Mohali Knowledge Guide

History

Early history

The city has a pre-historic past. Due to the presence of the lake, the area has fossil remains with imprints of a large variety of aquatic plants and animals, and amphibian life, which were supported by the environment. As it was a part of the Punjab region, it had many rivers nearby where the ancient and primitive settlement by humans began. Some 8,000 years ago, the area was also known to be a home to the Harappans.

Medieval history

Mohali means settlement. The village of Mohali was a part of the Sikh Empire.The village Lambian, located in the city, was visited by Guru Har Rai, the 7th Guru of the Sikhs. A battle took place here between the British and 500 Sikhs under the command of Akali Hanuman Singh, in which Akali Hanuman Singh attained martyrdom.

Modern history

After the partition of India in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was split between east Punjab in India and west Punjab in Pakistan. The Indian Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during partition. Consequently, the government made Chandigarh from nearly 50 Puadhi speaking villages of the then state of East Punjab, India.Mohali was conceived after the trifurcation of Punjab and its capital Chandigarh becoming a Union Territory in the late 1960s. In 1967, the area around Mohali Village was initially developed as an industrial estate; this was broadened with residential areas to meet housing demands. The township plan for Mohali was put forward by the All India Congress Committee during the annual session held in 1975 at Mohali. On 1 November 1975, Punjab Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh laid the foundation stone of Mohali township and named it Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar.