Chakwal District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bold textThe district of Chakwal (Urdu: چکوال) in Punjab, Pakistan was created as an independent district of the Rawalpindi Division in 1985 with 3 tehsils [1] by combining the subdivision Chakwal of Jhelum District, the sub-division Talagang of Attock District and police station Choa Saidan Shah, carved out of subdivision Pind Dadan Khan, district Jhelum, and amalgamating it with sub-division Chakwal. Choa Saidan Shah was upgraded to the level of a sub-division in 1993.
Contents |
[edit] Location
The Chakwal district borders by the districts of Rawalpindi and Attock in the north, district Jhelum in the east, district Khushab in the south and district Mianwali in the west. The total area of district Chakwal is 6,609 square kilometers, which is equivalent to 1,652,443 acres. As enumerated in the 1998 census, the total population is 1,083,725 of which 12.01% only were urban making Chakwal the most rural district in Punjab. [2]
Lying at the beginning of the Potohar plateau and the Salt Range, Chakwal is a barani district and the terrain is mainly hilly, covered with scrub forest in the southwest, and levelled plains interspaced with dry rocky patches in the north and northeast. The tribes, clans and castes that inhabit this area are the Awans, Mair Minhas Rajputs, Kahuts, Mughal Kassars, Janjua Rajputs, Gujars, Gondals, Syeds, Arains and the Sheikhs. The physical features of the district, its tribes, its society and its economy all combine to make Chakwal one of the main recruiting areas for the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Air Force. Other main occupations of the people are agriculture and mining. Transport and poultry business is also important.
At present district Chakwal consists of 3 subdivisions - Chakwal, Talagang and Choa Saidan Shah; 1 sub-tehsil- Kallar Kahar, 23 qanungois and 198 patwar circles. The police subdivisions correspond with those of the district administration and there are 11 police stations- Chakwal City, Saddar, Kallar Kahar, Dhumman, Nila, Dhudhial, Talagang City, Saddar, Tamman, Lawa and Choa Saidan Shah. The political establishment of Chakwal comprises two seats in the National Assembly, NA-60 and NA-61, and four in the Provincial Assembly- PP-16, PP-17, PP-18 and PP-19. There is one district council, two municipal committees- Chakwal and Talagang and one town committee- Choa Saidan Shah.
The culture of Chakwal is primarily based on the way of living as taught in Islam.
[edit] Towns and villages
[edit] Lawa
Lawa is the largest village in Asia. It is a village of Tehsil: Talagang. Its population is more then 115k. It is one of the oldest village. It is bordered with Distt: Mianwali. Lawins do have close ties to Distt: Mianwali. All time famous land lord of Distt: Chakwal and Distt: Attock were from Lawa. People are very educated.Majority of population envolved in agrobased industries and prefer to join the armed forces. They do have some what Pathan custom also. There are some members of Niazi tribe also living there.lawa is town which include the other villagea lke '''DANDA SHAH BELAWAL KOT QAZI''', Kot qazi is growing and educated village as compare to other because it is small and has not much populated Malik Zahoor Anwar in kot qazi who did SSC first time in Talagang. choa saidan shah
choa saidan shah is the tehsil of chakwal name given to this town in the name of a famous sufi sakhi saidan sherazi choa saidan shah is a beautiful valley of chakwal this town is surrounded with hills
[edit] Dhaular
Dhaular is a village of Tehsil Talagang, Distt: Chakwal of Punjab Province. According to 1998 census its total population was about 6500. It is one of the oldest, largest and culturally rich village of the area. It is referred to, in the famous saying: The Sword is in Dhaualr (meaning that it is the time to fight but my ammunition is not with me, rather I had left that at home). It is a part of potohar pleatue. It is a fertile area but unfortunately no irrigation system is available in the entire Rawalpindi Division thanks to some unknown reasons.
[edit] dullah
dullah is a beautiful village of Tehsil chakwal...it is one of the oldest villages..most of people are serving in pak army...but unfortunately a lot of work is still needed to promote literacy rate...some people are living without electricity in this modern world....it is a fertile area but no remarkable irregation system....but one thing which u ll find that people are very honest gentle....
[edit] Dheryalla Kahoon
Dheryalla Kahoon is a beautiful village situated at a hill top in the valley of Kahoon. The Kahoon Valley comprises 12 villages each situated in or around 12 sub-valleys. The land scape is so attractive that the Kahoon Valley is also called Daughter of Kashmir. This village is under Thesil Choa Saiden Shah of the Kahoon Valley and is located midway between the famous Kallar Kahar and Choa Saiden Shah sites. Its adjacent jungles are famous for Phoolai, a fragrant tree, and richness of the dear species called Harial. Unfortunately, the ill conceived erection of cement factories in the Kahoon Valley have begun to take their toll on the heavens like environment of this area.
[edit] Bilalabad( Kufri)
Bilalabad (Kufri)is the one of oldest towns of Tehsil Talagang,District Chakwal. Now a days its population is over eight thousands persons. Before partition its dominating population was wealthy Hindus,whose businesses were spread up to Peshawar. The houses built by them are still master pieces of architect. At the present moment its major portion of population belongs to well known AWAN tribe. Beside farming a remarkable strength of this clan is performing distinguish role in Pakistan Defence Services and business. Where few years back Gentelman Cadit Umar Awan S/O Col(Rtd) Nazir awan and nephew of Wing Cdr Anwar Awan & Wing Cdr Ahmed Awan claimed "Sword of Honour" from Royal Military Academy Sandherst U.K. this year known business tycoon Malik Falak Sher Awan of "The Awan Group of Business Developers" was awarded "Most Traveled Person (inland/overseas)" for fiscal year 2005-2006 by Pakistan International Airline.
[edit] Food and health
The food which the people of Chakwal consume is basically simple too. In the rural areas vegetables, lentils or meat, cooked very simple in butter or ghee is eaten with Roti (bread) baked from wheat flour or sometimes with rice. There is a considerable use of milk and its products. In the urban areas the staple food is the same, but continental food has also made a place for itself. Fried and roasted meat, sandwiches, patties, pizza and burgers are well liked. The people of Chakwal, owing to their simple eating habits, hard work and rough terrain, are strong and healthy. However, in the urban white collared classes, diseases, which occur because of sedentary life styles, are prevalent.
The most well known and favorite food product coming from Chakwal is a sweet called Riyori (pronounced ree-o-ree). It is about the size of an M&M. it is basically a mixture of desi ghee (clarified butter) and gurr (jaggery) covered with sesame seeds.
[edit] Occupation
Farming and farming related activities are the main occupation of the people of Chakwal. A small percentage is employed in the trading sector, a smaller as industrial and mining labor and a very small fraction is employed in technical fields like health, education, banking, engineering etc.
New motivation from the success of Information Technology has brought a lot of excellent IT professionals in IT and Telcom industry and the number is growing very fast.
 |
This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
[edit] Dress
The dress that men, women and children of Chakwal district wear is very simple. Men generally wear Shalwar Qameez or Dhoti Kurta, a turban on special occasion, with Chappals, Khusas, Sandles or moccasins. In the winter months they add a coat, sweater or a Dhussa with it. The more educated class and the city dwellers also wear shirts with trousers, adding a coat and neck tie in the winters. Young boys can be seen wearing jeans and shirts occasionally.
Women almost invariably wear Shalwar Qameez with Dupatta, and a woolen Shawal or Sweater in the winter. Saris or western dresses are never worn. Footwear consists of Chappals or sandals. On occasions of festivity the Qameez and Dupatta are heavily embroidered. Ornaments of gold and silver are also worn depending on the occasion and the financial position.
Young boys wear Qameez or a shirt and shalwar while young girls wear Shalwar Qameez or Frocks with Dupatta or Hijab.
In matters of footwear too, the 'khussas' made in chakwal are well known and in great demand all over Pakistan. Khussas are a type of flat heeled shoe made of pure leather. the closest I can come to describing them are moccasins, except that there is no or little covering around the arch of the foot.
[edit] Historical sites in Chakwal District
Quite a number of historical sites lie in the undulations of Chakwal, the more important of which are:
[edit] Katas Raj
Katas Raj, a medieval town sacred to the Hindus, lies about 5 kilometers west of Choa Saidan Shah on the Choa-Kallar Kahar road. Its importance is derived from the fact that it contains over a 100 temples built over a period of more than a 1000 years by its Hindu Rajas. Some of these temples are dilapidated but a large number of them have been well maintained. Hindu pilgrims from all over Pakistan and India frequently visit this town to worship. Katas Raj at its peak time was the well renowned University, a famous mathematician Alberuni measured the circumference of the earth while he was studying the Sanskrit in this University.
[edit] Kallar Kahar
Lying 30 miles southwest of Chakwal on the Chakwal-Sargodha road, Kallar Kahar has always been renowned throughout the country for its peacocks and its fresh water lake and for the Takht-e-Babri, a flat stage built of stone by emperor Babar to address his army while coming down from Kabul in the quest of the crown of Delhi. During his stay at Kallar Kahar he also planted a garden, which still exists, called the Bagh-e-Safa.
With the construction of the Motorway that passes by the edge of the lake, the number of tourists visiting Kallar Kahar has increased manifold, and the town surrounded by verdant hills, promises to become a tourist attraction if properly developed. A museum of fossils of the area has also been built by the Archeology Department in the District Council Rest House.
[edit] Malot Fort
For more details [3]
| Administrative Divisions of Punjab (Pakistan) |  |
|
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Lahore | |
| Districts | Attock | Bahawalnagar | Bahawalpur | Bhakkar | Chakwal | Dera Ghazi Khan | Faisalabad | Gujranwala | Gujrat | Hafizabad | Jhang | Jhelum | Kasur | Khanewal | Khushab | Lahore | Layyah | Lodhran | Mandi Bahauddin | Mianwali | Multan | Muzaffargarh | Nankana Sahib | Narowal | Okara | Pakpattan | Rahim Yar Khan | Rajanpur | Rawalpindi | Sahiwal | Sargodha | Sheikhupura | Sialkot | Toba Tek Singh | Vehari | |
