Panipat, the district headquarters of Panipat District, is a historical town situated on the banks of Yamuna and is 92 km north of New Delhi. It is a famous handloom center and is one of the fast developing cities in the state of Haryana.

Panipat city is famous in India by the name of “City of Weaver”. Panipat District has significant place in International Market for “Handloom Production”. Darri, Carpet Mat, Table Cover, Bed sheet, Bed Cover, Curtain etc. are export to Canada, Japan, Germany & Australia.

Behind its modern looks, Panipat has a rich past and cultural heritage. Having a strategic location in North India, Panipat prominently figured in the territorial expansion plans of many erstwhile rulers. Therefore, it is said that history was more often made in Panipat than Delhi. The historic battles of Panipat (in 1526, 1556 and 1761) stand testimony to those tumultuous times.

Places of tourist interest include the tomb of Ibrahim Lodhi, the Kabuli Bagh Mosque built by Babur, the Salarjung Gate, Dargah of Bu Ali Shah Qalandar and the Jain temples at Holi Mohalla.

Ibrahim Lodi was the Sultan of Delhi in 1526. He was defeated and killed in a battle with Babar. His tomb was constructed in Panipat and is situated near a Tehsil Office at Panipat. This tomb is considered to be one of the major monuments in Haryana and it holds a great importance in the history of Haryana. Ibrahim Lodi’s Tomb is a rectangular block made of Lakhori bricks. During the british rule, they renovated this tomb and installed an inscription that stated the defeat of Ibrahim Lodhi.

First Battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526) :

The First Battle of Panipat was fought between sultan Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi and Mughal invader, Zaheeruddin Babur on April21, A.D.1526. Ibrahim fought with a big army of one lakh soldiers whereas Babur possessed only 12 thousand soldiers but had cannons in a fair number. The supremacy in the art of fighting, the organization of force and the deadly use of cannons won for Babur a decisive battle over Ibrahim Lodi. Lodi was killed and Delhi and Agra passed on to the hands of Babur who laid the foundation of Mughal rule in India.

Second Battle of Panipat (A.D. 1556) :

The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on November 5, 1556 between the able Hindu commander and the king Hemu and Akbar who succeeded Humayun to the throne of Delhi. Hemu led a far bigger army than Akbar’s army and in addition it also had 1500 elephants. Initially Hemu succeeded but an arrow hit his eye accidentally which reversed the fate of battle. Hemu fell unconscious and his army fled away. Hemu was caught and produced before the adolecent Akbar, who beheaded him and became the master of Delhi and Agra. This battle gave the final verdict in favour of the Mughals, and the Afghans were virtually expelled for the next 200 years.

Third Battle of Panipat(A.D. 1761) :

The Third Battle of Paniapt was fought on January 14, 1761 between the Afghan invader Ahmed Shah Abdali and the Marathas,the protectors and friends of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II . In this battle, the Maratha commander Sadashiv Rao Bhau was defeated by the Afghan commander Abdali by his military tactics. The Nawab of Oudh, Shuja-Uddaula and the Rohilla leader Sardar Najib Khan were on the side of Abdali, who in this fierce battle defeated the Maratha army in a decisive manner. Sadashiv Rao Bhau, the young son of Peshwa and a number if Maratha commanders fell on the battle-field. This gave a tremendous blow to the Maratha power. Only six months later,the disheartened Peshwa, balaji Rao, died. The battle proved to be disastrous as not only the Marathas had to bear tremendous losses, but the event marked the beginning of the downfall of the Mughals. On the other hand, there was confrontation among the Muslim rulers. All these paved the way for the rise of British power in India Corporation

Qurratulain Hyder died a fortnight ago. Her novel Mere Bhi Sanam Khane portrayed the sparks of Partition blowing up the pathways of a composite culture, leaving a yawning gap of burning dust. Some of the writings of Intizar Husain, now in India as a Sahitya Akademi guest, reflect how an ongoing cultural process was stalled in “a very unnatural way” by a few Muslims and Hindus who, with their puritan frame of mind, contributed to the tragedy of Partition.

To survey the making of Pakistan as a whole, to discover trends in the Partition movement and to seek out its meanings, Yasmin Khan is not the first to make the attempt. Why, then, another tome? Partition, she writes, deserves closer attention as one of 20th century’s darkest hour. It is a loud reminder of the dangers of colonial interventions, and the profound difficulties that dog regime change; lastly, it is “a testament to the follies of empire, which ruptures community evolution, distorts historical trajectories and forces violent state formation from societies that would otherwise have taken…unknowable…paths”.

Readable and insightful in parts, Khan’s book neither sheds much light on the protracted negotiations between the Congress, the Muslim League and the British, nor does it seek out and punish the ‘guilty’.

Expectations of Partition were mixed; some longed for Lahore in India, others hoped Punjab’s boundary would also take in Delhi.

Instead, it challenges the one-dimensional versions of the past, the “messy ambiguities” of Partition, and the uncertain meanings of Partition and Pakistan in the minds of the people living through the transfer of power. The book’s merit lies in introducing the various vocabularies of freedom in
circulation in the late 1940s.

Elsewhere, I had argued that people had no sense of the newly demarcated frontiers, and little or no knowledge of how the Mountbatten Plan or Radcliffe Award would change their destinies, and, moreover, uproot them from their familiar socio-cultural moorings. “The English have flung away their Raj like a bundle of old straw,” an angry peasant told a British official, “and we have been chopped in pieces like butcher’s meat.” This was the meaning a ‘subaltern’ attached to the Partition movement.

Did Panipat’s Muslim weavers plan to set up home in Pakistan? No, said Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, the writer-filmmaker. Expectations of what Partition would be were mixed. Some longed for Lahore’s inclusion in India; others hoped the boundary in Punjab would be drawn to include Delhi. “For millions of people like myself,” wrote Pakistani writer Shaista Ikramullah, “a Pakistan without Delhi was a body without heart.”

Khan holds out much promise in her introduction. Thereafter, her narrative comes alive. She juxtaposes ‘high politics’ and popular mobilisation deftly. The picture is irresistibly suggestive and the prose elegant. She takes a dim view of British pride and conceit, and indicts officials for their hypocrisy and failure in dealing with Partition violence. Her account does not work in a void; she has a sense of the factual.

In describing the horror stories, there is always the great danger of repetition—more trains full of dead bodies, more hacked limbs. At the same time, there is also the redeeming repetition of a strong sense of hope and optimism in these tales of despair. According to Prof Amrik Singh, the Muslims from a village in Rawalpindi district did not want to send the non-Muslims away. Nor did they want to kill them. Those who caused mayhem did not belong to his village but were brought in from far away. Many ordinary people rose above the macabre and sinister politics to help the ‘other’ at the risk of their own lives. In a nutshell, small enclaves of humanism and sanity existed in the surrounding bloodshed.

In a thoughtful epilogue, Khan raises important questions about “a deeply ambiguous, transitional position between empire and nationhood”.She asserts, “there was nothing inevitable or pre-planned about the way Partition unfolded”. Indeed, “the history of Partition has suggested that modern nation-states had to be crafted out of a chaotic…situation in which myriad voices made their claims and counter-claims”.

Saadat Hasan Manto, the enfant terrible of Urdu literature, refused to accept Partition’s bloody consequences for long, but did so in the end, without self-pity or despair. It’s time we did the same.

Born in a poor Irish family of Tipperary (Ireland) in 1756 A.D, George Thomas could not get proper education.’ He became a sailor and arrived in India in 1781-82. As God had stored much more for him, he left the existing position and joined Nizam Ali Khan’s army as a gunner. In 1787 he got a commission in the service of Begum Sumru, who appointed him as a collector (District Magistrate) of Tappal. He took keen interest and doubled the revenue of it. He suppressed the law-breakers, but in an intrigue, he was arrested and confined in 1791. However, he was released by the efforts undertaken by Shah Nizam-ud-Din, an agent of Mahadji at the Imperial Court. He went to Anupshahar and remained there for some time.

Thomas was an intrepid soldier and could not remain in isolation for a long time. In 1793, he entered in the service of Apa Khande Rao, the Maratha Governor of Southern Haryana, who directed him to raise a battalion of 1,000 cavalry. In 1794, Thomas collected the revenue forcibly from the peasants of Western Haryana. Tijara, Tapukra and Firozepur-Zirkha were assigned to him so that he could maintain more troops. Having taken possession of Tijara in March 1794, he plundered Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar, Pataudi and other surrounding villages and included all these places in his jagir and raised an income of one and a half lakhs rupees a year.

Although Thomas had established his authority over some parts of Haryana, yet a courageous Ganga Bishan, Ahir and a principal zamindar alongwith 14,000 men of his tribe, made a representation. He resolved to hand over his district to Gopal Rao Bhau. Apa could not bear this and directed Thomas to punish Ganga Bishan. On his arrival, the zamindar fled towards the mountains of Mewat. Thomas pursued and captured him. Later, he was sent to Apa.

Still the people of Haryana did not lose heart and continued to make a tough resistance against bravado Thomas. The capture of Ben, in the year 1794, is an interesting story. “In the fort (says Mr. Thomas) exclusive of the garrison, were 300 Rajpoots and Jaats. These had been hired for the express purpose of defending the place and it was here I was in the most imminent danger of losing the whole of my party….the danger was every moment increasing, the town was on a fire in several parts, and our retreat nearly put off by the flames that surrounded us.”

“In this situation, we had the additional mortification to perceive the merciless enemy seize on the wounded officer, and with savage barbarity, precipitate him into the fire. Equally animated, as enraged by this spectacle, my troops now rushed forward to attack, with an ardour that was irresistible. Having gained entire possession of the fort, the soldiers with clamorous expression of revenge, insisted on the death of every one of the garrison that remained and I was not inclined to rescue; but it cost us dear; the enemy to a man made a brave resistance. This contest was continued so long as to afford time to those who had retreated to return. By this means, we were again engaged; and at one time almost overpowered; but receiving a reinforcement of our own party, the enemy, once more made a stand in the jungles, adjoining the town, when, after a second desperate conflict; they gave way on all sides and most of them were out to pieces.” Thus, the Haryanavies laid down the lives for the sake of their country.

The repeated success of Thomas in Haryana aroused jealousy of Begum Sumru. Levasso, an inveterate enemy of Thomas added fuel to fire. Begum’s army consisting of 4 battalions of infantry, 20 companies of artillery and 400 cavalry, moved from Sirdhana, her capital. She encamped about 34 miles South-East of Jhajjar.’ Mr Thomas’ regiment consisted of 2,000 men, 10 pieces of artillery, 500 irregular and 200 cavalry. As he had a good luck, a dissension aroused in the troops of Levasso, who was the Chief Commander, and had enmity with Legois, a German, who was a friend of Thomas. He dissuaded Begum not to attack upon Thomas. She paid little attention to his advice and Legois was replaced by a junior officer. On this, his troops revolted and the Begum was made prisoner. Levasso could not bear this and shot himself, and immediately fell from his horse. “The villians (says Thomas), who the preceding day had styled themselves, his slaves, now committed every act of insult and indignity upon his corpse.” After three days it was thrown into a ditch. In this way, the ensuing danger was warded off. Being a free man, he moved towards Narnaul and took possession of it. Here, Khande Rao bestowed an elephant, a pallanquin, shawls and other valuable articles to Thomas.

In 1795, 5,000 Sikhs entered the Upper Doab and plundered the territory. Before the Sikhs, “the local militia made no stand against them. The Maratha garrisons in Saharanpur were scattered like chaff before the wind.” Apa Khanda Rao utilised the services of Mr. Thomas in ousting the Sikhs. The Sikhs wisely returned to Panjab. Lakhwa Dada put him on duty to guard the Yamuna-frontier of the Upper Doab with a contingent of 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry and 16 pieces of artillery and assigned him the parganas of Panipat, Sonepat and Karnal in order to maintain his additional troops. One would be surprised to know that the Marathas had destroyed the Western Yamuna Canal. Consequently, it yielded only one lakh of rupees, which yielded revenue of rupees 14 lakh per year earlier.” Thomas remained busy during the entire year of 1796 in warding off the Sikhs. The Sikhs continued to plunder the Upper Doab and Thomas had to fight with them on both sides of the Yamuna.

On 25 June, 1797, Apa Khande Rao was drowned in the Yamuna and was succeeded by his nephew Vaman Rao. The Maratha administration was deteriorating. Thomas could not get the promised pay from the successor of Apa and found the income of his jagir unequal to meet the expenses of his troops. Thomas had no argent comptant for his army. He became bandolero and “began to support himself by filibustering raids on the towns and villages of his neighbours, without any regard whatever for the elementary laws of property.’ In 1797 he made a raid from Jhajjar upon Urika, a town of Jaipur and collected 52,000 rupees from there.

In early 1798 Lakhwa Dada ordered Vaman Rao, to raid Jaipur for collecting the tribute due from the State. He was to be assisted by Thomas, who was promised to be paid rupees 50,000 a month. Thomas’ army consisted of three battalions of infantry, 300 Ruhela musketeers, 200 jawans of Haryana, 90 horsemen and 14 pieces of artillery. They started from Karnal and entered the north side of Kachhwa kingdom. On the way they collected the revenue from the villagers. A battle was fought near Fatehpur in February 1798. The Maratha cavalry supporting Thomas fled away. Consequently, a large number of his men were put to the sword. “The moment was critical. Mr. Thomas, with the only gun that remained which he loaded upto the mussle, and about 150 of his followers waited the event with fortitude. After permitting the enemy to approach within forty-yards, he gave them three discharges of his guns accompanied by three volleys of musketry.” Thus the enemy was routed completely. Thomas apprehended the flight of Marathas in the battle and resolved to withdrew his earlier support. Now he wanted to establish his own independent principality in Haryana.

In order to fulfil his dreams, he chose the ‘No Man’s Land’ west of Rewari—Delhi–Karnal districts and south of Patiala. He established his capital at Hansi. Haryana had not acknowledged any ruler for the last many years. It had been a battle field for contending powers.

Sir Jadunath Sarkar writes, “The tract of land under the rule of George Thomas was oval in shape, with ill-defined and ever-shifting frontiers. It extended 32 to 48 miles in different directions. On the north lay the Ghagher river which separated it from the lands under Sikh occupation; on the west the country of the predatory Bhatti tribe, beyond which lay the deserts of Bikaner. The south was bounded by the Rewari district.” In most parts of this tract, water is scarce. Hence the inhabitants have constructed wells often 120 to 150 or even 200 feet deep. In the Hissar district there are 300 such wells.” He spent the whole month of May 1798 in repairing the dilapidated fort of Hansi. Being a militarist, he led expeditions and took possession of southern Haryana. But still, he had to face Bhattis, the Raja of Patiala and other Sikh chiefs who were ruling on north-west Haryana.

At Hansi, he felt a great difficulty in procuring the inhabitants as it was a deserted city. But he treated the people of surrounding areas with mildness. Thus its population rose to 6,000 souls as he himself writes: “I selected between five and six thousand persons to whom I allowed every lawful indulgence.” Here he established a mint and coined his own rupees (Sikka-i-sahib anno Hijri 1214). He made his coins current in his army and country. He also employed a large number, of workmen and artificers.” “I now judged that nothing but force of arms could maintain my authority. I, therefore, increased their number cast in my own artillery, commenced making musquets, match-locks and gun powder and in short made the best preparations for carrying on an offensive and defensive war till at length having gained a capital and country bordering on the Sikhs’ territories…”

Thomas had an insatiable desire to extend his territory. So, he marched out of Hansi and seized the fort of Gokulgarh — two miles from and belonging to Sindhia, a local Governor. Then he moved ahead and took possession of Bahadurgarh. He also attacked Bhag Singh, a raja of Jind, but he had to wheel back as he was supported by other Sikh chiefs, particularly by Bibi Sahib Kaur of Patiala. However, in February 1799 he had to come back.”

Thomas did not lose heart and in January 1800 he marched towards Safidon and besieged it for two hours. In the struggle, Mr. Hopkins was wounded. Meanwhile, he received an invitation from Bibi Sahib Kaur, who was imprisoned by her brother, the raja of Patiala, which compelled the raja to surrender the districts of Budsikri, Jamalpur and Tohana from Patiala, Kapori from Kaithal of Budsikri, and Safidon from Jind, and also release his sister. He also plundered Sirsa, a fort belonging to Bhattis and collected immense booty. On the way, he also plundered Kaithal. Thomas, having established himself in Haryana, resolved to plant the British standard on the banks of Attock. In the beginning of January 1801, Thomas again invaded Patiala. At this time “the whole Khalsa force of that region came together, enveloped the invader, and cut him off from the base (end of March 1801).” Thomas had to retreat to his dominions.

Since he had already faced the bellicose Sikhs, who prevented him to move ahead, it seemed, that he resolved to remain in Haryana, where he had not great opposition from the local inhabitants at least. In April 1801, he again moved towards Jind. Bhag Siagh, the raja of Jind, got the support from French General Perron, whom Daulat Rao Sindhia had made his supreme Commander in North-India. He had collected a large force in order to annihilate him in Haryana. On the instigation, some of men deserted Thomas and joined Perron. So his, fall was “as meteoric as his rise.” In September 1801, Perron sent Major Louis Bourquien towards Georgegarh. Thomas rapidly marched from Hansi but he was intercepted by Bourquein. A battle was fought on 1st October, 1801, but without result. However, Bourquein got the timely help from the Sikhs. They cut the provisions of Thomas. Consequently the scarcity of food stuff prevailed in his camp and “flour began to sell at eight seers for a rupee.” On 10th November, 1801, he fled and Georgegarh was captured by them. …On 23rd December, 1801, Thomas had to surrender as he had neither money nor men, barring a few Rajputs. He had to leave Haryana. He died on 22 August, 1802 at Berhampur in Benga1.

Haryana again fell under the way of Marathas which they controlled till 1803 A.D. On 30 December, 1803, Daulat Rao Sindhia ceded the territory of Haryana to the British East India Company through the treaty of Sirji Anjangaon and it was included in the Presidency of Bengal with a resident to administer it

Thus, military activities of Thomas remained confined in Haryana and he did not face any strong resistance from the local inhabitants unitedly in establishing his principality in this region. The reason is apparent that the people of Haryana were not united in a single body as the Sikhs were. (Courtesy Punjab Past and Present, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Special Number 1983)
sources-worldsikhnews.com

Panipat is an ancient and historic city in Panipat District, Haryana state, India. It is 90 km from Delhi on NH-1 and comes under the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Three battles fought at the city were turning points in Indian history.

History

Panipat was one of the five cities (prasthas) founded by the Pandava brothers during the times of the Mahabharata; its historic name being Paneprastha.

Panipat was the scene of three pivotal battles in Indian history. Panipat is also known for textile and Yarn Business.

The First battle of Panipat was fought in 1526 between Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi and Zaheeruddin Babur. Babur’s force of twelve thousand soldiers were equipped with cannons and were better organised, and thus were able overcome Lodhi’s much larger force of over one lakh (one hundred thousand) soldiers. Babur laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India.

The Second battle of Panipat was fought in 1556 between Hemu and Bairam Khan Shaibani (Emperor Humayun’s cheiftain of the Persian cavalry lent to him by Tahmasp Safawi Iran’s ruler, in whose realm Humayun had sought sanctuary after being dethroned and chased out of Indian borders by Sher Shah Suri in 1530.) Bairam Khan, caretaker of Akbar was the father of Mirza Abdurraheem Khan i Khanan, Akbar’s renowned general, governor and courtier. Hemu fell unconscious when an arrow hit his eye and his army left the field. He was beheaded and the Mughal comeback in India was complete.

The Third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761 between Ahmad Shah Abdali and Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau, the cousin of Peshwa Nanasaheb, the Pancha Pradhan of the Maratha State at Pune , who were protecting the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. This battle marked the rise of the British power in India and the end of Pune’s military strength as the head of Maratha rulers in Indian territories.Lutfullah 13:08, 29 March 2007 (UTC)Lutfullah

Industrial scenario of Panipat – A city of handloom

Panipat is a city of textiles and carpets. It is the biggest centre for cheap blankets and carpets in India and has a handloom weaving industry. The pickle “Pachranga International” is also well known. Panipat also has heavy industry, with a refinery of the Indian Oil Corporation, a National Thermal Power Corporation power plant and a National Fertilizers Limited plant.

Salient Features of the industry at Panipat

* Town has three major projects under public sector – IOC Refinery, NFL and Thermal Power Station.
* Biggest Centre in the Country for producing Shoddy Yarn.
* Biggest Centre in the Country for producing low priced blankets.
* Biggest Centre in the Country engaged in Export of Cotton Durries, Made-ups, Throws and Mats.
* Larger consumer of rags for re-processing.
* Panipat Town is a very old supplier of Barrack Blankets to the Armed Forces.
* Samalkha, a smaller town near Panipat, is known for the foundry work and supply of Agriculture machinery to nearby U.P. area.
* A very high per day wage for the labour vis-à-vis national average- a worker earns Rs.70/- to 120/- per day on Handloom/ Powerloom.
* A town has infrastructures such as Rail, Road and ICDS (Inland Container Depots) best suited to Industry and Export.

Sights

The main places of attraction are the grave of Ibrahim Lodhi, Kabuli Bagh, Devi Mandir, Kala Amb, Salar Gunj Gate, and the tomb of the thirteenth century sufi saint Bu Ali Shah Qalandar.

‘Kala Amb’ is a memorial built in memory of the soldiers who died in the battlefield of Panipat. It is said that blood of the dead soldiers was mixed with the soil and the fruit of a mango tree became black in color due to that and hence the name “Kala Amb” meaning ‘Black Mango’.

The famous Urdu shayar Maulana Hali was born in Panipat.

Geographical Structure and Atmosphere

As mentioned above this city is situated on Shershah Suri Marg( Now known as G.T. road- N.H.1.) 90 KM from Delhi. The three sides of this district touches other district of Haryana Viz. Karnal in North, Jind in West and Sonipat in South and in East touches with Uttar Pradesh accross Yamuna.

Panipat was the part of District Karnal till 31 October,1989,which was upgraded as a separate District, including Assandh Tehsil of district Karnal. When the District was reformed on 01 January,1992 Assandh Tehsil was excluded from this District.

Education institutions in Panipat

General colleges

* S D College, Panipat
* I B College, Panipat
* Arya College, Panipat

Engineering Colleges

* N C College of Engineering, Israna
* Panipat Institute of Textile & Engineering, Samalkha
* Asia Pacific Institute of Information & Technology

Schools

* Delhi Public School
* M.A.S.D. Public School
* Bal Vikas School, Model Town
* Kendriya Vidyalaya, NFL
* Dr. M K K Arya Model School
* S D Vidya Mandir, HUDA
* DAV School, Thermal
* St. Mary’s
* S D Senior Secondary School
* Arya Senior Secondary School
* Arya Bal Bharti Public School
* S.D Modren Sen. Secondry School
* S.D. Girls School
* Bal Bharti
* Arya Girls Public School, G.T. Road
* Adarsh Bal Niketan,Assandh Road

Hotels

* Hotel Gold
* Hotel My India
* Hotel Nirulas
* Hotel Maharaja
* Hotel Regency
* Hotel Mid Town
* Hotel Skylark (Haryana tourism development corporation)

Shopping malls

* Gokul Mega Mart
* Mittal Mega Mall
* Saraf Mall
* Angel Prime Mall
(source http://www.answers.com/topic/panipat)