During the partition of India, Punjab was divided and Lahore, its capital, fell within the borders of Pakistan. Leaving Indian Punjab without a capital. A sense of loss prevailed among its populace who were forced to migrate to India.

In March, 1948, the Government of Punjab in consultation with the Government of India, approved a 114.59 sq. km tract of land at the foot of the Shivalik Hills in Ropar district as the site of the new capital. An existing village gave its name (Chandi - Goddess of Power + garh - fortress) to the new city.

After partition, the population of all the existing towns in East Punjab had more than doubled on account of the migration of displaced persons from Pakistan. As a result a new and modern city was needed. As a government publication pointed out: "Most of these towns, even before partition, lacked essential amenities such as adequate drainage and water supply and none of them had schools or hospitals which could meet the normal needs of the population according to modern standards for such services."

India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru enthusiastically supported the project and look sustained interest in its execution. When he visited the project on April 2, 1952, he declared: "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 new capital of Punjab will be christened as Chandigarh-a name symbolic of the valiant spirit of the Punjabis. Chandigarh is rightly associated with the name of Goddess Chandi -- Shakti, or power."