Jagraon is a town and a municipal council, a rural police district and a sub-division of the Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Jagraon is more than three centuries old. It has been thought that the city’s original name was Jagar aon, meaning “a place of great flooding”, although this flooding has since ceased. It could also be argued that Jagraon actually derives from a source with a suffix “-graon” being a development of the Sanskrit Grama, meaning “village” as found in the Hindi word Gaon. Jagraon is at almost the geographical centre of Punjab state, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the River Satluj. It is 37 km (23 mi) from its district headquarters Ludhiana, 29 km (18 mi) from Moga, 31 km (19 mi) from Nakodar, and 55 km (34 mi) from Barnala.
Jagraon is an important religious centre for Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims as well as Jains. Jagraon was founded by Rai Kamaluddin father of Rai Kalha III of Raikot in 1680 AD. Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib is one of the important places of worship for Sikhs. Gurdwara Mehdiana Sahib is known for its unique depiction of scenes from Sikh history, especially those of atrocities committed against Sikhs by various Mughal rulers, in the form of life-sized statues. There are also many famous Hindu temples including Bhadra Kali Mandi and Pracheen Shiv Mandir. Muslim places of worship include the famous khanqah and the mausoleum of Mohkam Din, where a three-day annual fair, Roshni da mela is held in the third week of February. Mohkam Din had two wives, one named Sara Bibi and the other Jeena Bibi. Sara Bibi is buried next to Mohkam Din and Jeena Bibi is buried about one half a miles away from Mohkam Din’s Mazaar and is beautifully built. Thousands of people pay their respects to her when attending Hazrat Baba Mohkam Din’s annual Urs Mubarik, which is known as Roshni da mela. Before 1947 CE there was a large Muslim presence in this area. Right next to the mazaar of Hazrat Baba Mohkam Din there is the maqbara of Syed Hameeray Shah Sahib who was the adopted son of Mohkam Din because he had no child from either wife. Syed Hameeray Shah Sahib was also his great khalifa, matabanna and mutawalli of the property related to Mohkam Din. Mohkam Din died in February 1913 CE. He was initiated by his saint Murshid Muhammad Amin Sahib Sirhindi who was a saint and wali of the Naqshbandi Order established in India by Ahmad Sirhindi Mujaddid Alif Thani. Maulvi Mazhar Hassan Wakeel was the sajjada nishin and mutawalli of the Mazar Sharif. In 1947 he migrated to Pakistan.
Gurudwara Nanaksar, a gurdwara built as a memorial for of the saint, Nand Singh
The Jain temple in Jagraon is considered as one of the most holy places for Jains in the region. Earlier the temple had quite a peaceful ambiance and a good garden. However presently its proximity to the bus stand, police station and the bazaar has made it quite a congested place full of the noise of urban life. Nevertheless, it attracts thousands of pilgrims from the Jain community all over the world, for the annual Diksha Mahotsav in the third week of March. The old walled city, with its four gates is known locally for its Mughal period architecture. Even the local market within the walled city is known as Anarkali bazaar, after the title of a beauty at Mughal Emperor Akbar’s court. This bazaar is very congested. Despite all the congestion stray cows can be found in the narrow lanes bringing the traffic to a halt.
Jagraon is also the home of Lala Lajpat Rai, a well-known figure in the Indian Independence movement, who greatly influenced Bhagat Singh. His house is now a municipal library. The chiefs of Jagraon according to Major Charles Francis Massy’s ‘Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab’ were Chandravanshi Rajputs, the last being Rai Inayat Khan, the custodian of Guru Sahib’s Ganga Sagar at the time of the Partition of India in 1947. Rai Aziz Ullah Khan ex-MP (MNA) in Pakistan is the grandson of Rai Inayat Khan
