No jobs, failed industry leave walled town’s youth in despair

Gurdaspur is made up of small towns but big dreams. This district comprises nine towns, all Assembly constituencies, with Dinanagar being one of them. Here, every young person wishes to achieve the ‘Great American Dream’. The flawed reasoning is that once you land there, the US dollars will start falling around you, like leaves in autumn. Until the US deportees landed in Amritsar last month, every second youngster wanted to make a life abroad. This is partly because there are no jobs in the region. The industry has failed to make a mark, too. The deportee flights have now thrown a spanner as youngsters have been forced to rethink. Many IELTS centres that had opened at every nook and corner have now closed as there are lesser clients.

Residents are very emotional when they talk about their city. “Being proud of your hometown is a big part of what makes you who you are. People living in small towns share their destiny. Look all over the world, and you will not find friendlier people than here,” said a social activist, Sunil Dutt. Earlier, Dinanagar was a walled city and was famous for its gates. These walls were constructed by the city’s founder, Adina Beg, around 1730. There were six gates—Mugrali Gate, Awianwala Gate, Marhianwala Gate, Awankh Gate, Taragarh Gate and Paniari Gate. Through these gates, the town was connected with the surrounding hinterland and other satellite towns. The town is at a distance of 5 km from Gurdaspur and 25 km from Pathankot and is sandwiched between the Ravi and Beas rivers. Mining is a prominent occupation here because of the fact that it is located near two rivers.

The town is expanding. Residents are constructing more houses on the outskirts, far away from the madding crowd, than ever before. Towns that do not expand die, so Dinanagar is, but in an imperfect way. Illegal colonies have cropped. The authorities concerned want to take action against such unplanned growth, but they are stopped by avaricious politicians.

Dinanagar was the favourite getaway of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He held his ‘Durbar’ here during the summer months. He was so fascinated by the town and its surroundings that he made it his capital. His palace has now been reduced to a dilapidated structure, needing lots of repairs and renovations. With its pleasant mango gardens and canal, it attracted the Maharaja so much that, till his death, he used to spend his summers here only.