Kasur قصور Qasūr | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Kasur Museum on theLahore–Kasur Road | |
 Municipal Committee Emblem | |
.svg)  Kasur  Kasur | |
| Coordinates:31°7′0″N74°27′0″E / 31.11667°N 74.45000°E /31.11667; 74.45000 | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Punjab |
| Division | Lahore |
| District | Kasur |
| Founded by | Kheshgi Pashtun tribe |
| Government | |
| • Chairman District Council | None (Vacant)[1] |
| • DC | Arshad Bhatti[2] |
| Elevation | 218 m (715 ft) |
| Population (2023)[3] | |
• City | 510,875 |
| • Rank | 22nd, Pakistan |
| Demonym | Kasuri |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Calling code | 049 |
| Website | kasur |
Kasur (Punjabi /Urdu:قصور;Punjabi pronunciation:[ˈkɐsuːɾᵊ];Urdu pronunciation:[ˈqəsuːɾ] alsoromanized asQasūr; from pluralizedArabic wordQasr meaning "palaces" or "forts"[4]) is a city to the south ofLahore, in thePakistani province ofPunjab. The city serves as the headquarters ofKasur District. Kasur is the16th largest city in Punjab and24th largest in Pakistan, by population.[5] It is also known for being the burial place of the 17th-centurySufi-poetBulleh Shah. It is farther west of the border with neighboringIndia, and bordered toLahore,Sheikhupura andOkara Districts of Punjab.[6][7][8] The city is an aggregation of 26 fortified hamlets overlooking the alluvial valleys of the Beas and Sutlej rivers.[9]
Kasur derives its name from theArabic andPersian wordqasur (قصور),[10][11] meaning "palaces," or "forts." According to a legend, Kasur was founded by, and named for, PrinceKusha of theRamayana,[12] son of the Hindu deitiesRama andSita. According to that account, the city was named Kashawar along with its neighbouring city,Lahore which was named Lahawar. Historical records reject an ancient founding of the city and date it to 1525, when it was found as afortified settlement.[13][14][15]
The Kasur region was an agricultural region with forests during theIndus Valley civilization. The Kasur region was ruled variously by theMaurya Empire,Indo-Greek kingdom,Kushan Empire,Gupta Empire,White Huns,Kushano-Hephthalites andKabul Shahi kingdoms. The region is also said to have been visited by the Chinese pilgrimXuanzang in 633 AD.Alexander Cunningham writes about his visit describing the place filled withtombs,mosques, and thickly covered with ruins. The city which is most commonly associated with Kasur was described as being situated somewhere on the right bank of theBeas (Sutlej) opposite to the city ofLahore.[16]
In 1005 CE,Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, took over the region under theGhaznavid dynasty. This led to the introduction ofIslam in the NorthernPunjab area, after being conquered.[citation needed]Sufi missionaries were sent to the region in order to preach Islam which made thePunjab region predominantlyMuslim.[17] The city was later under the rule of theDelhi Sultanate and theMughals.
Kasur was established as a city by theKheshgi tribe ofPashtuns fromKabul who had migrated to the region in 1525 fromAfghanistan[6][18] during the reign ofBabur and built several small forts in the area, establishing the Kheshgi chieftaincy.[19][20][21] The city was built as an aggregation of about twelve fortifiedhamlets, known as kots (کوٹ) forming a considerable town. The 12mahallahs (abodes) were built by the order of the Mughal EmperorAkbar, and named after the heads of various Pashtun families. Some of these forts have been severely damaged over time.[22][23]
Under Mughal rule, the city flourished and was notable for commerce and trade. It became the home of the Sufi saint and poet,Bulleh Shah, who is buried in a large shrine in the city. After the decline of theMughal Empire, the Kasur region fell into a power vacuum. Kasur was captured byAhmad Shah Durrani of theDurrani Empire.
The Sikhs sacked the city in 1747 underJassa Singh Ahluwalia,[24] and againin 1763 afterDurrani shifted to Afghanistan.[25] TheSikh Empire underRanjit Singh, captured the city in 1807 in theBattle of Kasur.[26] During theFirst Anglo-Sikh War, the city was occupied by Company forces on 10 February 1846.[27]
During theBritish Raj, the irrigation canals were built that irrigated large areas of the Kasur District. Communal disturbances between Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims erupted in 1908 over the issue of meat sales.[28] Riots erupted following theJallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, leading to the destruction of civic infrastructure, including the city's railway station.[29]Martial law was imposed on 16 April 1919 in response to the riots.[30]
After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, the minorityHindus andSikhs migrated to India, while Muslim refugees migrated from India and settled in Kasur. Kasur emerged as a major centre ofleather tanning after independence, and is home to 1/3rd of Pakistan's tanning industry.[31]
Kasur is one of the biggest market and trading hub in the country ofhides collection andleather tanning and processing. In recent times, hide traders in Kasur were engaged in smugglingdonkey hides, a medicinal demand, toChina viaKarachi Port.[32]
In January 2018, two protestors were killed in rioting over therape and murder ofZainab Ansari, a seven-year-old girl. There had been12 similar murders in the past two years, five of which have been linked to one suspect, leading to widespread anger at police failures.[33][34]
In November 2020,Russia sponsored a 1,122-km high pressureRLNG pipeline fromPort Qasim,Karachi to Kasur.[35] In May 2021,Islamabad andMoscow agreed to change the name of the North-South Gas Pipeline Project to "Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline".[36]
Kasur is bordered to the north byLahore, by India to the south and east, it also has borders withOkara andNankana Sahab district. The city is adjacent to the border ofGanda Singh Wala, a border with its own flag-lowering ceremony.
Kasur is situated in a subtropicalthorn woodland biome (Northwestern thorn scrub forests) and in theDeserts and xeric shrublandsecoregion according to theWorld Wide Fund for Nature's map of ecological regions in the world.
Kasur has ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationBSh), bordering ahumid subtropical climate (Koppen:Cwa). Kasur has extremes of climate; the summer season begins from April and continues till September. June is the hottest month. The mean maximum and minimum temperature for this month are about 45 °C (113.0 °F) and 27 °C (80.6 °F) respectively. The winter seasons lasts from November to February. January is the coldest month. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures for the coldest month are 22 °C (71.6 °F) and 0 °C (32.0 °F) respectively. With rainfall towards the end of June, monsoon conditions appear and during the following two and a half months the rainy season alternates with sultry weather. The winter rain falls during January, February and March, ranging from 23 millimetres (0.91 in) to 31 millimetres (1.2 in). Water logging and salinity have affected a large area of the district, making the underground water brackish.[37]
| Climate data for Kasur, Pakistan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 27.0 (80.6) | 31.0 (87.8) | 37.0 (98.6) | 43.0 (109.4) | 47.0 (116.6) | 48.0 (118.4) | 42.0 (107.6) | 39.0 (102.2) | 39.0 (102.2) | 37.0 (98.6) | 38.0 (100.4) | 29.0 (84.2) | 48.0 (118.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 21.0 (69.8) | 22.0 (71.6) | 28.0 (82.4) | 35.0 (95.0) | 39.0 (102.2) | 39.0 (102.2) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 32.0 (89.6) | 27.0 (80.6) | 22.0 (71.6) | 30.9 (87.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 14 (57) | 19 (66) | 19 (66) | 24 (75) | 27 (81) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27 (81) | 26.5 (79.7) | 25.6 (78.1) | 24 (75) | 20 (68) | 18 (64) | 22.6 (72.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) | 10.0 (50.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 20.0 (68.0) | 24.0 (75.2) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.5 (76.1) | 24.0 (75.2) | 21.0 (69.8) | 18.3 (64.9) | 12.0 (53.6) | 6.6 (43.9) | 17.1 (62.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2.0 (28.4) | 2.0 (35.6) | 6.0 (42.8) | 9.0 (48.2) | 13.0 (55.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 6.0 (42.8) | 3.0 (37.4) | −1.0 (30.2) | −2.0 (28.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 20 (0.8) | 13 (0.5) | 21 (0.8) | 43 (1.7) | 99 (3.9) | 177 (7.0) | 149 (5.9) | 86 (3.4) | 41 (1.6) | 11 (0.4) | 9 (0.4) | 10 (0.4) | 679 (26.8) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 279 | 252 | 341 | 360 | 403 | 390 | 341 | 310 | 330 | 341 | 300 | 310 | 3,957 |
| Source 1:MyWeather2[38] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Weather Spark[39] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | ... | — |
| 1951 | ... | — |
| 1961 | ... | — |
| 1972 | 101,295 | — |
| 1981 | 155,523 | +53.5% |
| 1998 | 245,321 | +57.7% |
| 2017 | 358,409 | +46.1% |
| 2023 | 510,875 | +42.5% |
The population of Kasur is 510,875 as of 2023. The principal tribes residing here include theRajput,Jats,Arains,Dogars,Ansari,Sheikh,Pashtuns etc. Among them there are also a concentration ofKashmiris who had migrated earlier, during partition. There are alsoMoeens orartisans; they includeChristians,blacksmiths (Lohar),carpenters (Tarkhan),ceramicists (Kumhar),barbers, weavers etc.[40]
| Census | Population[41] |
|---|---|
| 1972 | 101,295 |
| 1981 | 155,523 |
| 1998 | 245,321 |
| 2017 | 358,296 |
| 2023 | 510,875 |
The population in Kasur is predominantlyMuslim with some smallChristian andHindu minorities. In a census conducted by the Office of the Census Commissioner in 1951, the result was that 96% of the population of Kasur was Muslim with 0.004% being Hindu minorities and 0.034% beingChristian minorities.[42]
| Religious group | 1881[44][45]: 520 | 1891[46]: 68 [47] | 1901[48]: 44 [49]: 26 | 1911[50]: 23 [51]: 19 | 1921[52]: 25 [53]: 21 | 1931[54]: 26 | 1941[43]: 32 | 2017[55] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam | 13,852 | 79.9% | 15,406 | 75.93% | 16,257 | 73.82% | 18,588 | 75% | 22,290 | 71.86% | 36,658 | 78.3% | 39,295 | 74% | 469,635 | 96.12% |
Hinduism | 3,074 | 17.73% | 4,413 | 21.75% | 5,327 | 24.19% | 5,291 | 21.35% | 7,333 | 23.64% | 8,251[b] | 17.62% | 10,752[b] | 20.25% | 13 | 0% |
Sikhism | 242 | 1.4% | 382 | 1.88% | 295 | 1.34% | 631 | 2.55% | 987 | 3.18% | 1,529 | 3.27% | 2,034 | 3.83% | — | — |
Jainism | 168 | 0.97% | 89 | 0.44% | 97 | 0.44% | 169 | 0.68% | 265 | 0.85% | 144 | 0.31% | 452 | 0.85% | — | — |
Christianity | — | — | 0 | 0% | 43 | 0.2% | 101 | 0.41% | 141 | 0.45% | 227 | 0.48% | 562 | 1.06% | 18,719 | 3.83% |
Zoroastrianism | — | — | 0 | 0% | 3 | 0.01% | 3 | 0.01% | 2 | 0.01% | 6 | 0.01% | — | — | — | — |
Ahmadiyya | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 212 | 0.04% |
| Others | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 6 | 0.01% | 0 | 0% |
| Total population | 17,336 | 100% | 20,290 | 100% | 22,022 | 100% | 24,783 | 100% | 31,018 | 100% | 46,815 | 100% | 53,101 | 100% | 488,579 | 100% |
... Kheshgi, which was the name of the Afghān tribe to which Naz̤r Bahādur Khān belonged (M.U. III. 777, l. 14). The Kheshgis were famous for their piety and integrity and were settled round about Lāhor and Kāsūr
The third family, the Kheshgi Afghans of Kasur, had held distinguished posts under the Mughals since ...
Kasur.
... Kheshgi, which was the name of the Afghān tribe to which Naz̤r Bahādur Khān belonged (M.U. III. 777, l. 14). The Kheshgis were famous for their piety and integrity and were settled round about Lāhor and Kāsūr
The third family, the Kheshgi Afghans of Kasur, had held distinguished posts under the Mughals since ...
kasur.
Media related toKasur at Wikimedia Commons
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