Eminabad (), formerly known as Saidpur, is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in the southeast of

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

city, in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

province,

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is 12 to 15 km away from

city. According to the census of 2017 it has a population of 27,460 inhabitants.

History

It is believed that Eminabad was established by Raja Salvahan,

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

's Rajput ruler in the 1st century BCE, as Saidpur. During the 16th century, a period marked by

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

's invasion, the town was sacked in 1521. Hymns by

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...

provide vivid descriptions of the devastation experienced in Saidpur, including his and companion

Bhai Mardana Bhai Mardana (; 1459 — 1534) was one of the first Sikhs and longtime companion of Guru Nanak Dev, first in the line of gurus noted in Sikhism. Bhai Mardana was a Muslim by-birth who would accompany Guru Nanak Dev on his journeys and became on ...

's imprisonment with the town's populace. After an influential meeting with Guru Nanak, Babur was so inspired by his spirituality that he released all Saidpur's prisoners. Post this event, Sikh folklore notes that Guru Nanak and Bhai Lalo resided at a heap of broken pebbles, a location known as Rori Sahib, situated on present-day Eminabad's outskirts. Following Saidpur's demolition, Sher Shah Suri founded a new city, Shergarh. However, it was Emin or Ameen Beig, Humayun's general, who destroyed Sher Shah Suri's garrison and established a new town named after himself during Akbar's reign. In 1610, English merchant, William Finch, noted Eminabad as a thriving city. For the next century, its prosperity continued, bolstered by fertile lands, strategic location, and the protective Mughal Empire. Eminabad also served as the Parganah headquarters in the Lahore governorate, generating 900,000 rupees in revenue. However, the Mughal Empire's administrative weakness post-Aurangzeb encouraged anti-state insurgencies, including Sikh groups in Punjab. After Diwan Jaspat Rai of Eminabad was killed by Sikh bandits in 1738, his brother Lakhpat Rai retaliated, capturing numerous

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

s and executing them outside Delhi Gate in Lahore, known as Shahid Ganj. By the late 18th century, the waning Mughal administration struggled to thwart rebel activities and invasions. This period witnessed frequent assaults on

Shah Alam II Shah Alam II (; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar, or Ali Gauhar, was the seventeenth Mughal emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal Empire. His power w ...

's reign, notably from

Ahmed Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Jats The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in ...

of Bharatpur, and the

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

. In 1760,

Charat Singh Sardar Charat Singh (1721–1770 or 1733–1774), also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the founder of Sukerchakia Misl, father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh, the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He distinguished hims ...

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

's grandfather, took control of Eminabad. Later, under Ranjit Singh's rule, Dhyan Singh from Jammu was awarded the town. Over three centuries, the town transformed from Saidpur to Shergarh to Eminabad, blossoming into a thriving hub of wealth and power by the late 19th century. In 1880, a railway line connecting

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

, revolutionized Eminabad's transport system, expanding access to business and employment opportunities in Lahore, the closest major city.

Demographics

Eminabad's Hindu population held greater wealth, operating large businesses across the country and holding superior state institution roles, especially in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

References

Cities and towns in Gujranwala District {{Gujranwala-geo-stub

History

Demographics

See also

References