| Sheikhupura شيخوپورہ |
|
|---|---|
| — city — | |
| Hiran Minar | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| District | Sheikhupura |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,960 km2 (2,301.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 236 m (774 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 657,000 |
| • Estimate (2006) | 400,000 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| Number of Union councils | 14 |
Sheikhupura or Shekhupur (Urdu: شيخوپورہ), formerly Kot Dayal Das (کوٹ دیال داس) or Singhpuria (سنگھپوریہ) or Virkgarh (ورک گڑھ), is an industrial city in the province of Punjab slightly northwest to Lahore in Pakistan.[1] It is known for its historical places, and is commonly known locally as Qila Shaikhupura, because of the fort in the city, constructed by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The name Sheikhupura is derived from a nickname of Jahangir, who was known as Sheikhu by his father Akbar the Great.[2] The city is the headquarters of Sheikhupura District and is approximately 35 km from Lahore. The original name of Virkgarh was renamed by Jahangir.
The city was renamed Singhpuria in Sikh rule, and had a large Sikh population prior to Partition in 1947, Gurudwaras are seen throughout the city.
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The history of Virkgarh/Sheikhupura goes back to 100 BC. Historical research has established the fact that Sangla or Sakala was the capital of Punjab once, and it was here that Alexander the Great of Macedonia (known locally as Sikandar e Azam) fought one of his most serious battles of his career. Its name is spoken of, firstly in the pages of Tuzk-e-Jahangiri as Jahangirpura, after the name of Prince Salim Nur u Din Muhammad Jahangir. The fourth Mughal emperor of India named Jahangir changed the name of the city from Virkgarh to Sheikhupura after converting the majority of the population to Islam. This area belongs to the virk Jats. Virk jats created a fort in the vicinity of current day Sheikhupura and called it VirkGarh., i.e. "citadel of the Virks"
Mughal Emperor Nor-u-Din Muhammad Jahangir renamed the Virkgarh to his nickname of Sheikhu. In 1607, Sheikhupura was constructed following an order of Jahangir. The father of Jahangir, Emperor Jalal-uddin Mohammad Akbar use to call him Sheikhu (a nickname). During Sikh rule the new city was named Singhpuria, previously was known as Jahangirabad. The Sikh Misl named "Singhpuria" under the leadership of Nawab Kapur Singh Virk occupied the city and started calling it singhpuria instead of Virkgarh.
During the reign of Emperor Jahangir (1605 to 1627), Sheikhupura had the status of royal hunting ground. In Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, Jahangir wrote during the events in 1607:
| “ | On the day of Tuesday, I reside in Jahangirpura, my hunting ground. According to my order, a Minar and a grave for my deer, Mansraj, were constructed here. | ” |
Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted the estate of Sheikhupura to Syed Usman, the father of Shah Bilal, a religious preceptor of the line of Qadiriyyah.
Over the whole district, the period between the decline of the Mughal Empire after the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and the rise of Sikh confederacies was one of utter confusion and anarchy. The successive shocks of invasion from the northwest, and the devastation caused again and again by the invading armies of Nadir Shah.
Nader Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali (1724–1773) almost completely ruined the prosperity of the tract. After the death of Aurangazeb, Muslim power declined and the Sikhs who occupied the region and ruled through various misls or small to medium sized groups. Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali led raids that further weakened local Muslim rule. Several raids were made by the Bhangi Sardars, a Sikh community. Finally around 1780, Ranjit Singh, a Sikh ruler defeated the grandson of Ahmad Shah Abdali and later occupied this district. The Sikhs were defeated by the British around 1850 and it stayed under British rule until 1947.
In 1851, Sheikhupura Tehsil became part of Gujranwala District. The Artimapal Secretary Chief Commissioner Lahore wrote a letter to the Department of Wealth in 1855 to combine the Sheikhupura Tehsil with the Lahore District but it was never done. As soon as it became a District Zillah, a lot of lawyers came to practice. Under Sir Ganga Ram, district courts and hospitals were constructed in the city.
Shaihupura in pre-partition era (before 1947) was a prosperous land of traders and had a healthy mix of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. However, the partition saw bloody conflicts leading to mass migration of Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan to India. The major Indian newspapers in that time quoted in the month of August 1947 - "Shaikhupura no more..." to express the extent of killings that Shaikhupura witnessed. Being close to Nankana sahib, this place also was a bone of contention for the Sikhs as it was perceived as part of their land (later named as Khalistan).
| Hafizabad | Gujranwala | Muridke | ||
| Chiniot | Qila Sattar Shah | |||
| Sheikhupura | ||||
| Faisalabad | Mangtawala | Lahore |
With the modest figure of 22,300 in 1951, the population of Sheikhupura has increased more than tenfold to more than) 300,000 in half a century. In recent decades, the rate of growth has increased due to growing agricultural and industrial activities. The current population has been growing steadily and is projected to exceed to 700,000 by 2019.
As a satellite town of Lahore, Sheikhupura has developed an industrial base. According to the Census of Manufacturing Industries of 1987-1988, the value-added generated in large-scale industries was higher in Sheikhupura than in Lahore. The GRP of the city for the year 1993 has been estimated as Rs. 6,260 million, that constitutes about 32% of the district's GRP. The industrial sector contributes with 68% to the GRP and 45% to the total employment. The total number of establishments in the city has been estimated to be between 11,500 and 120,000 for 1993.
Sheikhupura has a number of historical places in the city which attracts visitors to the city:
Sheikhupura Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Sheikhupura, Pakistan. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches. The stadium holds 15,000 spectators and hosted its first test match in 1996.Famous Cricketer Wasim Akram scored his best score at this venue. There is also a hockey stadium named after Saeed Anwar Malik (former legend hockey Olympian), a public park, a gymnasium, electronic scoreboard, and stadium shopping center in the neighborhood.
Shahid Tanvir became the second first-class cricketer to emerge from Sheikhupura, going on to play for the National Bank of Pakistan from 1982 to 1999. He was nicknamed 'The Tiger' by the people of Sheikhupura for his powerful shots and instinctive batting.
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, born in Sheikhupura, went on to achieve international success playing for the Pakistan National Cricket Team, representing in One Day Internationals, Tests and T20s.
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