Map - Nawanshahr

Nawanshahr is a municipal council in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was previously a town that became a district in 1995.

Nawanshahr was founded by migrants from Rahon, a city located near the Sutlej River, which puts it at risk of flooding. They named it Nawanshahar (ਨਵਾਂ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ). Nawanshahr has been the stronghold of the Ghorewaha was allied to King Akbar via kinship ties.

Dewan Banna Mal Misr (Gautam) was born into the Gautam Brahmin (Shori Gotra) family of Nawanshahr. His father was Vaid, Pandit Jhanda Mal. Dewan Banna Mal was a manager with the full sovereign powers of His Highness Maharaja Sir Randhir Singh Bahadur of Kapurthala's Estates in Oudh in 1862, Dewan Banna Mal became mediater in between Oudh local Landlords and Rajas who rebelled against Britishers in 1857 to settle dispute between Britishers and oudh’s local Rajas Banna Mal played a major role and served as Chief Minister of Kapurthala State. Ancestors of Dewan Banna Mal Gautam Were Vaids (Ayurvedic Doctor’s), Dewan Banna Mal built the Shivala Banna Mal temple near the Municipal Committee office in Nawanshahr. He also built the tall and huge structure Haveli Banna Mal Di Haveli in Vaidan Mohalla in Nawanshahr. His son, Dewan Acchru Mal served as Revenue Minister of Kapurthala State at the time of Maharaja Kharak Singh and Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. Grandon of Dewan Acchru Mal, Dewan Ambika Prasad Misr (Gautam) became the Accountant General of Kapurthala State.Descendants of Banna Mal Today lives in Kapurthala, Phagwara, New Delhi and Dehradun, descendants of Dewan Banna Mal Pandit Daljit Parshad Gautam Advocate of Kapurthala Renowned Civil Lawyer of Punjab practices in Kapurthala till his death in the Year 2010,Dewan Ambika Parshad ( Accountant General of Kapurthala State) his daughter Savitri Shori Mahajan a historian and a Descendant of Dewan Banna Mal was married to The Great Historian of India and A Lawyer Vidya Dhar Mahajan, their daughters Mridula Mukherjee And Sucheta Mahajan are Historian and Working as a Professor of Indian history in JNU New Delhi.

The city was later developed and constructed by Lala Parmanand Bhuchar (Sareen) who was the first major scale building thekedar. Lala Paramanand was given a mould of large brick design by Queen Elizabeth in the presence of Maharaja Patiala in his courtroom, as a token of gratitude, to settle brick factories (Batha) in the city. Lala Paramanand first planned the construction of Mandi (now known as old Dana Mandi) in around 1920 which even has his name "PN" on bricks and his name on the Foundation Stone at old Dana Mandi Gate. He resided in Lalliyan Mohalla (Lalleyan da Mohalla) situated in the centre of the city. The mohalla has a haveli there along with a common haveli which was the residence of 100 families, a historical landmark in that mohalla made with Nanakshahi bricks.

Nawanshahr became a district in 1995 during the Harcharan Brar government, with the strong efforts of the late Dilbag Singh, former Cabinet Minister, and the then MLA of Nawanshahr. People of this district are economically sound. Large numbers of families from the district have settled abroad. Consequently, huge remittance is received back in India which contributes to the district's economic development and prosperity. The prosperity of the Doaba area has grown considerably due to high land prices in the area, which is higher than that of most other districts in the state except for Ludhiana and Chandigarh. The economy of Nawanshahr is also improving due to the currency coming from overseas Punjabi people. Nawanshahr also has a railroad connecting it with Jalandhar, Rahon, and Jaijon.

On 27 September 2008, the Punjab government announced that Nawanshahr would be renamed after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh to mark his 101st birth anniversary.