The land of the martyr — history, suburbs and heritage in English and Gurmukhi
Founded as 'Nausar' by the Afghan chief Nausher Khan of Sultan Alauddin Khilji, guarded by five great fortresses and grown by swallowing the villages around it, Nawanshahr gave its name in 1995 to the 16th district of Punjab. In 2008 the state renamed it Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar — the district that carries the memory of India's most beloved martyr, and today one of the most prosperous NRI belts of the country, with its diaspora across Canada, the UK and the USA. District vehicle registration: PB-32.
From a Khilji-era garrison town to a martyr-named district of Punjab.
The region's early recorded history is linked to the Ghorewaha Rajputs in the 11th century. However, the town of Nawanshahr itself was built during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Khilji (1295–1316). It was founded by his Afghan military chief, Nausher Khan, who named it "Nausar". Nausher Khan constructed five massive fortresses (havelis), the ruins of which can still be traced today. Over time, as it expanded by amalgamating surrounding villages, the name evolved into Nawanshahr (Persian for "New City").
During the British Raj, the region became a hotbed for revolutionary movements like the Ghadar Party, Kuka Lehar, and Babbar Akali movements. Nawanshahr holds immense historical honour because Khatkar Kalan — the ancestral village of India's most iconic revolutionary, Shaheed Bhagat Singh — is located right here.
Post-independence, Nawanshahr remained a prominent town under Jalandhar district. On November 7, 1995, on the auspicious occasion of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birth anniversary, it was carved out of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur to become the 16th independent district of Punjab.
On September 27, 2008, the Punjab Government officially renamed the district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar to honour the great martyr. Today, the region is highly prosperous, globally recognized for its massive NRI (Non-Resident Indian) diaspora in Canada, the UK, and the USA, whose financial remittances drive the local economy, modern infrastructure, and high standard of living.
Three tehsils — Nawanshahr, Banga and Balachaur — five development blocks, four municipal councils and 471 villages. The old towns and village belts around the city, with their distances from Nawanshahr.
District headquarters · Municipal Council · PB-32 RTO
The town founded by Nausher Khan in the Khilji era is today the commercial and administrative heart of the district — home to the Sanehi Temple (1869–1875), Gurudwara Tahli Sahib (associated with Baba Sri Chand), Gurudwara Manji Sahib, the historic Shivala Banna Mall dharamshala, and the old grain market that grew up around the 1914 railway station.
Tehsil headquarters · north of Nawanshahr
A town and tehsil in the north of the district, Banga gives its name to one of the three assembly constituencies. Nearby Jindowal hosts Gurudwara Charan Kanwal Sahib of the Sixth Guru, and the villages around Banga hold several Patshahi-6 shrines; the area is among the strongest NRI belts of Doaba.
Tehsil headquarters · south of Nawanshahr · PB-20 RTO
The southern gateway of the district, on the Ludhiana–Nawanshahr road and rail axis. Balachaur is one of the three assembly constituencies and is famed for the 16th-century Baba Balraj Nath temple, where legend says Sher Shah Suri sought blessings in 1534. Chushma, 7 km towards Garshankar, is another old revered site.
Sub-tehsil · one of Punjab's oldest medieval towns
Site of the ancient Suraj Kund sacred tank of Mughal times and of Gurdwara Shahidan, commemorating Banda Singh Bahadur's martyrs of the 1711 battle of Rahon. The town also gave India the legendary film musician Mohammed Zahur Khayyam ("Kabhi Khabhie", "Umrao Jaan").
Ancestral village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh
A short drive from Nawanshahr, this is the spiritual heart of the district: the Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Museum and the preserved ancestral home, drawing pilgrims of the freedom struggle from all over the world. Khatkar Kalan also has its own small railway halt on the Nawanshahr loop line.
Sufi shrine town on the northern edge
Mandhali is home to the universally revered Roza Sharif of Baba Abdullah Shah Kadri, whose annual June–July mela draws quawwals and devotees of every faith. Nearby Kultham railway station is famously named "Baba Abdullah Shah Kadri" station after the saint, legend says at his request.
Village belt of Patshahi-6 and martyr memorials
A cluster of old villages around Nawanshahr and Banga: Hakimpur (Gurudwara NanakSar, linked with Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Har Rai Ji), Chak Guru (Gurudwara Gurpartap Sahib of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, and Panj Tahli Sahib), Sontra (Gurudwara Gurpalah Sahib), and Hiyala (Gurudwara Bhai Sikh Hiyala with its grand post-Dussehra fair).
Southern village belt of Sikh martial history
Urapar holds Gurudwara Shahidan, marking where martyrs of Banda Singh Bahadur's 1711 battle were cremated; Talwandi Jattan's Shahidganj Sahib remembers the 1767 battle of Godharia Singh, Lodharia Singh and Mai Roop Kaur against subedar Shamsham Khan; Dosanjh Khurd is blessed by Gurudwara Guru Har Rai Sahib.
Four-faith sanctuary near Rahon
Village Dariyapur near Rahon is home to Kirpal Sagar, a unique egg-shaped sacred pool ringed by places of worship of four faiths — Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian — with a common pyramid at its centre, built as a global symbol of human unity.
Museums, gurdwaras, temples and shrines of the district — photographs from the official gallery of the District Administration, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.
The spiritual heart of the district. The museum displays personal belongings, rare photographs, pages from his diary and a copy of the historic Lahore Conspiracy Case judgement; steps away stands the preserved ancestral home that echoes the freedom struggle.
A revered Patshahi-6 shrine commemorating the visit of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji after his last battle; built in the style of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and managed by the SGPC, with a sacred pool before the Gurdwara.
A Radha-Krishna temple whose foundation was laid in December 1869 by the Gautam family of pandits and which took some years to complete — an architectural marvel of the late 19th century, still serving the community, including mass weddings of girls from poor families.
An ancient sacred tank of Mughal times. Local tradition counts only "two and a half" Suraj Kunds in India — Rahon, Kurukshetra and half at Haridwar — all linked to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. Rahon also houses Gurdwara Shahidaan honouring Banda Singh Bahadur's martyrs of 1711.
The Sufi darbar of Baba Abdullah Shah Kadri, universally revered across faiths, with a vibrant annual mela in June–July that leading quawwals and ghazal artists consider a must-attend. The Kultham railway station nearby bears the saint's name.
Commemorates Baba Sri Chand Ji, the elder son of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, said to have meditated here for forty days; his birth anniversary is celebrated every year with great fervour.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji is said to have stayed here with Mata Gujri, Bhai Mati Das and Balak Rai on his way towards Kiratpur Sahib.
Associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who is said to have rested here for three days, and later with Guru Har Rai Ji on the journey from Kartarpur to Kiratpur. Records in Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha's Mahan Kosh describe a beautiful Gurdwara built in the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
A four-faith (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian) sanctuary raised around an egg-shaped sarovar with a common pyramid at its centre — a worldwide symbol of the unity of humanity.
Rooted in the 16th-century meditation of Baba Raj Dev Nath at Chushma near Balachaur, this famous temple honours him as an incarnation of Balraj; tradition holds that Sher Shah Suri paused here for blessings in 1534.
Marks the cremation site of Banda Singh Bahadur's soldiers who attained martyrdom in the fierce battle of Rahon in 1711.
The revered rasukhana of Sant Raja Sahib Nabh Kanwal, with related shrines in the villages of Jhingran and Rehpa, drawing devotees through the year.
Revolutionaries, cinema dynasties and musical legends rooted in this soil.
India's most iconic revolutionary was rooted in this soil at Khatkar Kalan. His uncle Sardar Ajit Singh — the towering anti-colonial leader of the Pagdi Sambhal Jatta movement — and his father Sardar Kishan Singh also hailed from here.
Legendary Amrish Puri — undisputedly one of cinema's greatest villains (Mogambo in Mr. India) — spent his foundational years here; his elder brothers Madan Puri, the inimitable character actor, and Chaman Puri were also born in the region, establishing a dominant acting dynasty in Bollywood.
The pioneers who shaped modern Indian cinema — Yash Chopra, the "King of Romance" behind Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Deewar and Chandni, and his brother B.R. Chopra, creator of the epic television Mahabharat — trace their ancestral roots directly back to this district.
The iconic music composer known simply as Khayyam, who created timeless melodies for Kabhi Khubi and Umrao Jaan, was born in Rahon of Nawanshahr.
A musical child prodigy born in village Khan-Khana (Nawanshahr) in 1927 and hailed as "Sangeet Samrat". His classical ghazals captivated British India before his tragic, untimely passing at the age of just 15.
The area continues its cultural dominance through Punjabi music icons — Jazzy B, the legendary "Crown Prince of Bhangra", and contemporary hitmaker Sukh-E Musical Doctorz both hail from this region.
Research date: October 2026. Photographs are served from the Government of Punjab's official content CDN for the district administration. Administrative details (tehsils, blocks, population) may change; where sources differ, the official district portal is preferred.