Bahawalnagar District (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

province in Pakistan. Before the independence of Pakistan, Bahawalnagar was part of Bahawalpur state governed by the

Nawab of Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu, skr, ) was a princely state of British India, and later Dominion of Pakistan, that was a part of the Punjab States Agency. It existed as an autonomous state, within Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, when it was dissolved and merge ...

. The city of Bahawalnagar is the capital of the district. Its population according to the 2017 census is people.

District boundaries

The boundaries of Bahawalnagar in the east and south touches the Indian territory while Bahawalpur district lies on its west and river

Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the In ...

flows on its northern side. District Bahawalnagar spreads over an area of 8878 square kilometers.

Administration

The district of Bahawalnagar is spread over an area of 8,878 square kilometres comprising five

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...

s and 118 Union Councils:

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 2,975,656, of which 1,510,427 were males and 1,464,900 females. Rural population is 2,355,970 while the urban population is 619,686. The literacy rate was 53.08%.

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

made up almost the entire population with 99.58%. The sub-campus of

Islamia University The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), formerly known as Jamia Abbasia, is a public university located in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the only government university of the division, which gives standard education in practical as ...

is located here.

Languages

At the time of the

2017 Census of Pakistan The 2017 Census of Pakistan was a detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population which began on 15 March 2017 and ended on 25 May 2017. It was the first census taken in the country in the 21st century, nineteen years after the previous one in ...

, the distribution of the population of Bahawalnagar District by

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...

was as follows: * 95.1%

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

* 2.0% Saraiki * 1.6%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

* 0.0%

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punj ...

* 0.0%

Sindhi Sindhi may refer to: *something from, or related to Sindh, a province of Pakistan * Sindhi people, an ethnic group from the Sindh region * Sindhi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them People with the name * Sarkash Sindhi (1940–2012 ...

* 0.0% Balochi * 0.0%

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

* 0.0% Brahui * 0.8% Others

History

Nawab Bahawal Khan-1 as second nawab of Bahawalpur ascended the throne in 1746 A.D. Muhammad Mubarik after ruling successfully for years died issueless in 1772 A.D. He was succeeded by nephew Sahibzada Jafar Khan alias Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan-II in 1772.

Shrine of Tajuddin Chishti

Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti also known as Taj Sarwar Chishti was a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

saint of Chishti Order. He was a grandson Shaikh Farid-ud-din Ganjshakar of Pakpattan and his descendants founded the village of

Chishtian Chishtian ( ur, ) is a city in Bahawalnagar district in Punjab Province, Pakistan. For administrative purposes, it is a part of the similarly named Chishtian Tehsil. It is the 59th largest city of Pakistan by population. Education * Daani ...

around 1265 CE (574 Hijri, Islamic calendar). Many native tribes in Punjab region accepted Islam due to his missionary Daawah. Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti faced hostility from many Mughal and Turk tribes that opposed his Muslim missionary Daawah as it interfered with their plans and he was martyred in a battle and was buried in Chishtian. Shrine of Sufi saint Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti, located at the city of Chishtian. The dargah of Shaikh Taj-ud-din Chishti is called Roza Taj Sarwar.

References

{{Reflist {{Wikivoyage, Punjab (Pakistan) {{Districts of Punjab (Pakistan) {{Administrative divisions of Bahawalnagar District {{coord, 30, 00, N, 73, 15, E, type:adm2nd_source:itwiki, display=title Districts of Punjab, Pakistan