot.
To Find distances from Pathankot
Click Here

In popular culture

Pathankot is referred to as Pankot in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...

, as well as the Jewel In The Crown miniseries based on Paul Scott's novel series of the same name
The Jewel in the Crown (novel)
The Jewel in the Crown is the 1966 novel by Paul Scott that starts his Raj Quartet.-Plot introduction:Much of the novel is written in the form of interviews and reports of conversations and research from the point of view of a narrator. Other portions are in the form of letters from one character...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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