The Bar Region, or the Bars (), is an area in central

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, now part of the Punjab Province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. The area consists of agricultural land that was cleared in the nineteenth century for the then 'new' canal irrigation system that the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

were developing at the time. The soil of the Bar Region is fertile. The plains of fertile land have been created by the stream deposits driven by the many rivers flowing from the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. The area stretches from the river Sutlej to the river

Chenab The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul ...

and down to the junction of two rivers

Jehlum Jhelum (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for pro ...

and

. The word ''bar'' in

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 ...

refers to a threshold, an outer space, an area away from the human settlement, a barrier between populated area and wild forest, a natural jungle. So the area between two rivers that formed a natural barrier between two different settlements was called ''bar''. All the 'Bar Regions' had and still have almost the same or similar culture and language or dialect with slight variations. The 'Bar' is further divided into five regions: *The

Sandal Bar The Sandal Bar ( pa, ) is a region between the rivers Chenab and Ravi in Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the southern part of Rechna Doab. It spreads over almost in width (west to east) and in length (north to south). "Bar", in the local ...

(the area between the Ravi and

rivers). The great Punjabi folk tales or epic love stories like those of

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...

and

Mirza Sahiban ''Mirza Sahiban'' ( pa, ਮਿਰਜ਼ਾ ਸਾਹਿਬਾਂ, , ') is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are ''Heer Ranjha'', ''Sohni Mahiwal'' and ''Sassi Punnun''. There are five other popular folklor ...

happened in the Sandal Bar. Sandal Bar also was home to

Dulla Bhatti Dulla Bhatti (also known as Dullah Bhatti and Rai Abdullah Bhatti) is a Punjabi folk hero who supposedly came from the Punjab region and led a revolt against Mughal rule during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He is entirely absent fro ...

who rebelled and fought against the centralised scheme of agricultural revenue collection (Lagaan) of

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Akbar *

Kirana Bar Kirana Bar is a portion of the Jech Doab, it takes its name from the Kirana Hills found here. It convers the area between the western side of Chenab and the eastern side of Jehlum. The hills are not, as generally supposed, outliers of the Salt Ra ...

(the area between the western side of

Chenab River The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul regi ...

and the eastern side of

rivers) *

Neeli Bar Neeli Bar (Urdu نیلی بار) is a geographical region in Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. It is between the rivers Ravi River, Ravi and Satluj. "Bar" is the name given to areas in Punjab which were thick forests before the arrival of the m ...

(the area between the Ravi and Sutlej rivers) * Ganji Bar (the area between the Sutlej and dry river bed of the

Hakra The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending i ...

also called the

Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

). Ganji Bar was also home to

Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal ( pa, ; – 21 September 1857), widely known as Nawab of Jhamra, was a Punjabi Muslim chieftain of the Kharal tribe. He led rebellion in the Bar region of Punjab against the British East India Company in the War of Indep ...

(1785–1857), a

i freedom activist and

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; a ...

, who fought against the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

in the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

.Punjab Notes: Bar: forgotten glory of Punjab
Dawn (newspaper), Published 13 June 2014, Retrieved 3 September 2020 * The Gondal Bar (The area of kirana bar between jehlum and chenab rivers which includes some area of the district gujrat and all district Mandibahaudin and some parts of sargodha district (bhalwal tehsil) Most of the Bar now forms part of the modern

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

Jhang Jhang (Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 18th largest city of Pakistan by population. The historic ...

, Tob Tek Singh,

Hafizabad District Hafizabad District ( Punjabi and ur, ) is located in Punjab, Pakistan. Hafizabad was made a district in 1993; formerly, it was a tehsil of Gujranwala District. It is situated in central Punjab and is known for its rice industry on the agricult ...

, Okara,

Vehari Vehari also spelled Vihari (), is a city and the headquarters of Vehari District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 62nd largest city. Vehari is about from the historical city of Multan. Vehari is located at the Multan-Delhi ...

Khanewal Khanewal () is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population. Khanewal is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the caste ‘Daha’ (A Su ...

Pakpattan Pakpattan (Punjabi and ), often referred to as Pākpattan Sharīf (; ''"Noble Pakpattan"''), is the capital city of the Pakpattan District, located in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 48th largest city of Pakistan by population according ...

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as t ...

Chiniot Chiniot (Urdu and pa, ) is a city and the administrative headquarter of Chiniot District in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the river Chenab, it is the 28th largest city of Pakistan. It is also known for its intric ...

Hafizabad Hafizabad (Urdu and pa, ) is a city and capital of Hafizabad District located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 31st largest city of Pakistan. It is also a Tehsil. Ancient history Hafizabad is an old city in Punjab, Pakistan. In 327 BC, duri ...

Nankana Sahib Nankana Sahib () is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is the mos ...

Bahawalnagar Bahawalnagar (Punjabi, ur, ), is the capital city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Bahawalnagar is the headquarter of the district and tehsil as well.

Mandi Bahauddin Mandi Bahauddin (Urdu and pa, ) is a city in northern Punjab, Pakistan. It is also the capital of Mandi Bahauddin District. It is the 41st largest city of Pakistan by population according to the 2017 census. It has exellent agricultural land ...

and

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 21st largest city of Pakistan by population and the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is appro ...

districts of the

province in

. The

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of these districts have similar culture and speak Jatki/ Jangli dialect of Punjabi.Geo-political history of Punjab region
The Nation (newspaper), Published 29 September 2015, Retrieved 3 September 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tribes Of The Bar Region Of The Punjab Punjab Historical regions of Pakistan

See also

References