Hasan Abdal

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Hasan Abdal

General Information
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Coordinates	33°49′18.48″N 72°40′59.24″E / 33.8218, 72.6831222Coordinates: 33°49′18.48″N 72°40′59.24″E / 33.8218, 72.6831222
Elevation	308 m (1,010 ft) AMSL
Calling code	057
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
No. of Towns	1
Population	37,800 (1998)
Estimate	54,200 (2007)
Government
Nazim (Mayor)	Shafqat Khan Tahirkhaili
No. of Union Councils	2

Hasan Abdal Website

Hasan Abdal (Urdu: حسن ابدال) is an historic town in Northern Punjab, Pakistan. It is located where the Grand Trunk Road meets the Karakoram Highway near the North-West Frontier Province province, northwest of Wah. It is 40 km northwest of Rawalpindi. It has a population of about over 50,000. It is famous for Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib, one of the most sacred places of Sikhism. Thousands of Sikhs visit the Gurudwara on the eve of Besakhi every year. The other historical place is a tomb erroneously called Lala Rukh Tomb. There is a grave inside a square walled Garden and a fresh water fish pond near the tomb. On the nearby hill there is a meditation chamber attributed to a saint Baba Hasan Abdal also known as Baba Wali Qandhari with local folks. The city is named after this saint.

1 History
2 Administration
3 Schools
4 The city in recent past
5 Official Website
6 Important Industries
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

The famous chinese traveller Hiouen Thsang who visited the place in the 7th century A.D. mentions the sacred spring of Elapatra about 70 li to the northwest of Taxila which is identical to the one at the current site of Gurdwara Panja Sahib ^[1].

The town is mentioned in Ain-i-Akbari in the context that Shams al-Din built himself a vault there in which lies Hakim Abu’l Fath burried. Akbar’s visit to the town on his way back from Kashmir is also mentioned.^[1]

William Finch who travelled through India between 1608 and 1611 describes Hasan Abdal to be a "pleasant town with a small river and many fair tanks in which are many fishes with golden rings in their noses ...; the water so clear that you may see a penny in the bottom" ^[2]. The Mughal emperor Jehangir mentions in his Tuzk-e-Jahangiri this town by the name of Baba Hasan Abdal where he stayed for three days. He also praises the city in these words: "The celebrated place at this station is a spring which flows from the foot of a little hill, exceedingly clear, sweet and nice..." ^[2]. Hasan Abdal was visited by various Mughal kings on their way to Kashmir^[3]

In 1521 the founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak, arrived in Hasan Abdal, a Gurdwara was built on the spot that he stayed containing a sacred rock that is believed to contain the hand print of Guru Nanak^[3].

[edit] Administration

Administratively the city is a part of Attock District, formerly known as Campbell Pur. Hasan Abdal is one of the five tehsils of the District Attock.

[edit] Schools

The city has several state owned primary schools, a high school each for boys and girls, a higher secondary school each for boys and girls and a degree college for women. There are a number of privately run schools to make up for the shortfall of the state owned ones.

In the vicinity of the city limits there is a missionary school called Presentation Convent School Wah which offers quality education for girls upto high school.

In addition to the above schools that cater for the local population, there is a military style boys residential school which enrolls boys from 8th to 12th grades and was originally founded to prepare them for a military career. Cadet College Hasan Abdal is administered by a board of directors and is associated to the provincial Government of Punjab.

[edit] The city in recent past

The city has been an idyllic place till a couple of decades ago. It was hardly imaginable that its fresh water springs with crystal clear water and loquat orchards will turn to ruins so soon. In 1980 it had a population of about ten thousands and everything seemed to be in control. Now, the population of the city has more than quadrupled in a matter of two decades without any plan. One can see houses and commercial buildings built at every imaginable place. The fresh air of the 1970s and early 1980s has become a nostalgic memory.