ChandīgarhChandigarhcity and union territory of India. Located on the plain just south of the Shiwalik Hills, about 150 miles (240 kilometresabout 165 miles (265 km) north of New Delhi, Chandīgarh the territory is bounded by the state of Haryāna Haryana on the east and by the state of Punjab on all other sides. The territory is administered by a chief commissioner, who is appointed by the president of India’s union (central) government. The city of Chandīgarh is the capital of the territory, as well as the joint capital of the states of Haryāna and Punjab.

The union territory of Chandīgarh was constituted on Nov. 1, 1966. It includes the city of Chandīgarh, four towns, and a number of adjoining villages, which together cover 44 square miles (114 square kilometres). Chandīgarh derives its name from Chandī Mandir (“Temple of the Goddess Chandī”), located in the village of Mani Mājra.

Physical and human geographyChandīgarh lies on the It is situated on the Indo-Gangetic Plain a few miles south of the Shiwālik Hills and Siwalik Range (Shiwalik Range), between two seasonal hill torrents, the Sukhna Choe Cho and the Patiāli Patiali Rao. The land is a flat , and fertile tract of alluvial soils. Its , and its rural farmland produces such crops as wheat, corn (maize), and rice.

The city of Chandīgarh covers more than half of the territory’s land area. Planned from scratch beginning in the late 1940s, the city has a modern infrastructure and a relatively low density of population. It is currently divided into 46 rectangular sectors, numbered 1–12 and 14–47, with no sector given the “unlucky” number 13. Each sector (except numbers 2–6) has an area of approximately 250 acres (100 hectares) and a housing capacity of about 15,000 people. Designed to be self-contained in civic amenities, the sectors are separated from each other by broad streets carrying the city’s fast-moving arterial traffic. The poor sanitary conditions in the territory’s rural areas sharply contrast with the modern facilities in the city of Chandīgarh.

The main government buildings are in sector 1, in the northern part of the city, while most of the work force lives in the southern sectors. In the northeast is the large artificial Lake Sukhna, which has become the main evening promenading and recreational spot of Chandīgarh. In the southeast are the industrial areas, separated from the residential sectors by a green belt. There are a variety of industries, among them electronics, pharmaceuticals, sanitary ware, and electrical appliances. The city has many institutions of higher learning, including Panjab University (founded 1947).

Hindus make up the great majority of the territory’s population, although there are a significant number of Sikhs, as well as a sprinkling of Muslims and Jainas. Hindi and Punjābī, the two principal languages, are widely spoken in the territory.

HistoryPlans for building a new city on the present site of Chandīgarh were begun soon after the partition of India in 1947, when In the summer months (April to June) temperatures may rise above 120 °F (about 50 °C), while in the winter months (November to February) temperatures may dip into the mid-30s F (about 2 °C), with frequent showers. The monsoon season (July to September) is hot and humid.

Lying within the territory of Chandigarh are the city of Chandigarh, several towns, and a number of adjoining villages. The chief executive, or “administrator,” of the territory is the governor of Punjab, who is assisted by a senior officer appointed by the national government. Chandigarh city is the capital of the territory and of the states of Haryana and Punjab. Meaning “stronghold of the goddess Chandi,” Chandighar derives its name from Chandi Mandir, a temple dedicated to the goddess that is located near the town of Mani Majra. Area union territory, 44 square miles (114 square km). Pop. (2001) city, 808,515; (2004 est.) union territory, 1,015,000.


With the partition of India in 1947, the old British province of Punjab was divided into two parts. Pakistan was ceded the The larger western part, including the Punjābī Punjabi capital of Lahore, which left the Indian state of Punjab went to Pakistan. The eastern part was granted to India, but it was without an administrative, commercial, or cultural centre. Consequently, plans to find a suitable site for the capital of the new Indian Punjab were undertaken soon after partition. The Indian government considered several options—including Amritsar, Jalandhar (Jullundur), Phillaur, Ludhiana, Shimla (Simla), Ambala, and Karnal—and selected the present site of Chandigarh in 1948. It was hoped that a magnificent new state capital for the state , scenically located at the foot of the Himalayas, would become a symbol of modernity, would heal the wounded pride of Indian PunjābīsPunjabis, and would house thousands of mostly Hindu and Sikh refugees who had fled from Muslim-dominated Pakistan.

The site chosen for the new Punjābī capital, scenically located at the foot of the Himalayas, required the relocation of some 21,000 people from 58 villages. The city was planned by the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier, aided by assisted by Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, and several Indian architects and town planners. Construction began in the early 1950s, and most of the city was completed in the early 1960s. The Chandīgarh project ultimately required the relocation of some 21,000 people from 58 villages.

The Chandigarh union territory was formed in constituted on Nov. 1, 1966, when the Indian Punjab was reorganized along linguistic lines into two new states—predominantly HindīHindi-speaking Haryāna Haryana and PunjābīPunjabi-speaking Punjab. The city, straddled between Haryāna Straddled between Haryana and Punjab, the city of Chandighar was made the shared capital of the two states and of the union territory itself. Under the terms of the 1986 Punjab Accord, the entire union territory was to become part of Punjab, while the agriculturally productive, mostly HindīHindi-speaking areas of Fāzilka Fazilka and Abohar, both in Punjab, were to be transferred from Punjab to Haryāna. Because of political uncertainty and protracted violence in Punjab, the agreement was not carried Haryana; by the early 21st century, however, this plan had yet to come to fruition.

The contemporary city and territory


Most of the population of the territory is concentrated in the southern sector of Chandighar city. Hindus constitute by far the predominant religious group, although Sikhs form a significant minority. There also is a sprinkling of Muslims, Christians, and Jains. Hindi and Punjabi are the most widely spoken languages in the territory.

The territory has many notable educational and cultural institutions, including Punjab University (founded 1947), the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, the Punjab Engineering College, the Government College of Art, and the Government Medical College and Hospital. There also are several specialized arts academies. Chandigarh’s local museum houses a rich collection of Gandhara sculptures and Pahari and Sikh paintings, while archaeological digs in the area have yielded ancient Indus civilization (c. 2500–1700 BCE) artifacts, particularly pottery. The city also is known for its extensive rose garden and for its unusual rock garden, which contains numerous statues created from broken objects by the self-taught artist Nek Chand.
