Farooqabad (), which was known as Chuhar Kana until 1983, is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Sheikhupura District Sheikhupura District (; ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura district. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of 3,321,029 of ...

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 ...

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 situated along the twin canals (Qadirabad Balloki Link Canal and Upper Gogera Branch Canal) about 55 km west of

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 ...

on Sargodha Road along Lahore-Islamabad M-2 Motorway and on Lahore-Faisalabad-Karachi Main Railway Line. The city was founded by

Sardar Chuhar Singh Sardar Chuhar Singh (born 1743) of Jharauli was a general of Shaheedan Misl. He was the paternal cousin of Rai Singh Bhangi and close relative of Sikh warrior Baba Deep Singh. Under the command of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, he fought for ...

History

Originally known as Chuhar Kana, Farooqabad's founding is linked with Shamke, Banduke, and Jhamke, all the result of Sikh Sardar, Chuhar Singh's endeavours. He played a significant role in the city's establishment. After the decline of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

under Maharajah Ranjit Singh created a secular kingdom in the Punjab. The first police station, in Farooqabad, was set up during the British rule in 1924 and is called ''Sadar Thana Farooqabad''. Steady growth followed as students came in from all parts of the Punjab and North West India. The predominantly Muslim population supported the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

and the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

. The

independence Independence is a condition of a 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 status of ...

in 1947, saw puritan influences come to the fore, while Chuhar Kana receded into relative insignificance. The minority

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 ...

s and

Sikh 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 ''Si ...

s in the Farooqabad area migrated to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

while the

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

refugees from

settled in the city. With the advent of an Islamization push by a military government of

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

, the city experienced a period of transformation. The rechristening of Chuhar Kana as Farooqabad in 1983 encapsulates this transition, effectively realigning the city's historical narrative. In recent times, 'Sikh Yatrees' (Sikh visitors) regularly come to visit their sacred sites, like Sucha Sauda in the Farooqabad area, from all over the world.

Specialty

This city has long remained the house of a large number of people belonging to the Sikh religion prior to the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. At the time of partition, most of the Sikh families moved to

Indian Punjab Punjab () is a state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, a ...

fearing for their lives and property. But their cultural sites in Farooqabad still remain a specialty of this city. Moreover, this city is famous for its

Punjab Police (Pakistan) The Punjab Police (Punjabi language, Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a Law enforcement in Pakistan, law enforcement agency of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Under the command of its Inspector General (IG), it administers all criminal cases under the Po ...

training center. Moreover, the Pakistan Adventist Seminary and College developed from a small

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

Boys' School was founded in 1920 by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. In 1937, it became a co-educational institution with the integration of the Seventh-day Adventist Girls' School. Among the very few, this city also hosts one of the biggest Fountain House in Pakistan.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Farooqabad has population of 109,717.

Notable people

* Usman Khan, Pakistani cricketer

References

External links

Farooqabad
on the WikiMapia {{Sheikhupura District Populated places in Sheikhupura District