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Bannu
| |
|---|---|
City | |
 A street in Bannu | |
| Nickname: بنی گل | |
  Bannu Location within Pakistan Show map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bannu Bannu (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan | |
| Coordinates:32°59′11″N70°36′16″E / 32.98639°N 70.60444°E /32.98639; 70.60444 | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Division | Bannu |
| District | Bannu |
| Headquarters | Bannu |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council |
| • Body | District Government |
| • Mayor | Irfan Khan Durrani[1] (JUI-F) |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Shah SaudBPS-18(PAS)[2] |
| • District Police Officer | Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (BPS-18 PSP) |
| Area | |
• District Bannu | 1,972 km2 (761 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 375.514 m (1,232.001 ft) |
| Population | |
• District Bannu | around 1,357,890 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Highways |  N-55 N-5 |
| Website | bannu |
Bannu (Pashto:بنو,romanized: banū,pronounced[/bɑnu/]pronounceⓘ;Urdu:بنوں,romanized: bannū̃,pronounced[bənːũː]pronounceⓘ), also calledBani Gul orBani (Pashto:باني,romanized: bānī,pronounced[/ˈbɑni]pronounceⓘ),[citation needed] is a city located on theKurram River in southernKhyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan. It is the capital ofBannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of theBanuchi tribe[6] and speak Banuchi (Baniswola),[7] a dialect ofPashto which is similar to the distinctWaziristani dialect. The residents regardless of their tribes are commonly called Banusi, Banuchi or Banisi.
The major industries of Bannu are cloth weaving, sugar mills[8] and the manufacturing of cotton fabrics, machinery and equipment.[9] It is famous for its weeklyJumma fair. The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram andGambila (or Tochi) rivers.[10]
According to the philologistMichael Witzel, the city was originally known inAvestan asVarəna, from which its modern name derives. The ancientSanskrit grammarianPāṇini recorded its name asVarṇu.[11]
During the 6th century BCE, the basin around Bannu was known asSattagydia (Old Persian: 𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁Thataguš, country of the "hundred cows").
The history of Bannu goes back to prehistoric time, due to its strategic location along the Kurram and Tochi routes which lead into the Indus Valley.Sheri Khan Tarakai is an ancient settlement site located in the Bannu District with ruins of the oldest known village settlement in the Bannu region, which was occupied from the late fifth until the early third millennium BCE.[12] Recent archaeological excavations atAkra, Bannu showed that it was a large urban site that existed throughout theIron Age and had trade relations withCentral Asia.[13]
The sacred texts ofZend Avesta andVendidad mentions Varəna, the Avestan predecessor of the name for Bannu, as the 14th in the list of the "16 perfect lands" created byAhura Mazda.[11] According to the Avesta, Varəna was the homeland and birthplace of the legendary KingFereydun (known in Avestan asΘraētaona, and also known asĀθβiiāni, "of the house ofAbtin").[14]: 47–50
In the 6th century BCE, the region around Bannu was known asSattagydia (lit. "country of 100 cows") and constituted the southern part of the greater region ofParopamisadae. Under the PersianAchaemenid Empire, Sattagydia became part of the Empire's 7thtaxation district, which also included theGandāra,Dadicae, andAparytae regions. Sattagydia was mentioned in theBehistun inscription ofDarius the Great as one of the satrapies in revolt while the king was inBabylon. The revolt was presumably suppressed in 515 BCE.
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After being conquered byAlexander in the 4th century BCE, the region became part of the GreekSeleucid Empire for a short while until theMauryan Empire took control over the region around 305 BCE, as the entire region of North-West India constitutingParopamisadae,Arachosia andGedrosia was transferred toMauryan Empire by theSeleucids.
After the decline ofMauryan Empire, the region fell under the administrative and political control ofIndo-Greeks,Indo-Scythian andIndo-Parthians successively. Kushan emperorKujula Kadphises defeated theIndo-Parthians and incorporated the region under theKushan Empire. In theTochi Valley ofNorth Waziristan near Bannu,Bactrian language inscriptions originally written in the 9th century have been discovered. This shows that after the collapse of the Kushan Empire, its official language continued in use for at least six more centuries.[15]
After the decline of theKushan Empire, the region subsequently came under the control ofGupta Empire. TheKidarites began invading the North-West regions ofGupta Empire during the reign of EmperorKumaragupta. TheGupta Empire ended up losing its control over the region around the early 5th century CE.
TheKidarites then too came under the attack fromHephthalites who defeated the Kidarites and appointed sub-rulers and kings to rule over the region. Hūṇa KingMihirakula was the most famous ruler from theAlchon Hun dynasty.
Aulikara ruler,Yashodharman defeated the Hūṇa KingToramana and took control over most of North-West India. The remnants of theHepthalite Empire continued to rule over the region until the 9th century CE when theHindu Shahis came to power and established their rule over the region for over 150 years.
In the late 10th and early 11th century CE, theGhaznavids conquered the area.Mahmud of Ghazni used the Bannu route for several of his raids deeper into Northern India.[16]
The city was renamed in 1848 byHerbert Benjamin Edwardes, alieutenant in the1st Bengal European Fusiliers Regiment of theEast India Company's private army. He ordered the construction of the fort – named Dhulipgarh (Dalipgarh) in honour of the Maharajah of Lahore – at the same time.[17] At the time of its founding, the town was named Dhulipnagar (Dalipnagar). Its name was later changed to Edwardesabad in 1869. In 1903, it received its current name, Bannu.[18]
Bannu was used as the base of operations for all punitive expeditions undertaken by detachments of theBritish Indian Army to theTochi Valley and theWaziristan frontier. A military road led from the town of Bannu towardDera Ismail Khan.[19] This road was built by military engineers under the supervision of a Bannu engineer, Ram N. Mullick. Mullick graduated from Banaras Engineering College[20] and had served inIraq andLahore as an expert in heavy earth-moving equipment before theindependence ofPakistan in 1947.
According to 1941 Census, Bannu was aHindu majority city.
According to theImperial British Gazetteer, Bannu was described by the following:
[The population in 1901 was] 14,291, including cantonment and civil lines (4,349). It was founded in 1848 by Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Herbert) Edwardes, who selected the site for political reasons. The fort, erected at the same time, bore the name of Dhulipgarh (Dalipgarh), in honour of the Maharaja of Lahore; and the bazar was also known as Dhulipnagar (Dalipnagar). A town gradually grew up around the bazar, and manyHindko speaking Hindu traders moved there from Bazar Ahmad Khan, which had formed the commercial center of the Bannu valley prior to annexation. TheChurch Missionary Society supports a small church and a high school founded in 1865. The cantonment centers in the fort of Dhulipgarh. Its garrison consists of a mountain battery, a regiment of native cavalry, and two regiments of infantry. The municipality was constituted in 1867.
The municipal receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1903–1904 averaged Rs. 46,000. In 1903–1904 the income was Rs. 47,000 chiefly derived fromoctroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 55,000. The receipts and expenditure of cantonment funds during the ten years ending 1902–3 averaged Rs. 4,200 and Rs. 3,700. The profuse irrigation and insufficient drainage of the surrounding fields render Bannu an unhealthy station. The town has a considerable trade, including fish guts and butts. Also, embracing the whole traffic in local produce of the Bannu valley. The nearest railway station is at Kohat on theKhushalgarh-Thal branch of the North-Western Railway, 79 miles distant by road. A weekly fair collects an average number of 8,000 buyers and sellers. The chief articles of trade are cloth, live-stock, wool, cotton, tobacco and grain. Bannu possesses a dispensary and two high schools, a public library and a town hall known as the Nicholson Memorial.[7]
On 21 June 1947 in Bannu, ajirga was held by Pashtun leaders includingBacha Khan, his brotherChief MinisterDr Khan Sahib, theKhudai Khidmatgars, members of the Provincial Assembly,Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi), and other tribal chiefs, just seven weeks before thePartition of India. The jirga declared theBannu Resolution, which demanded that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state ofPashtunistan composing all Pashtun territories of British India, instead of being made to join either India or Pakistan. However, theBritish Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution, in response to which the Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted the1947 North-West Frontier Province referendum for merging the province into Pakistan.[21][22]
On 11–14 March 2022, thePashtun National Jirga was held atMirakhel in Bannu in order to defend the rights of thePashtun people in the country. The critical issues which were faced by the Pashtuns were discussed during the jirga in a bid to suggest solutions to them.[23][24]
Bannu has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with extremely hot summers and mild winters. The average annual temperature is 24.8 °C (76.6 °F), with the hottest month being June with an average high of 42.2 °C (108.0 °F) and the coolest month being January with an average low of 5.9 °C (42.6 °F). The average annual precipitation is 311.8 mm (12.28 in), with the majority falling in the monsoon season from July to September.
| Climate data for Bannu | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.5 (63.5) | 20.0 (68.0) | 25.5 (77.9) | 32.5 (90.5) | 39.3 (102.7) | 41.5 (106.7) | 37.5 (99.5) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.0 (95.0) | 31.0 (87.8) | 24.5 (76.1) | 18.5 (65.3) | 29.9 (85.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.0 (50.0) | 12.2 (54.0) | 17.0 (62.6) | 23.8 (74.8) | 30.6 (87.1) | 34.8 (94.6) | 32.6 (90.7) | 31.2 (88.2) | 28.6 (83.5) | 22.3 (72.1) | 14.9 (58.8) | 9.8 (49.6) | 22.3 (72.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) | 4.5 (40.1) | 8.5 (47.3) | 15.0 (59.0) | 22.0 (71.6) | 27.5 (81.5) | 25.5 (77.9) | 24.5 (76.1) | 19.5 (67.1) | 12.0 (53.6) | 5.5 (41.9) | 2.0 (35.6) | 14.1 (57.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 45 (1.8) | 50 (2.0) | 60 (2.4) | 20 (0.8) | 10 (0.4) | 10 (0.4) | 95 (3.7) | 85 (3.3) | 15 (0.6) | 5 (0.2) | 10 (0.4) | 30 (1.2) | 435 (17.2) |
| Source 1: Climate-Data.org[25] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: World Weather Online[26] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 8,960 | — |
| 1891 | 8,817 | −0.16% |
| 1901 | 14,291 | +4.95% |
| 1911 | 16,865 | +1.67% |
| 1921 | 22,261 | +2.81% |
| 1931 | 30,539 | +3.21% |
| 1941 | 38,504 | +2.34% |
| 1951 | 27,199 | −3.42% |
| 1961 | 31,623 | +1.52% |
| 1972 | 43,757 | +3.00% |
| 1981 | 43,210 | −0.14% |
| 1998 | 47,676 | +0.58% |
| 2017 | 49,965 | +0.25% |
| Source:[27][28] | ||
| Religious group | 1881[30][31][32] | 1891[33][34][35] | 1901[36][37][38] | 1911[39][40] | 1921[41][42] | 1931[43] | 1941[29] | 2017[44] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Hinduism [b] | 4,284 | 47.81% | 4,519 | 51.25% | 7,080 | 49.54% | 7,714 | 45.74% | 13,222 | 59.4% | 15,036 | 49.24% | 22,175 | 57.59% | 208 | 0.42% |
Islam | 4,110 | 45.87% | 3,720 | 42.19% | 5,730 | 40.1% | 6,340 | 37.59% | 6,376 | 28.64% | 10,607 | 34.73% | 10,696 | 27.78% | 48,434 | 96.97% |
Sikhism | 503 | 5.61% | 537 | 6.09% | 1,354 | 9.47% | 2,585 | 15.33% | 2,421 | 10.88% | 3,947 | 12.92% | 4,894 | 12.71% | — | — |
Jainism | 0 | 0% | 8 | 0.09% | 2 | 0.01% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | — | — | — | — |
Christianity | — | — | 33 | 0.37% | 125 | 0.87% | 226 | 1.34% | 242 | 1.09% | 949 | 3.11% | 467 | 1.21% | 1,264 | 2.53% |
Zoroastrianism | — | — | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | — | — |
Judaism | — | — | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | — | — |
Buddhism.svg) | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | — | — | — | — |
Ahmadiyya | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 27 | 0.05% |
| Others | 63 | 0.7% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 232 | 0.6% | 15 | 0.03% |
| Total population | 8,960 | 100% | 8,817 | 100% | 14,291 | 100% | 16,865 | 100% | 22,261 | 100% | 30,539 | 100% | 38,504 | 100% | 49,948 | 100% |
The following Pashtun and non-Pashtun tribes are settled in Bannu, with Banusi and Wazir being the major ones:
The first public sector university,University of Science and Technology, Bannu, opened in 2005. Bannu also has a medical college,Bannu Medical College,[46][47] and a campus ofUniversity of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar.[48][49] The oldest and most renowned public sector institution isGovernment Post-Graduate College Bannu, which started operating in 1951.[50]
The following is a list of some of the public and private universities and colleges in Bannu:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
