Karnal
From Jatland Wiki
Karnal (Hindi: करनाल) is a city and the headquarters of Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana. Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas at around the time of the Mahabharata epic for the king Karna, a key figure in the epic tale. It is 123 km from Delhi on the National Highway NH-1 [also called the GT Road(short for Grand Trunk Road)] and 126 km from Chandigarh.
History
Karnal is the headquarters of Karnal District,with a population of 8,85,000 covers an area of 1967 sq km. Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas at around the time of the Mahabharata epic for the king Karna, a key figure in the epic tale. The word 'Karnal' is actually a derivated version of 'Karnalaya' (कर्णालय) i.e. the land of Kind Karna. It is 123 km from Delhi on the National Highway NH1, (called the GT Road), and 126 km from Chandigarh. Other towns are Gharaunda, Nilokheri, Assandh, Indri and Taraori.
Karnal sprang into prominence in 1739 when Persian emperor Nadir Shah defeated and captured the Mughal ruler Muhammad Shah in the Battle of Karnal. Raja Gopal Singh of Jind seized Karnal in 1763, and the Marhattas established themselves at Karnal in 1785. Skirmishes however, followed between the Marhattas and the Sikhs. In 1795 the Marhattas finally wrested the city from Raja Bhag Singh of Jind and made it over to the British-Irish military commander George Thomas, who took part in the fight. Meanwhile Raja Gurdit Singh of Ladwa obtained possession of Karnal. It was captured by the British in 1805 and made over to Muhamdi Khan (Mandal). The British established a cantonment in 1811 but abandoned it after 30 years due to an outbreak of malaria. The fort which had been built by Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind, was taken over by the British and converted into a residence for Dost Mohammad Khan, Amir of Kabul. The fort was used as a jail, as quarters for native cavalry and as a poorhouse. In 1862, it was made over to the Education Department, when the district school was moved into it from the city.
There is an interesting story attached with Karnal with regards to the partition of India and the birth of Pakistan. History suggests that the person who dragged back Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah into politics was from Karnal and lived in Klandri Gate. Apart from that, the producer and director of the movie "Bend It Like Beckham" Gurinder Chadha was also born and brought up in Karnal. The district of Karnal has given a lot of big political figures to Pakistan and Nawab Liaqat Ali Khan ranks foremost amongst them. Liaqat Ali Khan was the Nawab of Kunjpura and his palace has now been converted into a Sainik School and it is situated at a distance of 10 kilometers from the city of Karnal.
Karnal is famous for Shoes, agriculture research institutions and Basmati Rice.
The areas around Karnal are very fertile (famous for 'Basmati' rice) due to proximity of river Yamuna.
Jat Gotras in Karnal district
Badhran/Budhrain/Budhrayan, Badrain, Goyat, Kandhol/Kandhola, Mandhan, Narwal,
