Chandigarh is a city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city.It is occasionally referred to as The City Beautiful.The city of Chandigarh was the first planned city in India and is known internationally for its architecture and urban design.The city has projects designed by architects such as Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Matthew Nowicki, and Albert Mayer.After the partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was also split between India and Pakistan. The Indian state of Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during the partition.

After several plans to make additions to existing cities were found to be unfeasible for various reasons, the decision to construct a new and planned city was undertaken. Of all the new town schemes in independent India, the Chandigarh project quickly assumed prime significance, because of the city's strategic location as well as the personal interest of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. Commissioned by Nehru to reflect the new nation's modern, progressive outlook, Chandigarh was designed by the French ( born Swiss ) architect and urban planner, Le Corbusier, in the 1950s.