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 A Look on my city - Karnal

Karnal  (Hindi: करनाल) is a city and the headquarters of Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana. Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas in the Mahabharata era for the king Karna, a key figure in the epic tale. It is midway between Delhi and Chandigarh, being 123 km north of Delhi and 126 km south of Chandigarh, on the National Highway NH-1, which is famous as the Grand Trunk Road. Delhi and Chandigarh can be reached from Karnal within 2 hours using the very high frequency bus service provided by the Haryana Roadways. Karnal is known for Liberty shoes, the production of high-quality basmati rice and for its many agricultural research institutions. Liberty shoes was started from Karnal and has its largest manufacturing facility in the city.

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Geography

Karnal is located at 29.68° N 76.98° E.[1] It has an average elevation of 228 metres (748 feet). Karnal is known for its lush greenery. It is roughly equidistant from New Delhi and Chandigarh and lies not only on the G.T. road but also on the Delhi - Ambala railway line. The city is divided into several sectors, colonies and mohallas. Due to its strategic location, several big-brand builders like Sahara, Narsi Village, Palm Residency, Alpha City and Ansal Royale have built new luxury apartments and villas in the city.

History

The city of Karnal is said to have been founded by Raja Karna, a central character in the Mahabharata war. This is the same Karna, who was the eldest son of Kunti and thus Karnal is called the city of Daanvir Karna. It has been a walled town as far as its history can be traced and it may have 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 1811 but abandoned it after 30 years due to an outbreak of malaria. 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.

There is an interesting story that links Karnal with the birth and early history of Pakistan. History suggests that the person who dragged back Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah into politics was from Karnal and lived in Kalandri Gate. The district of Karnal has given a lot of big political figures to Pakistan and Nawab Liaqat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, ranks foremost amongst them. Liaqat Ali Khan was the Nawab of Kunjpura and his palace has now been converted into a Sainik School and it is situated at a distance of 10 kilometers from the city of Karnal.

Demographics

As of the 2001 India census[2], Karnal had a population of 210,476. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Karnal has an average literacy rate of 72%, which is higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 68%. In Karnal, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Agricultural research

Imperial Cattle Farm, 1927
Imperial Cattle Farm, 1927

Karnal is a major centre of agricultural and dairy research with the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Regional Station, CSSRI, Wheat Research Directorate, National Bureau of Animal Genetics Research, Regional Research Station of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University and Sugarcane Breeding Institute having major research facilities and centers in and around the town. Karnal Bunt, a major disease of wheat was first discovered in 1931 in IARI[3], Regional Station Karnal and that is how it got that name.

Kalpana Chawla

It was at the Karnal Flying Club that Kalpana Chawla, a native of the city, first became interested in flying. Miss Chawla went on to complete her engineering degree at Punjab Engineering College and later become the first Indian origin woman to go on a voyage in space. She died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003.

Education

Karnal is an excellent center of school education and it boasts of a number of good schools. Saint Theresa's Convent School, Nishan Public School and Dayal Singh Public School among others are well established institutes. An engineering college has recently been established in Karnal and it offers various courses of engineering along with a few courses in management like MBA as well. A proposal to develop a medical college in Karnal is being considered by the State government.

Madhuban Police Training College

Madhuban has a Haryana police training complex and it is at a distance of 10 km from Karnal on the NH-1 in the direction of Delhi. It recruits students not only from Haryana but also from other states.[4] The Forensic Science Laboratory, Haryana is also located in Madhuban.[5] Madhuban has excellent sports facilities and has been declared a sports district. The annual police sports meets draw police personnel not only from the state but also from across the nation.

Places of interest

  • Karna Lake
  • Oasis Tourist Resort
  • Golf Club,
  • Atal Park,
  • Rose Garden,
  • Karna Taal
  • Devi Temple
  • Cantonment Church Tower
  • Old Fort
  • Gurdwara Manji Sahib

 Bhangra of Karnal

 About Vishwa-Pari Kalpana Chawla

First Indian American to fly the US space shuttle

She was one of the 6 astronaut crew that flew the Columbia Flight STS-87 on November 19, 1997.  She is the first Indian or Indian-American to fly in the US space shuttle.

Her biographical data and some other details are attached.

Biographical Data

PERSONAL DATA:
Born in Karnal, India. Dr. Chawla enjoys flying, hiking, backpacking, and reading. She holds Certificated Flight Instructor's license and Commercial Pilots licenses for single- and multi-engine land airplanes and single-engine seaplanes, instrument rating, and Private Glider. She enjoys flying aerobatics and tail-wheel airplanes.

EDUCATION:
Graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, India, in 1976. Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982. Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984. Doctorate of philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado, 1988.

EXPERIENCE:
Dr. Chawla was hired by MCAT Institute, San Jose, California, as a Research Scientist to support research in the area of powered fin at NASA Ames Research Center, California, in 1988. She was responsible for simulation and analysis of flow physics pertaining to the operation of powered lift aircraft such as the Harrier in ground effect. She modeled and numerically simulated configurations that include important components of realistic powered lift aircraft both in hover and landing mode, using Navier-Stokes solvers on Cray YMP. Following completion of this project she supported research in mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers such as the Intel iPSC-860, the Intel Paragon, and the TMC CM-2, and testing of these solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993 Dr. Chawla joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as Vice President and Research Scientist to form a team with other researchers specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was responsible for development and implementation of efficient techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization. Results of various projects that Dr. Chawla participated in are documented in technical conference papers and Journals.

NASA EXPERIENCE:
Selected by NASA in December 1994, Dr. Chawla reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. After completing a year of training and evaluation, she was assigned to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches. Dr. Chawla will serve as a mission specialist on the crew of the fourth U-S, Microgravity Payload flight scheduled for an November 1997 launch on board Columbia on mission STS-87.


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