Sheikhupura

شَيخُوپُورہ
شیخاپورا
city
Sheikhupura

Hiran Minar
Coordinates: 31°42′54″N 73°59′06″E / 31.715°N 73.985°ECoordinates: 31°42′54″N 73°59′06″E / 31.715°N 73.985°E
Country Pakistan
Province Punjab
District Sheikhupura
Area
 • Total 5,960 km2 (2,300 sq mi)
Elevation 236 m (774 ft)
Population (2012)
 • Total 857,000
 • Estimate (2006) 400,000
Time zone PST (UTC+5)
Number of Union councils 51

Sheikhupura (Urdu: شَيخُوپُورہ‎) (Punjabi: شیخاپورا) original name Virkgarh, is an industrial city and capital of Sheikhupura District in the province of Punjab about 35 km northwest of Lahore in Pakistan.[1] It is commonly known locally as Qila Sheikhupura, because of the fort (Urdu: qila) in the city, constructed by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The name of the town and its fort was changed by him to Sheikhupura from earlier Virkgarh, deriving 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.

Hiran Minar, Water Tank, Pavilion

History

The history of 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. This area belongs to the Virk Jats.

Hiran Minar Pavilion

Mughal Emperor Nor-u-Din Muhammad Jahangir renamed Virkgarh to his nickname of Sheikhu. In 1607, Sheikhupura fort was constructed following an order of Jahangir. The father of Jahangir, Emperor Jalal-uddin Mohammad Akbar used to call him Sheikhu (a nickname).

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. ”

—Emperor Jahangir

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. Around 1780, Ranjit Singh, a Sikh ruler defeated the grandson of Ahmad Shah Abdali and later occupied this district. In 1841 the Maharani Jindin was confined in this fort under the supervision of one of eminent general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sardar Gurmukh Singh Lamba Who's portrait painting is displayed at Central Museum Lahore at serial D-40 ,along with Sardar Bur Singh of Mukaria,till the disturbances of Multan.<< The Chief of Punjab-Sir Lepel Griffin.>> The Muslims faced severe restrictions during the Sikh rule. 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 in 1919, a lot of lawyers came to practice. Under Sir Ganga Ram, district courts and hospitals were constructed in the city.

The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindu and Sikh population migrated to India.

Geography

Destinations from Sheikhupura
Hafizabad Gujranwala Muridke
Sargodha Lahore
   Sheikhupura  
Faisalabad Nankana Sahib Lahore

Language and Demography

Further information: Punjabi dialects

As per the 1998 census of Pakistan, Punjabi language is spoken by 95%. Punjabi dialects spoken in the city are

Other Languages include:

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.

Economy

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.

Education in Sheikhupura

There are numerous private & Government Schools & Colleges.

Universities

Colleges

Government Post Graduate College

The Government of Punjab established a Higher Secondary school in 1957 which was later upgraded to Intermediate college. In 1959, the Government donated 379 canal Crown Land for construction of Degree college. In 1970, both Inter and degree colleges were merged into present building. College was upgraded to post graduate level in 1998. College is located on Lahore Sargodha road behind canal rest house, in civil lines area at end of college Road, just half a kilometre from district Courts of Sheikhupura.[3]

Tourist spots

Sheikhupura has a number of historical places attractive to its visitors:

Sheikhupura Fort

Sports

Sheikhupura Stadium is a much-use stadium in Sheikhpura. 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 neighbourhood.

Sporting personalities

Asad malik played 3 Olympics for Pakistan hockey team

Famous localities

Sheikhupura city has a number of localities, each with different environment.

Malik anwar road civil lines

Parks

There are only some limited parks in the city which are not well-developed. The Government is trying to increase the number of parks and reform the existing parks so that the citizens can have fun there. Some parks are:

ATA ABA COLONY REHMAT COLLONY◌

Restaurants and Hotels

The number of restaurants and hotels are increasing day by day. Recently, Civil Quarters Road's name has changed to Food Street and almost all the restaurants are located there.The most important restaurant here is Ambrosia Plate, which is considered to be a trend setter of fast food in Sheikhpura.The restaurant is located in Shaheen Center, Civil Quarters Road.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kot Dayal Das
  2. ↑ District Profile: Central Punjab- Sheikhupura
  3. ↑ PROSPECTUS Govt. Post Graduate College Sheikhupura. Gazzete notifications of govt. of the Punjab.
  4. ↑ http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/19/19517/19517.html

External links