Gujrat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a city in Pakistan. For the Indian state see Gujarat.
| Gujrat گجرات |
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| General Information | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| Location | |
| Calling code | 053 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| No. of Towns | |
| Population | 2.5 million 1998 |
| Government | |
| City Mayor (Nazim) | Chaudhry Shafaat Hussain |
| No. of Union Councils | 117 |
| No. of NGOs Working | |
| Emblem | |
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Gujrat (Urdu/Punjabi: گجرات) is a city in Pakistan located in Gujrat District in the Punjab Province. A person living in Gujrat is called Gujrati.
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[edit] Location
Gujrat is situated 120 km north of Lahore. To the north lies Jhelum, to the north east at 45 kilometrs to the south Gujranwala, to the west Mandi-Bahauddin, and to the east Pakistan-Administrated Kashmir. It is located near the Chenab river. The city is surrounded many villages from which the local labour market is supplied.
[edit] History
Gujrat is an ancient city which was founded by Raja Bachhan Pal in 460 BC, according to General Cunningham, the British historian. Gujrat's history is long and wide-reaching in its significance. Historical consensus is that it existed in the time of Alexander the Great, and that the city's Raja Porus put up a fierce challenge to Alexander's invasion at the bank of river Jehlum. The establishment of Gujrat City was realized early in the 1900 century after the British Empire and in support of regional land lords (e.g Daswandi Khan of Daswandi Pura).
During the Mughal Empire period, Mughal royalty would travel through the district en-route to Kashmir. When King Jahangir died while he was returning from Kashmir, the news of his death was not released to avoid any unrest in the empire. As such, his abdominal organs were taken out and buried in Gujrat. To this day an annual festival is held commemorating this event, commonly known as the "Festival of Jahangir".
There are many historical buildings and ruins in and around Gujrat. In the time of Shair Shah Suri a road was built to link the city to Jalalpur Jattan (another major town of the district). The road still exists today, along with its period stone wall. The nearby towns of Tanda, Adowal, Dinga and Kunjah are also historically important.The village Kurree Sharif is famous for the shrines of saints and mazar of Malik Jusrus, the forefather of Maliks (Khokhars) of Punjab.
[edit] Geography
Gujrat is an ancient district of Pakistan located in between two famous rivers, the River Jhelum and the River Chenab. Because of its proximity with the rivers the land is good for cultivation with rice and sugar cane as main crops. It is bounded on the northeast by Jammu and Kashmir , on the North-West by the River Jhelum which separates it from Jhelum district, on the East and South-East by the river Chenab, separating it from the districts of Gujranwala and Sialkot , and on the West by Mandi Bahauddin district. District Gujrat is spread over an area of 3,192 square kilometres and comprises of the three tehsils of Gujrat, Kharian & Sarai Alamgir.
[edit] Area and Population
According to 1998 Population and Housing Census, total population of Gujrat District is 20,48,000 persons out of which 10,26,000 are males and 10,22,000 are females. Density of population in the district is 642 persons per square Kilometre. Percentage break-up of the Rural and Urban population is 72.3% and 27.7% respectively.
[edit] Famous People
- Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed, a recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider (Pakistan's highest Military award) during the India-Pakistan war of 1965 was born in Laadhian, a village near Gujrat. He was killed in the war and interred in the village.
- Major Muhammad Akram, another recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider during the India-Pakistan war of 17th December 1971, was born at Dinga, a village of Gujrat.
- Major Shabir Sharif was another recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider. He was born at Kunjah, a village near Gujrat.
- Captain Syed Mazhar Hussain Shaheed of the 8th Punjab Regiment was martyred on 22 September 1965, across the BRB canal steadfastly holding an advance defensive position against one of the main Indian thrusts directed towards Lahore, while the main defense force occupied positions behind the canal. His gallant action and tenacious defense blunted the Indian onslaught which led to the ultimate Indian defeat (Though India won the wars hands down, the Pakistani public has been forced to believe otherwise) and their design to capture Lahore (The fact was that, India could care less for Lahore, as it would be far expensive to upbring a city that lived still in the ruins of Harrappa Mohenjadaro Civilization, than focus on other serious internal affairs). He was laid to rest in his birthplace Madina Syedan, adjoining the city of Gujrat.
- Commissioned in 1954, Maj.-Gen. Hakeem Arshad Qureshi (S/o the famous Chiragh Ali Hakeem) commanded an infantry battalion (26 FF) in East Pakistan (Saidpur-Rangpur-Dinajpur) and led it through the 1970 general election, the civil disobedience movement, the insurgency, the counter-insurgency and the 1971 war, earning a Sitara-i-Jurat in the process. His appointment as Director General Pakistan Rangers, made him responsible of keeping the 1400 miles long border with India porous for the ISI infiltrators.
- Fazal Elahi Chaudhry, former President of Pakistan
- Chaudhry Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani politician
- Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi
- Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi, Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan
- Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Chaudhry Shafaat Hussain, Mayor of Gujrat
- Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, MNA
- Chaudhry Waheed-ud-Din, President President Pakistan Muslim League (Q) Youth Wing, Gujrat District
- Chaudhry Abdul Qayyum, Vice President Pakistan Muslim League (Q) Youth Wing, Gujrat District
- Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, former Commerce Minister of Pakistan
- Mian Imran Masood, Minister of Education Punjab, Pakistan
[edit] Sites of interest
The Zahoor Palace, situated in the center of the city (Pakistan Chowk), is the hub of political activity in Gujrat. The same building has been the residence of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. Over the ages, the building has influenced the political history of the city. The Gujrat Fort, now in shambles, still stands, depicting the declining glory of Mughal architenture. The fort was built by Akbar the Great Mughal Emperor in 1598-99. Morever, the Baradari, built by Raja Ranja Singh, is also a worth visiting place. Faiz-e-Illahi Manzil is another historical place, Where father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah resided for a short while.
[edit] Climate
This district has moderate climate, which is hot in summer and cold in winter. During Peak Summer, the day temperature shoots up to 45ºC, but the hot spells are comparatively shorter due to proximity of Azad Kashmir Mountains. The winter months are very pleasant and the minimum temperature may fall below 2ºC. The average rain-fall on the Kashmir border is over 100 cm, at Kharian it is 75 cm, at Gujrat 67 cm and at Dinga 50 cm.
[edit] Culture
District Gujrat has been famous for the manufacture of low temperature pottery and ceramic goods. Apart from pottery, district Gujrat is also famous for the production of elegant ‘Hookas’. Moreover, Gujrat is famous for its beautiful and artistic handicrafts, Flower pots, "Changairian" made by leaves of palm and date trees, cotton mates, "Dhusse" and woolen shawls are famous and very much popular throughout the country and abroad. Sohni Mahinwal is a famous folk tale of the Punjab region. The heroine of the story, named "Sohni" (a Punjabi word, meaning "beautiful"), came from the Gujrat region. She used to meet her lover "Mahinwal" by crossing the Chenab river, sitting on a pitcher. The tale is still told to this day, and is an essential part of Punjabi culture. The anniversary of Kanwan-Wali Sarkar is held in August every year. At the same time, a fair to celebrate the event is held. Traditionally, it always rains heavily at this time.
[edit] Economy
Gujrat is also known in the world for it's clay with which Gujratis produce quality pottery since ages. Apart from agriculture and clay the city is well known due to its furniture manufacturing skills. Gujratis have mastered the skills of conditioning the wood and producing world class furniture having immaculate finish. Over last few decades, Gujrat has also attained a name in export of electric fans. Gujrat has a unique status throughout the Punjab due to some of its manufacturing capabilities and productions. There are about 1,059 cottage level and small/medium/large scale industrial units operating in the district. Jalalpur Jattan is a large town of Gujrat , where several small and large textile industrial unit have been established. There are many other industrial units and factories engaged in manufacturing of electrical goods (Fan), Electric Motors, Earthen Utensils, Shoes, Rubber Tyre Tube, Sanitary Ware, Rice Cleaning Mills and Furniture. The high quality furniture made here have been used in National and Provincial Assemblies. The story of emergence of electric fan manufacturing industry in Pakistan is one of those heroic efforts made by a few enterprising individuals who Starting with nothing in early 1940s struggled against all odds and turned this concern into a most efficient industry in Pakistan. This is an industry on which all Pakistani's can rightly be proud of. It does not owe its success to any foreign collaboration or any from the Government, but only to its own people, whose constant research for maintaining good quality and devising new methods and techniques of production have now resulted in a product which we can rightfully claim as among the best in the world. There are now over five hundred fan manufacturing units operating in Gujrat, Gujranwala, Lahore and a few other cities. Except for a few, the rest falls into the category of cottage industry. These small units from the real backbone of this industry. They provide employment to a large number of people and all put together account of more than 90 percent of the domestic market.
[edit] Education
History tells us that region of Gujrat has kept its status at the peak in the field of education. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan named the region as "Khita-e-Younan", means "Territory resembling to Greece". Nawab Sir Fazal Ali is a known personality, who is behind educating Gujrati's. Even today, Gujrat has developed a noticeable education system. Several schools and colleges are located at Gujrat. The University of Gujrat is prominent university of the region.
[edit] Transport
Gujrat, situated beside the grand trunk road and main Railway track is directly connected with the major cities like provincial and central metropolises of the country. The district has a total metalled road-length of 1019 Kilometres . The district is linked with Gujranwala, Jhelum, and Mandi Bahauddin districts through metalled roads. The main Peshawar - Karachi railway line passes through Gujrat district. The district is linked with Jhelum and Gujranwala districts through railway network.
