Patiala, city, northern India, in Punjab State, on the eastern branch of the Sirhind Canal. The city is a trade center in an area in which grain, sugarcane, and cotton are grown and metal handicrafts, hardware, electric goods, textiles, shoes, and flour are manufactured.
Patiala is the site of several palaces of the former maharaja, the King Edward Memorial, an old fort housing a museum, several temples of note, sports facilities, and a government clinical research laboratory. Educational institutions include Mahendra College, Yavrinda College, the Bikram College of Commerce, a college for women, a medical college, a state college of education, and the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, all affiliated with Punjabi University (1962). The city was the capital of the princely state of Patiala from 1763 to 1948 and of the Patiala and East Punjab State Union from 1948 to 1956. Population (1991) 238,368.
