Ludhiana's history goes a back a long way to 1481 when it was just a small village called Meer Hota. Initially ruled by yodhas from the 1st to the 4th century, it subsequently came under King Samudragupta and the Rajputs .The original Ludhianavis actually settled here much later in the 9th century. And then came the Punjabi races of Sidhus, Gills, Sandhus and Grewals from the jungle of Jagraon.
In the early 19th century, it has been under the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1806) for a short period. During that time, it became an important British cantonment before the British took it over in 1809. They confined the Maharaja's control to the right bank of the River Sutlej and the British troops were permanently stationed in Ludhiana.
