Introduction Ambala is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the state of Punjab. Politically; Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantonment (Ambala Cantt) and Ambala City, approximately 3 kilometers apart from each other, therefore it is also known as "Twin City". It has a large Indian Army and Indian Air Force presence within the confines of its cantonment area. Ambala separates the Ganges river network from the Indus river network and is surrounded by two rivers – Ghaggar and Tangri – to the north and to the south. Due to its geographical location, the Ambala district plays an important role in local tourism. Ramesh Mal is the new elected Mayor of Ambala Municipal Corporation.
History It is said that Ambala District was founded by Amba Rajput during the 14th century AD. Another version is that the name is a corruption of Amba Wala meaning the mango-village, from mango groves which existed in its immediate neighborhood. Still, another version is that the District has taken its name after goddess "Bhawani Amba" whose Temple still exists in Ambala city.
The Ambala Cantonment was established in 1843 after the British were forced to leave its Karnal Cantonment following the malaria epidemic of 1841–42 in as there were not any known effective means to control malaria epidemic in those days. The cantonment houses the 2 Corps, one of the three Strike Corps of the Indian Army.
Ambala was given the status of a district in 1847, formed by the merging of the jagir estates of hitherto independent chieftains whose territories had lapsed or had been confiscated by the British Indian Government. In its 160 years of existence as a district, Ambala has witnessed many changes in its boundaries. Previously it extended across tehsils of Ambala, Saphera, Jagadhri, Pipli, Kharar, Mohali, Ropar and Nalagarh. Kalka-cum-Kurari State, Pinjore, Mani-Majra , Kasauli & Sanawar were also merged into the district at different times.
Ambala Air Force Base is one of the oldest and largest airbases that were inherited from the British by the IAF. It was from this airbase that Spitfires and Harvards flown by Instructors of the Advanced Flying Training School took part in the 1947-48 Kashmir Operations. Subsequently, Ambala was the front line airfield for many years. It was home to various aircraft that were inducted into the Indian Air Force. Vampires, Ouragans, Hunters, etc. all flew from this base. The airbase was briefly attacked in 1965 by B-57 bombers of the Pakistan Air Force. Today, the Airbase houses the 7 Wing with squadrons of Jaguars and MiG-21 Bisons. A unit of the French-made Dassault Rafale will be based at Ambala air base.
In November 1949 Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse was hanged at Ambala Central Jail along with Narayan Apte, a co-conspirator. Ambala Cantt is also mentioned in Kim (novel) by Rudyard Kipling.
Demographics As of 2011 India census, Ambala had a population of 406,784, consisting of 200,044 males and 202,740 females. Ambala has an average literacy rate of 82.9%, with 88.5% of males and 76.6% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Science Market Ambala Cantt is known as city of scientific instruments. It is a major scientific products market and is a hub for products like glass apparatus, microscopes, laboratory equipment etc. Ambala constitutes nearly 34% of the total production of scientific instruments produced in India. Ambala Cantt is a hub of scientific instruments with more than 1200 units engaged in this business. The scientific instruments industry is employing more than 5000 skilled and semi-skilled people. It is using more than 50 types of different raw materials to manufacture more than 20,000 different types of instruments, which are being used in schools, colleges, engineering institutes, medical colleges, hospitals, universities, research laboratories, quality control lab of industries and defence/space applications. The annual turnover of the industry is approx. 1000 crore with approx 300 crore being the export component.
Eminent Exponent of Sikh Devotional Music (1879-1926)
BHAI HEERA SINGH JI RAGI FOUNDER OF THE SCHOOL
Was born in 1879 at Faruka, in Shahpur district, now in Pakistan. His father's name was Bhai Bhag Singh and mother's Satbharai. Bhag Singh was well versed in classical music and played string instruments such as sarangi and taus. Hira Singh joined the middle school at Sahival, but soon left it to study the religious texts with Bhai Mahna Singh of Faruka. He learnt music from his father who performed kirtan in the village gurdwara. At the age of 15, he was married to Bibi Bhavan (renamed Prem Kaur). He attended the Nirankari Darbar at Rawalpindi and Namdhari Darbar at Bhaini, and subsequently joined the jatha of Sant Atar Singh in whose company he also went on a pilgrimage to Sri Abchal Nagar Hazur Sahib, Nanded. In 1897, he settled down, with his wife, at , working with the Khalsa Tract Society which brought him under the influence of Bhai Vir Singh and deepened his study of the Sikh scriptural writings. He started to learn playing the harmonium from Mahant Takht Singh. His father soon joined him in Amritsar and the two formed a ragi jatha, or choir, which soon became the most famous ensemble reciting kirtan at Sikh gatherings. Hira Singh led the kirtan interspersing it with exposition of the sacred verse, as his father accompanied him on the taus.
He joined the Chief Khalsa Diwan founded in 1902, and worked tirelessly towards promoting its programme of religious and social reform and of education among Sikhs. By his kirtan and discourses, he kept vast audiences spellbound. Many entered the Sikh fold under his influence. The story is told of Haji Muhammad Miskin who was among the audience listening to Bhai Hira Singh's kirtan in Gwalior in 1925. The Haji had very diligently manufactured a rare piece of art - a whisk made of 145,000 strands of sandalwood fibre-which he desired to present as an offering at an appropriate place of worship. He felt so moved that he accompanied Bhai Hira Singh to Amritsar and, on his advice, offered the precious article at the Golden Temple. The whisk is still preserved in the Golden Temple toshakhana or treasury.
Bhai Hira Singh was one of the principal fund-raisers for the Sikh Educational Conference which set up schools in many parts of the Punjab. He helped to found in 1908 a Khalsa high school at Faruka which after the partition of 1947 was restarted in Ambala Cantonment. In the middle of 1924, Bhai Hira Singh was taken ill with cancer of the stomach. He died at DehraDoon on 2 September 1926.