| Hasan Abdal | |
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| Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal | |
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Hasan Abdal
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| District | Attock District |
| Government | |
| • Nazim | |
| Elevation | 308 m (1,010 ft) |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 37,789 |
| • Estimate (2007) | 54,200 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| Calling code | 057 |
| Number of towns | 1 |
| Number of Union councils | 2 |
| Website | www.attockonians.com |
Hasan Abdal (Pashto: حسن ابدال, 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 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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 Kandhari with local folklores. The city is named after this saint.
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The famous Chinese traveler 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 buried. 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] Punja or panja (Punjabi: پنجہ) :hand or paw. There are different traditions about the origin of the Hand print.
The founder of the sikh faith Guru Nanak, "when proceeding about the country, being wearied one day, asked the Faqir on the hill to give him a cup of water and some food. The Faqir was surly, and an altercation ensued between them, when the Faqir told him that if Nanak was a man of any miracles he would supply his wants without any assistance, and would even move the hills. Nanak put out his hand and stamped his fingers on the rock, where the mark still remains; and in commemoration of the Baba, the late Sirdar Hari Singh built a small temple, which he named Panja Sahib, from the five fingers...". [4]
"The Mussulman story is that one Hasan, a Gujar, had many buffaloes; that a Faqir named Abdal came and asked him for a draught of milk. Hasan said, I would gladly give you some, but my buffaloes are at present dry. Abdal laid his hand on one of them and said, "Now milk it." He did so, and soon gave him a copious draught. Abdal expressed his gratitude to Hasan, and asked what he could do for him. Hasan replied that they were much straitened for want of water, on which Abdal struck the neighbouring hills in two places, from which the two streams of Hasan Abdal have come forth. On the departure of the Faqir, Hasan said the spot should hereafter be called after them jointly". [4]
"Another story about the impression of the five fingers is that the Akalis of the fraternity of Sobah Singh Nehang, who held a jaghir near Hasan Abdal, being desirous of promoting their own interests, one of them engraved the five fingers on a piece of stone. It was soon given out by these artful fanatics to be the stamp of Nanak's fingers, from whence the springs issue. At present, all the Hindu and Sikh pilgrims make many offerings at the spot, which are taken by the Akalis. In a small tank which has been built round the spring are kept a number of fish which are fed daily by the visitors."[4]
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. The former town committee was renamed as tehsil municipal administration in the Musharraf era. The tehsil municipal administration is divided into two union councils.
There is a governmental Tehsil Headquarters Hospital and numerous privately owned clinics in and around the city. Despite the exponential growth in population, the health care facilities are extremely insufficient. For any serious illness one has to visit a specialist in the nearby Wah Cantonment or in Rawalpindi.
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 education for girls up to 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.
During the second world war the area where Cadet College Hasan Abdal is situated, was a british air strip and recruitment and training center .
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.
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