This paper looks into the process of transformation in a small town of northern
Punjab, namely Phalia. It has a history that goes back to ancient times. It had a
very small population in 1947, which grew about nine times by 2011, when the
small village changed into a thriving town with distinct qualities of urban life. It
has been linked to the globalized world through exchange of goods, labour and
migration. Distinct changes have happened in demography, land use,
occupational structure, social structure, production relations, political leadership,
local administration, infrastructure, construction, commercial and educational
institutions, and culture at large. There were sad events as well, such as
demolition of historic mound. Main factors behind such transformation have
been identified as being local, supralocal and macrosocial – integration with the
national and global markets, spread of education, social mobility, remittances,
and above all the rural-urban migration. The government and political leadership
has little role in boosting the growth of the town, rather it has grown due to
multiple other factors but most importantly the individual initiatives and
survival instincts of its inhabitants. The study provides guidelines for further
studies on this theme in other towns.