Why is Chandigarh the capital of both Punjab and Haryana?
Chandigarh serves as the shared capital of both Punjab and Haryana due to the linguistic reorganization of the Indian state of Punjab on November 1, 1966.12
Following the partition of India in 1947, the original capital of the British province of Punjab, Lahore, became part of Pakistan. To provide a new administrative center for the Indian portion of Punjab, the government constructed the planned city of Chandigarh.13
When the state was later divided along linguistic lines into the Punjabi-speaking state of Punjab and the Hindi-speaking state of Haryana, Chandigarh was situated on the border between the two new states. Consequently, it was designated as a separate union territory and retained as the joint administrative headquarters for both states.123