Pakpattan
Pakpattan پاکپتّن | |
---|---|
City | |
The shrine of the highly-revered Baba Farid is located in Pakpattan | |
Pakpattan Pakpattan Location in Pakistan | |
Coordinates: 30°20′39″N 73°23′2″E / 30.34417°N 73.38389°ECoordinates: 30°20′39″N 73°23′2″E / 30.34417°N 73.38389°E | |
Country | Pakistan |
Province | Punjab |
District | Pakpattan |
Old Name | Ajodhan[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 821.11 km2 (317.03 sq mi) |
Elevation | 156 m (512 ft) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 1,584,285 (District population) |
Demonym(s) | Pakpattni |
Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
Postal code | 57400 |
Dialling code | 0457[2] |
Pakpattan (Punjabi and Urdu: پاکپتّن), sometimes referred to as Pakpattan Sharif ( پاکپتّن شریف; "Holy Pakpattan"), is the capital city of the Pakpattan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Pakpattan is an ancient city of northern Pakistan, and is a major pilgrimage destination as it is home to the shrine of the renowned Punjabi poet and Sufi saint, Baba Farid. Pakpattan is located roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the border with India, and 184 kilometres (114 mi) by road southwest of Lahore.[3]
Etymology
The city derives its name from the combination of two Punjabi words, Pak and Pattan, meaning "pure," and "dock," respectively.
History
The fort defending the city was once captured by Sebüktegin in 977–78 and by Ibrahim Ghaznavi in 1079–80.[4] The town was besieged by Shaikha; the Khokhar, in 1394, and in 1398 was visited by Timur, Mughal Emperor who spared much of the inhabitants that had not fled, out of respect for the shrine of the saint Hazrat Baba Farid. The old name of Pakpattan was Ajudhan. In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Punjab region.
During British rule, Pakpattan Town was the headquarters of the tehsil of the same name in the Montgomery District, 29 miles south-east of Montgomery station on the North-Western Railway. The municipality was created in 1867, the population in 1901 was 6,192. During the ten years ending 1902-3 the income averaged Rs. 7,200, and the expenditure Rs. 7,000. The income in 1903-4 was Rs. 8,400, chiefly derived from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 7,300.[4]
According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India:
“ | Pakpattan is a town of some commercial importance, importing wheat, cotton, oilseeds, and pulses from the surrounding villages, gur and refined sugar from Amritsar, Jullundur, and the United Provinces, piece-goods from Amritsar, Delhi, and Karachi, and fruits from Afghanistan. The exports consist principally of cotton, wheat, and oilseeds. The town has a local manufacture of silk lungis and lacquer-work. It contains a vernacular middle school and a dispensary. From 1849 to 1852 it was the headquarters of the District. | ” |
Pakpattan is also quite famous throughout South Asia, for a number of Sufi shrines, of which the most renowned is that of Hazrat Shaykh Farid ud Din Ganj Shakar, of the Chishti Order. It is venerated equally by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus.
Geography
Pakpattan is located about 207 km from Lahore and 205 km from Multan. The district is bounded to the northwest by Sahiwal District, to the north by Okara District, to the southeast by the Sutlej River and Bahawalnagar District, and to the southwest by Vehari District.
Language
Punjabi is the native spoken language [5] but Urdu is also widely understood. Haryanvi also called Rangari is spoken among Ranghar, Rajput. Meo have their own language which is called Mewati.
Shrines in Pakpatan
- Darbar i Aliya Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar
- Darbar Khwaja Aziz Maki
- Syed Amoor Ul Hassan Shah
- Darbar Hazrat Sakhi Chan Pir Gilaani
Educational Institutes
- Govt. Girls High School, Pakpattan.
- Govt. Higher Secondary School near Gen Bus Stand (for Boys), Pakpattan.
- Govt. College for Women, Pakpattan.
- Govt. Faridia Post Graduate College.
- Govt. Commerce College Pakpattan.
- Govt.Degree College Kalyana Pakpattan.
- Pakpattan Poly Technical (Techinal College).
- University of Lahore(Baba Farid Campus).
- Allama Iqbal Institute Of Management Sciences (AIMS).
- Virtual University of Pakistan(Pakpattan campus).
- Punjab College(Punjab Group of Colleges).
- Superior College Pakpattan.
- Faran School System Pakpattan.
- The Oxford College for Business Pakpattan.
- The Sublime School Chak Dadu Pakpattan.
- The educator Public High School.
References
- ↑ Suvorova, Anna; Suvorova, Professor of Indo-Islamic Culture and Head of Department of Asian Literatures Anna. Muslim Saints of South Asia: The Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries. Routledge. ISBN 9781134370061. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- ↑ "National Dialing Codes". Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- ↑ Maps (Map). Google Maps.
- 1 2 Pakpattan - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 19, p. 332
- ↑ http://www.findpk.com/cities/Explorer-pakistan-Pakpattan.html