In 1851,
the Panipat district was divided into Panipat and Karnal tahsils with tahsil
headquarters at Panipat and Gharaunda, respectively. After three years, i.e.
in 1854, the district headquarters were shifted to Karnal. In 1858, the Karnal
district, alongwith territory of Delhi, from the North -western Provinces
was added to the Punjab. The Thanesar district was broken up in 1862 and its
areas were included into Karnal and Ambala districts. The parganas of Guhla,
Pehowa, Kaithal, Indri and a part of Thanesar were included in the Karnal
district. In 1866, Pehowa pargana of Karnal district was transferred to Ambala
district. The tahsil headquarter was moved from Gharaunda to Karnal in 1868.
In 1875, 14 villages of Pehowa pargana were shifted to Karnal district; 89
villages of Pehowa pargana were transferred from Ambala to Karnal district
in 1888 and included in Kaithal tahsil. The Pipli tahsil, transferred to Ambala
district in 1862, came back to the district in 1897, and headquarters of the
tahsil were shifted to Thanesar in the same year. A sub- tahsil of Guhla was
created in 1890 and Kaithal tahsil was formed into a sub-division in 1896.
After
independence, three sub-divisions were formed; Panipat in 1955; Thanesar in
1960 and Karnal in 1964. Guhla sub-tahsil of Kaithal tahsil was raised to
the status of a tahsil on August 13,1969. The sub- division at Karnal was
abolished in March, 1967 but revived in August, 1968. The Karnal district
was bifurcated on January 23, 1972 and a new district of Kurukshetra comprising
tahsils of Thanesar, Guhla and Kaithal was carved out of it.
In this
adjustment 77 villages, formerly in Kaithal tahsil, were shifted to the adjoining
areas, viz.22 to the Karnal tahsil of Karnal district; 44 to the Jind tahsil;
5 to the Safidon tahsil and 6 to the Narwana tahsil of Jind district. On 1st
November, 1989, by taking Panipat and Assandh tahsils1 of Karnal district,
a new district of Panipat was created . During the same period, new sub-divisions
were formed at Panipat and Assandh. Ballah was also formed a sub-tahsil in
Panipat district . By the beginning of 1991, the Karnal district had; 1 sub-division
(Karnal); 1 tahsil (Karnal) and 4 sub-tahsils (Indri, Nissang, Nilokheri and
Gharaunda).
