Kamalia (, ) is a city in the

Toba Tek Singh District Toba Tek Singh District (, ) is a district of Faisalabad Division in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located between 30°33' to 31°2' Degree north latitudes and 72°08' to 72°48' Degree longitudes. It became a separate district in 1982 ...

of Punjab 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 the administrative center of Kamalia Tehsil. It is the 67th most populous city of Pakistan.

Location

Kamalia is located at approximately 30.725°N latitude and 72.645°E longitude, in the southern part of the

, Punjab, Pakistan. To the northwest lies

Toba Tek Singh Toba Tek Singh (, ) is a Pakistan city and capital of Toba Tek Singh District in the Punjab province. It is surrounded by cities of Gojra, Kamalia, Rajana, Pir Mahal and Shorkot. History The city and district is named after a Sikh rel ...

(approximately 30 km away), while Rajana is situated about 20 km to the north. Mamu Kanjan lies about 20 km northeast of Kamalia. Toward the east are

Harappa Harappa () is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal, that takes its name from a modern village near the former course of the Ravi River, which now runs to the north. Harappa is the type site of the Bronze Age Indus ...

(30 km) and

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi / ; ; ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in central Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population accordin ...

(70 km by road).

Chichawatni Chichawatni (, ) is a city in the Sahiwal District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the administrative center of Chichawatni Tehsil. Situated near the old main road called Grand Trunk Road, it lies approximately from the district c ...

is located to the south at a distance of about 25 km, and

Pir Mahal Pir Mahal () is a city and headquarters of Pir Mahal Tehsil of Toba Tek Singh District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. In March 2024, media reported that the Punjab government had approved funds to construct five expressways to connect majo ...

(25 km) lies to the west. The city is situated near the

Ravi River The Ravi River is a transboundary river in South Asia, flowing through northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, and is one of five major rivers of the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two oth ...

. Kamalia lies within the fertile plains of the

Sandal Bar Sandal Bar (), also known as the Jungle Bar, is the section of the Bar region in western Punjab in Pakistan and is located between the rivers Ravi and Chenab, and comprises the southern part of Rechna Doab. It corresponds to the present-day Faisal ...

, an area once covered by forest and known for its rich grazing lands. It is connected to surrounding towns by a network of regional roads and a branch railway line running between

Shorkot Shorkot (), (), is a city in Punjab (Pakistan) and serves as the capital of Shorkot Tehsil in Jhang District. The city is renowned for the tombs of several prominent Sufism, Sufi saints, including Sultan Bahoo, Syed Akbar Ali Shah Gilani, Syed ...

and

Sheikhupura Sheikhupura (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ) also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city and district in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the List of ...

History

Kamalia is an ancient city, existing at least before 325 BC. According to

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...

, Kamalia was likely a settlement encountered by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

in his campaign against the Malli. The modern settlement of Kamalia was founded in the 14th century by Kamal Khan, a chief of the Kharal Tribe. It was situated 60 km from Jhang, where the

Sials The Sial or Siyal (Punjabi and Urdu: سيال) is a Punjabi clan found in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, split between India and Pakistan. Ethnographic classification According to the Bardic traditions, Sials descended from ...

lived. The Lekhari or Kamalia Kharals of the lower Ravi quarreled with the Upera Kharals of the upper Ravi. Kamalia was under Kharal rule until Walidad Khan, the thirteenth chief of Jhang took possession of Kamalia from Sadaat Yar Khan, and ruled it till his death in 1747. His successor Inayat Khan restored Kharal rule, which lasted a generation and then Kamalia fell into the

Sikh Confederacy The Sikh Confederacy was a confederation of twelve sovereign Sikh states (each known as a Misl, derived from the Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal'; sometimes spelt as Misal) which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the n ...

under

Nakai Misl The Nakai Misl ( (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi)), founded by Sandhu Jat people, Jats, was one of the twelve Sikh Confederacy, Sikh Misls (groupings with their distinct guerrilla militia) that later became part of the Sikh Empire. It held territory bet ...

. When Shah Zaman of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

invaded Punjab, Muzaffar Khan, Governor of Multan taking advantage of the situation marched to Kamalia and expelled the Sikhs and reinstated the Kharal leader Sadaat Yar Khan II, but he did not hold his position for very long. In 1803,

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 ...

annexed Kamalia to the Sikh Empire, although he was reinstated by Ranjit Singh who gave him proprietary rights to 40 villages, which were then passed to his son, Muzaffar Khan. Muhammad Sarfraz Khan, the brother of Muzaffar Khan was loyal to the British. During the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

, he gave assistance to the British and attacked the Sikhs. During September 1857 Sarfraz Khan informed the British of the activities freedom fighters of Rai Ahmed Khan Kharal in

Montgomery District Montgomery District was an administrative district of the former Punjab Province of British India, in what is now Pakistan. Named after Sir Robert Montgomery, it lay in the Bari Doab, or the tract between the Sutlej and the Ravi rivers, extend ...

, which acted crucial in his defeat. During the war, Kamalia was seized under the control of the freedom fighters twice, but the British reoccupied it both times. Kamalia was thoroughly sacked during the

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

. Muhammad Sarfaraz Khan was succeeded by his son Sadaat Ali Khan. In the early 20th century, Kamalia remained under the influence of the Kharals, under the British Rule, and was situated in

. The municipality of Kamalia was constituted on 29 July 1868. By January 1907, due to heavy debts incurred by the Kharals, the government advanced a loan of one lakh rupees and placed the Kamalia estate under the

Court of Wards The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wardship and ...

. This arrangement continued until 1916, after which the estate was released and then partitioned. Following the partition, members of the Kharal family continued to hold proprietary rights in Kamalia and its surrounding villages, with some also serving in administrative roles. A number of archaic and archaeological sites exist in Kamalia which include a

Shamshan Ghat A shmashana outside an Indian village A shmashana () is a Hindu crematory ground, where dead bodies are brought to be burnt on a pyre. It is usually located near a river or body of water on the outskirts of a village or town; as they are usually l ...

, Prem Sati Gurduwara located inside of a Girl's Highschool, and many ancient havelis. It is one of the oldest cities in the Punjab Province having an old mosque from the Jahangiri period and many historical places like the Shrine of Hazrat Baba Fazil Dewan.

Etymology

The present name of the city Kamalia is derived from its 14th century ruler Kamal Khan Kharal. It was originally known as 'Kot Kamalia' or 'Kot Kamal'.

Climate

Kamalia has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(Köppen BWh). Summers are long and intense, with average highs from April to July routinely surpassing 40 °C, and extreme peaks reaching 50 °C. Winters are brief and mild, with daytime temperatures between 15–25 °C and occasional night lows around 5 °C. Annual rainfall averages 250–300 mm, with the majority falling during the

monsoon season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

(July–August). Dust and sand storms are common in the pre-monsoon and monsoon months (April–August), due to the region’s arid nature.

Known for

Kamalia is famous for many things including the hand-woven or machine-woven cloth called "Khaddar", poultry, sugarcane crop and the okra crop. Although the land is fertile and many other crops are also cultivated around the year which include wheat, cotton, maze and rice. Such variety of crops make it an important place for the agriculture market.

Demographics

Population

According to 2023 census, Kamalia had a population of 166,617.

Religion

References

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