Montgomery District was an administrativedivision of the formerPunjab Province ofBritish India, in what is nowPakistan. Named afterSir Robert Montgomery, it lay in theBari Doab, or the tract between theSutlej and theRavi rivers,^[1] extending also across the Ravi into theRechna Doab, which lies between the Ravi and theChenab. The administrative headquarters was the town of Montgomery, present-daySahiwal. In 1967, the name of Montgomery District was changed toSahiwal District.^[2]

The population according to the 1901 census of India was 463,586, a decrease of 0.4% in the decade due to emigration to the Chenab Colony.^[1] The principal crops in the early 20th century were wheat, pulse, cotton and fodder; camels were bred for export.^[1] The leading industries were cotton, silk and lacquered woodwork, and there were factories for ginning and pressing cotton.^[1] The district was traversed by the main line of theNorth-Western Railway, fromLahore toMultan; it is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system and also from the Ravi.^[1]

The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoralJats, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India.^[1] The sites ofKamalia andHarappa contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins^[1] left by theIndus Valley Civilisation, while many other remains of ancient cities or villages lie scattered along the river bank, or dotted the then-barren stretches of the central waste. In 997 CE,Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over theGhaznavid dynasty empire established by his father,Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered theShahis inKabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of northernPunjab region. TheDelhi Sultanate and laterMughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantlyMuslim due tomissionarySufi saints whosedargahs dot the landscape ofPunjab region. After the decline of theMughal Empire, theSikh Empire invaded and occupied Sahiwal. The pastoral tribes of this barren expanse did not appear to have paid more than a nominal allegiance to the Muslim rulers, and even in the 19th century, whenRanjit Singh extended theSikh supremacy as far asMultan, the population for the most part remained in a chronic state of rebellion. In 1847British influence was first exercised in the district when an officer was deputed to effect a summary settlement of the land revenue.^[1] Direct British rule was commenced on the annexation of the Punjab in 1849.^[1][3]

During theIndian Rebellion of 1857, there was a general rising of the Jat clans, the District formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from Sirsa and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other fierce Jat clans. The District authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till August 26, when the prisoners in jail made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained atGogera, broke his arrest, and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains.On September 16 they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion.Kamalia was sacked; and Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from Multan, was besieged for some days atChichawatni on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements from Lahore. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale.^[4]

The district was also home to the 71st Punjabis, a short-lived unit that uniquely among Indian army recruits were drawn from Punjab's Christian population.^[5]

The district was part of theLahore Division of Punjab Province. The predominantly Muslim population supportedMuslim League andPakistan Movement. After theindependence ofPakistan in 1947, the minorityHindus andSikhs migrated toIndia while theMuslim refugees fromIndia settled in the Montgomery District.

In 1967, the name of Montgomery District was changed toSahiwal District.

The district was administratively subdivided into 4tehsils, these were:^[6]

• Montgomery
• Gogera
• Depalpur
• Pakpattan

The district had an area of 4,771 sq mi (12,360 km²) and included the present-day districts ofSahiwal,Pakpattan,Okara, and portions ofShekhupura,Faisalabad,Toba Tek Singh, andVehari.

It was bounded by the Districts of Lahore on the north-east, Jhang on the north-west, and Multan on the south-west, while on the south-east it bordered the NativeState of Bahawalpur and the British District ofFirozpur.^[7]

In the former tract a fringe of cultivated lowland skirted the bank of either river, but the whole interior upland consisted of a desert plateau partially overgrown with brushwood and coarse grass, and impenetrable jungle in places.^[1] On the farther side of the Ravi, again, the country at once assumed the same desert aspect.

Religious groups in Montgomery District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1881[8][9][10]		1891[11]		1901[12]		1911[13][14]		1921[15]		1931[16]		1941[17]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	330,495	77.48%	361,923	72.45%	334,474	72.15%	399,723	74.67%	513,055	71.88%	697,542	69.77%	918,564	69.11%
Hinduism[a]	83,974	19.69%	121,481	24.32%	109,945	23.72%	66,803	12.48%	94,791	13.28%	136,783	13.68%	210,966	15.87%
Sikhism	11,964	2.8%	16,032	3.21%	19,092	4.12%	68,175	12.74%	95,520	13.38%	148,155	14.82%	175,064	13.17%
Christianity	93	0.02%	85	0.02%	66	0.01%	581	0.11%	10,408	1.46%	17,245	1.72%	24,432	1.84%
Zoroastrianism	2	0%	0	0%	1	0%	4	0%	0	0%	7	0%	4	0%
Jainism	1	0%	0	0%	8	0%	13	0%	12	0%	38	0%	49	0%
Buddhism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	2	0%	3	0%
Judaism	—N/a	—N/a	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	21	0%
Total population	426,529	100%	499,521	100%	463,586	100%	535,299	100%	713,786	100%	999,772	100%	1,329,103	100%
Note1:British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historicPunjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: Presently known asSahiwal District, following district renaming in 1978.

Religion in theTehsils of Montgomery District (1921)^[15]

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[b]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Montgomery Tehsil	156,965	70.49%	37,080	16.65%	23,737	10.66%	4,887	2.19%	6	0%	0	0%	222,675	100%
Okara Tehsil	104,015	69.94%	15,091	10.15%	24,481	16.46%	5,123	3.44%	6	0%	0	0%	148,716	100%
Dipalpur Tehsil	151,572	75.42%	20,106	10%	29,210	14.53%	90	0.04%	0	0%	0	0%	200,978	100%
Pakpattan Tehsil	100,503	71.07%	22,514	15.92%	18,092	12.79%	308	0.22%	0	0%	0	0%	141,417	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.

Religion in theTehsils of Montgomery District (1941)^[17]

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism[a]		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[c]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Montgomery Tehsil	289,161	67.56%	71,018	16.59%	55,258	12.91%	12,265	2.87%	33	0.01%	294	0.07%	428,029	100%
Okara Tehsil	203,602	69.58%	41,008	14.01%	39,682	13.56%	8,288	2.83%	10	0%	37	0.01%	292,627	100%
Dipalpur Tehsil	210,835	76.68%	37,743	13.73%	26,077	9.48%	314	0.11%	0	0%	3	0%	274,972	100%
Pakpattan Tehsil	214,966	64.46%	61,197	18.35%	54,047	16.21%	3,234	0.97%	6	0%	25	0.01%	333,475	100%
Note1: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. Note2:Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labeled as "Indian Christians" oncensus. Does not includeAnglo-Indian Christians orBritish Christians, who were classified under "Other" category.

30°35′N73°20′E / 30.583°N 73.333°E /30.583; 73.333

• Districts of British India
• Sahiwal District

• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata