Rahonਰਾਹੋਂ

Rahon is an ancient town in Punjab’s Doaba region — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India — whose two thousand years of history run from a Brahmin ruler’s Raghupur to a Silk Road trading hub, a Mughal mahal capital, the Battle of Rahon in 1710, and the capital of the Dallewalia Sikh Misl.

An ancient city on the trade route

Rahon (earlier Raghupur) sits in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, about 7 kilometres from Nawanshahr and 65 kilometres from Jalandhar, near the banks of the Sutlej. Tradition credits its founding some 2,000 years ago to Raja Raghab, a Brahmin ruler, who named it Raghupur — a name the town’s pandits continued to use in correspondence into the twentieth century. The name Rahon is said to come from Raj Pal, who renamed it in the 12th century after a lady called Raho.

Built like a fort with four gates — Delhi Gate, Lahori Gate, Pahar Singh Gate and Ropri Gate — the town commanded the ancient trade route to Tibet and Central Asia. In the reign of Ibrahim Lodhi (1517–1526), Rahon is reported to have had a population of 145,000, larger than Jalandhar’s, and to have been a flourishing commercial centre. Its merchants traded in sugar, cotton cloth, gota ribbon and finely made shoes, and its mandi bazaar near Delhi Gate — Asia’s oldest, now in ruins — once held more than 600 shops.

Mughal era: capital of a mahal

Under the Mughals, Rahon rose to administrative importance. In Akbar’s time (1556–1605) it was the capital of the Dardhak Mahal and gave its name to one of the two tarafs into which the mahal was divided. The Ghorewaha Raja of Machhiwara, Rana Udho, held the jagir of Rahon after assisting Akbar against the rebel Bairam Khan. Shah Jahan later built a sarai on the Sutlej’s western bank at Rahon, choosing the spot for its strategic ferry crossing on the road from Agra and Delhi to Lahore — a route known as “the long walk.” Under Aurangzeb (1658–1707), a brick fort was raised in the town.

The Battle of Rahon and the Sikh era

In 1710, Rahon was the site of a famous engagement between the Sikhs and the Mughals — the Battle of Rahon — after which Banda Singh Bahadur took the town. The Sikh administration that followed is credited with early revenue reforms in Punjab, later built upon by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

By 1759 the town had become the capital of the Dallewalia Misl under Sardar Tara Singh Ghaiba, whose horsemen controlled territory on both sides of the Sutlej, including Nakodar, Talwan, Badala, Phillaur and Ludhiana. After Tara Singh’s death Rahon passed into Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s dominions, though local pandit sardars continued to run the city’s administration for generations.

Crafts, the mandi and decline

Rahon’s weavers were renowned for cotton fabrics with names that travelled far: Bafta, the glazed fine cloth called Ghati, the fine “Rahon Khasa,” khaddar, khes and lungi. Gota — the narrow imitation gold and silver ribbon used on bridal wear — was manufactured and exported from here, and the town’s shoemakers were famed for their skill.

The town’s fortunes faded as the Silk Road trade route shifted through Kabul during the Mughal era, as epidemics — including repeated malaria outbreaks from the nearby marshes — thinned its population, and as Partition in 1947 uprooted its large Muslim community, most of whom settled in Faisalabad and Rahwali in Pakistan. From 145,000 at its medieval peak, Rahon’s population fell to about 69,000 when the British took over in 1846, to 6,607 by 1971, and stood at 15,676 in the 2011 census.

Rahon today

Modern Rahon is a small municipal town of 13 wards, but it guards remarkable firsts. Its Government High School, founded by the British in 1857 in an old fort building, is the oldest government school in Punjab; its alumni include Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, film-maker B. R. Chopra and the actor Amrish Puri, who was born in Rahon. The music director Khayyam was also born here. And when Sutlej floods threatened the old town centuries ago, migrants from Rahon founded a new settlement nearby — Nawanshahr, literally the “new city.”

Why is Rahon historically significant?

Rahon is counted among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India, with a recorded history of about 2,000 years. It was a major Silk Road trading hub, a Mughal mahal capital under Akbar, and later the capital of the Dallewalia Sikh Misl.

What was the Battle of Rahon?

The Battle of Rahon (1710) was fought between the Sikhs under Banda Singh Bahadur and the Mughals. After his victory, Banda Singh took the town and introduced early revenue reforms in Punjab.

Who are the famous people from Rahon?

The actor Amrish Puri and the music director Khayyam were born in Rahon, as were the film director B. R. Chopra and Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, who headed the Indian Air Force from 1981 to 1984.