Sahiwal District ( Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery district, is a

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the

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

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. In 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District, Okara District, and

Pakpattan District Pakpattan District (Urdu and pnb, ), is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan, Pakpattan is the district capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, it had a population of 1,286,680 of which 14% were urban. It has since risen to 1, ...

have comprised the

Sahiwal Division Sahiwal Division ( Punjabi, ur, ) is one of the nine Divisions of Punjab province, Pakistan. It was formed by merging parts of Lahore Division and Multan Division and took its name Sahiwal from the district and city of the same name, which ...

. The city of

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 21st largest city of Pakistan by population and the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is appro ...

is the capital of the district and the division. Jungle in chak110

History

The Sahiwal District has been settled from the pre-historical era. Harappa is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

, about west of

, that was built approximately 2600 BCE. The area was part of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

n empires and in crossroads of migrations and invasions from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Sahiwal District was an agricultural region with forests during the Indus Valley civilization. The

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...

is characterized by Indo-Aryan culture which split from Indo-Iranian culture and founded in Northern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. The

Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...

Daradas Daradas were a people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken alo ...

, Kaikayas, Madras, Pauravas,

Yaudheya Yaudheya (Brahmi script: 𑀬𑁅𑀥𑁂𑀬) or Yoddheya Gana (Yoddheya Republic) was an ancient militant confederation. The word Yaudheya is a derivative of the word from yodha meaning warriors.“Yaudheyas.” Ancient Communities of the Hima ...

Malavas The Malavas (Brahmi script: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander's invasion ...

and Kurus invaded, settled and ruled ancient

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

. After overrunning the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BCE,

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

marched into present-day

with an army of 50,000. The Sahiwal was ruled by Maurya Empire,

Indo-Greek kingdom The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent (p ...

, Kushan Empire,

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

, White Huns, Kushano-Hephthalites and the Turk and Hindu Shahi kingdoms. From the beginning of the 7th century

Rajput kingdoms During the medieval and later feudal/colonial periods, many parts of the Indian subcontinent were ruled as sovereign or princely states by various dynasties of Rajputs. The Rajputs rose to political prominence after the large empires of ancie ...

dominated Eastern portions of Pakistan and northern India. In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the

Ghaznavid dynasty The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...

empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of some western

. Eastern Regions of Punjab from Multan to the Rawalpindi in north (Including region of present-day Sahiwal) remained under

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

rule until 1193. The Delhi Sultanate and

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

later ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslim due to

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

Sufi saints whose

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

s dot the landscape of

. The pastoral tribes of this barren expanse did not appear to have paid more than a nominal allegiance to the Muslim rulers; the population for the most part remained in a chronic state of rebellion. After the decline of the

, this area became part of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

. The district came under direct British rule in 1849, when the district was officially formed with its headquarters at Pakpattan. The district was expanded to include the trans-Ravi portion in 1852, and the district headquarters were moved to Gugera. In 1865, when the railway was opened, a village on the railway, was named Montgomery and became the capital of the district. During the period of

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

, Sahiwal district increased in population and importance. During the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, there was a general rising of the

Rajput clans Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Raj ...

, the district formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May 1857, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from

Sirsa Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the westernmost region of the Indian state of Haryana, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. It is located in Thar desert. It is located 250 kilometres north-west of New Delhi and 260 kilome ...

and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other Rajput clans. The district authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till 26 August 1857 when jail prisoners made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Rai Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained at Gugera, broke his arrest and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains. On 16 September they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion. Kot Kamalia was sacked. Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

, was besieged for some days at Chichawatni on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale.Montgomery District
Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 411 The region was traversed by the main line of the North Western Railway, from

. It is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system and from the Ravi. The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoral Jats, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. The sites of Kot Kamalia and Harappa contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins left by the

Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

, while many other remains of ancient cities or villages lie scattered along the river bank, or dotted the then-barren stretches of the central waste. The district comprised three towns and 1371 villages. Its population was 360,445 (1868), 426,529 (1881), 499,521 (1891) and 497,706 (1901). In 1901, 72% of the population were Muslims, while Hindus and Sikhs formed 28%. The district was part of the Lahore Division of

. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1947, the minority

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s and Sikhs migrated to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

while the Muslim refugees from

settled in the Sahiwal.

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 2,513,011, of which 1,276,646 were males and 1,236,119 females. Rural population is 1,997,327 while the urban population is 515,684. The literacy rate was 61.14%.

Religion

As per the 2017 census,

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 ...

were the predominant religious community with 97.51% of the population while

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

were 2.36% of the population.

Language

At the time of the 2017 census, 98.03% of the population spoke Punjabi and 1.17%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Location

Sahiwal Division is in the southeast of Punjab. From Multan Division it lies between 30 and 40 north

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

and 73-06

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...

. It is above sea level. It forms a parallelogram lying NE-SW along the

River Ravi The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

. It is 100 km from east to west and 45 km from the north-western boundary of the Division of Sahiwal, Division

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

, District Toba Tek Singh. The dry River Khushak Bias separates it from the District Pakpattan. Okara District is east of the division.

District Khanewal Khanewal () is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population. Khanewal is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the caste ‘Daha’ (A Sub ...

and District Vehari form boundaries with the division. On the southern side is

, where there is a shrine of the Sufi Fareed Shaker Gunj.

Administration

Sahiwal District consists of 531 villages in two subdivisions. It is on the main bypass, 3 kilometers from the main city. Sahiwal Division has an area of 301 km². Sahiwal Division contains subtowns like Qadirabad, Yousafwala, Iqbal Nagar, Kassowal, Noorshah, Harappa and Ghaziabad. There are transport connections via Highway Services and

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...

to all over Pakistan.

District Administration Officers

Sahiwal dairy cattle breed

The Sahiwal cattle breed is the best dairy breed of zebu or humped cattle (Bos Indicus), followed by the very similar Red Sindhi and Butana breeds. It originated in the dry Punjab region which lies along the Indo-Pakistani border and was once kept in large herds by herdsmen called "Jaanglees." With the introduction of irrigation to the region their numbers dripped, and farmers used them as draft and dairy animals. The Division Sahiwal has one of the best dairy breeds in

and

. It is tick-resistant, heat-tolerant and resistant to internal and external parasites. Cows average 2270 kilograms of milk while suckling a calf and much higher milk yields have been recorded. Due to their heat tolerance and high milk production they have been exported to other Asian countries,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, Caribbean and around the world. As oxen, they are docile and slow, making them more useful for slow work. Their colour can range from reddish brown to red, with varying amounts of white on the neck, and the underline. In males, the colour darkens towards the extremities, such as the head, legs and tails. Sahiwal breed arrived in Australia via

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

in the early 1950s. In Australia, the Sahiwal breed was initially selected as a dual-purpose breed. It played a valuable role in the development of the two Australian tropical dairy breeds, the Australian milking zebu and the Australian Friesian Sahiwal. Sahiwal breeds are now used in Australia for beef production, as crossing high-grade Sahiwal sires with Bos taurus animals produced a carcass of lean quality with desirable fat cover. The Sahiwal breed is the heaviest milker of all zebu breeds and displays a well-developed udder. It sires small, fast-growing calves and is noted for its hardiness under unfavourable climatic conditions.

Harappa

One of the ancient civilizations on archaeological evidence dated 3300 B.C. southwest from downtown in suburb of Harapa which was the northern city of Indus Valley civilization. Harrapa is now a large village in the Sahiwal Division of Punjab, southwest of the district capital. Archaeologists think that in ancient times Harappa was the urban centre in the upper Indus region, much like

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Ganweriwal Ganweriwal ( ur, pa, ), more commonly known as Ganweriwala, is an archaeological site in the Cholistan Desert of southern Punjab, Pakistan. It was one of the largest cities within the Indus Valley civilisation, one of the most extensive Bronze ...

might have been the urban centre for what is now

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. The site at Harappa was first excavated by archaeologist Alexander Cunningham in 1872–73, two decades after Brick Robbers carried off the visible remains of the city. He found an Indus seal of an unknown origin. The first extensive excavations at Harappa were started by Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni in 1920. His excavations at Mohenjo-daro called attention to the Indus Valley civilization as one of the earliest urban culture in the

. His work was followed later in the decade by that of Madho Sarup Vats, also of the Archaeological Survey of India. Excavations continued in the 1930s. In 1946, Sir

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...

excavated the fortification walls and found the first pre-Indus Valley civilization (Kot Dijian) deposits. After Independence in 1947, Harappa was excavated by Mohammed Rafique Mughal of the Archaeological Survey Department of Pakistan in 1966. In 1986, the first systematic, multi-disciplinary excavations of an Indus Valley city were begun by the Harappa Archaeological Project (HARP), under the direction of George F. Dales and

Jonathan Mark Kenoyer Jonathan Mark Kenoyer (born 28 May 1952, in Shillong, India) is an American archaeologist and ''George F. Dales Jr. & Barbara A. Dales'' Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his Bachelor of Arts, Master's ...

. The main features of the plan, the citadel on the west and the mounds of the 'lower city' towards the east and southeast have already been indicated. To the north, a hollowed belt containing green crops marks an old bed of the

, which today flows six miles (10 km) further north between the citadel and the riverbed, Mound F contains much of the town planning; to the south of the citadel lie the outlying hills, the Harappan cemetery and the post Harappan cemetery. To the southeast, sporadic digging has been carried out in Area G, but the ragged Mound E and its surroundings are unexplored. Most of the site remains unexcavated. The earliest deposits on the site go back to 5300 B.C. and the area seems to have been continuously inhabited ever since.

Climate

The climate of Sahiwal Division is extremely hot, reaching 45–50 degrees Celsius max in summers, and cold in winter down to 5-10-degree Celsius. The soil of the division is very fertile. The average rainfall is about 2000 mm.

Sports

Sahiwal has produced many cricketers, such as Mushtaaq Ahmed,

Manzoor Elahi Manzoor Elahi (Urdu:منظور الہی) (born 15 April 1963) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer. Considered a hard-hitting batsman and a medium-pacer bowler, Elahi appeared in six Test matches and 54 One Day Internationals for Pa ...

Zahoor Elahi Zahoor Elahi (born 1 March 1971) is a Pakistani cricketer who played in two Test matches and 14 One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, ...

and Saleem Elahi.

Notable residents

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physicist and a ...

, Pakistan's first Nobel Prize winner, was born in Santokdas, Division Sahiwal, according to his elder sister and his obituary, T. W. B. Kibble, "Muhammad Abdus Salam, K. B. E., (29 January 1926-21 November 1996)" ''Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society,'' Vol. 44, Nov., 1998, pp. 386–401.
/ref> although he grew up in Jhang. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his achievements in the field of Theoretical Physics in 1979. He is buried in

Rabwah Rabwah (Urdu, pnb, ), officially known as Chenab Nagar ( ur, ), is a city in Chiniot, Punjab, Pakistan on the bank of Chenab River. It was the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community since September 20, 1948 when the community reloc ...

, in the

Chiniot Chiniot (Urdu and pa, ) is a city and the administrative headquarter of Chiniot District in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the river Chenab, it is the 28th largest city of Pakistan. It is also known for its intric ...

district. *

Majeed Amjad Majeed Amjad (Punjabi, ur, ) (29 June 1914 – 11 May 1974) was an Urdu poet from Pakistan. One newspaper described him as a "philosophical poet of depth and sensitivity". His ghazals have also been sung by various Pakistani singers. Personal ...

, one of the founding forefathers of modern

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. He was inspired by the greenery of Sahiwal and wrote about its trees and greenery. There is a park named for him.

Education

* Divisional Public School and College * Concordia College, Sahiwal Campus * Govt. Post Graduate College Sahiwal * Army Public School, Sahiwal * Comsats University Islamabad, Sahiwal Campus

References

{{Coord, 30, 35, N, 73, 20, E, region:PK_type:adm3rd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Districts of Punjab, Pakistan