Jalandhar formerly known as Jullundur in British India, is a city in the Doaba region of the northwestern Indian state of Punjab. Jalandhar is the oldest city in the Indian state of Punjab and is one of the oldest in the country. In recent times the city has undergone rapid urbanisation and has developed into a highly industrialised centre of commerce. Jalandhar has been shortlisted for the second phase of the “Smart City” initiative of the Indian Government. Jalandhar used to be the capital of Punjab from India’s independence (in 1947) until Chandigarh was constructed in 1953. Jalandhar is situated alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is 144 km northwest of Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab and Haryana. The history of Jalandhar District comprises three periods — ancient, medieval and modern. The city is named after Jalandhara, a demon king, who is mentioned in the Puranas and Mahabharta. According to another legend, Jalandhar was the capital of the kingdom of Lava (Ramayana), son of Rama. According to another version Jalandhar is said to have derived its name from the vernacular term `Jalandhar' means area inside the water, i.e., tract lying between the two rivers Satluj and Beas. The whole of Punjab and the area of present Jalandhar District was part of the Indus Valley Civilization. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are the sites where remains of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found extensively. The archaeological explorations made during recent years have pushed the ancient times of Jalandhar District of Harappa period. The modern history of Jalandhar District states that Khilafat Movement was started in the district in early 1920 to bring pressure upon British rulers to change their policy towards Turkey. Mahatma Gandhi extended sympathy and support to this movement. Jalandhar District was declared 'Proclaimed Area' under the Seditious Meetings Act. After the independence of the country, however, the district was affected by communal riots and exodus of minority communities from both sides of the border, consequent upon the partition of the country. Jalandhar has been selected in the second phase of the smart city project and 200 crores has been allocated to the municipal corporation for initialising the project. Jalandhar exports goods like furniture and glass to neighbouring cities and is a global hub for the manufacture of sporting equipment. Jalandhar is famous for its sports industry and equipment manufactured in Jalandhar is used by many prominent sporting figures such as Sachin Tenduklar, Saurav Ganguly and Steve Waugh among others. Jalandhar manufactures 30% of the cricket equipment in India and India manufactures 90% of the cricket equipment in the world, therefore it wouldn't be far fetched to say that Jalandhar figures every time a cricket match is held. The nearest airport is Pathankot Airport at Pathankot, about 90 km and Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport at Amritsar, about 75 km (47 mi) northwest of Jalandhar. It is connected to other parts of the country by regular flights. Several airlines operate flights from abroad, including Birmingham, Dubai and Doha. The airport handles as many as 48 flights every week up from the occasional, intermittent ones some years ago.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar informed for opening a domestic airport at Adampur Jalandhar. Direct train service is available for other major cities like Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Patna, Guwahati, Pune, Haridwar, Varanasi, Jaipur and Jammu Tawi. Some prestigious trains that halt in Jalandhar City railway station are Howrah Mail, Golden Temple Mail (Frontier Mail), New-Delhi Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Paschim Express. Now many trains of Jammu route are extend up to Mata Vaishno Devi-Katra. Jalandhar City Railway Station is well-connected to other parts of the country, Jalandhar City is a major stop between the Amritsar-Delhi rail link which is serviced by Shatabdi Express, Intercity Express and others Direct Service to major cities such as Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Patna, Guwahati, Pune, Haridwar, Varanasi, Jaipur and Jammu Tawi are available. There are prestigious services such as the Howrah Mail, Golden Temple Mail (Frontier Mail), New-Delhi Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Paschim Express. There is a large network of bus services of Punjab, Himachal, Delhi, Haryana, Pepsu, Chandigarh, U.P., Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan State Roadways, apart from private operators.