Pre-20th-Century History
From being a small village called Meer Hota in 1481 to later Lodiana and now Ludhiana, the city has never been caught napping. Under theYodhas from the first to the fourth century, it later came under the rule of Samudragupta. But the Original Ludhianavis settled here much later in the ninth century. There were the Rajputs from the ninth century. There were the Rajputs from the south and then the Turks and the Afghans who took the Bet area of Sutlej on lease from Mohammad Gami. Later, the Sidhus, Gills, Sandhus and the Grewals came from the jungles of Jagraon and camped here.
Early Settlers: Sikandar Lodhi sent Yusaf and Nihang to stop the approaching Baloachs. They crossed Sutlej and after defeating Khokhars of Doaba, established Sultanpur Lodhi. Nihang stayed back at village Meer Hota as Naib. He was the one who changed the name of the village to Lodiana. Later, his grandson, Jalal Khan, built the Lodhi Fort there. His two sons Aloo Khan Khijar Khan divided among themselves the area around the fort but were dethroned by Babur who even demolished Nihang's tomb. That didn't end the travails of this town. During Akbar's reign, it was a tehsil along with Tihara.
Hathur, Bhundri, Machiwara, Payal and Doraha. Not many of us know that Guru Gobind Singhji traveled through Jharsahib, Machiwara, Kanech, Alamgir, Lama Jatpura and Lakha and finally at village Dina and wrote the famous Zafarnama in 1806. Maharaja Ranjit Singh also came to Ludhiana twice. On the pretext of solving the Patiala crisis, he won the area around Sahenewal and gifted 54 villages to Raja Bhag Singh of Jind. Diwan Mokham Singh was made the ruler. The Brits too, traipsed along with Capt. Akhtar loni (1809-1815), an English political agent, followed by Capt. Maney and Sir Matton (!833-1838). After the death of Raja Sangat Singh, the Britishers captured 80 villages and Ludhiana came under Assistant Political Agent. During the First English-Sikh War, there were only 4,000 white soldiers. Ranjodh Singh Ladwa burnt this cantonment and looted the English at Baddowal. At Aliwal's War, however, Henry Smith defeated Ranjodh Singh. The 1857 sepoy mutiny didn't amount to much as Deputy Commissioner Ricket successfully thwarted it with the help of Nawab of Malerkotla, Nabha patti. The Bet Muslims, however, revolted while urban Hindus and Sikhs remained pro government. In fact, fellow Ludhianvi Rai Kishan Chand Dhandari was the official advocate of the English at Lahore! Bassian Kothi was the biggest armour at that time and many secret agents lived in that area. Maharaja Dilip Singh was also kept for one night at Bassian Kothi. Kaonkey kalan is another of the historical places in Ludhiana where antique coins were found along with bricks of 12inchX10inch size. It was also the main control area during the English Sikh War, while Chaoni Mohalla was an armament dump. English dug canals for irrigation and they helped their loyals to settle in bars that were vacated after the Partition. Maulana Shah Abdul Kadar led the Punjab mutiny. He was persuaded by blind Jaman Shah to settle here. It's here that he constructed a house and a masjid at Mouchpura now known as Masjid-do-Manjila. Jaman Shah would come here daily, bare-footed five times a day, to offer prayers. The Shah signed an agreement here in 1839 and the English crowned him king of Kabul. February 1921 sw Mahatma Gandhi at Daresi Ground in the city. At the end of the year, 3,000 freedom fighters from Ludhiana arrested and sentenced to prison. Another 475 joined the Quit India Movement. Politically, Ludhiana has contributed five chief ministers, namely Bhim Sen Snahan, Justice Gurnam Singh, Gian Singh Rarewala, Lachaman Singh Gill and Beant Singh. The Goa War took 87 of its young soldiers.
Modern History
Recent History
"Please care for me as you would your white cow," a young Indian woman begged her missionary surgeon, Dr. Edith Mary Brown. Touched by this plea, Dr. Brown recorded the words in her diary. One of the earliest British women physicians, she understood the woman's desire that her life be held as sacred as the Hindus view white cows.
Baptist missionary Dr. Edith Brown saw the desperate need of medical and nursing care for, and by, women at a time when many of the women were in purdah (seclusion) in North India.
A gathering of women missionaries, including Dr. Brown, met in Ludhiana for three days to pray and discuss the matter. To serve more effectively, they decided to train young Indian Christian women to be medical missionaries among their own people. Ludhiana was chosen because it already had an established American Presbyterian Mission Center and being on the Grand Trunk Road, it was a good location for medical work.
So, in 1894 Dr. Edith Brown founded the school and hospital with "four students, a borrowed hospital, some school rooms and fifty pounds".
What she lacked in resources she made up for with tremendous faith in her Lord Jesus Christ. She remained unperturbed by the lack of money, the hostile climate and hordes of detractors, who appear to have remained a "constant companion" throughout the existence of the institution. She believed that "to the true servant of God all places & all times are acceptable."
For over fifty years the facility was run by women, for women and children. Events in India however would bring great change. In 1947, on the coattails of Independence, 90,000 Moslems were evacuating the city of Ludhiana while 150,000 Hindus and Sikhs entered. During the resulting riots, the city was flooded with casualties and overnight the hospital had to cope with injured male patients. From that time, men have been included as patients, staff and students.
For the institute to survive in a new Independent India it was necessary to make major upgrades to the facility. Almost all western missionary societies responded to the call for help with faculty and finances. In 1953, 25 men & 25 women were admitted to the first MBBS degree course. And in 1957 a larger, more modern, 328 bed hospital was opened. A landmark in the history of the school, it was named Brown Memorial Hospital. Even today, villagers know Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) as "Brown Hospital".
The decades since have been a time of growth and expansion, with CMCH continually striving to improve and struggling to survive. In many ways, their focus today is not so different from that of their founders. Although CMCH is providing groundbreaking services in northern India, such as open heart surgery, renal transplants, dialysis and more, the need is still great. "We try to meet the needs of the people who fall through the cracks," explains director Dr. Silas Charles. "The Punjab has a population of 20 million, without CMCL (Christian Medical College Ludhiana) it would be a horrendous problem for the poor as the Government is unable to provide health care for them. We provide rural healthcare within a 30-kilometer radius of Ludhiana. Communities are encouraged to build their own clinics, and then we help them with staffing". Healthcare services for the poor are made possible through grants and donations from overseas.
For over 100 years Christian Medical College and Hospital Ludhiana has been enriching the healthcare in northern India by training medical professionals and providing quality medical services. It is a continuing challenge to bring this large medical college and 775 bed hospital into the 21st century.
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