Kapurthala

This article is about the municipality in Punjab, India. For its namesake district, see Kapurthala district.

Not to be confused with Agartala.

Kapurthala (Punjabi pronunciation: [kə.puːɾ.t̪ʰə.läː]) is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic architecture self-narrate its princely past and for this reason it has often been referred to as the “Paris of Punjab”.^[2] It is also known as city of Palaces & Gardens. According to the 2011 census, Kapurthala is the least populated city in India.^[3]

Kapurthala Kapūrthalā (Punjabi)
City
Jagatjit Club Darbar Hall Villa Buona Vista Moorish Mosque Pushpa Gujral Science City
Nickname:  City of Palaces
Kapurthala Location in Punjab, India Show map of Punjab Kapurthala Kapurthala (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 31.38°N 75.38°E / 31.38; 75.38
Country	India
State	Punjab
District	Kapurthala
Founded by	Jassa Singh Ahluwalia[1]
Named after	Nawab Kapur Singh
Government
• Body	Municipal Corporation Kapurthala
Elevation	225 m (738 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	101,854
Languages
• Official	Punjabi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	144 601
Telephone code	01822
Vehicle registration	PB-09

History

Kapurthala as a City was founded by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia in 1743 upon its capture as a village, prior to this the city was a smaller Village with an unrecorded name under the tribute of Mughal Nawabs who served as feudatories.^[4] Jassa Singh Ahluwalia would name the city after his predecessor Nawab Kapur Singh, who was an influential and respected Sikh leader at the time as well as a mentor to Jassa Singh Ahluwlia.^[5]

Princely state

Main article: Kapurthala State

Kapurthala flag

In 1743, Kapurthala which was still a village and had a different name at the time, was seized from Muslim chieftains and was annexed into Kapurthala State by the Ahluwalia Sikh rulers.^[6] Kapurthala flag has two color background, with insignia and moto that says "pro rege et patria" (in Latin) meaning "For king and country".

Demographics

See also: List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh

As per provisional data of 2011 census Kapurthala had a population of 101,854, out of which males were 55,485 and females were 46,169. The literacy rate was 85.82 per cent.^[7]

Religion in Kapurthala[8]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			56.79%
Sikhism			32.74%
Islam			1.26%
Christianity			0.59%
Jainism			0.11%
Buddhism			0.02%
Other			0.51%

The table below shows the population of different religious groups in Kapurthala city, as of 2011 census.

Population by religious groups in Kapurthala city, 2011 census^[9]

Religion	Total	Female	Male
Hindu	62,056	27,793	34,263
Sikh	34,410	16,298	18,112
Muslim	1,242	469	773
Christian	579	256	323
Jain	110	47	63
Buddhist	17	7	10
Other religions	28	12	16
Not stated	474	233	241
Total	98,916	45,115	53,801

Climate

The city has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cwa), bordering on a hot semi arid climate (Koppen: BSh), with its rainfall patterns and weather influenced by the Indian monsoon and Western Distrubances.

Climate data for Kapurthala (1981–2010, extremes 1966–1996)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	27.7 (81.9)	28.2 (82.8)	35.0 (95.0)	43.0 (109.4)	47.7 (117.9)	47.3 (117.1)	45.5 (113.9)	41.2 (106.2)	41.0 (105.8)	38.1 (100.6)	39.0 (102.2)	28.0 (82.4)	47.7 (117.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	18.2 (64.8)	20.8 (69.4)	25.6 (78.1)	33.4 (92.1)	38.4 (101.1)	40.5 (104.9)	36.0 (96.8)	34.0 (93.2)	34.1 (93.4)	31.3 (88.3)	25.9 (78.6)	20.3 (68.5)	29.9 (85.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	5.0 (41.0)	7.5 (45.5)	11.8 (53.2)	17.1 (62.8)	21.8 (71.2)	24.0 (75.2)	24.0 (75.2)	24.8 (76.6)	22.6 (72.7)	16.9 (62.4)	10.8 (51.4)	5.8 (42.4)	16.0 (60.8)
Record low °C (°F)	0.0 (32.0)	1.0 (33.8)	1.8 (35.2)	7.0 (44.6)	11.8 (53.2)	15.5 (59.9)	14.5 (58.1)	17.8 (64.0)	12.0 (53.6)	8.0 (46.4)	2.0 (35.6)	0.0 (32.0)	0.0 (32.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	24.1 (0.95)	32.8 (1.29)	35.6 (1.40)	23.3 (0.92)	31.9 (1.26)	29.3 (1.15)	211.3 (8.32)	198.6 (7.82)	129.0 (5.08)	12.1 (0.48)	7.3 (0.29)	12.0 (0.47)	787.3 (31.00)
Average rainy days	2.1	3.4	3.2	2.3	2.2	2.3	6.9	7.3	3.8	0.6	0.7	1.3	36.1
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST)	75	74	72	62	60	56	75	83	72	69	70	72	70
Source: India Meteorological Department[10][11]

Railway

The Kapurthala railway station is located on the Jalandhar–Firozpur line.^[12]

Education

• NJSA Government College, established in 1856, popularly known as Randhir College, after its founder Randhir Singh of Kapurthala^[13]
• Bebe Nanaki University College Mithra

Culture and films

• The film 'Tanu Weds Manu' (2011) had some scenes shot in Kapurthala city and Kala Sanghian.
• Kapurthala gives its name to the Kapurthala stomacher, a wedding gift from the Maharajah to Mary of Teck, the future Queen Mary, in 1893.^[14]
• In the 2010 Pakistani drama Dastaan, a period drama that is set during the Partition of India, Kapurthala serves as the place where Bano, the main Muslim female character, is kept for nearly five years by a Sikh family.^{[citation needed]}

Literature

• Kapurthala is the birthplace of the Urdu Poet, Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi.