Dinanagar

This is the Home town of Shri Babaji Maharaj. Shri Devi Das Mehta had a lot of property in the town of Dinanagar near Batala. He was a millionaire landowner of Dinanagar and had owned hawelies and entire Bazaars.

 Dinanagar town is situated about 14 Kms North-East of Gurdaspur.  It takes its name after Dina Beigh, one of Akbar's loyalists to whom the emperor granted Jagirs ( big land holdings ) in this area. The town came up during Akbar's regime and old buildings, bazaars and walled portion of the town and its gates are a witness to all this.

The city walls were basically made by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. There are six darwajas (gates) for city. (A photograph of the city wall and one of its preserving gates is given here.) Dinanagar was a favourite summer resort of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Dinanagar was one centre where Maharaja Ranjit Singh usally held his Durbar during the summer. It was the summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He spent two months of May & June every year at Dinanagar. It was at Dinanagar that in May 1838 he received the Macnaghten Mission which negotiated the proposed alliance for placing Shah Shuja on the throne of Kabul. 

After annexation of Punjab to the British territory on 29th March 1849, a new district was constituted with Dinanagar as its Head quarters. Gurdaspur Tehsil, a greater portion of Batala Tehsil and 181 villages of Pathankot Tehsil were included in the Dinanagar district .  Thus is times of Lala Hargopal – The father of Babaji Maharaj, Dina Nagar was a very prosperous trading town.

Swami Sawtantra Nand founded Dayanand Math here in 1938 an institution which became a centre of learning and Ayurveda. In the course of time Dinanagar has been known for its Loi, Shawl and wood industries. A number of conduit pipe manufacturing units have been set up here after 1947. Present day Dina Nagar is spread over 14.36 sq.km. A photograph is given of a main road of the present day city of Dinanagar.