Mohali, officially known as Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, is a planned city in the Mohali district in Punjab, India, which is an administrative and a commercial hub lying south-west of Chandigarh. It is the headquarters of the Mohali district and one of the six Municipal Corporations of the State. It is officially named after Sahibzada Ajit Singh, the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh.

Mohali has developed rapidly as an IT hub of the state of Punjab, and has thus grown in importance.The Government of Punjab has initiated significant infrastructure and recreation projects in attempts to increase the standard of living in Mohali.Roads have been built to create networks between Mohali and Chandigarh International Airport to boost its international connectivity.

Mohali was earlier a part of the Rupnagar district and was carved out and made a part of a separate district in 2006.

Early history

Prehistoric evidence has been found in Mohali and its surrounding regions. Due to the presence of the lake, fossil remains with imprints of a large variety of aquatic plant, animal, and amphibian life have been found. As a part of the Punjab region, it has many rivers in the areas where it is speculated that ancient and primitive settlements by humans began. Some 8,000 years ago, the area was also known to be a home to the Harappans.

Medieval history

Mohali means settlement. The village of Mohali was a part of the Sikh Empire.

The village Lambian, located in the city, was visited by Guru Har Rai, the 7th Guru of the Sikhs.A battle took place here between the British and 500 Sikhs under the command of Akali Hanuman Singh, in which Akali Hanuman Singh attained martyrdom.

Modern history[edit]

After the partition of India in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was split between east Punjab in India and west Punjab in Pakistan.^[11] The Indian Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during partition.^[12][13] Consequently, the government made Chandigarh from nearly 50 Puadhi speaking villages of the then state of East Punjab, India.

Mohali was conceived after the trifurcation of Punjab and its capital Chandigarh became a Union Territory in the late 1960s. In 1967, the area around Mohali Village was initially developed as an industrial estate; this was broadened with residential areas to meet housing demands.The township plan for Mohali was put forward by the All India Congress Committee during the annual session held in 1975 at Mohali. On 1 November 1975, Punjab Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh laid the foundation stone of Mohali township and named it Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar. It was rechristened to Ajitgarh by the union government in the year 2012, as it was felt at that time that the name, SAS Nagar, was too long.

City design

Mohali and Chandigarh are contiguous, with only the boundary between Punjab and Chandigarh dividing this area. The original plan of Mohali township is an extension of the road and an 800m x 1200m extension of the sector design system of Chandigarh, without any unique planning.

The first 11 sectors of the sector design system for Mohali are popularly known as Phases. Early development was only till Phase 7. The development of sectors and phases from Phase 8 onwards started in the late 1980s, the city received its bus stand during Phase 8 in the mid-1990s. Some sectors of Chandigarh are shared between Chandigarh and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, like the sectors 48, 51, 52, 54, 56, 61 and 63. 63 onwards sectors fall in the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar region. phase 1 = sector 55 phase 2 = sector 56 phase 3= Sector 57 phase 4 = sector 58 phase 5 = sector 59 phase 6 = sector 60 phase 7 = sector 61 phase 8 = sector 62 phase 9 = sector 63 phase 10 = sector 64

Greater Mohali Area Development Authority master plan[edit]

In the GMADA master plan, the city has up to 128 Sectors which include nearby villages.^[17] They are, among others, Alipur, Bairampur, Bakarpur, Ballo Majra, Balongi, Bari, Bar Majra, Bathlana, Behlol, Bhago Majra, Chajju Majra, Chaparchiri, Daun, Desumajra, Dyalpur, Harlalpur, Jandpur, Jhampur, Jheureri, Jhungian, Kailon, Kandala, Khuni Majra, Kishanpura, Kurali, Landiali, Landran, Manakmajra, Manana, Matran, Naraingarh, Pattlin, Raipur Kalan, Sambalki, Saneta, Santemajra, Shafipur, Siaun, Sihanpur, Sukhgarh, Tapauli and Thaska. GMADA also includes the Aerocity which is a gateway to Mohali International Airport. Also IT City Mohali has emerged as one of the best location for residences and corporate offices under GMADA. It is spread over 1,600 acres and includes sectors 82, 82A, and 83A. The IT city aims to produce at least 40,000 jobs. With allotment to top IT companies and state of the art infrastructure for residential projects. With futuristic planning and due the location advantage, IT City Mohali is understandably the distinguished locality in Tricity.

Chandigarh Tricity

Mohali and Panchkula are two satellite cities of Chandigarh. The trio of these three cities is collectively known as Chandigarh Tricity. Panchkula is a planned city adjoining Chandigarh in Panchkula District, Haryana, India.^[18]

Climate

Clouds and downpour at Godrej, Mohali during Mid-April (2015)

Godrej Mohali clean skies

See also: Geography of Chandigarh

Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar has a sub-tropical continental monsoon climate characterised by a seasonal rhythm: hot summers, slightly cold winters, unreliable rainfall and great variation in temperature (−1 to 44 °C or 30 to 111 °F). In winter, frost sometimes occurs during December and January. The average annual rainfall is recorded at 617 millimetres (24.3 in). The city also receives occasional winter rains from the west.

Average temperature

• Summer: The temperature in summer may rise to a maximum of 47 °C (117 °F) . Temperatures generally remain between 30 and 40 °C (86 and 104 °F).
• Autumn: In autumn, the temperature may rise to a maximum of 36 °C (97 °F). Temperatures usually remain between 16 and 27 °C (61 and 81 °F) in autumn. The minimum temperature is around 13 °C (55 °F).
• Winter: Average temperatures in winter (November to February) remain at (maximum) 7 to 15 °C (45 to 59 °F) and (minimum) 1 and 5 °C (34 and 41 °F).
• Spring: spring temperatures vary between (min) 16 and 25 °C (61 and 77 °F) (max).

Demographics

As per 2011 census, Mohali's urban agglomeration (metropolitan area) had a population of 176,152, out of which males were 92,407 and females were 83,745. The effective literacy rate (7+ years) was 93.04% per cent. The sex ratio of Mohali is 906 females per 1,000 males.

Sikhism is the majority religion in Mohali which is followed by 51.53% of the people. Hinduism is the second most followed religion which is adhered to by 45.55% of the people. Minority religions like Islam and Christianity are followed by 1.68% and 0.79% of the population, with 0.45% are Buddhists, Jains and others.

Politics and government

District court complex, Mohali, Punjab, India

The Deputy Commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service, is the overall in charge of the General Administration in the Districts of India. Currently, Girish Dayalan is serving as Deputy Commissioner. The civic administration in Mohali under the Municipal Corporation (established 1984), a body of elected councillors and is headed by a Commissioner chosen from the elected members.

Main article: Municipal Corporation SAS Nagar (Mohali)

Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar is a Municipal Corporation, with Kulwant Singh as the first mayor,with the current being Amarjoit Singh since April 2021.The district administration is under the supervision of Current Administrator Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, Deputy Commissioner (IAS). Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar is part of Anandpur Sahib Parliamentary Constituency, represented by Manish Tewari since 2019, while in Punjab Legislative Assembly, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar is represented since 2012 by MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu from Congress. Before 2012, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar was part of the Kharar Assembly Constituency. In the 2012 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, a new Assembly Constituency was carved out in the name of Mohali (as Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar was known during Assembly Elections 2012). Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar is also represented in Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) by Paramjit Kaur Landran and Hardeep Singh. The seat was reserved for women during the 2011 SGPC Elections.