Karnal

Tehsil Karnal, District Karnal, Haryana.

Karnal is governed by a municipal corporation that comes under the Karnal Metropolitan Region. Karnal was once the site of a cantonment of the British East Indian Company army established in the year 1805 AD but later abandoned due to a malaria outbreak. The cantonment was subsequently shifted to Ambala and later came to be known as the famous Ambala Cantonment established in 1843 AD.
Karnal is said to have been founded during ancient times by the Kauravas in the Mahabharata era by the king Karna, a mythological hero and a key figure in the epic tale. It is midway between Delhi and Chandigarh, being 123 km (76 mi) north of Delhi and 126 km (78 mi) south of Chandigarh, on the National Highway NH-1, also known as the Grand Trunk Road. Delhi and Chandigarh can be reached from Karnal within 2 hours using a high frequency bus service provided by Haryana Roadways. Karnal is also the headquarters of Karnal Range (including Karnal, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts) under an Inspector General of Police.
Karnal is very famous for its world class research and development institutes, namely Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), and a regional centre of the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Karnal is widely known for its lush green pastures, and the cultivation and production of very high-quality basmati rice. Karnal is one of the mojar shoes industry of India.[citation needed] Karnal is known as the rice bowl of India. It has got the highest district wise exports of basmati rice from India with major of exports to Gulf countries. There are more than 300 rice miller and processors in Karnal district with around 100 exporters. Karnal is also famous for manufacture of agricultural implements and its spares as more than 40%[citation needed] of country agricultural implements and spares are manufactured here. One of the bigger units involved in the manufacture of spares is Karnal Agricultural Industries Ltd. having largest manufacturing base in the country.


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karnal


The Battle of Karnal (February 13, 1739), was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the emperor of the Afsharid dynasty during his invasion of India. The Shah's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah, the Indian emperor of the Mughal dynasty, in little more than three hours thus paving the way for the Persian sack of Delhi. The battle took place at Karnal, 110 kilometres (68 mi) north of Delhi, India.
Order of battle
The Mughal army was lined up with Sa'adat Khan forming the right wing, which was in the extreme east and near the Yamuna river. Khwaja Asim Khan Dauran's division stood in the centre, while the Vizier Qamar ud-Din Khan and the Emperor took up the left wing along a canal.[citation needed]
The Persian right wing was placed under Tahmasp Quli Jalair, whilst the left wing was under Fateh Ali and Lutf Ali Afshar. Nader's son, Nasrullah, commanded the centre, whilst Nader commanded the vanguard himself, which consisted of 4,000 cavalry.
Persian preparations[edit]

The Mughals' main weapon was their war elephants therefore Nader Shah ordered camels to be paired together and platforms constructed between them. A mixture of naphtha combustibles was placed on the platforms with orders to set them on fire during the battle so that the Mughal elephants would flee at the sight of the fire and cause mayhem in their own army.[citation needed]
Additionally, Nader Shah placed 3,000 of his best troops in front of his main position thus giving them a clear line of fire on the Mughal dispositions.[citation needed]
The battle[edit]

The battle began a little after one o'clock in the afternoon, with a discharge of arrows on both sides. The Persian cavalry carried out a ruse of feigning flight. Sa’adat Khan gave chase and was ambushed three or four miles east of the imperial camp, well outside the covering fire of the Mughal artillery. The Persian cavalry drew aside and the pursuing Mughals found themselves in front of Persian guns at point blank range.[citation needed]
The Mughal vanguard fled but their commander, Sa’adat Khan, was able to keep his ground. However, his forces were also forced to withdraw and the extreme right wing of the Mughal lines collapsed. Khan Dauran's division in the centre of the battlefield was also forced to withdraw.[citation needed]
The murderous fire of the Persian gunners continued for two hours. The Mughals fought bravely but were unable to respond effectively to the Persian guns. Khan Dauran was mortally wounded and brought back to the camp where he later died.[citation needed]
Mughal disarray[edit]
The concentrated fire of the Persians contrasted sharply with the disorganisation of the Mughals as their chief divisions were separated from each other on the battlefield by more than a mile. Mughal forces began to disintegrate as they proved incapable of responding to the Persian attacks on their lines. Khan Dauran was not able to co-ordinate with Sa’adat Khan and Asaf Jah I was inactive and gave no help to either Khan Dauran or Sa’adat Khan.[citation needed]
The Persians attacked sharply at those points in the battle lines where the Mughals were at a numerical tactical inferiority and were beyond the covering fire of the Mughal artillery.[citation needed]
Mughal generals mounted on elephants became easy targets for Persian attacks whilst the Persian cavalry was swifter and out-manoeuvered the Mughals. The Mughal commander, Sa’adat Khan was taken prisoner by the Persians[2] after his elephant was driven into Persian ranks by the out of control elephant belonging to his nephew.[citation needed]
With the loss of Sa’adat Khan and Khan Dauran, Mughal morale plummeted, the army started to disintegrate. Mughal camp followers started to loot their own camp whilst Mughal soldiers fled the battlefield heavily pursued by the Persian cavalry who inflicted a great slaughter. The Emperor, who had remained inactive throughout the battle, was captured by the Persian army
Casualties[edit]

The Mughals suffered far heavier casualties than the Persians. Exact figures are uncertain as accounts of that period were prone to bombast. Various contemporary commentators estimated Mughals casualties being up to 30,000 men slain with most agreeing on a figure of around 20,000.[2]
The Persian army was estimated to have lost around 2,500 men