Gojra (; ), is the administrative capital of Gojra Tehsil and a city in the Toba Tek Singh District 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 of

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# ...

. Gojra is from

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

, from

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 north of Toba Tek Singh. Founded in 1896 during the British colonial period, Gojra was the commercial centre of lands which had recently come under cultivation, and was known for its "mandi" (market) for

cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...

s. It is the 50th largest city of Pakistan by population, according to the 2017 census.

History

Pre-Independence

Gojra city was established in 1896, when the colonisation of

began. The railway line between Faisalabad and Gojra was laid in 1899. The town was given the status of notified area committee in 1904 and upgraded to a B-Class Municipality in 1925. In 1906, the population was 2,589. According to ''

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

'', "The business done in this rising mart on the railway, which has sprung into existence in the last six years owing to the extension of the Chenab Canal to the surrounding country, bides fair to rival in importance that of Faisalabad itself". In 1919, following the Rowlatt Act,

hartal Hartal () is a term in many Languages of India, Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often ...

s (strikes) broke out throughout Punjab. Gojra was affected by the serious protests and a member of the Church Mission Society had to be escorted out of the town by loyal residents.

Post-Independence

In August 1947, India and Pakistan achieved independence. Riots and local fighting followed the expeditious withdrawal of 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 ...

, resulting in an estimated one million civilians deaths, particularly in the western region of Punjab. Gojra, which was in the region of the Punjab Province that became

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

, was populated by a number of

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 who migrated to India, while

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 India settled in the district. After independence from Britain, in view of its increasing size, Gojra was declared a 2nd class Municipal Committee in 1960. Gojra received the status of tehsil town and affiliated with the newly established district Toba Tek Singh on 1 July 1982. After the introduction of Devolution of Power Plan, the Tehsil Municipal Administration Gojra came into being on 12 August 2001.

Demographics

Population

According to 2023 census, Gojra had a population of 214,349.

Government and public services

Civic administration

The city was raised to the status of Tehsil town and affiliated with the newly established district Toba Tek Singh on 1 July 1982. After the introduction of the Devolution of Powers Plan, the Tehsil Municipal Administration Gojra came into being on 12 August 2001. The Canal resthouse is the oldest building constructed during British government in 1898.

Culture

Festivals

The arrival of spring brings the annual "Rang-e-Bahar" festival during the month of March, where the Parks & Horticulture Authority of the Gojra Municipal Committee organise a flower show and exhibition at Civil Club, Gojra.

Education

Private institutes

The city has 344 state-run primary and higher secondary educational institutions.

Sports

Gojra is famous for hockey and has produced more than a hundred international players for the Pakistan hockey team. In 2015, Gojra Hockey Club, a local club, won the Jat Tar Singh memorial Under-19 hockey tournament. This high-profile tournament was held in

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 ...

, where Gojra city team competed again best of Indian U19 hockey teams and won the championship. The Gojra team won this title by defeating

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

Academy 4–2 at Ludhiana Hockey Stadium. In

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, Gojra's Ehsan Adil has represented the

Faisalabad Wolves The Faisalabad Wolves was a domestic limited-overs cricket team based in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. The team was established in 2004 and its home ground was Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. The team were champions in the maiden season 2004� ...

Habib Bank Limited cricket team The Habib Bank Limited cricket team was a first-class cricket side, sponsored by the Habib Bank Limited, who competed as a departmental team in Pakistan domestic cricket from 1975 to 1976 season. Before disbandment, the bank was providing an ...

and Pakistan Under-19 cricket team. He was selected in Pakistan's Test Squad for tour to South Africa in February 2013.

Notable people

* Ehsan Adil – cricketer * Abdul Qadeer Alvi – Politician * Tariq Imran – hockey player * Muhammad Irfan – hockey player * Muhammad Ishaq – former Member, National Assembly of Pakistan * Chaudhary Khalid Javed – Member,

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

* Mehak Malik – dancer and actress * Muhammad Nadeem – hockey player * Muhammad Qasim – hockey player and former Olympic Games player * Imran Shah – hockey player * Tahir Zaman – hockey player, former Olympic Games player, Pride of Performance Award winner in 1994Tahir Zaman (listed as #34 on the Award Winners List)
Pakistan Sports Board, Government of Pakistan website, Retrieved 17 May 2023

References

{{Neighbourhoods of Toba Tek Singh Populated places in Toba Tek Singh District