View source for Chandigarh

{{Short description|Union territory and capital of Punjab and Haryana, India}}
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{{Use Indian English|date=September 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox Indian state or territory
| name = Chandigarh
| official_name = Union Territory of Chandigarh
| image_skyline = {{Multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 300
| image_style              = 
| perrow                   = 1/2/2/1
| image1 = Palace of Assembly Chandigarh 2006.jpg
|image2 = Open Hand monument, Chandigarh.jpg
|image3 = Chandigarh hockey stadium.JPG
|image4 = Gandhi Bhavan Chandigarh.jpg
|image5 = Rock Garden, Chandigarh-statues.jpg
|image6 = Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP).jpg
}}
| image_caption = Clockwise from top:<br />[[Palace of Assembly (Chandigarh)|Palace of Assembly]]; [[Sector 42 Stadium]]; [[Rock Garden of Chandigarh]]; [[Chandigarh IT Park]]; [[Gandhi Bhawan, Chandigarh|Gandhi Bhawan]] at [[Panjab University]]; [[Open Hand Monument]]
| type = Union Territory and City
| image_seal = File:Emblem_of_Chandigarh.svg
| nickname = "The City of Beauty"
| image_map = IN-CH.svg
| coordinates = {{coord|30.75|N|76.78|E|display=it|format=dms}}
| formation_date4 = 7 October 1953
| capital = Chandigarh
| districts = 01
| Administrator = [[Gulab Chand Kataria]]
| Chief_secretary = Rajesh Prasad, IAS (Adviser to the Administrator)
| rajya_sabha_seats = N/A
| lok_sabha_seats = 1 seat<br/>Manish Tewari
| judiciary = [[Punjab and Haryana High Court]]
| area_total_km2 = 114
| area_rank = 35th
| elevation_m = 321
| elevation_max_m = 479
| elevation_max_point = ''Unnamed point'' near Khuda Ali Sher Village
| elevation_min_m = 
| elevation_min_point = ''Unnamed point''
| population_footnotes = <ref name="PBD1">{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/India-Chandigarh.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409111737/https://www.citypopulation.de/India-Chandigarh.html|archive-date=9 April 2017|title=Chandigarh (India): Union Territory & Agglomeration – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts|access-date=6 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="chandigarh.official" />
| population_total = {{Increase}} 1,055,450
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_rank = 31
| population_density = 9,262
| population_urban = 1,025,682 (51st)<ref name=Cities1Lakhandabove>{{Cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_2_PR_Cities_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf|title=Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011; Cities having population 1 lakh and above|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|access-date=26 March 2012}}</ref>
| population_demonym = Chandigarhian
| 0fficial_Langs = [[English language|English]], [[Hindi]]{{Efn|The UT is part of Group B region in Official Language Rules, 1976 which uses both English and Hindi for official communication. No official language regulation exists for the UT.}}<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/official-language-rules-1976|title=Official Language Rules, 1976|website=rajbhasha.gov.in/}}</ref><ref name="langoff">{{Cite web|title=52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in IndiaA|url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf|website=nclm.nic.in|publisher=[[Ministry of Minority Affairs]]|access-date=8 July 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525141614/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2017}}</ref>
| GDP_total = {{Increase}}{{INRConvert|0.49|t|lk=r|0}}
| GDP_year = 2023–24
| GDP_rank = 25th
| GDP_per_capita = {{Increase}}{{INRConvert|430119|lk=r}}
| GDP_per_capita_rank = 4th
| HDI = {{Increase}} 0.794 {{Color|green|high}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=India: Subnational HDI |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/IND/ |website=Global Data Labs |access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref>
| HDI_year = 2023
| HDI_rank = 4th
| literacy = 93.7%<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/AnnualReport_PLFS2023-24L2.pdf |title=Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) (July 2023 – June 2024) |date=23 September 2024 |publisher=National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India |pages=A-10 |chapter=Appendix-A: Detailed tables, Table (7): Literacy rate (in per cent) of persons of different age groups for each State/UT (persons, age-group (years): 7 & above, rural+urban (column 6))}}</ref>
| literacy_year = 2024
| literacy_rank = 6th
| sex_ratio = 818[[female|♀]]/1000 [[male|♂]]
| sexratio_year = 2011
| sexratio_rank = 34th
| iso_code = IN-CH
| registration_plate = CH01, CH02, CH03, CH04, PB01, HR70
| website = chandigarh.gov.in
| mammal = [[Indian grey mongoose]]<ref name="Service 2015">{{Cite web|work=The Tribune|title=Corbusier's creation|date=12 October 2015|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/trends/corbusier-s-creation/142344.html|access-date=13 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015224628/http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/trends/corbusier-s-creation/142344.html|archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="chandigarh-official-abft">{{Cite web|title=State Animal, Bird, Tree and Flower of Chandigarh|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/pdf/forest-state-abft.pdf|access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref>
| bird = [[Indian grey hornbill]]
| fish = 
| flower = [[Butea monosperma|Dhak]]
| tree = [[Mangifera indica]]<ref name="chandigarh-official-abft" />
| fruit = [[Mango]]
}}

'''Chandigarh'''{{Efn|[[Hindi language|Hindi]] and {{Indic Transl|pa|Caṇḍīgaṛha|t͡ʃəɳˈɖiːɡəɽ}}; {{Literally|fortress of ''[[Chandi]]''}}}} is a city and [[union territory]] in northwestern [[India]], serving as the shared capital of the [[States of india|state]]s of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] and [[Haryana]]. Situated near the foothills of the [[Sivalik|Shivalik]] range of [[Himalayas]], it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the remaining directions. Chandigarh constitutes the bulk of the [[Chandigarh Capital Region]] or Greater Chandigarh, which also includes the adjacent [[Satellite city|satellite cities]] of [[Panchkula]] in Haryana and [[Mohali]] in Punjab. It is located 260&nbsp;km (162 miles) northwest of [[New Delhi]] and 229&nbsp;km (143 miles) southeast of [[Amritsar]] and 104&nbsp;km (64 miles) southwest of [[Shimla]].

Chandigarh is one of the earliest [[planned cities]] in [[History of the Republic of India (1947–present)|post-independence India]] and is internationally known for its architecture and urban design.<ref name="ci2">{{cite web|url=http://business.gov.in/investment_incentives/chandigarh.php|title=Business Portal of India : Investment Opportunities and Incentives : State Level Investment : Chandigarh|work=business.gov.in|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017092219/http://business.gov.in/investment_incentives/chandigarh.php|archive-date=17 October 2013}}</ref> The master plan of the city was prepared by Swiss-French architect [[Le Corbusier]], which built upon earlier plans created by the Polish architect [[Maciej Nowicki (architect)|Maciej Nowicki]] and the American planner [[Albert Mayer (planner)|Albert Mayer]]. Most of the government buildings and housing in the city were designed by a team headed by Le Corbusier and British architects Dame [[Jane Drew]] and [[Maxwell Fry]]. Chandigarh's [[Chandigarh Capitol Complex|Capitol Complex]]—as part of [[The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier|a global ensemble]] of Le Corbusier's buildings—was declared a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]] at the 40th session of the World Heritage Conference in July 2016.<ref name="OpenHand">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qG-9cwHOcCIC&pg=PA613|title=Frommer's India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105043629/https://books.google.com/books?id=qG-9cwHOcCIC&pg=PA613|archive-date=5 January 2016|year=2010|author=Pippa de Bruyn|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page=613|isbn=9780470556108}}</ref>

Chandigarh has grown greatly since its initial construction, and has also driven the development of Mohali and Panchkula; the tri-city metropolitan area has a combined population of over 1,611,770.<ref>{{cite news|date=6 January 2014|title=Tricity residents to get Emaar MGF's Central Plaza soon|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/tricity-residents-to-get-emaar-mgf-s-central-plaza-soon/1216018|newspaper=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109105308/http://www.financialexpress.com/news/tricity-residents-to-get-emaar-mgf-s-central-plaza-soon/1216018|archive-date=9 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the country. The union territory has the third-highest [[Human Development Index]] among Indian states and territories.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/IND |title=Subnational HDI - Subnational HDI - Table |website=Global Data Lab |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250703142606/https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/IND/ |archive-date=3 July 2025 |url-status=live |access-date=2 August 2025}}</ref> In 2015, a survey by [[LG Electronics]] ranked it as the happiest city in India on the happiness index.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/chandigarh-happiest-city-claims-lg-survey-115061200038_1.html|title=Chandigarh 'happiest' city, claims LG survey|date=12 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222173822/http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/chandigarh-happiest-city-claims-lg-survey-115061200038_1.html|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://chandigarhmetro.com/chandigarh-happiest-city-of-india-lg-survey/|title=Chandigarh is the Happiest City of India – LG Survey|last=Ajay Deep|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218180505/http://chandigarhmetro.com/chandigarh-happiest-city-of-india-lg-survey/|archive-date=18 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chandigarh happiest city in India, Guwahati least: LG Survey|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/chandigarh-happiest-city-in-india-guwahati-least-lg-survey/articleshow/47628946.cms|access-date=17 September 2019|work=The Economic Times|date=11 June 2015}}</ref>  In 2015, an article published by the [[BBC]] identified Chandigarh as one of the few master-planned cities in the world to have succeeded in terms of combining monumental architecture, cultural growth, and modernisation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Is this the perfect city?|date=11 December 2015 |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151211-is-this-the-perfect-city|publisher=BBC|access-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216113741/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/201511-is-this-the-perfect-city|archive-date=16 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The name ''Chandigarh'' means "fort of Chandi" and is a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] of ''Chandi'', which refers to the Hindu goddess [[Chandi]], a manifestation of [[Shakti]], and ''Garh'', meaning stronghold or fortress.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=8}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Everett-Heath |first=John |chapter=Chandigarh |title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names |edition=4th |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2018 |quote='Fort of Chandī' from the Hindu name of the goddess Ĉandī and ''garh''. |isbn=9780191866326}}</ref> The name is taken from a village where a temple dedicated to goddess Chandi stood. The temple exists today at [[Chandi Mandir]], on the outskirts of the city,{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=8}} in the neighbouring district of [[Panchkula district|Panchkula]] in Haryana.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newkerala.com/states-of-india/chandigarh.php|title=Chandigarh: Info on geography, history, government, districts, business, economy, travel, rivers, education, food, arts, culture, music, dance, festivals|work=newkerala.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317182551/http://www.newkerala.com/states-of-india/chandigarh.php|archive-date=17 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The motif or sobriquet of "The City of Beauty" was derived from the [[City Beautiful movement]], which was a popular philosophy in North American urban planning during the 1890s and 1900s. Architect Albert Mayer, the initial planner of Chandigarh, lamented the American rejection of ''City Beautiful'' concepts and declared, "We want to create a beautiful city".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kalia|first1=Ravi|title=Chandigarh : in search of an identity|date=1987|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|location=Carbondale|isbn=978-0809313105|page=54|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-s0g47oeb34C&q=city+beautiful}}</ref> The phrase was used as a logo in official publications in the 1970s and is now how the city describes itself.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Office of the Registrar General, R. K. Goswami|title=Census of India, 1971, Series 25, Chandigarh: Census atlas|date=1970|location=India|pages=20, 22, 33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gfInAAAAMAAJ&q=City+Beautiful}}</ref><ref name="chandigarh-official">{{cite web|title=Official website of the Chandigarh Administration|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/|publisher=Chandigarh Administration|access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Punjab 1909.jpg|thumb|left|A map of the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]] in [[colonial India]] (1909). During the [[Partition of India]] along the [[Radcliffe Line]], the capital of the Punjab Province, [[Lahore]], fell into [[West Punjab]], [[Pakistan]]. The necessity to have a new capital for [[East Punjab]] in India then, led to the development of Chandigarh.]]
[[File:Indus Valley Artefacts Chandigarh.jpg|thumb|left|[[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus valley]] artefacts excavated from Sector 17, Chandigarh]]

===Partition and independence===
The establishment of the city of Chandigarh was the result of the crises and chaos in [[northwestern India]] in the aftermath of [[Independence of India|its independence]] from [[British Raj|British colonial rule]].{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=6}}{{sfn|Sarin|1982|page=13}} During the [[partition of India]] in 1947, the [[Punjab Province (British India)|province of Punjab]] was divided into two: the majority Hindu and Sikh [[East Punjab|eastern portion]] that remained in [[Dominion of India|India]] and the majority Muslim [[West Punjab|western portion]] that became part of [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]]. [[Lahore]], the provincial capital of undivided Punjab, though [[Radcliffe Line#Lahore|fiercely contested]] during partition, was eventually ceded to Pakistan.{{sfn|Kudaisya|Yong|2004|pages=175–178}} The provincial government of independent India’s [[East Punjab]] state was left without an administrative center or capital.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=6}}

The loss of Lahore, the need for the rehabilitation of refugees from [[Pakistan|West Pakistan]] and a mounting exodus of business communities from the state created a sense of urgency.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=1–2}}{{sfn|Mallot|2012|page=30}} [[Shimla]], the former summer capital of both [[British India]] and the Punjab province, partially housed the government of East Punjab state. Shimla’s inability to fully contain the administrative machinery resulted in government offices to be scattered at several places across the state,{{efn|In [[Jalandhar]], [[Ambala]], [[Kalka]], [[Kasauli]], [[Dagshai]] etc.}} imposing difficulties and costs on the public as well as the government.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=3}}

===Conception and initial planning===
It was decided by representatives of the [[government of India]] and of the state of East Punjab to build a new capital for the state,{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=2}} because attaching capital functions to an existing city—all of which were considered inadequate and had swollen in size due to migration of refugees from West Pakistan—was considered as costly as building a new city.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=2}}{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=3}}

The new capital needed to have enough space for government machinery, for resettlement of refugees and their businesses, for expansion, and adequate rail, road and air connectivity; it also had to assuage the psychological loss of partition,{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=3–4}} its construction supposed to stimulate the state's devastated economy,{{sfn|Kudaisya|Yong|2004|page=189}} as well as being a 'symbolic gesture' of unity, stability, and an assertion of India’s newfound sovereignty.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=6}} India’s erstwhile Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] personally endorsed the project, remarking:{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=6}} {{blockquote|"Let this be a new town, symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past … an expression of the nation’s faith in the future."}} The capital was to be located in the most populous part of the state, between the [[Doaba]] and [[Ambala district]]s,{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=4}} and projected to hold about 500,000 people.{{efn|This projection was made for the East Punjab government by its chief engineer, [[Parmeshwari Lal Varma]], based on applications by prospective businesses and residents, anticipated migration by government employees and growth estimates. This projection was opposed by civil servant [[Anthony Leocadia Fletcher]], who favoured a smaller plan for 100,000.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=4–5}}}} Several existing cities and towns across the state were considered for the possible development of the new capital, but all rejected for different reasons.{{efn|Shimla was ruled out because of its harsh winters, its hilly location near the margins of the East Punjab state and its limited connectivity and accessibility.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=3}}{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=6}} [[Amritsar]] and [[Jalandhar]] were rejected because of their proximity to the border with newly-formed Pakistan, with which the prospect of war was considered inevitable; additionally, Amritsar’s drainage system was also poor.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=6–7}} [[Ludhiana]] was rejected for its poor infrastructure, especially communications and connectivity, and its primarily industrial character, while [[Ambala]] was ruled out because of its primarily military character, and absence of utilities.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=7}}{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=6}} [[Karnal]] and [[Phillaur]] were also considered and ruled out.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=7}}}} Political lobbying also made the selection of an existing city as the new capital difficult.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=7}} The absence of political consensus on the location of the new capital and the large costs involved threatened the project.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=8}}
In 1948, three possible sites were settled upon, one lying in the Ambala district, one in [[Ludhiana district|Ludhiana]], and one, the most preferred of the three, being partially in Ambala and [[PEPSU|Patiala state]] (which was then not part of the East Punjab state).{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=10–11}} The first site, in Ambala district’s [[Kharar, SAS Nagar|Kharar]] tehsil, was ultimately selected to be the location of the new capital after aerial reconnaissance by [[Parmeshwari Lal Varma]] and [[Prem Nath Thapar]].{{efn|Varma was the chief engineer of the East Punjab government, and Thapar was the administrative head of the Chandigarh capital project. The two steered Chandigarh’s early development.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=13–14}}{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=7}}}} The name of the new city derived from a temple dedicated to Hindu goddess ''[[Chandi]]'' present in one of these villages.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=13}} The location was praised by the later team of the city's architects for being beautiful and practical.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=7–8}}

Agricultural lands, including large [[mango grove]]s, of fifty-eight villages with a population of 21,000 people were to be affected by the construction of the city, involving the displacement of many of them.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=12}}{{efn|Some of these villages are still inhabited, some within the modern blocks of some sectors, including ''Burail'' and ''Attawa'', others on the margins of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/cmp2031/villages.pdf|title=villages.pdf|publisher=chandigarh.gov.in|access-date=9 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223231037/http://chandigarh.gov.in/cmp2031/villages.pdf|archive-date=23 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>}} The affected villagers, encouraged and supported by political parties (such as the [[Socialist Party (India)|Socialist Party]] and [[Akali Dal]]), began agitating against the project. Political opposition to the project also stemmed from a desire for relocation of the new capital to sites favourable to the opponents.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=15–17}} The government reached an agreement with the affected villagers in October 1950, and established a local committee to advise on rehabilitation of displaced people, thus ending the agitation.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=19–20}}

===Masterplan===
====Mayer plan====
It was decided by the state government that a town planner for Chandigarh would be selected after interviewing several of them in [[England]].{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=26}}{{efn|Varma had suggested a limited international competition to find the best talent, an idea that was opposed by Fletcher, who suggested hiring an English town planner instead, preferring [[Patrick Abercrombie]] for the job.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=35}} Abercrombie had consented to be involved in the project during talks with the Indian embassy in London.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=34}}}} However, Nehru suggested that a town planner already present in India and familiar with it be hired instead, and recommended two such people.{{efn|Nehru recommended [[Otto Koenigsberger]], an exiled Jewish architect from Germany, and [[Albert Mayer (planner)|Albert Mayer]], an American town planner. Both Koenigsberger and Mayer had lived in India for several years and worked in various capacities on many different cities in the country. PN Thapar met both of them in [[New Delhi]] in December 1949 to negotiate their involvement.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=31–32}}}}{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=26–27}} One of them—[[Albert Mayer (planner)|Albert Mayer]], an American town planner—was selected in December 1949 to design the master plan of Chandigarh.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=12}} Mayer’s recruitment received extensive international media attention.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=34}} Mayer enlisted several experts from the US to aid him in preparing the masterplan of Chandigarh, including [[Matthew Nowicki]], a US-based Polish architect, who was to work on the city’s architectural design.{{sfn|Kudaisya|Yong|2004|page=190}}

Mayer produced a fan-shaped plan, spreading southward between the Patiala-ki-rao and Sukhna Cho streams, with the [[wikt:capitol|capitol]] located on a [[promontory]] in Sukhna's [[River fork|fork]] at the upper margin, a [[university]] at the very north, a [[Rail transport in India|railway]] station to the east, an industrial area to the southeast and a commercial block in the center.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=13–16}} The city was to be made up of several neighbourhood units, or [[Superblock (urban planning)|superblocks]], arranged in districts of various shapes roughly one-by-half kilometre in size, each containing residences, [[bazaar]], schools, parks, health centres, theatres and meeting halls.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=16–18}} The superblocks were to be arranged in a [[curvilinear]] street layout with adequate road space for future motor traffic.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=16–18}} Mayer’s plan was based on the ideals of the [[Garden City movement]] and the [[Radburn design housing|Radburn idea]].{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=42}} <ref name="Banerjee">{{cite journal|last=Banerjee|first=Tridib|title=U.S. Planning Expeditions to Postcolonial India: From Ideology to Innovation in Technical Assistance|journal=Journal of the American Planning Association|year=2009|volume=75|issue=2|pages=193–208|doi=10.1080/01944360902790711|s2cid=220461503}}</ref>

While Mayer provided a masterplan and Nowicki gave a detailed draft for one neighbourhood unit, Chandigarh also required an architect to develop the architectural design of the city and its structures.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=35–37}} Nowicki had also prepared a preliminary design for the capitol complex, and had agreed to join the city's architectural development independently of Mayer.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=23–24}} In August 1950, Nowicki died in a plane crash, and Mayer was unlikely to be able to execute the masterplan without his assistance.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=38}} This, coupled with Mayer's extended leaves from the state and mounting expenses due to adverse USD exchange rates, resulted in Mayer—who was still keen on continuing the project—being dropped from the plan.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=44, 70}}{{efn|Mayer was informed of the decision in January 1951. He continued to work on other projects in India until 1960.}}

====Corbusier plan====
Between November and December 1950, Thapar and Varma travelled to Europe to find replacements and recruited a four-member team headed by Swiss-French architect [[Le Corbusier]], also including English couple-duo [[Maxwell Fry]] and [[Jane Drew]], and Corbusier’s cousin [[Pierre Jeanneret]].{{efn|In initial talks in Paris, Corbusier was unreceptive of the plan. Fry and Drew were propositioned in London, with Drew readily agreeing to the plan albeit unable to join it immediately. Corbusier was approached again, with Fry and Drew on board, and agreed this time contingent on the inclusion of Jeanneret.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=40–43}}}} Fry, Drew and Jeanneret were to work at Chandigarh for three years, while Corbusier would make two visits every year, each lasting one month.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=26}} The association of the city with Corbusier catapulted it into global limelight.{{sfn|Sarin|1982|page=14}} Corbusier came to India in February 1951, and joined Fry and Jeanneret who had arrived earlier.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=26}} They were joined by Indian staff in Shimla, including a team of young Indian architects and town-planners who were to learn from them as much as assist them.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=27}}{{efn|The Indian architects and planners included [[Eulie Chowdhury]], J.S. Dethe, Narindar Lamba, Jeet Malhotra, B. P. Mathur, [[Piloo Mody]], A. R. Prabhawalkar, and [[Manmohan Nath Sharma]], with [[Aditya Prakash (architect)|Aditya Prakash]] also joining later.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=96}} [[Jugal Kishore Choudhury]] joined to design the university plan.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=106}}}}

Although told to adhere to Mayer’s masterplan, the new team considered it inadequate and made significant modifications, much to Mayer's dismay as he tried in vain to retain it.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=26–27}}{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=72, 88–90, 103–104}} Corbusier assumed control of the masterplan and designed buildings of the [[Chandigarh Capitol Complex|capitol complex]], while the rest of the team directed construction work and designed other buildings of the city.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=27}} Key components of the previous plan were incorporated into the new one—the positions of the central commercial block, the railway station, the industrial area, and the capitol complex remained roughly similar; the University was moved to the west, the superblocks were retained, but expanded, standardised and named 'sectors'. {{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=38}}{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=45}} The overall density was increased by 20%.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=45}} The earlier curvilinear street plan was replaced with a [[grid plan|rectilinear grid plan]], with a seven-tiered road system consisting the highway, the central axes, arterial roads, market roads, sector circulation roads, residential streets and pedestrian walkways. {{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=31–32}} The new plan was quickly accepted by officials.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=38}}

The capitol complex was designed to contain four main buildings: the [[Palace of Assembly]], the [[Punjab and Haryana High Court|High Court of Justice]], the [[Secretariat Building, Chandigarh|Secretariat]], and a fourth structure—earlier the [[Governor's Palace, Chandigarh|Governor’s Palace]] and later Museum of Knowledge—whose construction was deferred.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=113–117}} Also included in it were several monuments, notably the [[Open Hand Monument|Monument of the Open Hand]].{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=117–118}} Initial plan envisioned the capitol complex to dominate the city, but in later plans artificial hills were used to visually separate the two.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|pages=68–70}} It was to be independent India's 'answer' to the [[Lutyens' Delhi|British built complex]] in New Delhi.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=112}} The city centre was designed by Corbusier to contain commercial and administrative buildings with a central pedestrian plaza.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=111–112}}

===Construction===
A schedule for construction was prepared soon after the takeover of the project by Corbusier’s team. The first structures to be built were temporary quarters for the engineers and architects.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=40}} 30 sectors were to be constructed in the first phase, and another 17 in the second phase.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=107}} Several laws were passed 1952 onwards to regulate development within the city and in its 5-mile radius (expanded later to 10), and to preserve the city’s planned character.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=122–124}} By September 1953, all state government departments and staff had been shifted from Shimla to Chandigarh.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=41}} The city was built to be the state’s capital all year round, abandoning the British practice of moving the provincial government to Shimla during the summer.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=43}} On 7 October 1953, the capital was officially inaugurated in a ceremony presided over by President [[Rajendra Prasad]].{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=168}}<ref>{{cite news |date=7 October 2024 |orig-date=8 October 1953 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ht-this-day-october-8-1953-punjab-capital-at-chandigarh-inaugurated-101728292078832-amp.html |title=HT This Day: October 8, 1953 -- Punjab capital at Chandigarh inaugurated |work=[[Hindustan Times]] }}</ref> The construction was done on a tight budget,  primarily using locally available materials, extensive manual labour and minimal machinery.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=41–43}}

A committee was set up under [[Mohinder Singh Randhawa]] for landscaping of the city, and an elaborate landscaping plan was devised.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=119–120}}{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=33–34}} In 1954, the [[Panjab University]], which had been functioning in a widely scattered area until then,{{efn|Its administrative centre was located in [[Solan]], with departments in Amritsar, Delhi, Jalandhar, [[Hoshiarpur]] and Ludhiana.}} purchased over 300 acres of land in sector 14 where a self-contained permanent campus was built for it in the late 1950s and early 1960s.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=68–69}} The 1956 merger of [[PEPSU]] with the Punjab state shot up construction costs due to requirements of extra offices and housing in the city, and caused revisions in the assembly building’s design.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=126}} In the 1960s, a [[PGIMER|medical research center]] and [[Punjab Engineering College|college of engineering]] were established in sector 12, two government colleges, [[Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh|one for men]] and one for women, were built in sector 11, and a [[Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology|polytechnic institute]] was created in sector 26.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=70}} The [[Chandimandir cantonment|Chandi Mandir military cantonment]] and an industrial township in [[Pinjore]] were built to the northeast of the city, despite objections from Corbusier.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=124–125}} During excavations for the city’s construction in the 1950s and 60s, artefacts, a [[cemetery]] and a settlement belonging to the [[Indus Valley civilisation]] were discovered around present-day sector 17.{{sfn|Ray|2019|page=224}}

Sector 22 was the first sector to be developed.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=47}} The large population of construction workers that came to build the city lived in self-built small mud or brick shacks during this period.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=47, 98}} 13 types of government housing, from the [[Chief Minister (India)|Chief Minister]]’s to those for low income employees, were developed by Fry, Drew and Jeanneret.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=49–53}} Following the departure of Fry and Drew, some house types were also developed by Jeet Malhotra, [[Manmohan Nath Sharma]], [[Aditya Prakash (architect)|Aditya Prakash]] and [[Eulie Chowdhury]].{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=53}} Jeanneret, Chowdhury and others also designed several types of furniture influenced by local craftsmanship for use in the city’s public buildings,{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=53–54}} which were manufactured from local hardwood by carpenters across northern India.{{sfn|Seitz|Thandapani|Wittrick|2023|pages=65–66}} Jeanneret was appointed chief architect and town planner for Chandigarh and lived in the city until 1965.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=71}}

The Secretariat was the first of the capitol complex buildings to be completed. The High Court became functional in March 1955,{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=80}} although modifications and additions to it continued till later.{{efn|By 1962, an annexe for additional courthouses was built, the earlier white portico walls were repainted in bright contrasting colours, and tapestries designed by Corbusier and weaved in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Kashmir]] were added to sound-proof courtrooms.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=77–78}}}} The Assembly building containing two legislative chambers enclosed within a square exterior—a hyperbolic assembly chamber and a pyramid-topped council chamber—was completed in 1962.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|pages=80–81}} A ceremonial door hand painted by Corbusier was installed at the Assembly Building in 1964.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=73}} Work on foundations of the fourth building set against the hills to complete the architectural composition of the complex, initially designed to be the [[Governor (India)|governor]]’s residence (which was disapproved by Nehru for being 'undemocratic') and changed later to a museum, was begun in the 1960s{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=86}} but the structure was never built.
Two of the six monuments planned in the Capitol Complex remain incomplete. These include Geometric Hill and Martyrs Memorial. Drawings were made, and they were begun in 1956, but they were never completed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/capitol-complex-as-le-corbusier-wanted-it/635844/|title=Capitol Complex, as Le Corbusier wanted it, remains incomplete|work=The Indian Express|date=19 June 2010|access-date=2 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026061415/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/capitol-complex-as-le-corbusier-wanted-it/635844|archive-date=26 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Corbusier remained committed to Chandigarh’s development until his death in 1965.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=71}}{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=168}}

===Reorganisation and afterwards===
In 1966, after a [[Punjabi Suba movement|long drawn movement]] by factions of the Akali Dal for an exclusively [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] state—and counter demands by [[Haryanvi]] and [[Western Pahari|Himachali]] leaders—the former bilingual state was [[Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966|divided along linguistic lines]]: the northwestern areas became [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], the southeastern ones [[Haryana]], and the northeastern hilly areas were transferred to [[Himachal Pradesh]].{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=133–135}} Chandigarh was originally allotted to Haryana based on its [[Hindi]]-speaking majority per the [[1961 census of India|1961 census]], but was later converted into a [[union territory]] instead, owing to apprehensions of Sikh disaffection with the city going to Haryana.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=135}} It became the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana, both of which were quick to extend their claims over it.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=135–136}} In 1970, after deliberations about possible resolutions including a division of the city, prime minister [[Indira Gandhi]] assigned it to Punjab with Haryana to be given the [[Fazilka district|Fazilka tehsil]] and granted funds for a new capital as compensation.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=136–137}}

The administration of the union territory, which also included 34 villages adjacent to the city, came under the direct control of the union government, and the city became the centre of three governments.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=137}} Periodic unofficial reports after the reorganisation suggested that the people of Chandigarh wanted the city to stay a union territory.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=136}} According to a 1982 survey, 80% of the city’s residents preferred it staying a UT.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=151}} In 1985, terms of an unimplemented [[Rajiv–Longowal Accord|wider accord]] granted the city to the state of Punjab, with Haryana slated to get 70,000 acres of land from Punjab in return.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=138}}

By 1971, 11–15% of Chandigarh’s population was living in illegal settlements.{{sfn|Sarin|1982|page=3}}{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=130}} Transit colonies for [[slum]]-dwellers were set up on the margins of the city, becoming permanent with time.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=130}} In the 1970s, city officials discovered a sculpture park built by public works employee and artist [[Nek Chand]] who had been secretly building it since 1957 using various materials—rocks found in the hills and waterbodies around the city, discarded materials from pre-existing villages, and waste generated by the city’s construction—on a piece of forest land adjacent to the capitol complex.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|pages=71–72}}{{sfn|Bandyopadhyay|Jackson|2007|pages=11–14}} The park was named '[[Rock Garden of Chandigarh|Rock Garden]]' and inaugurated in 1976, receiving national and international attention in the 1980s.{{sfn|Bandyopadhyay|Jackson|2007|pages=14–15}} In the late 1980s and 1990s, attempts by the city authorities to demolish the garden were thwarted by public protests.{{sfn|Bandyopadhyay|Jackson|2007|pages=15–16}}

Funding for the Open Hand monument, whose construction had been delayed due to financial constraints, was sanctioned in 1972.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|pages=143–144}} It was completed in 1985 and the motif was adopted and vigorously promoted as the official symbol of the city in the 1980s, with smaller monuments containing the icon built at other places such that the sign became ubiquitous in the city.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|pages=123–125}}{{efn|It represents, according to Corbusier, 'the Second Machine Age.' In private correspondence with Nehru, Corbusier also projected it as a symbol of [[Non-Alignment Movement|non-alignment]].{{sfn|Prakash|2002|pages=125–138}} Another Open Hand monument was envisioned at [[Bhakra Dam]] in the early 1950s, but never built.{{sfn|Prakash|2002|page=139–143}}}}

The city is surrounded by several [[satellite town]]s that depend on it for services and facilities. Punjab built the town of [[Mohali]] in an area originally set aside for greenbelt southwest of Chandigarh, and Haryana developed [[Panchkula]] to the city’s southeast (in addition to the already built Chandimandir cantonment to its east), both with the aim of reinforcing their claims on the city.{{sfn|Kalia|1999|page=139}}{{efn|Other towns in the larger inter-state Chandigarh region include Kharar, [[Kurali]], [[Pinjore]], [[Kalka]], [[Morinda]], [[Naraingarh]], [[Parwanoo]], [[Zirakpur]], [[Baddi]] and [[New Chandigarh|Mullanpur]].}} The villages in the union territory saw rapid urbanisation. In the late 1970s and 1980s, efforts were made towards more integrated regional urban planning in the wider [[Chandigarh Capital Region]].{{sfn|Kalia|1999|pages=140–143}}

==Geography==
[[File:Chandigarh Tricity.svg|thumb|left|Map of Chandigarh]]

===Location===
Chandigarh is located by the foothills of the [[Shivalik Hills|Shivalik]] Range of the [[Himalaya]]s in northwest India. It covers an area of approximately 114&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="Government Information">{{cite web|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_general.htm|title=About Chandigarh|publisher=Government of Chandigarh|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602043256/http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_general.htm|archive-date=2 June 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> It borders the states of Punjab and Haryana. The exact geographic coordinates of Chandigarh are {{Coord|30.74|N|76.79|E|}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/05/Chandigarh.html|title=Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Chandigarh|work=Falling Rain Genomics|access-date=21 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116054605/http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/5/Chandigarh.html|archive-date=16 January 2009}}</ref> It has an average elevation of 321&nbsp;metres (1053&nbsp;ft).

The city, lying in the northern plains, includes a vast area of flat, fertile land. Its northeast covers sections of [[Bhabar]], while the remainder of its terrain is part of the [[Terai]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bharatonline.com/chandigarh/travel-tips/location.html|title=Chandigarh > Travel tips > Location|work=bharatonline.com|access-date=26 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223134749/http://www.bharatonline.com/chandigarh/travel-tips/location.html|archive-date=23 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Its surrounding cities are [[Mohali]], [[New Chandigarh]], [[Patiala]], [[Zirakpur]] and [[Rupnagar]] in Punjab, and [[Panchkula]] and [[Ambala]] in Haryana.

Chandigarh is situated 44&nbsp;km (28 miles) north of [[Ambala]], 229&nbsp;km (143 miles) southeast of [[Amritsar]], and 250&nbsp;km (156 miles) north of [[Delhi]].

===Climate===
[[File:Kasauli Hills Snow.jpg|thumb|Chandigarh skyline in winter, with light snowfall on the peaks of Shivalik hills]]
Chandigarh has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cwa'') characterised by a seasonal rhythm: very hot summers, mild winters, unreliable rainfall, and great temperature variation ({{convert|−1|to|45|°C|°F|1|disp=or}}). The average annual rainfall is {{convert|1038.4|mm|in|2|disp=or}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Know Chandigarh|url=http://chandigarh.nic.in/knowchd_general.htm|website=Official Website of Chandigarh Administration|access-date=2 April 2020|date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721164933/http://chandigarh.nic.in/knowchd_general.htm|archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> The city also receives occasional winter rains from the [[Western Disturbance]] originating over the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. The western disturbances bring rain predominantly from mid-December until the end of April, which can be heavier sometimes with strong wind and hail if the weather turns colder (during March–April months), which usually proves disastrous to local crops. Cold northwesterly winds usually tend to come from the Himalayas that lie to the north, which receive snowfall during wintertime.

{{Chandigarh weatherbox}}Chandigarh has been ranked 27th best "National Clean Air City" (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 September 2024 |title=Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2024 |url=https://prana.cpcb.gov.in/ncapServices/robust/fetchFilesFromDrive/Swachh_Vayu_Survekshan_2024_Result.pdf |website=Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2024}}</ref>

===Wildlife and biodiversity===
Most of Chandigarh is covered by dense [[banyan]] and [[eucalyptus]] plantations. [[Ashoka tree|Ashoka]], [[Cassia Fistula|cassia]], [[mulberry]] and other trees flourish in the forested ecosystem.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chandigarhforestflora.in:80/home/species|title=Chandigarh Forest Flora – Comprehensive Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331194535/http://chandigarhforestflora.in/home/species|archive-date=31 March 2018|url-status=live|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref> The city is  surrounded by forests that sustain many animal and plant species.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/green_suk_wild4.htm|title=Official Website of Chandigarh Administration|work=chandigarh.gov.in|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021164858/http://chandigarh.gov.in/green_suk_wild4.htm|archive-date=21 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Deer]], [[Sambar (deer)|sambars]], [[barking deer]], parrots, [[woodpecker]]s, and [[peacock]]s inhabit the protected forests. [[Sukhna Lake]] hosts a variety of ducks and geese and attracts migratory birds from parts of Siberia and Japan in the winter season.
The [[Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh]] provides a home to a large number of parrots. [[Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary]] was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1998.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="134">
File:Peacock at Leisure Valley, Chandigarh.jpg|alt=Peacock at Leisure Valley, Chandigarh|Peacock at [[Leisure Valley, Chandigarh]]
File:Junglefowl, Sukhna wildlife sanctuary, Chandigarh, India.JPG|Junglefowl, Sukhna wildlife sanctuary, Chandigarh
File:Sambar deer in City Forest Park,Chandigarh.jpg|Sambar deer in City Forest Park, Chandigarh
Two parrots at parrot bird sanctuary, Chandigarh, India.jpg|Parakeets at the [[Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh|Parrot Bird Sanctuary]]
File:Nilgai, Dhanas Lake, Chandigarh 03.jpg|Nilgai, Dhanas lake, Chandigarh
</gallery>

====Heritage Trees of Chandigarh====
[[File:Heritage Trees of Chandigarh 01.jpg|thumb|left|Peepal the Heritage Tree of Chandigarh at [[Sukhna Lake]]]]
{{Main|Heritage Trees of Chandigarh}}

Many trees in Chandigarh are given the status of the natural heritage of the city. The Chandigarh government has identified a list of 31 trees as Heritage Trees. The Department of Forest & Wildlife Chandigarh Administration is the nodal department for this purpose and has published a detailed booklet about it. The trees in the city that are a hundred or more years old have been given ''heritage status''.

===Landscape===
[[Sukhna Lake]], a 3&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> artificial rain-fed lake in Sector 1,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chandigarhtourism.gov.in/images/map.jpg|title=Map of Chandigarh|access-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315091531/http://chandigarhtourism.gov.in/images/map.jpg|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> was created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the [[Sivalik Hills|Shivalik Hills]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chandigarh.co.uk/tourist-attractions/sukhna-lake.html|title=Sukhna Lake – Chandigarh Sukhna Lake – Sukhna Lake of Chandigarh India|work=chandigarh.co.uk|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116040456/http://www.chandigarh.co.uk/tourist-attractions/sukhna-lake.html|archive-date=16 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = Sukhna Lake Chandigarh.JPG
| width1            = 200
| image2            = Sukhna_Lake_Chandigarh_India.jpg
| width2            = 156
| footer            = [[Sailing]] at Sukhna Lake (left); Himalayan foothills seen from the lake (right)
}}

Chandigarh has a belt of parks running from sectors. It is known for its green belts and other special tourist parks. [[Sukhna Lake]] itself hosts the [[Garden of Silence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kiboli.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/chandigarh-the-city-beautiful/img_2821/|title=The Garden of Silence – quieter end of Sukhna Lake|work=kiboli.wordpress.com|publisher=Wordpress|access-date=21 March 2015|date=4 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223095124/https://kiboli.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/chandigarh-the-city-beautiful/img_2821/|archive-date=23 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Rock Garden of Chandigarh|Rock Garden]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pnrstatusirctc.in/places-visit-chandigarh-couples/|title=Nek Chand's Rock Garden in Chandigarh|date=10 June 2017|website=pnrstatusirctc.in|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805021046/https://pnrstatusirctc.in/places-visit-chandigarh-couples/|archive-date=5 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nekchand.com/about-nek-chand-2|title=About Nek Chand|access-date=21 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217070242/http://nekchand.com/about-nek-chand-2|archive-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> is located near the [[Sukhna Lake]] and has numerous sculptures made by using a variety of different discarded waste materials.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chandigarh.co.uk/tourist-attractions/rock-garden.html|title=Rock Garden|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109020538/http://www.chandigarh.co.uk/tourist-attractions/rock-garden.html|archive-date=9 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Zakir Hussain Rose Garden]] (which is also Asia's largest rose garden) contains nearly 825 varieties of roses in it and more than 32,500 varieties of other medicinal plants and trees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/chandigarh/rose-garden.html|title=Rose Garden of Chandigarh|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323040257/http://www.mapsofindia.com/chandigarh/rose-garden.html|archive-date=23 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Other gardens include the Garden of Fragrance in Sector 36, [[Garden of Palms Chandigarh|Garden of Palms]] in Sector 42, Butterfly Park in Sector 26, Valley of Animals in Sector 49, the [[Japanese Garden, Chandigarh|Japanese Garden]] in Sector 31 which is designed in traditional Japanese style and known for its peaceful atmosphere, the [[Terraced Garden]] in Sector 33, Shanti Kunj Garden, the [[Botanical garden]] and the Bougainvillea Garden.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/green_leisure.htm|title=Official Website of Chandigarh Administration|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128093142/http://chandigarh.gov.in/green_leisure.htm|archive-date=28 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> There is also the [[Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh]] in Sector 10.

== Demographics ==
{{historical populations|11=1901|12=21,967|13=1911|14=18,437|15=1921|16=18,133|17=1931|18=19,783|19=1941|20=22,574|21=1951|22=24,261|23=1961|24=1,19,881|25=1971|26=2,57,251|27=1981|28=4,51,610|29=1991|30=6,42,015|31=2001|32=9,00,635|33=2011|34=10,55,450|percentages=pagr|footnote=source:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A2_Data_Table.html|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=censusindia.gov.in|access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref>|align=left}}

===Population===
[[File:Populationchandigarh.png|thumbnail|Population growth in Chandigarh over the years.]]
{{As of|2011}} India census, Chandigarh had a population of 1,055,450,<ref name="PBD1" /><ref name="chandigarh.official" /> giving it a density of about 9,252 (7,900 in 2001) persons per square kilometre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|work=censusindia.gov.in|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511035603/http://censusindia.gov.in/|archive-date=11 May 2008}}</ref><ref name="Census observations">{{cite web|url=http://www.ssachd.nic.in/disereport.htm|title=Census observations|work=Census of India|publisher=ssachd.nic.in|access-date=7 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124231627/http://ssachd.nic.in/disereport.htm|archive-date=24 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. The sex ratio is 818 females for every 1,000 males.<ref name=Cities1Lakhandabove /> The child-sex ratio is 880 females per thousand males. Chandigarh has an effective literacy rate of 86.77% (based on population 7 years and above), higher than the national average; with male literacy of 90.81% and female literacy of 81.88%.<ref name=Cities1Lakhandabove /> 10.8% of the population is under 6&nbsp;years of age.<ref name=Cities1Lakhandabove /> The population of Chandigarh formed 0.09 per cent of India in 2011.<ref name="chandigarh.official">{{cite web|title=Statistical Abstract of Chandigarh|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/stat18/Abstract2018/stat18-T2.pdf|website=Official Website of Chandigarh|access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref>

There has been a substantial decline in the population growth rate in Chandigarh, with just 17.10% growth between 2001 and 2011. Since the 1951–1961 period, the growth rate has decreased from 394.13% to 17.10%, a likely cause being the rapid urbanisation and development in neighbouring cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/cmp2031/demography.pdf|title=Chandigarh demographics|work=chandigarh.gov.in|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513223903/http://chandigarh.gov.in/cmp2031/demography.pdf|archive-date=13 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The urban population constitutes 97.25% of the total and the rural population makes up 2.75%, as there are only a few villages within Chandigarh, situated on its Western and South-Eastern border, and the majority of people live in the heart of Chandigarh.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

===Languages===
{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Languages of Chandigarh (2011)<ref name="census2011-langreport">{{cite web|title=Language – India, States and Union Territories|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf|work=Census of India 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General|pages=13–14|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="2011census_lang">{{cite web|title=C-16: Population by mother tongue|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10197/download/13309/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-0400.XLSX|website=Office Of The Registrar General & Census Commissioner India|access-date=10 September 2023}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Hindi]]
| value1 = 67.76
| color1 = Orange
| label2 = [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
| value2 = 22.02
| color2 = sky blue
| label3 = [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]
| value3 = 2.27
| color3 = Gold
| label4 = [[Haryanvi]]
| value4 = 1.06
| color4 = IndianRed
| label5 = [[Urdu]]
| value5 = 1.00
| color5 = Green
| label6 = [[Pahari language|Pahari]]
| value6 = 0.93
| color6 = Coral
| label7 = [[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| value7 = 0.62
| color7 = Pink
| label8 = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| value8 = 0.59
| color8 = Red
| label9 = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| value9 = 0.53
| color9 = Cyan
| label10 = [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| value10 = 0.41
| color10 = silver
| label11 = Others
| value11 = 2.81
| color11 = Grey
}}

English and Hindi are the official languages used by the Chandigarh UT administration.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="langoff"/> The majority of the population speaks [[Hindi]] (67.76%) while [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] is spoken by 22.02%.<ref name="2011census_lang"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/after-mother-tongue-city-more-proficient-in-english/662470.html|title=After mother tongue, city more proficient in English|work=Tribuneindia News Service |date=3 October 2018|access-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004103927/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/after-mother-tongue-city-more-proficient-in-english/662470.html|archive-date=4 October 2018|url-status=live |last1=Service |first1=Tribune News }}</ref> Government schools use English, Hindi, and Punjabi textbooks.<ref name="textbooks07-08">{{cite web|title=List of Text Books Prescribed for Classes I to X in Government Non-Model Schools of Chandigarh (UT) for the Session 2007–08|url=http://admser.chd.nic.in/uploadfiles/press/pressnote/pr1298.pdf|publisher=Chandigarh Administration Education Department|access-date=21 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815071821/http://admser.chd.nic.in/uploadfiles/press/pressnote/pr1298.pdf|archive-date=15 August 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> The percentage of Punjabi speakers has fallen from 36% in 1981 to 22% in 2011, while that of Hindi speakers has increased from 51% to 67%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Households and household population by language mainly spoken in the household|url=http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/3323/1/47265_1981_HOS.pdf|work=Census of India 1981|publisher=Director of Census Operations, Chandigarh U.T.}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{bar box|width = 300px
 |barwidth = 250px |cellpadding="0"
 |title=Religion in Chandigarh (2011)<ref name="Religion"/>
|titlebar=#Fcd116
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Hinduism]]|DarkOrange|80.71}}
{{bar percent|[[Sikhism]]|Darkkhaki|13.11}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam]]|Green|4.87}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity]]|Blue|0.83}}
{{bar percent|Others|#9955BB|0.4}}}}

[[Hinduism]]  is the predominant religion of Chandigarh followed by 80.71% of the population. [[Sikhism]] is the second most followed religion in the city, followed by 13.11% of the people, followed by [[Islam]] at 4.87%. Minorities are [[Christians]] at 0.83%, [[Jains]] at 0.19%, [[Buddhists]] at 0.11%, those that didn't state a religion at 0.10%, and others are 0.02%.<ref name="Religion">{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0401_PART_A_DCHB_CHANDIGARH.pdf|title=Census of India 2011 – Chandigarh|access-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821191248/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0401_PART_A_DCHB_CHANDIGARH.pdf|archive-date=21 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

There are several places of worship located all over the city, with many in each sector, including the historic Mata Basanti Devi Mandir in Sector 24.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gera|first=H. C.|date=23 February 2002|title=A century-old temple in Chandigarh|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020223/windows/main2.htm|work=The Tribune|access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref> The temple is dedicated to [[Shitala|Goddess Shitala]] and specially visited by devotees during first Tuesday of [[Chaitra|Chaitra month]] after [[Holi]]. [[Chandi Mandir]], [[Mata Mansa Devi Mandir]] and [[Jayanti Devi Temple|Mata Jayanti Devi Mandir]] are important Hindu temples located near Chandigarh.<ref>{{Cite news|date=3 April 2022|title=Chaitra Navratri fair kicks off at Mata Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/chaitra-navratri-fair-kicks-off-at-mata-mansa-devi-temple-in-panchkula-101648931722357.html|access-date=27 May 2022|work=Punjab Times}}</ref> Saketri Shiv Mandir in Panchkula is another nearby historic temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kooner |first=Sukhmani |date=24 July 2025 |title=A temple, a mosque, and the harmony in between |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/a-temple-a-mosque-and-the-harmony-in-between/articleshow/122866950.cms |work=The Times of India |access-date=29 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=12 February 2009|title=A sacred walk down a picturesque site|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/a-sacred-walk-down-a-picturesque-site/|access-date=27 May 2022|work=The Indian Express}}</ref> [[Nada Sahib]] Gurudwara, a famous place for Sikh worship lies in its vicinity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chandigarh.co.uk/religious-places/index.html|title=Religious Places in Chandigarh|publisher=chandigarh.co.uk|access-date=9 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017085022/http://www.chandigarh.co.uk/religious-places/index.html|archive-date=17 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Apart from this, there are a couple of historical mosques in [[Mani Majra|Manimajra]] and Burail.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=cr&gws_rd=ssl#q=masjids+in+chandigarh&rflfq=1&rlha=0&tbm=lcl|title=Masjids in Chandigarh|work=google.co.in|access-date=9 September 2015}}</ref> The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Simla and Chandigarh|Diocese of Simla and Chandigarh]] serves the Catholics of the city, with a [[co-cathedral]] in the city, which also governs most of the convent schools in Chandigarh.

==Health==
The table below shows the data from the district nutrition profile of children below the age of 5 years, in Chandigarh, as of year 2020.

{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|+ District nutrition profile of children under 5 years of age in Chandigarh, year 2020<ref name="Niti">{{cite web|title=District Nutrition Profiles – Chandigrah|url=https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-06/Chandigarh-Chandigarh.pdf|website=[[NITI Aayog]]|access-date=15 December 2023}}</ref>
!Indicators!!Number of children (<5 years)!! Percent (2020)!! Percent (2016)
|-
|Stunted||23,133||25%||29%
|-
|Wasted||7,690||8%||11%
|-
|Severely wasted||2,140||2%||4%
|-
|Underweight||18,799||21%||24%
|-
|Overweight/obesity||1,692||2%||1%
|-
|Anemia||44,830||55%||73%
|-
|Total children||91,436||||
|}

The table below shows the district nutrition profile of women in Chandigarh between the ages of 15 and 49 years, as of the year 2020.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+District nutritional profile of women in Chandigarh aged 15–49 years, in 2020<ref name="Niti"/>
!Indicators!!Number of women (15–49 years)!! Percent (2020)!!Percent (2016)
|-
|Underweight (BMI <18.5&nbsp;kg/m^2)||57,268||13%||13%
|-
|Overweight/obesity||193,769||44%||41%
|-
|Hypertension||110,178||25%||12%
|-
|Diabetes||83,415||29%||NA
|-
|Anemia (non-preg)||264,506||60%||76%
|-
|Total women (preg)||37,116||||
|-
|Total women||440,183||||
|}

==Government and politics==
[[File:Chandigarh High Court.jpg|thumb|[[Punjab and Haryana High Court]] by [[Le Corbusier]]]]

=== Administrator of the union territory ===
Article 239 of the [[Constitution of India]] provides for the administration of the Union Territories by the [[President of India|President]] through an administrator.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Constitution of India|url=https://www.constitutionofindia.net/constitution_of_india/the_union_territories/articles/Article%20239|access-date=17 May 2022|website=constitutionofindia.net}}</ref> Since 1984 the [[List of governors of Punjab (India)|Governor of Punjab]] has served concurrently as the [[List of administrators of Chandigarh|administrator of Chandigarh]]. [[Gulab Chand Kataria]] has been the administrator of the union territory since 27 July 2024.<ref>{{cite news|title=Will work together, says Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann after Gulab Chand Kataria appointed as new Governor|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/punjab/will-work-together-says-punjab-cm-bhagwant-mann-after-gulab-chand-kataria-appointed-as-new-governor/article68456822.ece|work=The Hindu|agency=Press Trust of India|date=28 July 2024|access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>

===Politics===
Chandigarh, as a [[union territory]], is not entitled to a state-level election: thus [[State Assembly elections in India|State Assembly elections]] are not held and it is directly controlled by the [[central government]]. One seat for Chandigarh is allocated in the [[Elections in India#General Elections (Lok sabha)|Lok Sabha elections]] held every five years.

[[Manish Tewari]] ([[Indian National Congress|INC]]) is the [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]] elected in [[2024 Indian general election|2024]] from the [[Chandigarh (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency]].

=== Civic administration ===
{{main|Chandigarh Municipal Corporation}}
The city is governed by a civic administration or local government headed by [[Municipal Commissioner (India)|Municipal Commissioner]] Amit Kumar and [[Mayor]] Harpreet Kaur Babla.<ref>{{cite web |title=Municipal Corporation Chandigarh |url=http://www.mcchandigarh.gov.in/ |website=mcchandigarh.gov.in |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref> The city comprises 35 wards represented by 35 elected [[councillor]]s, and also nominates 9 councillors.<ref name="Wards">{{Cite web|title=Wards {{!}} The official website of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, Chandigarh Administration, India|url=http://mcchandigarh.gov.in/?q=wards|access-date=11 September 2020|website=mcchandigarh.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ward Map|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/pdf/sec-map.pdf|website=chandigarh.gov.in|access-date=29 September 2020}} {{failed verification|date=September 2024}}</ref>

On 27 March 2022, Union Home Minister [[Amit Shah]] announced that the Chandigarh employees who were working under the Punjab service rules until 2022, would be working under the central civil services rules from 1 April 2022. The move was criticised by political parties such as the [[Aam Admi Party|AAP]], the [[Indian National Congress|INC]] and the [[Akali Dal]].<ref name="Tribune News 27 March 2022">{{cite news|title=Chandigarh employees to be under central civil services rules: Amit Shah|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/ut-employees-to-be-under-central-civil-services-rules-amit-shah-381287|access-date=27 March 2022|work=The Tribune|date=27 March 2022}}</ref>

Composition of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation after [[2021 Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election]] as of December 2021:
{|class="sortable wikitable"
|+|Composition of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation
|-
! colspan="2" |Party!! Seats !! '''Seats +/−'''
|-
| {{party color cell|Aam Aadmi Party}}
| [[Aam Aadmi Party]] || 14 || {{increase}}14
|-
| {{party color cell|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] || 14 || {{decrease}} 6
|-
| {{party color cell|Indian National Congress}}
| [[Indian National Congress]] || 6 || {{increase}}3
|-
| {{party color cell|Shiromani Akali Dal}}
| [[Shiromani Akali Dal]] || 1 || {{unchanged}}
|-
|
| Nominated
<!-- |colspan='2'| 9 -->
 || 9 || {{TBD}}
|-
|
| Member of Parliament
|colspan='2'| 1
|}

=== Civic utilities ===
The prime responsibilities of the civic body [[Municipal Corporation Chandigarh]], are to ensure cleanliness and sanitation in the city, illumination of street lights, maintenance of parks, and sewerage disposal.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 August 2020|title=How Chandigarh's four-pronged strategy is helping the city fight COVID-19 {{!}} Citizen Matters|url=https://citizenmatters.in/chandigarh-interview-k-k-yadav-municipal-commissioner-on-covid-19-battle-17818|access-date=11 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817135458/https://citizenmatters.in/chandigarh-interview-k-k-yadav-municipal-commissioner-on-covid-19-battle-17818|archive-date=17 August 2020}}</ref> The city has both brick and pipe sewers laid in four phases.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=11 September 2020|title=Plans afoot to revamp Chandigarh's over 5-decade-old sewerage system – Chandigarh – Hindustan Times|work=Hindustan Times |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/plans-afoot-to-revamp-city-s-over-5-decade-old-sewerage-system/story-fIannhAlRyHlaEgZNawQdI.html|access-date=11 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911060233/https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/plans-afoot-to-revamp-city-s-over-5-decade-old-sewerage-system/story-fIannhAlRyHlaEgZNawQdI.html|archive-date=11 September 2020}}</ref> In September 2020, the civic body announced that it would upgrade and renew the 50-year-old sewerage system.<ref name=":2" /> The pilot project for the 24x7 water supply is expected to begin in Chandigarh in May 2021, which was initially to start in September 2020 and end in March 2022. On 8 April 2021, the Chandigarh Smart City Ltd (CSCL) board is yet to take the final decision.<ref>{{Cite news|date=9 April 2021|title=Pilot project for 24x7 water supply in Chandigarh set to begin in May|work=Punjab Times|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/pilot-project-for-24x7-water-supply-in-chandigarh-set-to-begin-in-may-101617910371175.html|access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

In 2021, the BJP-ruled corporation had increased the [[water tariff]] by 1.5 to 2.5 times.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sagar|first=Munieshwer A|date=31 March 2022|title=It's official: Water to cost more in Chandigarh from April 1|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/its-official-water-to-cost-more-in-chandigarh-from-april-1-101648678199707.html|access-date=17 May 2022|work=Hindustan Times}}</ref> This created a widespread discontent among the residents.<ref name="IE 27 Dec Explained">{{cite news|title=Explained: 5 reasons why AAP scored big in Chandigarh municipal polls|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-aap-scored-big-in-chandigarh-municipal-polls-7693012/|access-date=27 December 2021|work=The Indian Express|date=27 December 2021}}</ref>

In 2021, there was an acute shortage of parking spaces. The problem was aggravated by an increase of 17% in parking rates by the Municipal Corporation.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=4 February 2022|title=Parking fees hiked by 17% at 32 parking lots in Chandigarh|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/chandigarh/story/parking-lot-fees-hiked-by-17-percent-zone-1-parking-chandigarh-municipal-corporation-parking-charges-1908953-2022-02-04|access-date=17 May 2022|magazine=India Today}}</ref> The increase in the waste collection charges, water tariff and property tax rates during the last five years 2016 to 2021 were unpopular among the public.<ref name="IE 27 Dec Explained" />

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic in India]], concerns were raised about whether sufficient relief measures had been taken by the local government. The sitting Councillors were accused of not being found to be approachable when the public needed support.<ref name="IE 27 Dec Explained" />

====Cleanliness====
In 2025, the municipal corporation prepared a detailed agenda item to construct the city's first Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Processing Plant with a capacity of 550 tons per day (TPD) for 17 years, including two years of plant construction and 15 years of operation and maintenance. This will be a compressed biogas (CBG) plant to produce energy.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 March 2025 |title=Chandigarh to have its first integrated solid waste processing plant with CBG production |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/chandigarh-to-have-its-first-integrated-solid-waste-processing-plant-with-cbg-production/articleshow/119440294.cms |access-date=11 September 2025 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> This will be the city’s first decentralised garbage processing facility in Sector 49. This facility is intended to serve four bulk waste generator housing societies, including Kendriya Vihar, Pushpak Enclave, Progressive Society, and Telehos Society, which collectively produce a daily output of 491&nbsp;kg dry waste and 958&nbsp;kg wet waste.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 August 2023 |title=Chandigarh: Ward Number 35 gets its own waste processing facility in Sec 49 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/pioneering-decentralised-garbage-processing-facility-in-chandigarh-s-ward-35-aims-to-make-housing-societies-selfreliant-101691953826055.html |access-date=11 September 2025 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> So far, Chandigarh’s first decentralised garbage processing unit has had mixed responses from RWAs and housing societies over potential concerns about smell and emissions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=connect2783 |date=20 March 2024 |title=World Water Day 2024 |url=https://www.nagrika.org/post/water-challenges |access-date=11 September 2025 |website=Nagrika |language=en}}</ref>

In 2016, Chandigarh was the [[List of cleanest cities in India|second cleanest city of India]].

In 2021, Chandigarh fell 66 positions in the list of cleanest cities in India. The garbage piled up at the Dadu Majra garbage dump site.<ref name="IE 27 Dec Explained" /><ref name="Dadu Majra">{{cite news|date=15 July 2021|title=Dadu Majra dump in Chandigarh poses a threat to lives of 50,000 citizens: PIL in Punjab and Haryana HC|work=The Indian Express|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/dadu-majra-dump-in-chandigarh-poses-a-threat-to-lives-citizens-pil-in-punjab-and-haryana-hc-7405672/|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> The city's cleanliness was once a point for the city, and its decline became an important poll issue.<ref name="IE 27 Dec Explained" />

{{Government of India by state or territory}}

==Economy==
[[File:Farmers' Market (Apni Mandi) in Chandigarh.jpg|thumb|Farmers' Market in Chandigarh]]
Chandigarh has been rated as one of the "Wealthiest Towns" of India.<ref name = "economy">Chandigarh has been rated as the "Wealthiest Town" of India.http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_redfinechd.htm</ref> The [[Reserve Bank of India]] ranked Chandigarh as the third-largest deposit centre and seventh-largest credit centre nationwide as of June 2012. With an average household monthly income of {{INRConvert|199000|}}, Chandigarh is one of the richest towns in India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/chandigarhs-the-richest-of-em-all/12571-3.html|title=Chandigarh's the richest of 'em all|publisher=CNN-IBN|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924231235/http://www.ibnlive.com/news/chandigarhs-the-richest-of-em-all/12571-3.html|archive-date=24 September 2008}}</ref> Chandigarh's [[List of Indian states and union territories by GDP|gross state domestic product]] for 2014–15 is estimated at {{INRConvert|290|b|year=2015}} at current prices. According to a 2014 survey, Chandigarh is ranked 4th in the top 50 cities identified globally as "emerging outsourcing and IT services destinations".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/10/03/stories/2007100351450400.htm|title=6 Indian cities among emerging outsourcing hubs|work=Business Line|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106153208/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/10/03/stories/2007100351450400.htm|archive-date=6 January 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park, also known as the Chandigarh IT Park, is a [[special economic zone]] which has facilities for information technology.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Administration|first=Chandigarh|title=RAJIV GANDHI CHANDIGARH TECHNOLOGY PARK|url=https://www.chdit.gov.in/rgctp}}</ref>

Technology Park, which has changed the economic scenario of the city and the vicinity by facilitating the growth of the economy, especially in the Services sector.<ref name=":1" />

===Employment===
The government is a major employer in Chandigarh, with three governments having their base here, those being the Chandigarh Administration, the Punjab government, and the Haryana government. A significant percentage of Chandigarh's population, therefore, consists of people who are either working for one of these governments or have retired from government service, mainly armed forces. For this reason, Chandigarh is often called a "Pensioner's Paradise".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/IASOURDREAM/posts/327185860650096|title=IAS OUR DREAM – Chandigarh is often called a "Pensioner's...|via=Facebook|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017085022/https://www.facebook.com/IASOURDREAM/posts/327185860650096|archive-date=17 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=September 2024}} [[Ordnance Cable Factory Chandigarh|Ordnance Cable Factory]] of the [[Ordnance Factories Board]] has been set up by the [[Government of India]]. There are about 15 medium-to-large industries, including two in the [[public sector]]. In addition, Chandigarh has over 2,500 units registered under the small-scale sector. {{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The city's important industries are paper manufacturing, basic metals and alloys, and machinery. Other industries in the city are food products, sanitary ware, auto parts, machine tools, pharmaceuticals, and electrical appliances.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The main occupation here is trade and business.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20141223091428/http://www.discoveredindia.com/chandigarh/chandigarh-the-fort-of-chandi/people.htm Occupation in Chandigarh]}}. The people of Chandigarh and their occupation.</ref><ref>[http://www.bharatonline.com/chandigarh/culture/people.html Chandigarh people, culture and occupation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223092736/http://www.bharatonline.com/chandigarh/culture/people.html |date=23 December 2014 }}. The culture and people of Chandigarh.</ref> However, the [[Punjab and Haryana High Court]], [[Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research|Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER)]], the availability of an IT Park, and more than a hundred government schools provide other job opportunities to people.

Four major trade promotion organisations have their offices in Chandigarh. These are [[ASSOCHAM|The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry, ASSOCHAM India]],<ref>The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry, ASSOCHAM India</ref> Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, (FICCI) the PhD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the [[Confederation of Indian Industry]] (CII) having regional offices in Chandigarh.<ref>[http://www.cii.in/Regionpage.aspx?enc=eGTdm5V5nAehji8uvc8r9/JOHwrfX+fmCQ6xKZRBJcwNfHPk1Y9MV9guXPcPQiwD CII (NR) headquarters are at Chandigarh] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210003631/http://www.cii.in/Regionpage.aspx?enc=eGTdm5V5nAehji8uvc8r9%2FJOHwrfX+fmCQ6xKZRBJcwNfHPk1Y9MV9guXPcPQiwD |date=10 February 2015 }}. (Confederation of Indian Industry) The headquarters of CII North Region are at Chandigarh.</ref><ref>[http://www.cii.in/PhotoGalleryDetail.aspx?enc=aF7Ur01v+lR+C3X7MEd6q43EP4jDEa8VyWF7gZWJTEZTnhat3zcTk5sdSthQYEraUBk12qf6dekhGj3QR5WYiGwaexJkILWGl7uUYya3Uhx+t3qymrqpLVQiYHjQTnL0vehBPvqeM8P9mAdCrMscGg== Confederation of Indian Industry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403153417/http://www.cii.in/PhotoGalleryDetail.aspx?enc=aF7Ur01v+lR+C3X7MEd6q43EP4jDEa8VyWF7gZWJTEZTnhat3zcTk5sdSthQYEraUBk12qf6dekhGj3QR5WYiGwaexJkILWGl7uUYya3Uhx+t3qymrqpLVQiYHjQTnL0vehBPvqeM8P9mAdCrMscGg== |date=3 April 2015 }}. The Headquarters of CII (NR) is in Chandigarh.</ref>

Chandigarh IT Park (also known as Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park) is the city's attempt to break into the [[information technology]] world. Chandigarh's infrastructure, proximity to [[Delhi]], Haryana, Punjab, and [[Himachal Pradesh]], and the IT talent pool attract IT businesses looking for office space in the area. Major Indian firms and multinational corporations like [[Quark, Inc.|Quark]], [[Infosys]], [[EVRY]], [[TechMahindra]], [[Airtel]], [[Amadeus IT Group]], [[DLF (company)|DLF]] have set up base in the city and its suburbs.

The work of the [[Chandigarh Metro]] was slated to start by 2019. It was opposed by the [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]] from Chandigarh, [[Kirron Kher]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140701/cth1.htm|title=Metro not feasible for city: MP|work=The Tribune|access-date=25 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909122950/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140701/cth1.htm|archive-date=9 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> With an estimated cost of around {{INR}}109&nbsp;billion including 50% funds from the governments of Punjab and Haryana and 25% from Chandigarh and government of India, funds from the [[Japanese government]] were proposed to include approximately 56% of the cost.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ajay Deep|date=15 October 2014|title=Chandigarh Metro Project Cost and Other Details|url=https://www.ultimate-tech-news.com/chandigarh-metro-project-cost-and-other-details/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315002632/http://chandigarhmetro.com/chandigarh-metro-project-cost-and-other-details/|archive-date=15 March 2015|access-date=12 March 2015|work=Chandigarh Metro}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarhmetro.com/|title=Chandigarh Metro – Know what's happening in Chandigarh|work=Chandigarh Metro|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314191657/http://chandigarhmetro.com/|archive-date=14 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the project was turned down owing to its non-feasibility. Kher promised a film city for Chandigarh. After winning the seat, she said that she had difficulty in acquiring land in Chandigarh.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/trying-to-get-film-city-for-chandigarh-soon-kirron-kher-114082500941_1.html|title=Trying to get Film City for Chandigarh soon: Kirron Kher|agency=Press Trust of India|date=25 August 2014|work=Business Standard|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113120346/http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/trying-to-get-film-city-for-chandigarh-soon-kirron-kher-114082500941_1.html|archive-date=13 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Her proposal was accepted by the Chandigarh Administration and the [[Chandigarh film city|film city]] is proposed to be set up in Sarangpur, Chandigarh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/admn_new_init_filmcity.htm|title=Official Website of Chandigarh Administration|work=chandigarh.gov.in|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112185824/http://chandigarh.gov.in/admn_new_init_filmcity.htm|archive-date=12 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> This has been considered as a source of employment in the future.

==Culture==
[[File:Fine Arts Museum, Panjab University.jpg|thumb|Fine Arts Museum, Panjab University]]

===Festivals===
Every year, in September or October during the festival of [[Navaratri|Navratri]], many associations and organisations hold a ''[[Ramlila]]'' event, which has been conducted here for over 50 years.<ref>{{cite news|title=60 venues to stage Ramlila in Chandigarh this year|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/60-venues-to-stage-ramlila-in-chandigarh-this-year/story-6lnNgj7qpZu5MvCLHBGCxJ.html|access-date=19 September 2017|work=Hindustan Times|agency=HT Media|publisher=HT Correspondents|date=1 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204171121/http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/60-venues-to-stage-ramlila-in-chandigarh-this-year/story-6lnNgj7qpZu5MvCLHBGCxJ.html|archive-date=4 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[rose festival chandigarh|Rose Festival]] in [[Zakir Hussain Rose Garden]] every February shows thousands of subspecies of roses.<ref>{{cite web|title=ROSE GARDEN|url=http://chandigarhtourism.gov.in/Chandigarh%20Tourism%20-%20places%20to%20see-rose_garden.htm|website=chandigarhtourism.gov.in|publisher=Chandigarh govt|access-date=11 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518003155/http://chandigarhtourism.gov.in/Chandigarh%20Tourism%20-%20places%20to%20see-rose_garden.htm|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

'''Chandigarh Carnival''' is an annual mega tourism event of '''Chandigarh Administration''' which is held in the last week of November every year.As a part of event, the department organises various fun and flora activities including setting up of [[amusement park]], stalls, day cultural programmes etc.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chandigarh Carnival|url=https://utsav.gov.in/view-event/chandigarh-carnival-1|access-date=20 May 2024|website=utsav.gov.in}}</ref>

The Mango Festival is held during the [[monsoons]], and other festivals are held at [[Sukhna Lake]].

[[Punjabi festivals|Punjabi historic festivals]] like [[Lohri]], [[Basant (festival)|Basant]], [[Vaisakhi]] are also celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm across the city.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Baisakhi Festival in Chandigarh|url=https://www.india.com/travel/chandigarh/things-to-do/events-baisakhi-festival-in-chandigarh/|website=India.com}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[Unified Transport Metropolitan Authority, Chandigarh]] was made in 2023 to plan and execute the transportation needs of the Chandigarh Metropolitan Region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/unified-metropolitan-transport-authority-for-tricity-constituted-under-national-urban-transport-policy-umta-tricity-transportation-101682723268881-amp.html|title=Chandigarh: 23-member unified metropolitan transport body formed|work=Hindustan Times |date=29 April 2023}}</ref>

===Road===
{{multiple image|
image1=Chandigarh Road.jpg|caption1=A road in Chandigarh|width1=150|
image2=Bus queue shelter in Chandigarh.jpg|caption2=Bus queue shelter in Chandigarh|width2=158}}

Chandigarh has a seven-tiered system of roads arranged in a grid plan to create separation of fast and slow motor traffic from pedestrians and cyclists.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=32}} This system, named 'les Sept Voies' ({{literally|the Seven V's}}) by Corbusier, include the highway connecting the city to other cities, central axes (identified as ''Marg'', {{lang|hi|मार्ग}}: Jan Marg, Madhya Marg, Dakshin Marg, Uttar Marg, Himalaya Marg, Purv Marg), arterial roads enveloping the sectors (identified as ''Path'', {{lang|hi|पथ}}: Vidya Path, Udyan Path, Vigyan Path, Sarovar Path, Sukhna Path, Chandi Path, Udyog Path, Shanti Path), main shopping street bisecting each sector, circulation roads within the sector, residential streets, and cyclist and pedestrian paths.{{sfn|Evenson|1966|page=32}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Sharma |first=Saumya |date=28 November 2021 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/know-the-seven-vs-of-chandigarh-7645288/ |title=Know the Seven 'V's of Chandigarh |work=The Indian Express}}</ref>

Chandigarh has the largest number of vehicles per capita in India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/top-ten-cities-of-india/top-ten-highest-no-of-car-ownership.html|title=Top Ten Towns with Highest Number of Car Ownership in India|work=mapsofindia.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224203357/http://www.mapsofindia.com/top-ten-cities-of-india/top-ten-highest-no-of-car-ownership.html|archive-date=24 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Wide, well-maintained roads and parking spaces all over the city ease local transport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/chandigarh/|title=Chandigarh city guide, information, history, weather, geographic statistics|work=citcochandigarh.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310002937/http://www.mapsofindia.com/chandigarh/|archive-date=10 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Chandigarh Transport Undertaking]] (CTU) operates public transport buses from its Inter State Bus Terminals (ISBT) in [[Sector-17, Chandigarh|Sectors 17]] and 43 of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chdctu.gov.in/ISBT.aspx|title=Chandigarh Transport Undertaking|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318001913/http://chdctu.gov.in/ISBT.aspx|archive-date=18 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> CTU also operates frequent bus services to the neighbouring states of [[Punjab region|Punjab]], [[Haryana]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], and to [[Delhi]].

Chandigarh is well-connected by road to the following nearby cities, by the following highway routes:
* [[File:NH7-IN.svg|25px]] [[National Highway 7 (India)|NH 7]] to [[Patiala]] in the southwest.
* [[File:NH152-IN.svg|25px]] [[National Highway 152 (India)|NH 152]] to [[Ambala]] and [[Kaithal]] in the south ([[National Highway 44 (India)|NH 44]] catches up from Ambala to [[Panipat]]-[[Delhi]]).
* [[File:NH5-IN.svg|25px]] [[National Highway 5 (India)|NH 5]] to [[Shimla]] in the northeast, and to [[Ludhiana]] in the west.

===Air===
[[File:Ixc-new-airport 2015.jpg|thumb|left|View of [[Chandigarh Airport]] new terminal]]

[[Chandigarh Airport]] has scheduled commercial flights to the major cities of India. An international terminal was completed in 2015, and international flight routes to Dubai and Sharjah were started. The runway is located in Chandigarh, while the terminal is in Mohali. The governments of [[Government of Punjab, India|Punjab]] and [[Government of Haryana|Haryana]] each have a 24.5% stake in the international terminal building, while the [[Airports Authority of India]] holds a 51% stake.<ref>{{cite news|title=PM inaugurates new terminal at Chandigarh airport|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/chandigarh/pm-inaugurates-new-terminal-at-chandigarh-airport-131730|access-date=7 June 2022|work=The Tribune|date=11 September 2015}}</ref>

===Rail===
[[File:Chandigarh Railway Junction.jpg|thumb|[[Chandigarh Junction railway station|Chandigarh Junction]]]]

[[Chandigarh Junction railway station]] lies in the [[Northern Railway zone]] of the [[Indian Railways]] network and provides connectivity to most of the regions of India. The railway station also serves the neighbouring town of Panchkula. There were long-standing proposals to develop a [[Chandigarh Metro|metro rail]] system in the city, which were formally scrapped in 2017.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==Education==
{{See also|List of educational institutions in Chandigarh}}
[[File:StuC PU.jpg|thumb|left|Student Centre, Panjab University]]
There are numerous educational institutions in Chandigarh. These range from privately and publicly operated schools to colleges. These include [[Panjab University]], [[Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research]] (PGIMER), [[Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh|Punjab Engineering College]], [[Indian Institute of Science Education and Research]], National Institute of Technical Teacher Training
and Research (NITTTR), [[Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh|Post Graduate Government College]], and [[DAV College, Chandigarh|DAV College]].

According to the Chandigarh administration's department of education, there are a total of 115 government schools in Chandigarh,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chdeducation.gov.in/?q=node/4|title=Government Schools {{!}} Department of Education Chandigarh Administration|website=chdeducation.gov.in|access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref> including [[Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector-16, Chandigarh|Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16]], [[Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Chandigarh|Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya]], Bhavan Vidyalaya,<ref>{{cite news|title=Chandigarh: 4-day conference for principals by Bhavan Vidyalaya concludes|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/chandigarh-4-day-conference-for-principals-by-bhavan-vidyalaya-concludes-101701023589794.html|work=Hindustan Times|date=27 November 2023|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref> convent schools like [[St. Anne's Convent School, Chandigarh|St. Anne's Convent School]], [[St. John's High School, Chandigarh]], Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School<ref>{{cite news|title=Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/schools/sacred-heart-senior-secondary-school-chandigarh-564475|work=The Tribune|date=21 November 2023|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref> and [[Carmel Convent School]], and other private schools like [[Delhi Public School]]<ref>{{cite news|title=School notes: Delhi Public School, Chandigarh|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/school-notes-delhi-public-school-chandigarh-586219|work=The Tribune|date=1 February 2024|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref> and [[D.A.V. Public School]].<ref>{{cite news|title=DAV Public School, Sec 8-C, Chandigarh|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/schools/dav-public-school-sec-8-c-chandigarh-588675|work=The Tribune|date=8 February 2024|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref>

Chandigarh has also emerged as a significant hub for [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] coaching<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=6 July 2018|title=Chandigarh a New Destination For IAS Coaching|url=https://o2iasacademy.in/chandigarh-a-new-destination-for-civil-service-preparation/|website=O2 IAS Academy}}</ref> centres in North India. With the ever-increasing popularity of civil services among the youth, the city has seen a proliferation of coaching institutes catering to [[UPSC Civil Service Aptitude Test|UPSC]] aspirants. According to a survey conducted by O2 IAS Academy,<ref name=":0" /> many students from neighbouring states like [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Haryana]], [[Punjab]], and [[Union territory]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] prefer Chandigarh over [[Delhi]] for their IAS preparation due to its superior living conditions, access to educational resources, and quality teaching. Local Educational Institutes have contributed to the growing prominence of Chandigarh as a centre for [[Civil Services Examination|civil services]] preparation.

==Sports==
[[File:Chandigarh hockey stadium.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Sector 42 Stadium|Chandigarh Hockey Stadium]], Sector 42]]
The [[Sector 16 Stadium]] has been a venue of several international cricket matches, but it has lost prominence after the [[PCA Stadium]] was constructed in Mohali. It still provides a platform for cricketers in this region to practise and play inter-state matches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/ground/57993.html|title=Sector 16 Stadium – India – Cricket Grounds|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505162049/http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/ground/57993.html|archive-date=5 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Chandigarh Golf Club]] has a 7,202-yard, 18-hole course known for its challenging narrow fairways, dogleg 7th hole, and floodlighting on the first nine holes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarhgolfclub.golfgaga.com/|title=Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) – Golf in Punjab – Haryana golf – North India Golf – Golfgaga – Where golfers meet! – Jeev Milka Singh Home Course – India's Top golfers – Golf courses in India|work=golfgaga.com|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325062852/http://chandigarhgolfclub.golfgaga.com/|archive-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>

==Tourist attractions==
The main [[tourist attraction]]s in Chandigarh are:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chandigarhdistrict.nic.in/tourist-places/|title=Chandigarh (UT) – Tourist Places|website=chandigarhdistrict.nic.in|access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref>

===Natural landscape===
* [[Rock Garden of Chandigarh]]
* [[Garden of Springs, Chandigarh]]
* [[Zakir Hussain Rose Garden]]
* [[Japanese Garden, Chandigarh]]
* [[Parrot Bird Sanctuary, Chandigarh]]
* [[Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park]]
* [[Sukhna Lake]]
* [[Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary]]
* [[Rose Festival (Chandigarh)]]
* [[Heritage Trees of Chandigarh]]
* [[Sukhna Interpretation Centre]]
* [[Terraced Garden]]
* [[Leisure Valley, Chandigarh]]

===Museums===
* [[Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh]]
* [[Gandhi Bhawan, Chandigarh]]
* [[Open Hand Monument]]
* [[Indian Air Force Heritage Museum, Chandigarh|Indian Air Force Heritage Museum]]

===Architecture===
* [[Open Hand Monument]]
* [[Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh]]
* [[Chandigarh Capitol Complex]]
* [[Secretariat Building, Chandigarh]]

===Others===
* [[Sector-17, Chandigarh]]
* [[Burail Fort]]
* [[Manimajra Fort]]
* [[Chandi Mandir]]
* [[Elante Mall]]
* [[Paras Downtown Square]]
* [[Tagore Theatre]]

<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px" class="center">
File:Nek Chand Garden (6175284222).jpg|Rock Garden
File:Pedalos - Sukhna Lake - Chandigarh 2016-08-07 9003.JPG|Sukhna Lake
File:Rose Garden Chandigarh.jpg|Rose Garden
File:Palace of Assembly Chandigarh.jpg|Palace of Assembly, Capitol Complex
File:Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh..jpg|Government Museum and Art Gallery
</gallery>

==Postcolonial significance==
{{Essay-like|date=July 2022|section}}
[[File:Le Corbusier Centre, Sector 19.jpg|thumb|Le Corbusier Centre, Chandigarh]]

===Background===
For Nehru, Chandigarh represented a vision of how a new planned city could be a canvas for the regeneration of the nation itself after centuries of British colonial rule and the dilution of Indian character from the nation's towns. Guided by the architectural optics of [[Le Corbusier]], the development of Chandigarh was part of a state-driven exercise to break from the traditions of imperialism in [[urban planning]] and begin the process of healing from the injustices suffered.<ref name="Making Chandigarh">{{cite book|last=Kalia|first=Ravi|date=1990|title=Chandigarh: The making of an Indian city|location=New Delhi|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=5|isbn=978-0-195-65030-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/08/17/chandigarh-exhibited-in-new-york/|title=Chandigarh Exhibited in New York|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101025024/http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/08/17/chandigarh-exhibited-in-new-york/|archive-date=1 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_gen_historical.htm|title=Historical Background|work=Government of Chandigarh|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519173408/http://http/|archive-date=19 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Chandigarh Architecture Museum, Sector 10-C.jpg|thumb|Architecture Museum in Sector 10, Chandigarh chronicles the architectural development of Chandigarh]]

===Modernism in new town design===
Off the back of this conflation of assets Chandigarh then was well poised to serve a function as a city-building project in national identity. From a federal policy perspective, the development of the new town became a tool in India for modernisation and an intended driver of economic activity, legal reform, and regional growth as well as a significant agent for the [[decolonisation]] project.<ref name="National Identity">{{cite book|last=Kalia|first=Ravi|date=2004|title=Gandhinagar: Building National Identity in Postcolonial India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVhNO2MwOCAC&q=postcolonial+chandigarh&pg=PR9|location=Columbia|publisher=Univ of South Carolina Pres|page=2|isbn=978-1-570-03544-9}}</ref> After India's independence in 1947, policymakers for the new Indian government were required to contend with issues such as rapid rural depopulation, urban congestion, and poverty. As well as in Chandigarh this policy tool was implemented in the creation of new capital cities in [[Bhubaneswar]] and [[Gandhinagar]], and more broadly throughout India in the [[List of planned cities#India|112 planned cities]] created between independence and 1971, purposed to absorb migration from those regions and provide hubs for growing industries such as in steel and energy.<ref name="Indian new towns">{{cite report|author=K. C. Sivaramakrishnan|date=1976–1977|title=New Towns in India: A Report on a Study of Selected New Towns in the Eastern region|url=http://www.cprindia.org/sites/default/files/books/NEW%20TOWNS%20IN%20INDIA_1.pdf|publisher=Indian Institute of Management Calcutta|page=4|access-date=12 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516132444/http://www.cprindia.org/sites/default/files/books/NEW%20TOWNS%20IN%20INDIA_1.pdf|archive-date=16 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

These examples from a genealogy of [[Ideal city|utopian urban forms]] developed in post-independence India as a panacea for issues related to [[underdevelopment]] as well as post-independence complications to do with separatist religious conflict and the resulting diplomatic tensions. Chandigarh is the first example of a state-funded master-planned [[modernization theory|modernisation scheme]]. These "urban utopias" attempt to enforce nation-building policies through a federalised rule of law at a regional level, and diffuse postcolonial urbanism which codes justice in its design.<ref name="urban utopias">{{cite journal|last1=Datta|first1=Ayona|s2cid=54070842|title=New urban utopias of postcolonial India: 'Entrepreneurial urbanization' in Dholera smart city, Gujarat|journal=Dialogues in Human Geography|volume=5|issue=1|pages=4|doi=10.1177/2043820614565748|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/83074/3/__ds.leeds.ac.uk_staff_staff15_libmh_SCoReS_Repository_Datta_paper_sympletic%5B1%5D.pdf}}</ref> The intent is that the economic success and progressivism of cities such as Chandigarh as a lightning rod for social change would gradually be emulated at the scale of the nation. Chandigarh was for Nehru and Le Corbusier an embodiment of the egalitarian potential offered by [[modernism]], where the machine age would complete the liberation of the nation's citizens through the productive capacity of industrial technology and the relative ease of constructing civic facilities such as dams, hospitals, and schools; the very antithesis of the conservative and traditional legacy of colonialism.<ref name="National Identity"/> Though built as a state capital Chandigarh came to be focused on industry and higher education.<ref name="Indian new towns"/> The specialisation of these new towns in particular functions represents a crucial aspect of the modernisation process as a decolonising enterprise, in completing a national portfolio where each town forms a part of the utopian model for contemporary India.

The post-colonialism of Chandigarh is rooted in the transformation of the political ideas of those such as Nehru who generated a new Indian nationalism through the design of newly built forms.<ref name="postcolonial">{{cite journal|last1=Shaw|first1=Annapurna|s2cid=145266110|title=Town Planning in Postcolonial India, 1947–1965: Chandigarh Re-Examined|journal=Urban Geography|volume=30|issue=8|pages=864–873|doi=10.2747/0272-3638.30.8.857|year=2009}}</ref> Scholars such as [[Edward Said]] have emphasised the sinister nature of nostalgia and the romanticisation of colonial architecture in newly independent colonies as artefacts that perpetuate the ideological legacy of the hegemony and replicate the hierarchy of power even after decolonisation.<ref name="decolonisation">{{cite journal|last1=James-Chakraborty|first1=Kathleen|title=Beyond postcolonialism: New directions for the history of nonwestern architecture|journal=Frontiers of Architectural Research|volume=3|issue=1|pages=2|doi=10.1016/j.foar.2013.10.001|year=2014|doi-access=free}}</ref> Insofar as modernism in architecture (which defined town planning under the Nehru era of rule) represents an active radical break from tradition and a colonial past even the very presence of Le Corbusier has been recognised as a form of resistance to the legacy of British influence in Indian architecture, as he provided the first non-British influence on design thinking in India, enabling a generational shift in the contemporary cohort of architects and planners to be hired by the state throughout the rest of the century who were initiated under Modernist conditioning.<ref name="postcolonial"/>

As early as the 1950s the presence of the [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]] could be detected in the design of houses in India, "whether [[mistri]] or architect-designed".<ref name="independent architecture">{{cite book|last1=Lang|first1=Jon|last2=Desai|first2=Madhavi|last3=Desai|first3=Miki|date=1997|title=Architecture and Independence: The Search for Identity—India 1880 to 1980|location=New York, NY|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|page=213|isbn=978-0-195-63900-1}}</ref> The development of low-cost housing was a priority for Chandigarh, and the modern forms designed by Corbusier are characterised by a dispensing with colonial forms focused on classic aesthetics and a refocusing on strategies such as using narrow frontages and orientation for minimising direct exposure to the sun and maximising natural ventilation and efficient cost while providing modern amenities in the International Style aesthetic.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jackson|first1=Iain|s2cid=143917493|title=Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew's early housing and neighborhood planning in Sector-22, Chandigarh|journal=Planning Perspectives|volume=28|issue=1|pages=12|doi=10.1080/02665433.2013.734993|year=2013|bibcode=2013PlPer..28....1J}}</ref> These developments are credited as the beginning of a "Chandigarh architecture", inspiring gradual experimentation with form and an "Indianising" of the International Style which precipitated the formation of the country's new cultural identity in town design.<ref name="postcolonial"/>

In 2024, ''Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence'', an exhibition at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], London, featured designs for Chandigarh.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/tropical-modernism-architecture-and-independence|title=V&A South Kensington – Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence|year=2024|website=[[Victoria and Albert Museum]]|access-date=1 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430082749/https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/tropical-modernism-architecture-and-independence|archive-date=30 April 2024|quote=Tropical Modernism was an architectural style developed in the hot, humid conditions of West Africa in the 1940s. After independence, India and Ghana adopted the style as a symbol of modernity and progressiveness, distinct from colonial culture.}}</ref>

===Criticisms===
Criticisms are well established regarding the implementation of the postcolonial vision of Nehru and Le Corbusier and the critical emphasis on its influence. Claims have been made that the focus on Corbusier's architect-centred discourse erases the plural authorship of the narrative of Chandigarh's development, arguing that it was, in fact, a hybridity of values and of "contested modernities" of Western and indigenous Indian origin and cultural exchanges rather than an uncontested administrative enterprise.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Perera|first1=Nihal|s2cid=220332059|title=Contesting visions: hybridity, liminality, and authorship of the Chandigarh plan|journal=Planning Perspectives|volume=19|issue=2|pages=178|doi=10.1080/0266543042000192466|year=2004|bibcode=2004PlPer..19..175P}}</ref> Such criticism is consistent with claims that decolonisation in India has marked a shift from segregation based on race to segregation based on class and that planned cities are truly "designed" ones which represent the values and interests of a westernised middle-class Indian elite which ignore the complexities of India's diverse ethnic and cultural landscape and enabled neocolonial hierarchies such as the imposition of the Hindi language on non-conforming castes.<ref name="Making Chandigarh"/><ref name="National Identity"/><ref name="postcolonial"/>

[[Brent C. Brolin]] argues that Le Corbusier ignored Indian preferences in designing the housing and communities and that the residents have done what they can to recreate their accustomed lifestyle.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brolin|first1=Brent C.|date=1976|title=The Failure of Modern Architecture|location=London, England|publisher=Studio Vista|isbn=0289707536}}</ref> Furthermore, the early over-saturation of the minimalist International Style in building design in Chandigarh has attracted criticisms of effecting a "democratic, self-effacing banality", though this criticism is perhaps negligent of how this was necessary for galvanising higher standards of urban living throughout the country.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bhatt|first1=Vikram|last2=Scriver|first2=Peter|date=1990|title=Contemporary Indian Architecture: After the Masters.|location=Ahmedabad, India|publisher=Mapin|page=15|isbn=978-0-944-14219-6}}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{See also|Category:People from Chandigarh}}
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{{Div col|colwidth=35em}}
* [[Peepal Baba]], environmentalist
* [[Sarbjit Bahga]], architect, author, photo-artist
* [[Binny Bansal]], founder of [[Flipkart]], billionaire<ref name="dnaindia.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-mukesh-ambani-india-s-richest-for-9th-year-flipkart-s-bansals-new-entrants-2128160|title=Mukesh Ambani India's richest for 9th year; Flipkart's Bansals new entrants|work=DNA|date=24 September 2015|access-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004221549/http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-mukesh-ambani-india-s-richest-for-9th-year-flipkart-s-bansals-new-entrants-2128160|archive-date=4 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Sachin Bansal]], founder of [[Flipkart]], billionaire<ref name="dnaindia.com"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-03-10/news/48083953_1_sachin-bansal-flipkart-amod-malviya|title=From Rs 10,000 to $1-bn: The journey of Sachin & Binny Bansal's Flipkart|work=The Economic Times|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403042518/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-03-10/news/48083953_1_sachin-bansal-flipkart-amod-malviya|archive-date=3 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Neerja Bhanot]], youngest [[Ashoka Chakra Award]]ee, flight attendant and model
* [[Sabeer Bhatia]], Indian-American entrepreneur who founded [[Hotmail]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iammadeinindia.com/?p=1103|title=Sabeer Bhatia – "The HotMale behind Hotmail"|work=iammadeinindia.com|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311082237/http://www.iammadeinindia.com/?p=1103|archive-date=11 March 2015}}</ref>
* [[Jaspal Bhatti]], Padma Bhushan awardee, film and TV actor and renowned satirist
* [[Abhinav Bindra]], Olympic gold medalist<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nilacharal.com/enter/celeb/abhinav_bindra.asp|title=Abhinav Bindra – Rifle shooter, picture, profile, info, and favourites|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325053851/http://www.nilacharal.com/enter/celeb/abhinav_bindra.asp|archive-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>
* [[Nek Chand]], Indian artist and creator of the Rock Garden of Chandigarh<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nekchand.com/about-foundation|title=About the Foundation|work=nekchand.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217043701/http://nekchand.com/about-foundation|archive-date=17 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Surveen Chawla]], Punjabi film actress
* [[Gurleen Chopra]], [[Cinema of Punjab|Punjabi]] actress<ref>{{cite web|url=http://celebrity.ind.in/gurleen-chopra-profile-and-biography/|title=Bollywood Celebrity|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214095943/http://celebrity.ind.in/gurleen-chopra-profile-and-biography/|archive-date=14 December 2014}}</ref>
* [[Vivek Dahiya (actor)|Vivek Dahiya]], actor
* [[Harita Kaur Deol]], pilot
* [[Kapil Dev]], former Indian international cricketer<ref name="Kapil Dev Profile">{{cite web|url=http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/sports/cricket/cricketers/kapil-dev.html|title=Kapil Dev Profile|work=indiaonlinepages.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217051214/http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/sports/cricket/cricketers/kapil-dev.html|archive-date=17 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Ishaan Dhawan]], TV actor
* [[Shagun Pandey]], TV actor 
* [[Harmeet Dhillon]], American lawyer
* [[Mukesh Gautam]], Punjabi film director
* [[Yami Gautam]], Indian film actress
* [[Mahie Gill]], Indian actress<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bollywooddhamaal.com/celebrities/actresses/mahi-gill/|title=Mahi Gill|work=Bollywood Dhamaal|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505125425/http://bollywooddhamaal.com/celebrities/actresses/mahi-gill/|archive-date=5 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Sandesh Jhingan]], Indian international professional footballer
* [[Mamta Joshi]], Sufi singer
* [[Gurbani Judge]], [[MTV India]] VJ and actress
* [[AJ Kanwar]], award-winning dermatologist, former professor and head, PGI, Chandigarh
* [[Kamla K. Kapur]], Indian-American writer, poet, playwright
* [[Kirron Kher]], Indian actress and theatre artist (also BJP M.P. from the city)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/kiron-kher/biography.html|title=Kiron Kher|work=FilmiBeat|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214102014/http://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/kiron-kher/biography.html|archive-date=14 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Aparshakti Khurana]], Indian film actor
* [[Ayushmann Khurrana]], Indian film actor
* [[Rochak Kohli]], music composer, singer, lyricist
* [[Sargun Mehta]], Punjabi film actress
* [[Anjum Moudgil]], Indian rifle Shooter
* [[Prince Narula]], actor
* [[Ramesh Kumar Nibhoria]], winner of Ashden Awards-UK<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dsir.csir.res.in/dnn/?TabId=423|title=DSIR > Programmes > Erstwhile Programmes > '''TePP''' – Technopreneur Promotion Programme > tepp|work=csir.res.in|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141214083430/http://dsir.csir.res.in/dnn/?TabId=423|archive-date=14 December 2014}}</ref>
* [[Gul Panag]], Indian film actress and social activist<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/gul-panag/biography.html|title=Gul Panag|work=FilmiBeat|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214101938/http://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/gul-panag/biography.html|archive-date=14 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Neel Kamal Puri]] novelist, columnist
* [[Gajendra Pal Singh Raghava]], bioinformatics scientist<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biospectrumindia.com/biospecindia/features/174140/notable-bioinformatician-i-dr-gajendra-pal-singh-raghava-i|title=Notable bioinformatician – Dr Gajendra Pal Singh Raghava|work=biospectrumindia.com|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428064034/http://www.biospectrumindia.com/biospecindia/features/174140/notable-bioinformatician-i-dr-gajendra-pal-singh-raghava-i|archive-date=28 April 2015}}</ref>
* [[Kulraj Randhawa]], Punjabi film actress<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/punjabi/movies/news/Kulraj-Randhawa-works-with-Dharmendra-again/articleshow/25214903.cms|title=Kulraj Randhawa works with Dharmendra again|work=The Times of India|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017085022/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/punjabi/movies/news/Kulraj-Randhawa-works-with-Dharmendra-again/articleshow/25214903.cms|archive-date=17 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Mohinder Singh Randhawa]], a civil servant who had a major role in establishing Chandigarh
* [[Harnaaz Sandhu]], winner of [[Miss Universe 2021]]
* [[Mohit Sehgal]], TV actor
* [[Piare Lal Sharma]], writer
* [[Jeev Milkha Singh]], professional golfer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/golf/players/jeev-milkha-singh.html|title=Jeev Milkha Singh Profile|work=iloveindia.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409015242/http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/golf/players/jeev-milkha-singh.html|archive-date=9 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Milkha Singh]] Commonwealth gold medalist.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/celebs/sports/milkha-singh-at-his-residence/Milkha-Singh/articleshow/7734571.cms|title=Milkha Singh at his residence|work=The Times of India|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101233549/http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/celebs/sports/milkha-singh-at-his-residence/Milkha-Singh/articleshow/7734571.cms|archive-date=1 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/sports/milkha.html|title=Sikh Sports personality Flying Sikh Milkha Singh|author=Sandeep Singh Bajwa|work=sikh-history.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225164938/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/sports/milkha.html|archive-date=25 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Yuvraj Singh]], Indian international cricketer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.preservearticles.com/2011081710894/short-biography-of-cricketer-yuvraj-singh.html|title=Short Biography of cricketer Yuvraj Singh|author=Arjun|work=preservearticles.com|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214101341/http://www.preservearticles.com/2011081710894/short-biography-of-cricketer-yuvraj-singh.html|archive-date=14 December 2014|url-status=live|date=17 August 2011}}</ref>
* [[Pammi Somal]], Bollywood journalist and filmmaker
* [[Sri Srinivasan]], United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
* [[Manan Vohra]], cricketer
* [[Hitendra Wadhwa]], professor at [[Columbia Business School]]
* [[Kashmiri Lal Zakir]], Indian poet, novelist, dramatist and short story writer.
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦--->
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{{Div col end}}

==Villages==
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a location to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦--->
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
* [[Khuda Jassu]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chdruraldevelopment.gov.in/village.htm|title=Village Profile, Rural Development and Panchayat Department, Chandigarh Administration|access-date=20 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213044534/http://chdruraldevelopment.gov.in/village.htm|archive-date=13 December 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ambala–Chandigarh Expressway]]
* [[Emblem of Chandigarh]]
* [[Kaimbwala]]
* [[Navyug Ramlila and Dussehra Committee]]
* [[New Chandigarh, Punjab]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

===Referenced books===
*{{citation |last1=Bandyopadhyay |first1=Soumyen |last2=Jackson |first2=Iain  |author-link1=Soumyen Bandyopadhyay|date=2007 |title=The Collection, the Ruin and the Theatre: Architecture, sculpture and landscape in Nek Chand's Rock Garden, Chandigarh |publisher=[[Liverpool University Press]] |location=Liverpool }}
*{{citation |last=Evenson |first=Norma |author-link=Norma Evenson |date=1966 |title=Chandigarh |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=Berkeley }}
*{{citation |last=Kalia |first=Ravi |date=1999 |orig-date=1987 |title=Chandigarh: The Making of an Indian City |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |place=New Delhi |isbn=9780195623116}}
*{{citation |last1=Kudaisya |first1=Gyanesh|author-link=Gyanesh Kudaisya |last2=Yong |first2=Tan Tai|author-link2=Tan Tai Yong |title=The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia |date=2004 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1134440481 }}
*{{citation |last=Mallot |first=J. Edward |date=2012 |title=Memory, Nationalism, and Narrative in Contemporary South Asia |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-1-349-43523-4}}
*{{citation |last=Prakash |first=Vikramaditya |date=2002 |title=Chandigarh's Le Corbusier: The Struggle for Modernity in Postcolonial India |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |place=Seattle }}
*{{citation |last=Ray |first=Himanshu Prabha |author-link=Himanshu Prabha Ray |date=2019 |chapter=Transnational heritage: Building bridges for the future |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Himanshu Prabha |editor-link=Himanshu Prabha Ray|title=Decolonising Heritage in South Asia: The Global, the National and the Transnational |publisher=[[Routledge]] |pages=219–252 |isbn=978-1-138-50559-9 }}
*{{citation |last=Sarin |first=Madhu |date=1982 |title=Urban Planning in the Third World: The Chandigarh Experience |publisher=Mansell Publishing Limited |place=London |isbn=0-7201-1637-6}}
*{{citation |last1=Seitz |first1=Petra |last2=Thandapani |first2=Nia |last3=Wittrick |first3=Gregor |year=2023 |chapter=Design Crime in Context: Mass-Manufactured Design, Design-as-Art, and Chandigarh’s Modernist Furniture |editor-last1=Oosterman |editor-first1=Naomi |editor-last2=Yates |editor-first2=Donna |editor-link2=Donna Yates (professor) |title=Art Crime in Context |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-3-031-14083-9 }}
*{{citation |last=Singer |first=Milton |author-link=Milton Singer |date=1991 |title=Semiotics of Cities, Selves, and Cultures: Explorations in Semiotic Anthropology |publisher=[[Mouton de Gruyter]] |place=Berlin |isbn=0-89925-726-7}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Fynn, Shaun. ''Chandigarh Revealed: Le Corbusier's City Today''. Princeton Architectural Press, 2017. {{ISBN|9781616895815}}
* [[Sarbjit Bahga]], Surinder Bahga (2014) ''Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Architecture'', CreateSpace, {{ISBN|978-1495906251}}
* Joshi, Kiran. ''Documenting Chandigarh: The Indian Architecture of [[Pierre Jeanneret]], [[Edwin Maxwell Fry]] and [[Jane Drew]]''. Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing in association with Chandigarh College of Architecture, 1999. {{ISBN|1-890206-13-X}}
* [[Maxwell Fry]] and [[Jane Drew]]. ''Chandigarh and Planning Development in India'', London: Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, No.4948, 1 April 1955, Vol. CIII pages 315–333. I. ''The Plan'', by E. Maxwell Fry, II. ''Housing'', by Jane B. Drew.
* Nangia, Ashish. ''Re-locating Modernism: Chandigarh, Le Corbusier and the Global Postcolonial''. PhD. Dissertation, University of Washington, 2008.
* Perera, Nihal. "Contesting Visions: Hybridity, Liminality, and Authorship of the Chandigarh Plan" ''Planning Perspectives'' 19 (2004): 175–199
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links |species=no|n=Chandigarh|wikt=Chandigarh|voy=Chandigarh|q=no |s=no |b=no |v=no}}
; Government
* [http://chandigarh.gov.in/ The official website of Chandigarh Administration]

; General information
* {{OSM relation|1942809}}

{{Geographic location|Centre    = Chandigarh
|North     = Hoshiarpur, [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Panchkula]], [[Haryana]]
|Southeast =
|South     = [[Zirakpur]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
|West      = [[Mohali]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
|Northwest = [[Kharar, Ajitgarh|Kharar]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
}}
{{City of Chandigarh}}
{{States and territories of India}}
{{State and Union Territory capitals of India}}
{{Haryana}}
{{Punjab (Indian state)|state=collapsed}}
{{Million-plus cities in India}}
{{Portal bar|Geography|Asia|India|Punjab}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chandigarh| ]]
[[Category:North India|*]]
[[Category:Planned capitals]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Districts of Chandigarh]]
[[Category:Indian union territory capitals]]
[[Category:Le Corbusier buildings in India]]
[[Category:Planned communities in India]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1948]]
[[Category:States and union territories of India]]
[[Category:Union territories of India]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Chandigarh| ]]
[[Category:Smart cities in India]]