Ambala

Ambala (Hindi: Ambālā, pronounced [əmbalaː]) is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantonment (also known as Ambala Cantt) and Ambala City, eight kilometres apart, therefore, it is also known as "Twin City." It has a large Indian Army and Indian Air Force presence within its cantonment area. It is located 200 km (124 mi) to the north of New Delhi, India's capital, and has been identified as a counter-magnet city for the National Capital Region to develop as an alternative center of growth to Delhi.

Ambala separates the Ganges river network from the Indus river network and is surrounded by two rivers – Ghaggar and Tangri – to the north and to the south. Due to its geographical location, the Ambala district plays an important role in local tourism, being located 47 km (29 mi) south of Chandigarh, 50 km (31 mi) north of Kurukshetra, 148 km (92 mi) southwest of Shimla, 198 km (123 mi) north of New Delhi and 260 km (160 mi) southeast of Amritsar.

The town is said to derive its name from Amba Rajput who supposedly founded it during the 14th century CE. According to another version, it is named after the goddess "Bhawani Amba," whose Temple still exists in Ambala city. The English spelling Umballa has sometimes been used; this spelling was used by Rudyard Kipling in his 1901 novel Kim.

Archaeological Surveyor C.J Rodgers found Indo-Parthian Kingdom coins as well as coins of Hunas, Mihirakula and Toramana which indicated that after the disintegration of the Mauryan empire, the area was taken over by Indo-Parthians and later incorporated into the domain of the Hunas.

In 1709, Battle of Ambala was fought, and Sikhs captured Ambala from Mughals. It was under the rule of Gill Jats from 1748 to 1825. It was also the capital of Nishanwalia Misl. For some time it had been under the rule of Jawahir Singh of Mustafabad, a descendant of Desu Singh Randhawa.

Ambala Army Cantonment was established in 1843 after the British were forced to leave its Karnal Cantonment following the malaria epidemic of 1841–42 in as there were not any known effective means to control malaria epidemic in those days. The cantonment houses the '2 Corps', one of the three Strike Corps of the Indian Army.

Ambala Air Force Base is one of the oldest and largest airbases that were inherited from the British by the IAF. It was from this airbase that Spitfires and Harvards flown by Instructors of the Advanced Flying Training School took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948. Subsequently, Ambala was the front line airfield for many years. This base was home to various aircraft that were inducted into the Indian Air Force like Harvards, Vampires, Ouragans, Hunters, Liberators, Spitfire, Canberra, MiG-21 etc. The airbase was briefly attacked in 1965 by B-57 bombers of the Pakistan Air Force. Today, the Airbase houses the '7 Wing' with 2 squadrons of Jaguars and 1 squadron of Dassault Rafale.

Ambala Cantonment is the location of historic European Cemetery. It is 200 km north of Delhi and 55 km southwest of Chandigarh.