Karnal - History

History

The city of Karnal is said to have been founded by Philanthropic Daanveer Raaja Karna, a central character in the Mahabharata war. It is said that he used to Donate & give Away ( Sawaa Mann ) weight of Gold Everyday to needy . The original name of Karnal city is Karnalaya (home of Karna). This is the same Karna, who was the eldest son of Kunti & God Sun ( therefore SuryaPutra Karn ) and thus Karnal is called the city of Daanvir Karna.

It has been a walled town as far as its history can be traced & it was said that to have 10 gates some of them are still there namely Karn Gate, Kalandari Gate, Arjun Gate, Subhash Gate, Jaataan Gate, Jundla Gate, Baanson Gate, Dyalpura Gate to name a few, which were closed at sunset and it had a citadel at one time.

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 Marathas established themselves at Karnal in 1785. Skirmishes followed between the Marathas and the Sikhs and in 1795, the Marathas 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. The British established a cantonment in Karnal ( then also known as Kurnaul, Karnaul, Kurnaul etc in olden days .) called Karnal Cantonment in 1811 but later abandoned it after 30 years due to an outbreak of malaria & this very same Karnal Cantonment was shifted to Ambala and later it was known as Ambala Cantonment which was established in 1843 A.D. . 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. Karnal was the part of Ambala distt. of Punjab till Haryana was found in 1966.