Ambala Cantonment
अम्बाला छावनी
City
Grand Trunk Road, at Ambala Cantonment, during British Raj
Grand Trunk Road, at Ambala Cantonment, during British Raj
Nickname: 
अम्बाला छावनी
Ambala Cantonment is located in Haryana
Ambala Cantonment
Ambala Cantonment
Location in Haryana, India
Coordinates: 30°21′43″N 76°50′53″E / 30.361915°N 76.8480778°E / 30.361915; 76.8480778
Country India
StateHaryana
DistrictAmbala
Government
 • BodyCantonment board ambala.
Population
 (2011)
 • Total74,216
Languages
 • OfficialHindi
English
Punjabi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationHR 01, HR 37

Ambala Cantonment (Hindi:अम्बाला छावनी) is a cantonment town in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India. It is some 200 kilometres north of Delhi and 50 km south from Chandigarh. Delhi-Kalka & Saharanpur-Ludhiana's railway lines and G.T. Road also passes through Ambala Cantt. This Cantt. was established in the year 1843 and is an important centre for manufacturing of scientific & surgical instruments.[1]

Overview

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The Cantonment is from the British times as it lies at an important junction, from here one can take the road North to Chandigarh and onwards to Simla, or turn East towards Uttar Pradesh, or go west to Ludhiana, and onwards to Jalandhar and Amritsar - Lahore.


It is a prominent junction and is located on the Grand Trunk Road. Just across the railway station is the bus stand.

It has a lot of colonial bungalows and wide tree lined roads typical of British Cantonments in the subcontinent. It also gets a mention in the Rudyard Kipling book Kim. The formation sign of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Area (earlier Punjab Area) located here (a Taurus on a Red background) is a theme in the book. The formation sign still exists for an Indian Army formation in Shimla with some units affiliated to it still using the sign in Ambala.

European Cemetery

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Historic Ambala European Cemetery is located here.

Indian Army & Airforce Base

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It is currently the Headquarters of II Corps (India),(raised in 1970, formation sign Kharga) and an important forward Indian Air Force base.

Demographics

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As of 2011 India census,[2] Ambala Cantonment had a population of 74,216,. Males constitute 61% of the population and females 39%. Ambala Cantonment has an average literacy rate of 82.9%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 64% of the males and 36% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Visitor attractions

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  • Gurudwara Lakhnaur Sahib
  • Gurudwara manji sahib
  • Gurudwara panjokhra sahib
     
    Gurudwara Panjokhra Sahib, Haryana
  • Hathi Khana Shiv Mandir
  • Holy Redeemer Church
  • Saint Paul’s Church
  • Indira Park
  • Christian Cemetery
  • Raja Ka Talab
  • Rani Ka Talab
  • Kharga Golf Club

Education

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Many colleges have now been established in the area for higher education from last few decades. It mainly includes Engineering Colleges which are affiliated to Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.[3] Moreover some Historic Colleges which were established before independence of India are also present, an example of that is Sanatan Dharma College on Ambala–Jagadhri Highway established in 1916 in Lahore.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ For the above info, http://www.ambalayellowpages.com/about.html
  2. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  3. ^ List of Engineering Colleges affiliated to Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra

Category:Cities and towns in Ambala district Category:Cantonments of India Category:Cantonments of British India Category:Ambala