Kunjah (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

and ) is a city in

Gujrat District Gujrat ( Punjabi, ) is a district of Gujrat Division in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The Gujrat District was created by the British Government in 1846. According to the 2023 Pakistani census the population of the Gujrat District is 3,219 ...

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# ...

History

Various accounts date the founding of Kunjah anywhere from the 4th century BCE during the time of

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 ...

to the 8th century CE. Kunjah is named after a

raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

named Kunjpal who is also often credited to be the founder of the town.

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

was brought to the region by the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

Caliphate early in the 8th century and soon replaced Buddhism as the dominant religion. Kunjah grew in prominence in the 9th and 10th centuries. Starting during the Muslim period, Kunjah was considered a strategically important town. Ibrahim Bin Masood used Kunjah as his main base for his attack on neighboring districts. In the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

period, King

Aurangzeb Alamgir Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

also visited Kunjah, and during his stay in Kunjah he built a mosque that is now named after him. Kunjah prospered during the time of 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 ...

Maharaja 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 Misl ...

granted Kunjah and several villages as jagir to one of his most trusted officers, Diwan Moti Ram. The place was Moti Ram's ancestral hometown and worth over three lakh rupees annually. His family built a number of gardens and a baradari that still stands. Also to be found are two royal palaces and a royal bathing pool connected by tunnels.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Kunjah has population of 90,905. Kunjah Map 2007

According to 1998 Population and Housing Census, population was estimated to be 30,000 but now it is estimated to be 35,000, with about 4500 households. The main religion is

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

, with a small

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

and

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

minority and a few

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. There are about 50

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s, one imam bargah and one

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and one

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. Many residents live abroad, mainly in the UK,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Politics and government

Kunjah lies in the

NA-69 (Gujrat-II) NA-65 Gujrat-IV () is a constituency for the National Assembly of Pakistan. It includes Lalamusa, Akhtar Karnana and Dinga city. Members of Parliament 2018–2023: NA-70 Gujrat-III 2024–present: NA-65 Gujrat-IV Election 2002 General ...

(previously NA 105) of Punjab for the national assembly elections and PP-30 (Gujrat-III) (previously PP 110) for the provincial assembly of Punjab. In the 2018 elections

Moonis Elahi Chaudhry Moonis Elahi (; born 12 April 1976) is a Pakistani politician who served as the Minister for Water Resources from 13 July 2021 till 10 April 2022. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from October 2018 to August 2023. ...

has been elected from NA 69 seat and

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Warraich (Urdu, ; born 1 November 1945) is a Pakistani politician who was the Chief Minister of Punjab from late 2002 to late 2007 and again from late 2022 to early 2023. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of ...

has been elected a member of the Punjab Assembly from PP 30 seat. From 2013 to 2018

and

have been members of the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly respectively. Aside from the local government and a regional police station, a police post in the centre of the city the national government is represented by a military signals station and a

WAPDA The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes ...

subdivision.

Tribes and Clans

Major tribes in Kunjah include Jatt,

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

Gujjar The Gurjar (or Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara) are an agricultural ethnic community, residing mainly in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were traditionally involved in agriculture, pastoral and nomadic ...

, Meer, Dar, Butt, Sheikh,

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation. At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivator ...

, Abbassi, Syed,

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an 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 highlands of pre ...

and

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

. The city consists of historic forts and pools "Talab" from the

rule and then from Sikh rule. These forts and "Shahi Talabs" were granted to prominent

clan of Kunjah due to their role as caretakers and servants at Gardens and Talabs.

Education

The government operates seven schools: two primary schools for boys, two high schools for girls and one for boys, a boys higher secondary school and a girls degree college.

Economy

Most economic activity revolves around agriculture. The primary crops are

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and vegetables. Farms are supplied with irrigation from the Upper Jehlum Canal, and tobacco production is supported by two tobacco factories and a research substation. The main

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

is a regional trade centre consisting of 500 shops.

Culture

People of Kunjah believed that The famous Sohni among the

Sohni Mahiwal ''Sohni Mahiwal'' () or ''Suhni Mehar'' is a traditional Punjabi– Sindhi folk tragedy. Set in central Sindh or northern Punjab, depending upon the version of the tragedy, the folktale depicts the separation of two lovers and their tragic d ...

folklore came from Kunjah but the intellectual Dr. Qureshi Ahmad Hussain Qiladari had other ideas and he contradicted from this myth. For now Kunjah has a modest type of culture i.e. it is semi-urban type. Both men and women wear shalwar qameez.

Fairs and festivals

An annual fair is held in Kunjah on 4 August. It is held at the shrine of a cleric Shah Shujah Bukhari so it is also known to be an

urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or Urus (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. ...

. Other festivals are also held but they are losing their touch nowadays due to the busy lives of the modern days and children getting more interested in the TV films and Computer Games rather than the oldies.

Sports

Cricket like all the other parts of the country is the game of choice for majority. Along with cricket, indoor games like snooker and billiard are also played. Some other games like chess, badminton and football are also played seasonally. Volleyball is being played in adjacent Villages.

Transport

Only road transport is available. There is no railway station. The transport is available only in form of wagons and buses. Along with these the cars are available as taxis. The transport is available for

Gujrat city Gujrat () is the thirteenth largest city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located on the western bank of the Chenab River in northern Punjab's Chaj Do'āb, it serves as the headquarters of the eponymous district and division; and is ...

and to other small towns surrounding Kunjah.

Notable people from Kunjah

Ghanimat Kunjahi Muhammad Akram Ghanimat Kunjahi (died ) was a Punjabi poet of Persian language and Sufi in the Mughal Empire. Biography Little is known about his life with certainty, except that he descended from a family of ''muftis'' originating from the v ...

, Persian-language poet and Sufi in the Mughal empire during the reign of Emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

* Baisakhi Mal, tradesman and father to

Dewan Mokham Chand Diwan Mokham Chand (died 16 or 29 October 1814) was one of the chief commanders of the Sikh Empire. He conquered Attock from the Durrani Afghans in 1813 and subdued the Rajputs in the Hills of Himachal and in Jammu at Jasrota, Chamba, and ...

a member of

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Generals This article presents a list of pre-colonial Sikh generals throughout history from the Akal Sena to the Sikh Khalsa Army. Akal Sena This is a list of generals from the period of the Akal Sena. Guru Hargobind's generals * Baba Gurditta * T ...

and commander-in-chief in the

Battle of Attock The Battle of Attock (also known as the Battle of Chuch or the Battle of Haidru) took place on 13 July 1813 between the Sikh Empire and the Durrani Empire. The battle was the first significant Sikh victory over the Durranis. Background In 181 ...

. * Moti Ram, administrator and son of

a prominent member of

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 court, Jagirdar of Kunjah. * Diwan Ram Dayal, the oldest son of Moti Ram, died young but went down in the annals of Sikh history as a courageous general. *

Diwan Kirpa Ram Diwan Kirpa Ram (d. 1842), the youngest son of Diwan Moti Ram, was a civil administrator and soldier in the Sikh Empire. Family Diwan Kirpa Ram was born into a family with a rich legacy of military and administrative service. His grandfather ...

, the youngest son of Moti Ram, was the governor of Kashmir during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. * Major

Shabbir Sharif Major Muhammad Shabbir Sharif ( ; c. 28 April 1943 – 6 December 1971), was a Pakistani military officer and the seventh recipient of Pakistan's highest military award, Nishan-e-Haider, which he was posthumously awarded for his actions of val ...

Shaheed, holder of the

Nishan-e-Haider Nishan-e-Haider (NH; or 'Emblem of the Lion') is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the f ...

, Pakistan's highest military award for bravery.Sharif Story
/ref> * Ex-General

Raheel Sharif General Raheel Sharif (Urdu: ; born 16 June 1956) is a retired four-star army general of the Pakistan Army who served as the ninth chief of army staff from 29 November 2013 to 29 November 2016. After his retirement as Pakistan's army chief, h ...

, brother of Major Shabir Sharif, and ex-Army Chief of Staff of Pakistan. *

Shareef Kunjahi Sharif Kunjahi ( (Shahmukhi)) (1914 – 2007) was a leading writer and poet of Punjabi language. He was among the first faculty members of the Department of Punjabi Language at University of Punjab in the 1970s and contributed to Punjabi lit ...

, (1915–2007) was one of the leading writers and poets of Punjabi language. He was among the first faculty members of the Department of Punjabi Language, University of PunjabSafir Rammah (2007) MALIK ARIF
Sharif Kunjahi – Serving his language
/ref> in the 1970s and contributed to Punjabi literature as a poet, prose writer, teacher, research scholar, linguist

References

{{Reflist Sushaila Nayyay, the personal physician of Mohandas Gandhi was born in this town in 1917 before partition of Indo pak sub continent. Populated places in Gujrat District