Rajanpur

Rajanpur (Urdu: راجن پُور‎), is a city and the headquarters of Rajanpur District in the far southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. The district lies entirely west of the Indus River. it is a narrow, 32 kilometres (20 mi) to 64 kilometres (40 mi) wide strip of land sandwiched between the Indus River on the east and the Sulaiman Mountains on the west. The town is approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the west bank of the river. It had a population of 42,986 in 1998.^[1] China is financing a new coal project in the area.

History

Rajanpur was named by a warlord Makhdoom Shaikh Rajan in 1772–73. It remained a small and little known village located on the road from Dera Ghazi Khan (Punjab) to Sukkur in (Sindh) until 1862. In that year, Mithankot, a larger and more prosperous town located southeast of Rajanpur and closer to the Indus River, was completely destroyed by floods.The administrative offices of the Assistant District Commissioner of the British government were moved from Mithankot to Rajanpur, because of its location at a safer distance from the river. Many prosperous Hindu Arora merchants and traders also moved from Mithankot to Rajanpur. It became a municipality and the tehsil headquarters in 1873. Now it is a well developed city of south Punjab. The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Rajanpur.

Language

Following are the demographics of the Rajan pur district, by spoken language:

• Punjab province local people different dialects: 90%
• Other: 10%

Inhabitants of Rajan pur District speak a great variety of Punjabi dialects, although a few of these dialects are collectively called “Saraiki”. There is often little distinction between the different dialects of Greater (North and South) Punjab.

• Derawali (Mainly)
• Majhi or standard (Sizeable population in cities also in newly cultivated areas)
• Raangri (A mixture of Punjabi and Urdu spoken by sizeable population in cities)
• Riasti (Border areas near Rahimyar khan district)
• Thalochi (Border areas near Muzafargarh district)

Other Languages include:

• Urdu is mother tongue of few people but being national language is spoken and understood by the sizeable population.

• English is also understood and spoken by the educated elite.

• Baluchi is also spoken by sizeable population in the district.

• Sindhi is also spoken by few population in the Sindh province border areas.

Geographical features

Rajanpur is most important city of south Punjab that interconnect three provinces of the Pakistan e.g. Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab. Rajanpur is geographically located on east side of Suleman mountains and hill side mudslides are common. Rajanpur was badly effected by flooding in 2010. A flood in Rajanpur destroyed most of its villages on the west side. The most badly effected place was Rojhan.

Economy

Rajanpur is the commercial and industrial centre for both Rajanpur District and Dera Ghazi Khan District. It has good rail and road connections with the rest of the country. Industries include cotton production and processing(like chaudhary cotton industries), flour mills, one sugar mill and oil mills. Mangoes and oranges are two popular fruits of this city. Industries include ginning, pottery, handicrafts, and embroidery. All these industries are of very small level excluding the Indus Sugar Mill.

Notes

Coordinates: 29°06′12″N 70°19′30″E / 29.10333°N 70.32500°E / 29.10333; 70.32500