| Sahiwal District | |
|---|---|
| — District — | |
| Location of Sahiwal in Punjab. | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| Capital | Sahiwal |
| Established | |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 1,843,194 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| Website | www.sahiwal.gov.pk |
Sahiwal District (Urdu: ضلع ساہیوال) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. As of 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were located in urban areas.[1] Since 2008, Sahiwal District along with Okara District and Pakpattan District has comprised the Sahiwal Division. The city of Sahiwal is the capital of both the district and the division.
Sahiwal Division is located in the south-east of Punjab, from Multan Division it lies between 30-40 north latitude and 73-06 longitude. It is 500 ft (150 m) above sea level. It forms a parallelogram lying NE-SW along the River Ravi. It is 100 km from east to west and 45 km from the north-western boundary of the Division of Sahiwal, Division Faisalabad, District Toba Tek Singh. The dry River Khushak Bias separates it from the DistrictPakpattan. Okara District is east of the division. District Khanewal and District Vehari form boundaries with the division, and on the southern side is District Pakpattan, where there is a shrine of the Sufi Hazrat Baba Fareed Shaker Gunj.
Sahiwal Division consists of 531 villages in two subdivisions.
| Tehsils |
|---|
| Sahiwal |
| Chichawatni |
It is situated on the main bypass, 3 kilometers from the main city. Sahiwal Division has an area of 301 km². Sahiwal Division contains subtowns like Qadirabad, Yousafwala, Iqbal Nagar, Kassowal, Noorshah, Harappa and Ghaziabad. There are transport connections via Highway Services and Pakistan Railways to all over Pakistan.
The pastoral tribes of this barren expanse did not appear to have paid more than a nominal allegiance to the Muslim rulers, and even in the 19th century, when Ranjit Singh extended the Sikh supremacy as far as Multan, the population for the most part remained in a chronic state of rebellion. After the hold of the Mughal Empire had relaxed, the District was divided among the Sikh Nakkais and a number of important Muslim tribes (Kharrals, Sials, Wattus, Hans). Between 1804 and 1810, Ranjit Singh held most of the district, except for a strip on the Sutlej, which was held by the Nawab of Bahawalpur on payment of tribute to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. However, it was occupied by Maharaja Ranjit Singh on default of payment. British influence was first exercised in the district in 1847, when an officer was deputed to effect a summary settlement of the land revenue. The district came under direct British rule in 1849, when the district was officially formed with its headquarters at Pakpattan. The district was expanded to include the trans-Ravi portion in 1852, and the district headquarters were moved to Gugera. In 1865, when the railway was opened, a village on the railway, was named Montgomery and became the capital of the district.[2]
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, there was a general rising of the Jat clans, the District formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May 1857, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from Sirsa and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other wild Jat clans. The District authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till August 26, 1857 when the prisoners in jail made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained at Gugera, broke his arrest, and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains. On September 16 they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion. Kot Kamalia was sacked; and Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from Multan, was besieged for some days at Chichawatni on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements from Lahore. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale.[3]
The region was traversed by the main line of the North-Western Railway, from Lahore to Multan, and is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system, and also from the Ravi. The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoral Jats, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. The sites of Kot Kamalia and Harappa contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins left by the Indus Valley Civilisation, while many other remains of ancient cities or villages lie scattered along the river bank, or dotted the then-barren stretches of the central waste.
The district comprised three towns and 1371 villages. Its population was 360,445 (1868), 426,529 (1881), 499,521 (1891) and 497,706 (1901). In 1901, 72% of the population were Muslims, while Hindus and Sikhs formed 28%.[4]
The district was part of the Lahore Division of Punjab Province. The district went to Pakistan upon the Partition of British India into the independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947.
Agriculture is important to the local economy, particularly the growing of cotton, grain, potato, wheat and rice exported all over Pakistan and around the world. As well as its cattle and sheep, the Division is also famous for Water Buffalo milk all over the world.
Rai Hassan Nawaz was the nazim of the District of Sahiwal, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. [5] He resides in Chichawatni, a tehsil of Sahiwal. Rai Hassan Nawaz also has an official website. [6]
The Sahiwal cattle breed is the best dairy breed of zebu or humped cattle (Bos Indicus), followed by the very similar Red Sindhi and Butana breeds.[7] It originated in the dry Punjab region which lies along the Indo-Pakistani border, and was once kept in large herds by professional herdsmen called "Jaanglees". With the introduction of irrigation to the region their numbers dripped, and farmers used them as draft and dairy animals. The Division Sahiwal has one of the best dairy breeds in India and Pakistan. It is thick-resistant, heat-tolerant and resistant to parasites, both internal and external. Cows average 2270 kilograms of milk while suckling a calf and much higher milk yields have been recorded. Due to their heat tolerance and high milk production they have been exported to other Asian countries, Africa, Caribbean and around the world. As oxen, they are docile but slow, making them more useful for slow work. Their colour can range from reddish brown to red, with varying amounts of white on the neck, and the underline. In males, the colour darkens towards the extremities, such as the head, legs and tails. Sahiwal breed arrived in Australia via New Guinea in the early 1950s. In Australia, the Sahiwal breed was initially selected as a dual-purpose breed. It played a valuable role in the development of the two Australian tropical dairy breeds, the Australian milking zebu and the Australian Fresian Sahiwal. Sahiwal breeds are now used in Australia for beef production, as crossing high-grade Sahiwal sires with Bos taurus animals produced a carcass of lean quality with desirable fat cover.
The Sahiwal breed is the heaviest milker of all zebu breeds and displays a well-developed udder. It sires small, fast-growing calves and is noted for its hardiness under unfavourable climatic conditions.[8][9][10]
Agriculture is important to the local economy, particularly the growing of cotton, grain, potato, wheat and rice exported all over Pakistan and around the world. As well as its cattle and sheep, the Division is also famous for Water Buffalo milk all over the world.
One of the ancient civilizations on archaeological evidence dated 3000 to 5000 B.C. 15 miles (24 km) south-west from downtown in suburb of Harapa which was the northern city of Indus Valley Civilization.[11] Harrapa is now a large village in the Sahiwal Division of Punjab, 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the district capital. Archaeologists think that in ancient times Harappa was the urban centre in the upper Indus region, much like Mohenjo-daro dominated the lower Indus Valley and Ganweriwala might have been the urban centre for what is now Rajasthan. The site at Harappa was first excavated by Sir Alexander Cunningham in 1872-73, two decades after Brick Robbers carried off the visible remains of the city. He found an Indus Seal of an unknown origin.
The first extensive excavations at Harappa were started by Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni in 1920. His excavations at Mohenjo-daro called attention to the Indus Valley civilization as the earliest urban culture in the Indian Sub-Continent. His work was followed later in the decade by that of Madho Sarup Vats, also of the Archaeological Survey of India. Excavations continued in the 1930s, and later in 1946, Sir Mortimer Wheeler excavated the fortification walls and found the first pre-Indus Valley civilization (Kot Dijian) deposits. After Independence in 1947, Harappa was excavated by Mohammed Rafique Mughal of the Archaeological Survey Department of Pakistan in 1966. In 1986, the first systematic, multi-disciplinary excavations of an Indus Valley city were begun by the Harappa Archaeological Project (HARP), under the direction of George F. Dales and Jonathan Mark Kenoyer. The main features of the plan, the citadel on the west and the mounds of the ‘lower city’ towards the east and southeast have already been indicated. To the north, a hollowed belt containing green crops marks an old bed of the River Ravi, which today flows six miles (10 km) further north between the citadel and the riverbed, Mound F contains much of the town planning; to the south of the citadel lie the outlying hills, the Harappan cemetery and the post Harappan cemetery. To the southeast, sporadic digging has been carried out in Area G, but the ragged Mound E and its surroundings unexplored. Most of the site remains unexcavated. The earliest deposits on the site go back to 5300 B.C. and the area seems to have been continuously inhabited ever since.
During the Partition of Punjab in 1947 Montgomery Known then (Sahiwal District) was a Muslim Majority District The Hindus and Sikhs Fled To the other side of the Border there was lots of Chaos and Riots Through out Sahiwal District This District was given to Newly Created Islamic Pakistan in the year 1947 after Muslim Refuges from Opposite side Crossed over and Settled in this District.
The climate of Sahiwal Division is extremely hot, reaching 45-50 degrees Celsius max in summers, and cold in winter down to 5-10 degree Celsius. The soil of the division is very fertile. The average rainfall is about 2000 mm.
Sahiwal's industries include cotton ginning and pressing, tanning, textile (City cloth palace,City Fashion Center), textile spinning, weaving, leather products, garments, pharmaceuticals, flour mills, food processing, oil mills, cold storage, potato, tobacco, vegetable ghee/cooking oil, biscuits, chip board, confectionery, and woollen textile spinning and weaving. The Sahiwal breed of cattle, recognised as productive among Zebu dairy breeds, originated here; they are found now throughout the tropics. The main crops of the Sahiwal district are wheat, cotton, sugarcane, maize and rice. Main fruits are citrus, mangoes and guava. Sahiwal is a green and fertile town with 11,522 acres (46.63 km2) forests. KSC is an electrical industry in Sahiwal, producing water heaters, water coolers, air coolers, fans and washing machines.
Sahiwal city is twinned with the town of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, North West England.There is a direction sign in Rochdale's town centre pointing in Sahiwal's direction with "Sahiwal 3960 miles" written on it.
Cricket is the most popular sports in Sahiwal. Sahiwal produced many cricketers like Mushtaq Ahmed, Manzoor Elahi, Zahoor Elahi and Saleem Elahi. Football is quite popular too.
Pak Avanue, Shadman Town, Gulistan Colony,Gunj Shakar Colony, Farid Town, Nai Abadi, Bilal colony sahiwal,Mohalla Tullah Wala Fateh Sher Colony, Tariq Bin Ziad (TBZ) Colony, Mohalla Rajpura,KOT ALLAH DIN, Kot Khadim Ali Sah, Barkad Town, Bahir wala adda, Jogi chowk, Lala Zar Colony,135/9.L, 134/9.L, 66/GD Deputy Wala.
There are various radio and cable networks broadcasting in the city, such as Sun Rise FM 96 Sahiwal and Suno Dil 102 radio and cable networks like Voltas Cable Network, Galaxy Cable Network and Geo Cable network. Here in Sahiwal also have Digital Photostudio and Digital mixing lab like Bandhan Movies. The main companies providing dial-up internet facilities are BrainNet and CyberNet. World Call Wireless has also started its operation in Sahiwal. World Call provides wireless telephones at low call rates and a wireless internet facility which is much faster than the dial-up service providers in the city. Recently, Wateen Telecom has also opened its office in Sahiwal. Wateen offers landline telephone, cellular phone, HAQ television, high-speed internet and WiMax.Sahiwal is on the Information superhighway after getting a high speed DSL Internet Facility enabled by Multi Net. Multi Net offer 256kb/s, 512kb/s, 1Mb/s & 2Mb/s shared speed & there is also Wateen Telecom who have started their service with high speed DSL via WIFI. A lot more development is being done in the field of IT and telecoms. Sahiwal is connected with backbone fiber that connects all the major cities of Pakistan. All Govt. Schools in Sahiwal have the latest PIV Based Computer Lab from the Government of Punjab IT and Computer Labs Project. Roughly one million rupees is spent on each lab; these furnished labs contain 16 of the latest PIV (Core 2 Duo) computers, air conditioner, printer and Internet facility. Each lab has dedicated IT staff including an IT Teacher, working on 17 Scale and Lab In charge. The government hopes that this project will improve the IT education standard in Sahiwal. Asia's tallest television broadcaster is located in the city.
The District Hospital commonly known as the Civil Hospital is the largest hospital of Sahiwal. It has a nursing school and also offers different laboratory courses. Many doctors of the city have served their House Jobs here. Departments of all the Major specialties are available .Now a medical Collage is established and a new hospital is being built which would provide state of art treatments to sahiwalians. Other notable hospitals include the Christian Hospital, Bhagwan jee Children Hospital, the Mir Wilayat Hussain Zaidi Maternity Hospital and the Sadiq Medical care Hospital fateh Sher Colony , Imtiaz Hospital Mall mandi road , Qurashi Hospital Race course Chowk ,Al barkat HospitalHigh street ,Mazhar Sugery farid Town ,Shifa Gynae Hospital Gunj shaker colony , Ali Sherazi Hospital , Subh-e-Nao (addiction and Psychiatric treatment Facility) High street Langrial surgimed Mission chowk , Umar abdullah Hospital Mission chowk . Shaukat Khanam Lab, Agha Khan Lab, Bhagwan Lab, Shafqat Lab and numerous other private laboratories are functioning in the city. Private clinics of doctors are numerous.Wapda fortified dispensary is a best facility for wapda servants.
Sahiwal has several educational institutes of quality. But the literacy rate is still low: about 30% overall and 51% in the city of Sahiwal. The Divisional Public School (DPS) and St. Mary's Convent High School are a schools of the city. Other notable schools are Government High School, Govt. High School Urban Area, Comprehensive High School, Government Pilot Higher Secondary School and Junior Model High School. Government Immamia College, Government Postgraduate College (GPGC) and Government College for Men and Women.and it has also a biggest institute of technology(govt.college of technology)GCT (http://gctsahiwal.com/index.htm). Medical & Dental College and COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) are also working. Virtual University has opened a campus in Sahiwal, and offers distance learning programmes. It is situated near the Government College Sahiwal. Baha-u-Deen Zikria University (BZU) sub-campus Sahiwal and COMSATS Institut Of Information Technology Sahiwal Campus has been successfully providing several under-graduate and graduate programmes since 2005.The private sector has a major role in the education system. Schools in this regard are: The Educators 4(Campuses), Acute Business College ACCA and CAT, The Allied School, The Knowledge School, The Beaconhouse School System, Bloom Field Hall, The City School Pre-Forces Cadet School. Dare-Aqram Model School SCOPE School System Bhagwan Public School Muhammadan Law College Sahiwal Multan Law College Sahiwal The Limit College The Command College Quaid e Azam Polytechnic Institute Quaid e Azam Technology College
The private sector is playing a major role in education system. schools in this regard are:
al-haseeb town
The Sahiwal Division was historically home to various clans of Kharal Rajputs (Sahis, Bashera, Purbera), Tullah , Maher, Dogar, Syal, Sanpal, Sipra, Khichi, Wasli, Kamboh, Kathia, Arain, Langriyal, Bhatti, Bhutta, Jats, Murdana a Subtribe of Rind Balochs, Khagga (Qureshi), Pathans and Gillani Syeds of Shekhu Shareef.Gujjar.
Punjabi is the spoken language of people of district. Urdu is also spoken language of citizans
On 18 February 2008 General Elections were held Pakistan. In Sahiwal Districts - 11 seats were contested - four for the National Assembly and seven for the Provincial Assembly.
The results were as follows:
Haji Ehsan khan, Anwaru-l-haq Ramay, Nouraiz Shakoor,, Arshad khan Lodhi, Rao Jehanzeb wajid Khan, Rana Aftab, Ch. Zaki syed shabbar mustafa shirazi & walayat shah khagga
The Sahiwal jail was constructed in 1873 in Montgomery in the Punjab Province of then British India which is now called Sahiwal and which is part of the Punjab province in Pakistan.It was depicted in one of the famous Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV Drama) Jangloos.
The jail’s authorized accommodation is 1565, however, at present around 4500 prisoners (number varies almost on a daily basis) of three districts i.e. Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan are confined in this prison.
A rough break-down of the prison population to give an idea to the reader is given below:
Undertrial Prisoners 2768 CT Prisoners 849 CP Prisoners 538 Juvenile Prisoners 57 Female Prisoners 37
Total population 4249
Historically, this prison was famous by the name of Montgomery Jail.
Before and after independence, a numbers of politicians, poet, and social activists had remained confined in this prison, including Abu-ul-Kalam, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, Agha Shorash Kashmeeri, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Habib Jalab, and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan.
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan remained confined in Montgomery Prison for 5 years. His famous poems Book namely “Jasyat” is in the memory of Montgomery Prison’s memory.
While in prison, Faiz Ahmad Faiz wrote “Zindan Nama”.
To fulfill the requirements of the inmates and made them useful citizen after their release, a Literacy Center has been established. About 1000 inmates are using this Center. Jail warders and convicts having minimum qualification Fellow of Arts (12th grade) have been deputed teachers in these Literacy Centers.
A computer center has been established for the juvenile prisoners.
The jail also has a farm where vegetables and fodder is grown.
The prison also has a factory where carpets, duree, woolen blankets and jute tatts are made.
A new high security jail is under construction next to the central jail.
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