Panjab University | Punjab | PEPSU | Chandigarh | Himachal | Haryana A story of Partition, loss, and rebirth. Panjab University carries a legacy older than independent India - and a story that mirrors the Partition itself. Founded in 1882 in Lahore, it was one of the earliest modern universities in the subcontinent. When Partition struck in 1947, Lahore went to Pakistan - and with it, Panjab University was split in two. India’s half began anew in Shimla, a hill town that became a refuge and the temporary capital of East Punjab. At that time, Shimla was still part of Punjab Province, surrounded by princely hill states under the Punjab Hill States Agency. In April 1948, those hill states were merged to form Himachal Pradesh, while Shimla continued serving as East Punjab’s administrative center until Chandigarh was ready. Meanwhile, in the plains, eight princely states - Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Malerkotla, Kalsia, and Nalagarh - were united in 1948 to form the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), with Patiala as its capital. PEPSU existed until 1956, when it merged into Punjab under the States Reorganisation Act. By 1956, Panjab University shifted from Shimla to its new home in Chandigarh - a city born from loss. Conceived to replace Lahore as Punjab’s new capital, Chandigarh was built by acquiring over 50 villages from the Ambala and Patiala districts. Designed by Le Corbusier, it became India’s symbol of post-Partition modernity. The University retained its old spelling - “Panjab”, not “Punjab” - a deliberate tribute to its pre-Partition roots. For its first 13 years (1953–1966), Chandigarh served as the capital of (undivided) Punjab. Then, in 1966, Haryana was carved out of Punjab on linguistic lines - Punjabi-speaking areas forming Punjab, and Hindi-speaking areas forming Haryana. Making Chandigarh the capital of Haryana was never the original plan - it was an afterthought, a practical compromise after reorganisation. Chandigarh was declared a Union Territory, serving as the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. What began as a city for one state became a symbol for two - and Panjab University remains its intellectual heart, carrying the name, the memory, and the divided soul of the old Panjab.