Shakargarh (Punjabi: تحصیل شکر گڑھ), is a ''

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

'' located in

Narowal District Narowal District ( Punjabi and ) is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Narowal city is the capital of the district. During the British rule, Narowal was the town of Raya Khas tehsil of Sialkot District. Narowal District formed ...

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# ...

. Shakargarh was the only ''tehsil'' of Gurdaspur district which was included in Pakistan at the time of 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.

History

Shakargarh became tehsil in 1853. Its literacy rate is 97 percent.

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

was annexed by the British after 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 ...

in 1849. In 1853, Shakargarh Tehsil of

Sialkot district Sialkot District ( Punjabi and ), is one of the districts of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located in the northeast of the province. The city of Sialkot is the capital of the district. The Sialkot Cantonment was established in 1852 ...

was transferred to

Gurdaspur District Gurdaspur district is a district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, and the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala ...

and it remained an administrative subdivision of Gurdaspur district until Partition in 1947. Under the Radcliffe Award, three of the four ''tehsils'' of Gurdaspur district on the eastern bank of the Ujh river (which joined the Ravi a little further down) – Gurdaspur, Batala and Pathankot – were awarded to India and only one, Shakargarh, was assigned to Pakistan. After the creation of Pakistan, Shakargarh became a part of Sialkot district once again. In July 1991, two ''tehsils'' (Narowal and Shakargarh) were split off from Sialkot district and Shakargarh became a ''tehsil'' of the newly formed

Narowal district Narowal District ( Punjabi and ) is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Narowal city is the capital of the district. During the British rule, Narowal was the town of Raya Khas tehsil of Sialkot District. Narowal District formed ...

. 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.< ...

'', written over a hundred years ago during British rule, describes Shakargarh as follows:

''Tahsīl'' of Gurdāspur District, Punjab, lying between 32°2' and 32° 30' N. and 74° 57' and 75° 23' E., with an area of . The Ravi divides it from the rest of the District to the south, while on the north it touches Jammu territory. West of the narrow lowlands along the Ravi, the country is an arid expanse of rolling downs intersected by torrent beds. The population in 1901 was 234,465, compared with 250,336 in 1891. It contains 703 villages, of which Shakargarh is the headquarters. The land revenue and
cess Cess (pronounced ) is a tax - generally one levied for promoting services like health and education. Governments often charge a cess for the purpose of development in social sectors. The word is a shortened form of "assess". The spelling is due ...
es in 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 4,29,000.

Administration

The tehsil of Shakargarh is administratively subdivided into union councils, three of which form the ''tehsil'' capital Shakargarh. These are: * Achli * Akhlaspur * Babral * Bara Manga * Chak Fatehpur * Afghana * Bhati * Bua Shakargarh * Badwal * Bajjar Chak * Chandwal * Chatrana * Darapur, Shakargarh, Darapur * Darman, Shakargarh, Darman * Dinga * Dinga Narainpur * Fatwal * Gamrola * Jamwal * Kanjrur * Mangri, Shakargarh, Mangri * Masrur * Nagwal * Nurkot * Rambari * Shakargarh-I * Shakargarh-II * Shakargarh-III * Shahpur

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Shakargarh Tehsil in Narowal District, Punjab, Pakistan, has a total population of 769,339, with 642,597 residing in rural areas and 126,742 in urban areas. The tehsil covers an area of 835 square kilometers, resulting in a population density of approximately 921.36 people per square kilometer. The literacy rate in Shakargarh Tehsil is 76.28%, with male literacy at 81.38% and female literacy at 70.95% .The average

annual growth rate Annual growth rate (AGR) is the change in the value of a measurement over the period of a year. Economics Annual growth rate is a useful tool to identify trends in investments. According to a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers condu ...

is 1.35. Shakargarh city, the administrative center of the tehsil, has a population of 126,742 as of 2023.

Religion

An overwhelming majority (99%) are

Muslims 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 ...

with a small minority adhering to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Local

Sikhs 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 ''Sikh'' ...

and

Hindus 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 ...

Tribes

Muslim Gujjar and Hindu Jatts are the predominant caste followed in order by Ansaris, Pathans, and

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 ...

s. The tehsil has one of the highest literacy rates in Pakistan at over 87%.

Notable people

Dev Anand Dev Anand (; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Indian cinema, Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most succes ...

: Indian Bollywood actor * Ch Nawab din

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 ...

Inspector of Police Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

in Indian Imperial Police and a famous

Lambardar Numbardar or Lambardar (, , , ) was the village headman responsible for tax collection in the village during the British Raj. They were appointed under the Mahalwari system. Etymology The compound word ''numberdar'' is composed of the English wo ...

. * Anwar Aziz

: Former member of the National Assembly and federal minister. * Muhammad Tariq Anis

: Ex Minister, MNA and

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * M ...

. * Daniyal Aziz

Ex MNA * Shiv Kumar Batalvi : Punjabi poet. * Nek Chand : Indian sculptor and creator of Rock Garden, Chandigarh * Chaudhry Abdul Rahim

Zaildar Zaildar was an officer in charge of a Zail which was an administrative unit of group of villages during the Sikh Empire, British Indian Empire in Punjab and Dogra dynasty rule in Jammu and Kashmir (princely state). The Settlement Officer, with ...

: Ex MLA and MNA. He was given title of khan bahadur by

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

. * Gurbachan Singh Salaria :

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, he was awarded by

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest Awards and Decorations of the Indian Armed Forces, military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates roughly as the "Wheel of Supre ...

. * S. M. Zafar : former minister, human rights lawyer in Pakistan * h Fazal Ahmad: Ex Chairman UC Bheri and Kabbadi Player *Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria:

captain who was awarded the

References

External links

* Shakargarh Official Website : https://shakargarh.net {{Tehsils of Punjab (Pakistan) Narowal District Tehsils of Punjab, Pakistan