Pharala is a village in the tehsil of Nawanshahr

Nawanshahr

Nawanshahr is a city and it became district in 1995. now it is a municipal council in Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is the headquarters of Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar District....

, Nawanshahr district

Nawanshahr District

* http://wikimapia.org/#lat=31.1185556&lon=76.1433434&z=13&l=0&m=a&v=2...

 (also known as Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar), in Punjab

Punjab (India)

Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

, India.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census, Pharala has a population of 3,496 people. Neighbouring villages include Bharoli, Sandhwan

Sandhwan

Sandhwan is also known as Sandhwan-Pharala is a village in Nawanshahr district of Punjab, India....

, Anokharwal, Behram, Munna and Ghumana

Ghumana

Ghumana is a village in Tehsil Nawanshahr, Nawanshahr districtGhumana is a village in Tehsil Nawanshahr, Nawanshahr districtGhumana is a village in Tehsil Nawanshahr, Nawanshahr district(also known as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar , in Punjab, India.-Demographics:According to the 2001 Census, Ghumana...

.

The most popular last name in Pharala is Atwal

Atwal

Atwal is a clan name of Jats from the Punjab region of Northern India and Pakistan. Atwal is derived from the Sanskrit word Attalika meaning 'high hill-tops'. People living there were called Atwals.- Religion :Most Atwals in India are Sikh...

. Other last names in the village are Sahota

Sahota

Sahota are a clan of Jatts, Rajputs, and Tarkhans found in Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan.- History and origin myths :According to their traditions, their ancestor was a mythical fairy by the name of Punj Phulan Rani, who lived on a flower. She gave birth to a baby boy, and a tiger came and...

, Bal

Bal

The Bal surname, of differing origins, is common among several communities.-History and origin:Bals are descendents of Indo-Aryan tribes. According to the Mahabharata they are the descendents of Bhagat Prahlada's grandson Raja Bali .-Distribution in India:*Several people belonging to this Jat...

, Gill

Gill

A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...

, Pannu

Pannu

Pannu is the clan name of primarily Hindu and Sikh , Muslim Jat clan found primarily in Northern India, Delhi ,Sonepat,Hissar etc and in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur districts of Punjab...

, Mattu, Chumber, Uppal

Uppal

Uppal is a Jatt gotra, found in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. They are closely related with the Khatri Uppal, and may be of common origin...

, Sandhu

Sandhu

Sandhu or Sindhu is a Jatt of Jat ethnicity found in Iraq, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir in India and also in Pakistan...

, Sangar

Sangar

Sangar is a small temporary fortified position with a breastwork originally of stone now built of sandbags and similar materials. The term was originally used by the British Indian Army to describe small temporary fortified positions on the North West Frontier and in Afghanistan, and is still...

, Bansal

Bansal

' is an Indian surname. The first use of the name came about during the rule of Emperor Agrasen and his wife Queen Madhavi . Agrasen established 18 Gotras for each of his 18 sons based on the names of their Guru and divided his empire among them...

, Bagga

Bagga

Bagga are Punjabi people found in Punjab and Punjab . Baggas are normally found among Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus.Baggas belong to the Khatri, Brahmins, Ravidasias and Jats tribes, warrior and farmer professions respectively from North Indian subcontinent of Punjab....

, Maan

Maan

Maan or Mann ਮਾਨ or Maanshahia are a clan and tribe of the Jat people found in Punjab , Punjab , Haryana and Rajasthan.- Distribution :...

, Nijjar

Nijjar

Nijjar is a surname found commonly among people of the Jatt clan from the Northern Indian state of Punjab. Most of the members of this clan are Sikhs by religion although there are many Sikh/Hindu/Muslim/Christian/Roman Catholic Nijjar's belonging to the Khatri/Rajput/Gujjar caste...

, Bali

Bali

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

, Awasthi

Awasthi

Awasthi is a surname of a particular sub-caste of Brahmins of Nepal and India. The Awasthi Brahmins belong to the kanya-kubja Brahman categories of Brahmans of northern India as well as in western areas of Nepal], but also in Gaur, Saryupari and Sannaadhya....

, Shreedhar, Talwar

Talwar

The talwar is a type of curved sword or sabre from India and modern-day Pakistan...

, Abrol and Bhagirath

History

According to local tradition, Pharala was founded by Baba Hadal Atwal

Atwal

Atwal is a clan name of Jats from the Punjab region of Northern India and Pakistan. Atwal is derived from the Sanskrit word Attalika meaning 'high hill-tops'. People living there were called Atwals.- Religion :Most Atwals in India are Sikh...

. Baba Hadal was married to a woman from Sandhwan. Since then the village has been known as "Sandhwan-Pharala".

Villagers believe that Baba Hadal had three brothers. One moved and founded Chitti Pind (Jalandhar

Jalandhar

Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...

 district), one moved and founded Khurad Pur (Jalandhar

Jalandhar

Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...

 district) and the third moved and founded a village in Gurdaspur

Gurdaspur

Gurdaspur is a city in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of the Republic of India. It is located in the center of and is the administrative head of Gurdaspur District. It was the location of a fort which was famous for the siege it sustained in 1712 from the Mughals...

 district known as “Atwal”. Atwal families in Bir Puadh

Bir Puadh

Bir Puadh is a village in the tehsil of Phagwara, Kapurthala district, in Punjab, India.-Demographics:According to the 2001 Census, Bir Puadh has a population of 379 people...

 (Kapurthala

Kapurthala

Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The secular and aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic...

 district) hail from Pharala.

Around Pharala

Pharala has a historic Gurudwara known as Gurudwara Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji, who visited this place during the Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 era on the course of his journey to Sri Anandpur Sahib

Anandpur Sahib

Anandpur Sahib is a city in Rupnagar district in the state of Punjab, India. Known as "the holy City of Bliss," it is a holy city of the Sikhs and is one of their most important sacred places, closely linked with their religious traditions and history...

. The village also has a Government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

 Seniour Secondary School, the Shiv Mandir, Gurdwara Lasurha Sahib, Dera Dudha-Dhari, the shrine of Bhajan Dass Ji, Masjid, Gurdwara Guru Ravidas Ji and Balmik Mandir and a sports stadium.