Dinanagarਦੀਨਾਨਗਰ

Where is Dinanagar?

Dinanagar is a town and municipal council in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, in the Majha region, about 14 kilometres north-east of Gurdaspur city. It is the headquarters of Dinanagar tehsil, which covers 209 villages whose pages across this site point to the town as their administrative centre. It stands on the bank of the Hasli, also called the Shah Nahar canal, and on the highway that runs from Gurdaspur up to Pathankot and the hills beyond.

History and the name tradition

Dinanagar was founded in 1730 by Adina Beg, the Mughal faujdar who governed this part of Punjab in the empire's last decades. He built the town on the bank of the Hasli canal and made it his residence and cantonment while he ruled the surrounding country from Behrampur nearby. The town took its name from him: it was first Adinanagar, Adina's town, which over time shortened into Dinanagar.

Under the Sikh empire the town rose much higher. Maharaja Ranjit Singh made Dinanagar his favourite summer capital, and he held his durbar here in the months of May and June each year, when the court moved up from Lahore to the cooler foothills. In May 1838 he received William Macnaghten's mission at Dinanagar, during the diplomacy that sent Shah Shuja back towards the Afghan throne. After the annexation of Punjab in 1849, the British formed a district of Adinanagar with this town as its headquarters, but in July 1849 the headquarters moved to Batala because Dinanagar was considered unhealthy, and in 1852 the district was merged into Gurdaspur district.

The 2015 attack

Dinanagar came to national attention on 27 July 2015, when three gunmen attacked the town's police station in the early morning. The siege lasted most of the day, and ten people were killed, among them the three attackers, a superintendent of police and other police personnel and civilians. It was the first major terrorist attack in Punjab in many years, and the town still marks the memory of the police officers who died holding the station.

Geography and people

The 2011 census counted 23,976 people in Dinanagar, up from 21,502 in 2001 and 16,968 in 1991: 12,524 men and 11,452 women, a sex ratio of 914 women for every 1,000 men. Of the 21,667 residents aged seven and above, 19,209 were literate, a literacy rate of about 88.7 per cent that stands high among Punjab towns. By religion, the census counted 20,702 Hindus, 2,585 Sikhs, 493 Christians and 87 Muslims. The municipal area covers 14.36 square kilometres.

The town has a strong tradition of learning. The Dayanand Math, founded in 1938 by Swami Sawtantra Nand, is a noted centre of study and Ayurveda, and the town's colleges include Shanti Devi Arya Mahila College and SSM College. Dinanagar elects its own member to the Punjab assembly from the Dina Nagar (SC) constituency. The town became a full tehsil in May 2018, having earlier been a sub-tehsil of Gurdaspur.

What is Dinanagar known for?

Dinanagar is known for its lois, shawls and wood work. The woven loi and shawl trade is the town's old signature industry, and wood-based units work alongside it. After 1947, when Partition brought many refugee families to the town, small factories making conduit pipes and other goods were set up and added a light industrial base to the market town.

Railway, roads and getting there

Dinanagar's station stands on the Amritsar to Pathankot line of the Northern Railway, 83 kilometres from Amritsar and 24 kilometres from Pathankot Junction; trains calling here include the Jammu Tawi Express and the Pathankot to Delhi Express. By road, the town lies on the Gurdaspur to Pathankot highway, National Highway 54, with buses to Gurdaspur city in one direction and Pathankot in the other. Its PIN code is 143531 and its vehicle registration series is PB-99. Villages of the tehsil covered on this site include Awankha, Kahnuwan and Tibber.

What is the population of Dinanagar?

The population of Dinanagar was 23,976 at the 2011 census, with 12,524 men and 11,452 women. It had grown from 16,968 in 1991 and 21,502 in 2001.

Why is Dinanagar important in Sikh history?

Maharaja Ranjit Singh made Dinanagar his summer capital and held court here every May and June. The durbar he held at Dinanagar in May 1838, when he received Macnaghten's mission about restoring Shah Shuja in Afghanistan, is one of the set pieces of the Sikh empire's diplomacy.