Shakargarh Tehsil تحصیل شکرگڑھ | |
|---|---|
| Nicknames: Gateway of Mughals entering Gurdaspur and going to Delhi / City of the Braves | |
  Shakargarh Tehsil | |
| Coordinates:32°15′N74°54′E / 32.25°N 74.90°E /32.25; 74.90 | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Punjab |
| Division | Gujranwala |
| District | Narowal |
| Capital | Shakargarh |
| Area | |
• Tehsil | 835 km2 (322 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 268 m (879 ft) |
| Population | |
• Tehsil | 769,339 |
| • Density | 921.36/km2 (2,386.3/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 126,742 (16.47%) |
| • Rural | 642,597 |
| Literacy | |
| • Literacy rate |
|
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Calling code | +92542 |
| Website | shakargarh |
| Ghulam Haider (November 17, 2015)."Shakargarh"(bbs). Google Maps. | |
Shakargarh (Punjabi: تحصیل شکر گڑھ) is atehsil located inNarowal District,Punjab,Pakistan.[3] Shakargarh was the only one of the fourtehsils of Gurdaspur district which was included in Pakistan at the time of theindependence in 1947.
Shakargarh became a tehsil in 1853. Its literacy rate is 97 percent.Sialkot was annexed by the British after theSecond Anglo-Sikh War in 1849. In 1853, Shakargarh Tehsil ofSialkot district was transferred toGurdaspur District[4] and it remained an administrative subdivision of Gurdaspur district until thePartition in 1947. Under theRadcliffe Award, three of the fourtehsils 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.[5] After the creation of Pakistan, Shakargarh became a part of Sialkot district once again. In July 1991, twotehsils (Narowal and Shakargarh) were split off from Sialkot district[6] and Shakargarh became atehsil of the newly formedNarowal district.
TheImperial Gazetteer of India, 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 485 square miles (1,260 km2). 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 andcesses in 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 4,29,000.[7]
The tehsil of Shakargarh is administratively subdivided intounion councils, three of which form thetehsil capitalShakargarh. These are:[8]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | ... | — |
| 1961 | ... | — |
| 1972 | ... | — |
| 1981 | ... | — |
| 1998 | 520,855 | — |
| 2017 | 672,030 | +1.35% |
| 2023 | 769,339 | +2.28% |
| Sources:[9] | ||
As of the2023 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%.[10] The averageannual growth rate is 1.35.[11]
Shakargarh city, the administrative center of the tehsil, has a population of 126,742 as of 2023.
An overwhelming majority (99%) areMuslims with a small minority adhering toChristianity. LocalSikhs andHindus.
| Religious group | 1881[12] | 1891[13] | 1901[14] | 1911[15][16] | 1921[17] | 1931[18] | 1941[19] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Hinduism [a] | 109,241 | 49.77% | 119,750 | 47.84% | 111,819 | 47.69% | 93,052 | 44.22% | 90,645 | 42.59% | 101,318 | 40.96% | 116,553 | 39.98% |
Islam | 105,176 | 47.91% | 122,391 | 48.89% | 115,189 | 49.13% | 103,356 | 49.11% | 106,168 | 49.88% | 125,828 | 50.87% | 149,600 | 51.32% |
Sikhism | 5,090 | 2.32% | 7,252 | 2.9% | 6,557 | 2.8% | 10,553 | 5.01% | 12,303 | 5.78% | 15,730 | 6.36% | 20,573 | 7.06% |
Christianity | 4 | 0.002% | 943 | 0.38% | 900 | 0.38% | 3,486 | 1.66% | 3,733 | 1.75% | 4,487 | 1.81% | 4,779 | 1.64% |
| Total Population | 219,511 | 100% | 250,336 | 100% | 234,465 | 100% | 210,447 | 100% | 212,849 | 100% | 247,363 | 100% | 291,505 | 100% |
| Note:British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historicPunjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. | ||||||||||||||
Gujjar andJats are the predominant caste followed in order byAnsaris,Pathans, andRajputs. The tehsil has one of the highest literacy rates in Pakistan at over 87%.[20]
