Chandigarh India

Chandigarh, stad en vakbondsgebied van India. Het gebied ligt ongeveer 165 mijl (265 km) ten noorden van New Delhi en wordt begrensd door de staat Haryana in het oosten en door de staat Punjab aan alle andere zijden. Het is gelegen op de Indo-Gangetische Vlakte, op korte afstand ten zuidwesten van de Siwalik Range (Shiwalik Range), tussen twee seizoensgebonden bergstromen, de Sukhna en Patiali rivieren. Het land is een vlak en vruchtbaar stuk alluviale bodems en de landelijke landbouwgrond produceert gewassen zoals tarwe, maïs en rijst. In de zomermaanden (april tot juni) kunnen de temperaturen stijgen tot boven 120 ° F (ongeveer 50 ° C), terwijl in de wintermaanden (november tot februari) de temperaturen kunnen dalen tot midden 30 ° F (ongeveer 2 ° C), met frequente regenbuien. Het moessonseizoen (juli tot september) is heet en vochtig.

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Quiz

Wereldsteden

Welke Mexicaanse haven staat bekend om zijn klifduikers?

Op het grondgebied van Chandigarh liggen de stad Chandigarh, verschillende steden en een aantal aangrenzende dorpen. De regering van het gebied wordt beheerd door de gouverneur van Punjab, die wordt bijgestaan ​​door een hoge officier; beide zijn benoemd door de rijksoverheid. De stad Chandigarh is de hoofdstad van het grondgebied en van de staten Haryana en Punjab. De naam Chandigarh, wat 'bolwerk van de godin Chandi' betekent, is afgeleid van de Chandi Mandir, een tempel gewijd aan de godin die zich in de buurt van de stad Mani Majra bevindt. Area Union Territory, 44 vierkante mijl (114 vierkante km). Knal. stad, (2001) 808.515; vakbondsgebied, (2001) 1.063.000; stad, (2011) 960.787; vakbondsgebied, (2011) 1.054.686.

Geschiedenis

With the partition of India in 1947, the old British province of Punjab was divided into two parts. The larger western part, including the Punjabi capital of Lahore, went to Pakistan. The eastern part was granted to India, but it was without an administrative, commercial, or cultural centre. Consequently, plans to find a suitable site for the capital of the new Indian Punjab were undertaken soon after partition. The Indian government considered several options—including Amritsar, Jalandhar (Jullundur), Phillaur, Ludhiana, Shimla (Simla), Ambala, and Karnal—and selected the present site of Chandigarh in 1948. It was hoped that a magnificent new state capital, scenically located at the foot of the Himalayas, would become a symbol of modernity, would heal the wounded pride of Indian Punjabis, and would house thousands of mostly Hindu and Sikh refugees who had fled from Muslim-dominated Pakistan.

The city was planned by the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier, assisted by Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, and several Indian architects and town planners. Construction began in the early 1950s, and most of the city was completed in the early 1960s. The project ultimately required the relocation of some 21,000 people from 58 villages.

The Chandigarh union territory was constituted on November 1, 1966, when the Indian Punjab was reorganized along linguistic lines into two new states—predominantly Hindi-speaking Haryana and Punjabi-speaking Punjab. Straddled between Haryana and Punjab, the city of Chandigarh was made the shared capital of the two states and of the union territory itself. Under the terms of the 1986 Punjab Accord, the entire union territory was to become part of Punjab, whereas the agriculturally productive, mostly Hindi-speaking areas of Fazilka and Abohar, both in Punjab, were to be transferredto Haryana; by the early 21st century, however, this plan had yet to come to fruition.

The contemporary city and territory

The city of Chandigarh, with its well-developed infrastructure and relatively low population density, covers more than half of the union territory. It consists of more than 50 rectangular sectors, which are separated from one another by broad streets carrying the city’s fast-moving arterial traffic. The main government buildings are in the northern part of the city. In the southeast are the industrial areas, separated from the residential sectors by a greenbelt planted with mango trees. Among the city’s principal industries are electronics, pharmaceuticals, ceramic plumbing fixtures, and electrical appliances.

Most of the population of the territory is concentrated in the southern sector of Chandigarh city. Hindus constitute by far the predominant religious group, although Sikhs form a significant minority. There also is a sprinkling of Muslims, Christians, and Jains. Hindi and Punjabi are the most widely spoken languages in the territory.

The territory has many notable educational and cultural institutions, including Panjab University (founded 1947), the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, the Punjab Engineering College, the Government College of Art, and the Government Medical College and Hospital. There also are several specialized arts academies. Chandigarh’s local museum houses a rich collection of Gandhara sculptures and Pahari and Sikh paintings, while archaeological digs in the area have yielded ancient Indus civilization (c. 2500–1700 bce) artifacts, particularly pottery. The city also is known for its extensive rose garden and for its unusual rock garden, which contains numerous statues created from broken objects by the self-taught artist Nek Chand.

Chandigarh has a multitude of sports and recreation facilities. In the northeast is the large, artificial Lake Sukhna, which has become the main spot in the city for promenading and evening recreation. There also are many government-supported sports complexes and community centres. These have served as the training grounds for numerous nationally and internationally competitive athletes in field hockey, cricket, rowing, and other sports.