Interesting Case Of Chandigarh

 

Chandigarh is the only city in India that is a Union Territory, and the Capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana. Curiosity led me to research the topic, of why was Chandigarh made the capital of two states. There are many articles on it, here's mine.

Before partition, the state of Punjab included the states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana and Lahore was its capital. After the India-Pakistan partition in 1947, Punjab was divided into West Punjab and East Punjab. West Punjab went to Pakistan and East Pakistan went to India. 

Why was Punjab divided in 1947?

Punjab like Bengal had a slightly higher majority of Muslims than Hindus (about 53%: 47%). Muslim League demanded both Bengal and Punjab be given to Pakistan considering the majority. Congress contested that the majority was too insignificant. Eventually, it was decided, that Both Bengal and Punjab will be divided. Both partitions led to tragic massacres and are marked as the darkest history of India.

Why was Punjab not divided after partition?

After partition, the first Prime Minister of independent India, J. Nehru, decided not to divide Punjab, since the 1947 partition had already seen a lot of bloodshed and displacement considering there was a religious divide (Sikhs vs Hindus) as well other than the language divide (Punjabi vs Pahari vs Hindi). 

Creation of Chandigarh

Since Lahore went to Pakistan, a new capital was needed. It was the first planned city of Independent India. The city was designed by Swiss-French Architect Le Corbusier. 

Why was Punjab divided in 1966?

Due to political pressure, and the Sikh agitation for a separate state, Prime Minister I. Gandhi acceded to the proposal of a division. New states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were created. Himachal opted for Shimla as its capital. However, Punjab and Haryana contested for Chandigarh. A plebiscite was held and Chandigarh got voted as Hindi speaking majority. Punjab contested the results. Eventually, PM I. Gandhi gave Chandigarh the status of a Union Territory and granted it special status as the capital of two states.

During PM R. Gandhi's term, in 1985 the Longowal Accord was signed which among other conditions, stated Chandigarh would be given to Punjab in exchange for  Hindi-speaking cities and villages to Haryana.  Soon after Longowall was assassinated, unrest and terrorism engulfed the then-political scene in India. The exchange finally never took place and the status of Chandigarh remains the same to date.

Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/prepartitionmap.htm

10 Days Trip To Gujarat And Diu

A painting on the wall of one of the Dwarka Temples

The trip destinations

State of Gujarat districts

Day 1

We flew to Ahmedabad on the first day. At Ahmedabad airport, we hired a car with a driver for our road trip to Dwarka. We reached Dwarka around late evening.

Day 2

The second day started early. We went to the Dwarkadhish temple first. Then to the Pandava wells and the beach. After lunch, we took a boat ride from Okha to Beyt Dwarka. On the way back to the hotel, we visited some other popular temples in Dwarka. 

Places of interest in Dwarka

On the way to Dwarka

Dwarkadheesh Temple

Beyt Dwarka

Nageshwar Jyotirling

Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple

Day 3

On the third day, we went to Nageshwar temple Jyotirling in the morning and then after lunch, we headed towards Porbandar. We reached Porbandar around 5:00 p.m. So, we decided to just relax at the beach in the evening.

Places of interest in Porbandar

Mahatma Gandhi's birth home

Sunset at Porbandar beach

Huzoor Palace

Day 4

On the fourth day, we went to Mahatma Gandhi's birth home, Kirti Mandir which is now a museum. After Kirti Mandir, we toured around the other popular tourist attractions in Porbandar.

Places of interest in Somnath

Somnath Temple from the beach

Somnath temple in the evening

Day 5

On the fifth day, we drove down to Somnath early in the morning. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed for Somnath Temple. From Somnath, we went to the beach and other popular tourist attractions in the city. In the evening we came back to the Somnath temple for the light and sound show.

Day 6

On the sixth day, we drove down to Diu. We had a beachfront hotel at Nagao Beach, so we spent the day at the beach. There were quite many beach activities. In the afternoon we went to Gangeshwar Mahadev and Sunset Point at the Chakratirtha beach

Banana boat rides at Nagao Beach

Gangeshwar Mahadev

Watching the sunset from Chakratirth Beach

A sea (Gulf of Khambat) viewpoint near Gangeshwar Mahadev

Day 7

On the seventh day, we toured around Diu in the first half and in the late afternoon headed for Gir National Park.

Places of interest in Diu

Diu Fort

Pani Kotha Jail

Diu Museum

St Paul's Church

Old City Gate Diu

Day 8

On the eighth day, we went for the jungle safari early in the morning and went to one of the wildlife sanctuaries in the afternoon.

Early morning at Kamleshwar Dam

Watching the sunrise from the watch tower

Sasan Gir National Park is surrounded by Gir Wildlife Sanctuaries. There are some lakes and temples within the Park area. Our Safari route took us through Sasan - Khokhra - Shirvan - Dev Dungar - Shirvan - Khokhra - Vawalwala Chowk - Kamleshwar Dam - Kankai Check post - Sasan

National Parks (NP) and Wildlife Sanctuaries (WS) in the state of Gujarat

The dark brown part is the national park area - Our safari route covered the western periphery of the park from Kankai to Devadungar

Barking Deer or Indian Muntjac

Blackbuck - The endangered Indian Antelope 

Peacock without tail. At the end of the mating season, most peacocks shed their tail feathers. The tail grows back again before the next mating season

Nilgai or Blue Bull

Spotted Deer or Chital

Chinkara or Indian Gazelle

A camouflaged Jungle Cat. These are currently among the critically endangered species

Lions at Devalia Park - we didn't see any lions on the morning safari so we decided to go for an afternoon safari at the park which is kind of a reserve

Day 9 

On the ninth day, we headed for Junagadh early in the morning. Our plan was to cover some of the popular tourist destinations in the city and go directly to Ahmedabad. It was a little hectic plan and I later felt we should have stayed back at Junagadh for a day. We reached Ahmedabad close to midnight and were completely exhausted.

Places of interest in Junagadh

Junagadh Fort / Uperkot Fort

Adi Kadi Vav (Stepwell)

Junagadh Fort

Buddha Caves at the fort

Day 10

On the tenth day, we went to the Sabarmati riverfront and the Gandhi Ashram first. Since we had a long day the day before, we woke up pretty late that day. We had plans for Patan, Modhera, and Adlaj but canceled all of that. It would have become another hectic squeezed breathless trip. We decided to do Ahmedabad and the sites close to Ahmedabad the next time. We had an early morning flight the next day.

Places of interest close to Ahmedabad 

Places of interest in Ahmedabad

Sabarmati Ashram

Hazrat Bai Harir Vav (Stepwell)

Lothal, Ruins of the Harappan Civilization

Rani ka Vav (Stepwell), Patan

Modhera Sun Temple

Adlaj, Stepwell

Statue of Unity