Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corporation (since 3 March 2019) in Gurdaspur district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab. It is located from holy city Amritsar 39 km and about 32km from Gurdaspur, the headquarters of the district. It is also a Police district. Batala holds the status of the most populated town of the district with 31% of the district's total population. It is the biggest industrial town in the district.
Batala is an important place for Sikh devotees. Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion was married here to Mata Sulakhni, the daughter of Mul Chand Chauna in 1485. Many temples and gurdwaras related to the guru's marriage attract devotees from near and far. Every year celebrations are conducted on the anniversary of Nanak's marriage (Babe Nanak Da Viah) at Gurudwara Kandh Sahib. There is also a historical gurdwara Satkartarian Sahib related to 6th guru of Sikhs, Guru Hargobind.
Batala was once known as the "Iron Bird of Asia" as it produced the highest amount of cast iron, agricultural and mechanical machinery. Batala is still one of the leading cities in Northern India in manufacturing of cast iron and mechanical machinery. It is also an agricultural marketplace and industrial center. Cotton ginning, weaving, sugar refining, and rice milling are some of other industries.
History
Batala was founded in 1465 by Abhay Pratap Bal of the Bhati Rajputs of Kapurthala, under the suzerainty of Sultan Bahlul Lodi. During the Mughal Empire, Emperor Akbar granted the city as a jagir to his foster brother, Shamsher Khan. In the 16th century, Batala was one of the prominent cities in the Punjab region, comparable in importance to cities such as Lahore and Jalandhar. It predates Amritsar by over a century.
Historically, Batala was a fortified city with 12 gates, many of which are still known by their original names, including Sheran Wala Gate, Khajuri Gate, Bhandari Gate, Ohri Gate, Thathiari Gate, Hathi Gate, Pahari Gate, Mori Gate, Kapoori Gate, and Achli Gate. Some of these structures still exist today, though they are in varying states of preservation.
Batala is home to several gurdwaras, including those associated with Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. These sites are of great religious importance and attract thousands of Sikh pilgrims annually.
Under British India, Batala served as the headquarters of a tehsil in the Gurdaspur District of the Punjab Province. The allocation of this district during the partition of India in 1947 was highly contested due to its nearly equal population of Muslims and non-Muslims. Initially, the Viceroy Lord Wavell assigned the three eastern tehsils—Gurdaspur, Batala, and Pathankot—to India, and the western tehsil, Shakargarh, to Pakistan.
The entire district of Gurdaspur was depicted as part of Pakistan in the 'notional partition line' of the Indian Independence Act 1947, and the matter was referred to the Punjab Boundary Commission. Ultimately, the final partition line confirmed Wavell's division, placing Batala within Indian territory. For a brief period from 14 to 17 August 1947, Batala was considered part of Pakistan before being officially incorporated into India.
At the time of Partition, Batala had a Muslim majority population. Following the announcement of the final boundary, most Muslims migrated to Pakistan, while Hindu and Sikh refugees from areas that became part of Pakistan settled in Batala. Today, the city has a Hindu majority (approximately 56%) and a significant Sikh minority (about 38%).
Politics The city is part of the Batala Assembly Constituency. Mainly, the Indian National Congress has a stronghold over the constituency as it won assembly elections 9 times out of 16. Bharatiya Jana Sangh/Bharatiya Janata Party won 4 times, Janata Party, Shiromani Akali Dal and Aam Aadmi Party each won 1 time. Amansher Singh is the incumbent MLA who belongs to Aam Aadmi Party.
Batala is also a Municipal Corporation in India which was upgraded in the year of 2019 from Municipal Council.Batala MC upgraded to corporation. 18 September 2019.The Tribune. Retrieved 6 February 2021. Latest election for the Corporation were held in the year of 2026 which was won by AAP.Punjab Local body election 2021. www.news18.com. Retrieved 17 February 2021
Villages NamePopulationAliwal Jattan470Araianwali155AttepurN/ABadowal Khurd1,378Bajjuman1,836Basarpura1,659Bajjuman1,836Balarwal1,229Basrai3,565Bhadur Hussain2,209Bhagtupur1,420Bhalowali1,106Bhamboi2,504Bhamri3,327Bharathwal948Bhole Ke1,739Bijliwal1,685Bishniwal543Bohja2,155Bujjianwali984Bure Nangal1,171Chahgill278Chahal Khurd477Chak Bhagtupur67Chak Chao670Chak Sidhwan63Chak Tara418Chak Wassan398Chandke207Chandu Suja774Chataurgarh1,111Chaudhriwala2,654Cheema Kalla194Chhapianwali293Chhelowal968Chhit1,080Choranwali604Chuhewal1,138Dewaniwal2,141Dhadialanatt3,878Dhandoi2,015Doburji606Kazampur834Khokhowal221Mathola2,403Meekey1,285Mehmedpur416Mehtewal465Missarpura1,717Mollowali309Mulianwali2522Nangal Buttar1,047Nangal Jhawar1,455Nathwal1,155Nawan Pind Barqiwala395Nawan Pind Mahmawala324Nawan Pind Milkhi-wala751Parowal1,407Phulke1,034Pind Purana1,439Pinda Rori526Pirowali589Punwan947Purian Kalan2,153Purian Khurd736Qila Lal Singh2,141Qila Tek Singh1,000Rajputan754Rikhia848Rupowali988Raliali Khurd670Riali Kalan 939Sagarpur451Sahan Pannu69Sakhowal1,560Sangherah945Sarchur1,989Sarupwali2,294Sarwali1,987Seikhwan924Shahpur Araian366Sham Sherpur2,558Sheikhowali215Sheikhwan1,592Sokala1,486Talwandi Bha-rath3,150Talwandi Goraya1,179Talwandi Jhunglan1,718Tenaniwal198Thindh861Thirriyewal1,151Udhanwal2,088Ugrewala975Winjwan1,460Withwan640
Police Administration Batala became a police district in 1988, on 19 April, when the Government of Punjab issued an official notification on 17 April 1988.History. batala.punjabpolice.gov.in Since then, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) is the head of the Police department of Batala.Organization. batala.punjabpolice.gov.in The SSP is either selected from Indian Police Service or State Police Services, i.e. Punjab Police. The incumbent SSP of Batala is Suhail Qasin Mir, serving on this post since 3 August 2024.IPS officer hailing from JK posted as SSP Batala in Punjab. www.crosstownnews.in Sumedh Singh Saini was the first SSP of Batala on the creation of Batala as Police district. He later became Director general of police Punjab.Hall of Fame. batala.punjabpolice.gov.in List of Senior Superintendent of Police Batala IPS - Indian Police Service PPS - Punjab Police Service S. No.NameTook officeLeft officeTenure1Sumedh Singh Saini(IPS)19 April 19881 August 19882S. M. Sharma(IPS)1 August 198811 December 19883Gobind Ram(IPS)11 December 198813 September 19894S. K. Goel(IPS)13 September 198930 April 19905Jagdish Kumar(PPS)2 May 199015 July 19906Sita Ram Rattan(PPS)15 July 19908 January 19927C. S. R. Reddy(IPS)8 January 19922 January 19938Rohit Choudary(IPS)2 January 199312 January 19969Prabodh Kumar(IPS)13 January 199617 February 199610Ranbir Singh Khatra(PPS)18 February 19962 December 199611Loknath Angra(PPS)2 December 199627 April 200012S. S. Brar(PPS)27 April 200030 January 200213R. K. Sharda(PPS)4 February 20027 March 200214V. Neerja(IPS)7 March 20024 August 200215Naresh Kumar(IPS)5 August 200213 September 200316Ram Singh (IPS)13 September 200312 December 200417Jatinder Jain (IPS)13 December 200415 April 200618L. K. Yadav(IPS)15 April 200613 March 200719Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh(IPS)13 March 200717 April 200720Rajendra Namdeo Dhoke(IPS)22 April 20075 May 2008(15)Naresh Kumar(IPS)8 May 20087 July 200921D. P. Singh(IPS)1 October 20091 September 201022Gurdeep Singh(PPS)1 October 201025 July 201123Gurkirpal Singh(PPS)25 July 201023 April 201224Rajpal Singh Sandhu23 April 201212 October 201225Tulsi Ram (IPS)12 October 201224 August 201326Surinderjit Singj Mand (PPS)24 August 201327 February 201427Harjinder Singh Sandhu(IPS)27 February 201431 May 201428Bikrampal Singh Bhatty(IPS)31 May 20147 August 201429Maninder Singh (PPS)11 August 20147 December 201430Inderbir Singh (IPS)7 December 20146 August 201531Harpreet Singh (PPS)6 August 201511 October 201532Diljinder Singh Dhillon(PPS)11 October 201523 December 201633Manmohan Kumar Sharma(PPS)23 December 20167 January 201734Deepak Hilary (IPS)7 January 20173 July 201735Opinderjit Singh Ghuman(PPS)3 July 201731 July 202036Rachhpal Singh (PPS)31 July 202031 July 202137Ashwani Kapur(IPS)31 July 202121 August 202138Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar(PPS)14 October 20211 January 202239Gaurav Toora(IPS)1 January 202211 April 202240Rajpal Singh(IPS)18 April 202221 July 202241Satinder Singh (IPS)22 July 202216 February 202342Ashwini Gotyal(IPS)17 February 20233 August 202443Suhail Qasim Mir(IPS)3 August 202420 November 202545Mehtab Singh (IPS)20 November 2025Incumbent
Demographics
As per provisional data from the 2011 census, the Batala urban agglomeration had a population of 158,404, out of which males were 83,536 and females were 74,868. The literacy rate was 85.28 per cent.
The table below shows the population of different religious groups in Batala city and their gender ratio, as of 2011 census.
+Population by religious groups in Batala city, 2011 censushttps://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11389, India - C-01: Population by religious community, Punjab - 2011, Batala (M Cl + OG)ReligionTotalFemaleMaleGender ratioHindu88,82541,75047,075886Sikh59,99628,40631,590899Christian6,8973,2893,608911Muslim383169214789Jain1145658965Buddhist301416875Other religions341420700Not stated2,3421,2681,0741180Total1,58,62174,96683,655896
Economy
Minerals
Foundry sand is found in Dharamkot, near Batala; the deposits are located 6.5 km west of Batala. Exposed on both sides of Batala–Dera Baba Nanak road, the Dharmkot sand is a natural moulding sand, containing about 20% clay. Another deposit which is about 4 metres thick, occurs at about 6 km from Batala on the Batala Qadian road. The sand has a yellowish tinge on the surface, but is reddish brown at a depth of about 1 metre.
The sand deposits are also found at Bhagwanpur about 15 km west of Batala on Dera Baba Nanak Road and about 10 km from Gurdaspur on the Gurdaspur Naushera Road (20 percent clay).
Salt petre occurs in the district at the villages of Thikriwala, Pandori in the tehsils of Gurdaspur and Dhawan, Chataurgarh and Badowal in the tehsil of Batala. It is a source of potassium nitrate which can be used for making crackers and gunpowder, in the match and sugar industries, and as fertilizer. It is also famous because of village bodhi di khui and also famous for bajwa people in it.
Landmarks
Located in Gurdaspur district, from Amritsar on the Kashmir Grand Trunk road. One of the older towns in the province of Lahore in earlier times, Batala is home to many monuments of religious and historic importance, such as Hazira Park, Barah Dari, Hakikat Samadh. These monuments are connected with Sikh history and the Mughal period. The city consists of several churches constructed during the British Raj.
Jal Mahal (Baradari)
The Jal Mahal and the palace of Maharaja Sher Singh were built by the Maharaja (CE 1780–1839). The palace is under the control of the authorities of the local Baring Union Christian College. The administrative offices of the college are housed in it. Jal Mahal is under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Jal Mahal (Baradari) and the palace of Maharaja Sher Singh were connected through a tunnel. According to some senior citizens, Shamsher Khan Tank of Jal Mahal used to be filled with water through the tunnel, which was further connected to a long tunnel (canal) to the Beas, near Kahnuwan. The remnants of the tunnel can be seen near Baring Christian College.