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Bahawalpur ضلع بہاول پور | |
|---|---|
| Bahawalpur | |
  | |
 Map of Bahawalpur District highlighted in red | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Punjab |
| Division | Bahawalpur |
| Headquarters | Bahawalpur |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Anwar Zaheer Jappa |
| • District Police Officer | Syed Muhammad Abbas |
| • District Health Officer | N/A |
| Area | |
| 24,830 km2 (9,590 sq mi) | |
| Population | |
| 4,284,964 | |
| • Density | 172.6/km2 (447.0/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,619,321 (37.79%) |
| • Rural | 2,665,643 (62.21%) |
| Literacy | |
| • Literacy rate |
|
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PKT) |
| Area code | 062 |
| Number ofTehsils | 6 |
| Tehsils | Bahawalpur City Ahmedpur Sharqia Hasilpur Khairpur Tamewali Yazman Bahawalpur Saddar |
| Languages | Saraiki,Punjabi andUrdu |
| Website | bahawalpur |
Bahawalpur District[a] is adistrict within theBahawalpur Division ofPunjab,Pakistan, with the city ofBahawalpur serving as the district headquarters. It has a population of over 4.2 million (2023 census) and covers an area of 24,830 km2, being thelargest district in Punjab.[3][4] Approximately two-thirds of the district (16,000 km2) is covered by theCholistan Desert, which extends into theThar Desert of Pakistan and India. The district is a major producer of cotton.[5]
Located in the south of the Punjab province, Bahawalpur district is bordered byIndia to its south and southeast,Bahawalnagar to its northeast,Vehari,Lodhran andMultan to its north,Rahimyar Khan to its west, andMuzaffargarh to its northwest.
In 711A.D. the various parts of Punjab and the whole Sindh came under the Arab rule whenMuhammad Bin Qasim conqueredSindh,Multan and surrounding areas. The region came securely under the control of theUmayyad Caliphate. The tribes known asArain in the region sometimes claim descent from the Arab soldiers who accompanied Muhammad Bin Qasim.
Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi took over the region in 997 C.E. for theGhaznavid dynasty empire established by his father,Sultan Sebuktegin. He conquered theShahis inKabul in 1005 and followed it by the conquest of Punjab. TheDelhi Sultanate and laterMughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantlyMuslim due tomissionarySufi saints whosedargahs dot the landscape ofPunjab. During the period ofBritish rule, Bahawalpur District increased in population and importance.
The district capitalBahawalpur, which lies just south of the Sutlej River, was founded in 1748 by Muhammad Bahawal Khan and was incorporated as a municipality in 1874. After the decline of theMughal Empire, theSikh Empire invaded some towns of modern Pakistan's Punjab province but Bahawalpur had a stronghold of the state's Abbasi nawabs in the city management and the town was free ofSikh Empire.[citation needed]
In 1836 Bahawalpur stopped paying tribute to Sikh empire. The state's army had defended the territory and openly declared independence. The founder of the State of Bahawalpur was Nawab Bahawal Khan Abbasi I. The Abbasi family ruled over the State for more than 200 years (1748 to 1954). During the rule of the last Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V, Bahawalpur State was merged with Pakistan. During the 1960s (1954) the Nawab agreed (Agreement dated 3 October 1947) for Bahawalpur to be absorbed into modern Pakistan. He was however given special privileges including the right to import several cars duty-free each year. Bahawalpur was formerly the capital of the state and now is the District and Divisional Headquarters of Bahawalpur Division.
The Nawabs of Bahawalpur originally came from Sindh and claimed descent from theAbbasidcaliph ofBaghdad; they formed a princely state and assumed independence in 1802.
The predominantly Muslim population supportedMuslim League andPakistan Movement. After theindependence ofPakistan in 1947, the minorityHindus andSikhs migrated toIndia while theMuslim refugees fromIndia settled in Bahawalpur District.
Bahawalpur is located in the southeast of Punjab province, the capital, Bahawalpur city, is 889 km from Karachi. The region surrounding Bahawalpur to the west, called the Sindh, is a fertile alluvial tract in the Sutlej River valley that is irrigated by floodwaters, planted with groves of date palms, and thickly populated. The chief crops are wheat, gram, cotton, sugarcane, and dates. Sheep and cattle are raised for export of wool and hides.
East of Bahawalpur is the Pat, or Bar, a tract of land considerably higher than the adjoining valley. It is chiefly desert irrigated by the Sutlej inundation canals and yields crops of wheat, cotton, and sugarcane. Farther east, the Rohi, or Cholistan, is a barren desert tract, bounded on the north and west by the Hakra depression with mound ruins of old settlements along its high banks; it is still inhabited by nomads. The principal inhabitants of the region surrounding Bahawalpur areArain,Jat andBaluchi peoples. There are many historical sites in the area, including Uch, southwest of Bahawalpur, an ancient town dating from Indo-Scythian (Yüeh-chih) settlement (c. 128 BC to AD 450).
Bahawalpur is also an important agricultural training and educational center. Soapmaking and cotton ginning are important enterprises; cotton, silk, embroidery, carpets, and extraordinarily delicate pottery are produced. Factories producing cottonseed oil and cottonseed cake were built in the 1970s. It is an important marketing centre for the surrounding areas and is located on the crossroads between Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and Karachi. Bahawalpur is also known for its distinctly embroidered slippers and shoes and the filigree pottery which is made here.
The city of Bahawalpur is located favourably for commerce, lying at the junction of trade routes from the east, south-east, and south. It is a centre for trade in wheat, cotton, millet, and rice grown in the surrounding region. Dates and mangoes are also grown here. Canals supply water for irrigation. The principal industries are cotton ginning, rice and flour milling, and the handweaving of textiles.
East of Bahawalpur is the Cholistan Desert which covers about an area of 20,000 km 2 of Bahawalpur and 1000 km2 ofRahim Yar Khan and extends into the Thar Desert of India. The region was once watered by theHakra River. At one time there were 400 forts in the area and archaeological finds around theDerawar Fort, the only place with a perennial waterhole, indicate that it was contemporaneous with the Indus Valley Civilisation.
The average annual rainfall is only 12 cm, and the little cultivation that exists is made possible by underground wells, drawn up by the camels. The water is stored in troughs, built by the tribes, between sandhills and din waterholes called tobas. The forts here were built at 29 km intervals, which probably served as guard posts for the camel caravan routes. There were three rows of these forts. The first line of forts began from Phulra and went to Lera, the second from Rukhanpur to Islamgarh, and the third from Bilcaner to Kapoo. They are all in ruins now, and you can see that they were built with double walls of gypsum blocks and mud. Some of them date back to 1000 BCE, and were destroyed and rebuilt many times.
The district is administratively divided into 5tehsils and 107Union Councils:[6]
| Tehsil[7] | Area (km²)[8] | Pop. (2023) | Density (ppl/km²) (2023) | Literacy rate (2023)[9] | Union Councils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmedpur Sharqia | 1,738 | 1,307,578 | 752.35 | 39.68% | 31 |
| Bahawalpur City | 1,490 | 815,202 | 547.12 | 71.67% | 36 |
| Bahawalpur Saddar | 745 | 675,950 | 907.32 | 52.56% | ... |
| Hasilpur | 1,490 | 508,415 | 341.22 | 59.64% | 14 |
| Khairpur Tamewali | 993 | 290,582 | 292.63 | 45.82% | 8 |
| Yazman | 18,374 | 687,237 | 37.40 | 53.55% | 18 |
| Total | 4,284,964 | 107 |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 527,837 | — |
| 1961 | 735,524 | +3.37% |
| 1972 | 1,071,026 | +3.48% |
| 1981 | 1,453,438 | +3.45% |
| 1998 | 2,433,091 | +3.08% |
| 2017 | 3,669,176 | +2.19% |
| 2023 | 4,284,964 | +2.62% |
| Sources:[10] | ||
As of the2023 census, Bahawalpur district has 673,437 households and a population of 4,284,964.[11] The district has a sex ratio of 103.10 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 53.35%: 59.40% for males and 47.09% for females.[1][2] 1,231,401 (28.88% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[12] 1,619,321 (37.79%) live in urban areas.[1]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islam | 98.14% | |||
| Hinduism | 1.14% | |||
| Christianity | 0.65% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.07% | |||
Muslims are the predominant religious community with 98.14% of the population whileHindus were 1.14% of the population, living mainly in rural areas of Yazman tehsil. Christians (0.65%) are another minority, living mostly in urban areas.[14] TheKala Dhari Mandir is one of the historic Hindu temple in the district, however it's not operational now. The Hindu community has been demanding its renovation and reopening for worshipping.[15]
| Religion | 2017[16] | 2023[17] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam | 3,608,204 | 98.34% | 4,185,348 | 98.14% |
Hinduism | 41,051 | 1.12% | 48,684 | 1.14% |
Christianity | 17,571 | 0.48% | 27,651 | 0.65% |
| Ahmadi | 1,680 | 0.05% | 1,234 | 0.03% |
| Others[b] | 670 | 0.01% | 1,540 | 0.04% |
| Total Population | 3,669,176 | 100% | 4,264,457 | 100% |
At the time of the 2023 census, 67.87% of the population spokeSaraiki, 24.19% identified withPunjabi, and 5.47%Urdu as their first language. In the south, theRiasti dialect blends intoMarwari spoken in India's Rajasthan state.[18]
Buses run daily between Bahawalpur and other major cities of Pakistan. Pakistan's longest national highway, N-5, also passes through town, connecting Bahawalpur to Karachi and Lahore.
The main crops for which Bahawalpur is recognized are cotton, sugarcane, wheat, sunflower seeds, rape/mustard seed, and rice. Bahawalpur mangoes, citrus, dates, and guavas are some of the fruits exported out of the country. Vegetables include onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes, and carrots. Being an expanding industrial city, the government has revolutionized and liberalized various markets allowing the caustic soda, cotton ginning and pressing, flour mills, fruit juices, general engineering, iron, and steel re-rolling mills, looms, oil mills, poultry feed, sugar, textile spinning, textile weaving, vegetable ghee and cooking oil industries to flourish.
28°50′N71°40′E / 28.833°N 71.667°E /28.833; 71.667
Neighbourhoods ofBahawalpur | ||
|---|---|---|
Administrations:Bahawalpur Division andBahawalpur District | ||
| Tehsils |  | |
| Cities | ||
| Towns and councils | ||
| Villages | ||
Website:Bahawalpur District atNRB | ||
Provincial capital:Lahore | ||
| Bahawalpur |  | |
| Dera Ghazi Khan | ||
| Faisalabad | ||
| Gujranwala | ||
| Gujrat | ||
| Lahore | ||
| Mianwali | ||
| Multan | ||
| Rawalpindi | ||
| Sahiwal | ||
| Sargodha | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
