Sahiwal District ( Punjabi and ), formerly known as Montgomery District, is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the

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 A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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# ...

. In 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District,

Okara District Okara District ( Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. It became a separate district in 1982, prior to that it was part of Sahiwal District.Pakpattan District Pakpattan District ( Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan, Pakpattan city is the district capital. Administrative division The district is divided into two tehsils, which contain a total of 63 Union Councils: Location ...

have comprised the

Sahiwal Division Sahiwal Division (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is one of the ten Divisions of Pakistan, Divisions of Punjab, Pakistan. Sahiwal Division is situated in east-central Punjab, along the N-5 National Highway, approximately midway between Lahore and M ...

. The city of

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 ...

is the capital of the district and the division. Jungle in chak110

History

The Sahiwal District has been settled from the pre-historical era.

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 ...

is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

, about west of

, that was built approximately 2600 BCE. The area was part of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

n empires and in crossroads of migrations and invasions from

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. Sahiwal District was an agricultural region with forests during the

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...

. The

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...

is characterized by Indo-Aryan culture which split from Indo-Iranian culture and founded in Northern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. The

Kambojas The Kambojas were a southeastern Iranian peoples, Iranian people who inhabited the northeastern most part of the territory populated by Iranian tribes, which bordered the Indian subcontinent, Indian lands. They only appear in Indo-Aryan langua ...

Daradas Daradas were an ancient people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir Valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are of ...

, Kaikayas, Madras,

Pauravas The Pauravas were an ancient tribe in the northern Indus valley, to which Raja Porus may have belonged. Origins The origins of the Pauravas are still disputed. The Pauravas may be related to the Puru tribe, due to the closeness of the names. ...

Yaudheya Yaudheya (Brahmi script: 𑀬𑁅𑀥𑁂𑀬) or Yoddheya Gana (Yoddheya Republic) was an ancient military ganasangha (republic) based in the Eastern region of the Sapta Sindhu, in modern day Haryana. The word Yaudheya is a derivative of the w ...

Malavas The Malavas (Brahmi script: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. They are believed to be the Mallian people (Malloi) who lived in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander's invasion in the 4th century ...

and Kurus invaded, settled and ruled ancient

Punjab region 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 ...

. After overrunning the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

in 331 BCE,

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

marched into present-day

with an army of 50,000. The Sahiwal was ruled by

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...

Indo-Greek kingdom The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbe ...

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

White Huns The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to 8th centuries CE, ...

, Kushano-Hephthalites and the Turk and

Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis, also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis, were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having c ...

kingdoms. From the beginning of the 7th century

Rajput kingdoms During the medieval and later feudal/ colonial periods, many parts of the Indian subcontinent were ruled as sovereign or princely states by various dynasties of Rajputs. The Rajputs rose to political prominence after the large empires of anc ...

dominated Eastern portions of Pakistan and northern India. In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the

Ghaznavid dynasty The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic '' mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indu ...

empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of some western

. Eastern Regions of Punjab from Multan to the Rawalpindi in north (Including region of present-day Sahiwal) remained under

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 ...

rule until 1193. The

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

and

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 ...

later ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly

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 ...

due to

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saints whose

dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

s dot the landscape of

. The pastoral tribes of this barren expanse did not appear to have paid more than a nominal allegiance to the Muslim rulers; the population for the most part remained in a chronic state of rebellion. After the decline of the

, this area became part 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 ...

. The district came under direct British rule in 1849, when the district was officially formed with its headquarters at

Pakpattan Pakpattan (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ), often referred to as Pākpattan Sharīf (; ''"Noble Pakpattan"''), is an ancient, historic city in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, serving as the headquarters of the Pakpattan Distr ...

. The district was expanded to include the trans-Ravi portion in 1852, and the district headquarters were moved to

Gugera Gogera (), is a town and union councils of Pakistan, union council of Okara District in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 30°58'4N 73°18'24E with an altitude of 166 metres (547 feet) and lies to the north-west ...

. In 1865, when the railway was opened, a village on the railway, was named Montgomery and became the capital of the district. During the period of

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, Sahiwal district increased in population and importance. During the

Indian Rebellion 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 ...

, there was a general rising of the

Rajput clans Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Rajp ...

, the district formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May 1857, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from

Sirsa Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the westernmost region of the Indian state of Haryana, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. It is located near the Thar Desert, 250 kilometres north-west of New Delhi and 260 kilometers s ...

and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other Rajput clans. The district authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till 26 August 1857 when jail prisoners made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Rai Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained at

, broke his arrest and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains. On 16 September they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion. Kot Kamalia was sacked. Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

, was besieged for some days at

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 ...

on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements 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 ...

. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale.Montgomery District
Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 411 The region was traversed by the main line of the

North Western Railway The North Western Railway (abbreviated NWR) is one of 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur. It has a route length of more than across the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana. NWR operates international rail s ...

, from

. It is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system and from the Ravi. The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoral

Jat 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 l ...

s, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. The sites of Kot Kamalia and

contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins left by the

Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the Northwestern South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...

, while many other remains of ancient cities or villages lie scattered along the river bank, or dotted the then-barren stretches of the central waste. The district comprised three towns and 1371 villages. Its population was 360,445 (1868), 426,529 (1881), 499,521 (1891) and 497,706 (1901). In 1901, 72% of the population were Muslims, while Hindus and Sikhs formed 28%. The district was part of the

Lahore Division Lahore Division is an administrative division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. It comprises four Districts - Kasur, Lahore, Nankana Sahib and Sheikhupura. The Lahore Division is commanded by a Commissioner to manage the division. Under the Commissio ...

. After 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, 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 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

refugees from

settled in the Sahiwal region.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Sahiwal district has 446,606 households and a population of 2,881,811. The district has a sex ratio of 102.80 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 64.77%: 71.06% for males and 58.29% for females. 772,183 (26.83% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 757,631 (26.29%) live in urban areas.

Religion

Language

At the time of the 2023 census, 96.95% of the population spoke Punjabi and 2.28%

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

as their first language.

Location

Sahiwal Division is in the southeast of Punjab. From

Multan Division Multan Division is an administrative division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. It was created during British colonial rule in South Asia in the 19th century. It includes 4 districts: Khanewal, Lodhran, Vehari and Multan and 15 Tehsils. Its reco ...

it lies between 30 and 40 north

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

and 73-06

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

. It is above sea level. It forms a parallelogram lying NE-SW along the River Ravi. It is 100 km from east to west and 45 km from the north-western boundary of the Division of Sahiwal, Division

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 ...

, District

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 ...

. The dry River Khushak Bias separates it from the District

Okara District Okara District ( Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. It became a separate district in 1982, prior to that it was part of Sahiwal District.District Khanewal and District Vehari form boundaries with the division. On the southern side is

Pakpattan District Pakpattan District ( Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan, Pakpattan city is the district capital. Administrative division The district is divided into two tehsils, which contain a total of 63 Union Councils: Location ...

, where there is a shrine of the

Fareed Shaker Gunj.

Administration

Sahiwal District consists of 531 villages in two subdivisions. It is on the main bypass, 3 kilometers from the main city. Sahiwal Division has an area of 301 km². Sahiwal Division contains subtowns like Qadirabad, Yousafwala, Iqbal Nagar, Kassowal, Noorshah, Harappa and Ghaziabad. There are transport connections via Highway Services and

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering bot ...

to all over Pakistan.

District Administration Officers

Sahiwal dairy cattle breed

The Sahiwal cattle breed is the best dairy breed of zebu or humped cattle (Bos Indicus), followed by the very similar Red Sindhi and Butana breeds. It originated in the dry Punjab region which lies along the Indo-Pakistani border and was once kept in large herds by herdsmen called "Jaanglees." With the introduction of irrigation to the region their numbers dripped, and farmers used them as draft and dairy animals. The Division Sahiwal has one of the best dairy breeds in

and

. It is tick-resistant, heat-tolerant and resistant to internal and external parasites. Cows average 2270 kilograms of milk while suckling a calf and much higher milk yields have been recorded. Due to their heat tolerance and high milk production they have been exported to other

Asian countries This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia. It includes sovereign state, fully recognized states, states with limited but substantial international recognition, ''de facto'' states with little or no international recogn ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and around the world. As oxen, they are docile and slow, making them more useful for slow work. Their colour can range from reddish brown to red, with varying amounts of white on the neck, and the underline. In males, the colour darkens towards the extremities, such as the head, legs and tails. Sahiwal breed arrived in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

via

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

in the early 1950s. In Australia, the Sahiwal breed was initially selected as a dual-purpose breed. It played a valuable role in the development of the two Australian tropical dairy breeds, the Australian milking zebu and the Australian Friesian Sahiwal. Sahiwal breeds are now used in Australia for beef production, as crossing high-grade Sahiwal sires with Bos taurus animals produced a carcass of lean quality with desirable fat cover. The Sahiwal breed is the heaviest milker of all zebu breeds and displays a well-developed udder. It sires small, fast-growing calves and is noted for its hardiness under unfavourable climatic conditions.Handbook of Australian Livestock, Australian Meat & Livestock Corporation, 1989, 3rd edition.

Harappa

One of the ancient civilizations on archaeological evidence dated 3300 B.C. southwest from downtown in suburb of Harapa which was the northern city of

. Harrapa is now a large village in the Sahiwal Division of Punjab, southwest of the district capital. Archaeologists think that in ancient times

was the urban centre in the upper Indus region, much like

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; , ; ) is an archaeological site in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. Built 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major city, cities, contemp ...

dominated the lower Indus Valley and

Ganweriwal Ganweriwal ( ), more commonly known as Ganweriwala, is an archaeological site in the Cholistan Desert of southern Punjab, Pakistan. It was one of the largest cities within the Indus Valley civilisation, one of the most extensive Bronze Age Civili ...

might have been the urban centre for what is now

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. The site at Harappa was first excavated by archaeologist

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 ...

in 1872–73, two decades after Brick Robbers carried off the visible remains of the city. He found an Indus seal of an unknown origin. The first extensive excavations at Harappa were started by Rai Bahadur

Daya Ram Sahni Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni CIE (16 December 1879 – 7 March 1939) was an Indian archaeologist who supervised the excavation of the Indus valley site at Harappa in 1920 to 1921. The first report on Harappan excavations came out on 29 March ...

in 1920. His excavations at Mohenjo-daro called attention to the

as one of the earliest urban culture in the

. His work was followed later in the decade by that of Madho Sarup Vats, also of the Archaeological Survey of India. Excavations continued in the 1930s. In 1946, Sir

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Military Cross, MC Territorial Decoration, TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeolo ...

excavated the fortification walls and found the first pre-Indus Valley civilization (Kot Dijian) deposits. After Independence in 1947, Harappa was excavated by

Mohammed Rafique Mughal Muhammad Rafiq Mugal (born 1936) is a Pakistani archaeologist, engaged in investigating of ethnoarchaeological research in Chitral, northern Pakistan. He has been responsible for the direction, technical support and supervision for restorati ...

of the Archaeological Survey Department of Pakistan in 1966. In 1986, the first systematic, multi-disciplinary excavations of an Indus Valley city were begun by the Harappa Archaeological Project (HARP), under the direction of George F. Dales and

Jonathan Mark Kenoyer Jonathan Mark Kenoyer (born 28 May 1952, in Shillong, India) is an American archaeologist and ''George F. Dales Jr. & Barbara A. Dales'' Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his Bachelor of Arts, Master' ...

. The main features of the plan, the citadel on the west and the mounds of the 'lower city' towards the east and southeast have already been indicated. To the north, a hollowed belt containing green crops marks an old bed of the River Ravi, which today flows six miles (10 km) further north between the citadel and the riverbed, Mound F contains much of the town planning; to the south of the citadel lie the outlying hills, the Harappan cemetery and the post Harappan cemetery. To the southeast, sporadic digging has been carried out in Area G, but the ragged Mound E and its surroundings are unexplored. Most of the site remains unexcavated. The earliest deposits on the site go back to 5300 B.C. and the area seems to have been continuously inhabited ever since.

Climate

The climate of Sahiwal Division is extremely hot, reaching 45–50 degrees Celsius max in summers, and cold in winter down to 5-10-degree Celsius. The soil of the division is very fertile. The average rainfall is about 500-600 mm.

Sports

Sahiwal has produced many cricketers, such as Mushtaaq Ahmed, Manzoor Elahi,

Zahoor Elahi Zahoor Elahi (born 1 March 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer. He played in two Test matches and 14 One Day Internationals between 1996 and 1997. His debut was against Zimbabwe. Early life and family Elahi was born in 1971 ...

and

Saleem Elahi Saleem Elahi (Urdu: سلیم الہی; born 21 November 1976) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played 13 Test matches and 48 One Day Internationals between 1995 and 2004. He made 102 not out on his international debut, against Sri Lanka in S ...

Notable residents

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist. He shared the 1 ...

, Pakistan's first Nobel Prize winner, was born in Santokdas, Division Sahiwal, although he grew up in

Jhang Jhang ( Punjabi / ; ; ) is the capital city of Jhang District in central Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 13th most populous city of Pakistan. Etymology The historical name of the city and dis ...

. T. W. B. Kibble, "Muhammad Abdus Salam, K. B. E., (29 January 1926-21 November 1996)" ''Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society,'' Vol. 44, Nov., 1998, pp. 386–401.
/ref> He was awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for his achievements in theoretical particle physics. He is buried in

Rabwah Rabwah (; Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; ), officially known as Chenab Nagar (; ), is a city in Chiniot District, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan on the bank of Chenab River. It was the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from ...

, in the

Chiniot Chiniot ( Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a city and the administrative headquarters of Chiniot District in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the river Chenab, it is the 28th most populous city in Pakistan. It is also known for ...

district. *

Majeed Amjad Majeed Amjad (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) (29 June 1914 – 11 May 1974) was an Urdu Urdu poetry, poet from Pakistan. One newspaper described him as a "philosophical poet of depth and sensitivity". His ghazals have been sung by various Pakist ...

, one of the founding forefathers of modern

literature, was born in Sahiwal and received his education from Government College

. He was inspired by the greenery of Sahiwal and wrote about its trees and greenery. There is a park named for him.

Education

* Divisional Public School and College * Concordia College for boys * Govt. Post Graduate College Sahiwal * Army Public School, Sahiwal * Comsats University Islamabad, Sahiwal Campus

Notes

References

{{Coord, 30, 35, N, 73, 20, E, region:PK_type:adm3rd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Districts of Punjab, Pakistan