A market town

Khanna is a town in Ludhiana district, Punjab, India. A town study prepared for the 1971 census describes it as a market for crops including wheat, maize, groundnut and cotton. It records the movement of agricultural produce and processed goods by rail, and discusses seasonal journeys by labourers working in the grain market and brick kilns. The study gives a detailed picture of a particular period rather than a current inventory of trade. It also reminds readers that a market depended on growers, traders, transport workers and labourers whose experiences cannot be captured by the volume of goods alone.[1]

Town and surrounding area

The 2011 primary census abstract lists Khanna as both a sub-district and a municipal town, with the town further divided into wards. These are different geographic units: the sub-district includes villages in addition to the town, so totals must be selected carefully. Census tables can help investigate population and housing, but they describe the boundaries and date of the census in question. The data catalogue also identifies the levels at which records are available. A later administrative change or revision to a municipal boundary can complicate comparisons with earlier studies unless researchers establish what each unit included. Its municipal-town row records 128,137 people and 26,200 households in 2011, not a current population estimate.[2]

Planning future growth

A master plan for the Khanna local planning area examines urban growth along major roads and considers alternative patterns of future development. It proposes land-use zones including residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural areas. The plan records planning intentions and assumptions at the time it was prepared; it should not be read as proof that every proposed road, use or neighbourhood was completed. Comparing a plan with later maps and local accounts can reveal how the town actually changed. Questions about farmland, housing, transport and public services all form part of Khanna’s history as well as its future planning.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. P. C. Sharma. Town Study of Khanna, Ludhiana, Census 1971 ↗Written source · Source date: 1978 · Locator: Economic life and transport. Accessed 2026-11-03.Selected written source inspected; current site conditions not independently surveyed.Return to A market town, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Primary Census Abstract: Ludhiana District, 2011 ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: 2011 primary census abstract spreadsheet, Khanna (M Cl) TOWN row 311. Accessed 2026-11-04.Downloaded and inspected the official spreadsheet municipal-town row; town and subdistrict totals are distinct.Return to Town and surrounding area, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. District Town Planner, Ludhiana. Khanna Master Plan 2010–2031 ↗Written source · Source date: 2011 · Locator: Sections 1.15 and 8.8: proposed land use and local planning area. Accessed 2026-11-04.Indexed plan text checked for dated planning proposals; direct retrieval timed out. Proposals do not establish completed development.Return to Planning future growth, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-PLA-0111 · English edition · human review not performed