Kasur (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

, in the Pakistani province of

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

. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasur is the 24th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is also known for being the burial place of the 17th-century Sufi-poet Bulleh Shah.the most famous shrine of Hazrat syed lal habiab zedi grand son of imam hussain a.s . It is farther west of the border with neighboring India, and bordered to

, Sheikhupura, and the Okara District of Punjab Province. The city is an aggregation of 26 fortified hamlets overlooking the alluvial valleys of the Beas and Sutlej rivers.

Etymology

Kasur derives its name from the

and Persian word ''qasur'' (), meaning "palaces," or "forts." Hindu traditions claim that Kasur was founded by, and named for, Prince Kusha of the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'', son of the Hindu deities

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

and

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

. According to that belief, 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 dates it back to 1525, when it was found as a fortified settlement.

History

Early

Kasur region was an agricultural region with forests during the Indus Valley civilization. The Kasur region was ruled variously by the Maurya Empire, Indo-Greek kingdom,

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, ...

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

, White Huns,

Kushano-Hephthalites The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during t ...

and Kabul Shahi kingdoms. The region is also said to have been visited by the Chinese pilgrim

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

in 633 AD. Alexander Cunningham writes about his visit describing the place filled with tombs,

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s, 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 the Beas (

Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the In ...

) opposite to the city of

Arrival of Islam

Ghaznavids

In 1005 CE, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, took over the region under the Ghaznavid dynasty. This led to the introduction of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

in the Northern

area, after being conquered.

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

missionaries were sent to the region in order to preach Islam which made the

Punjab region 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 ...

predominantly

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. The city was later under the rule of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

and the Mughals.

Kheshgi Dynasty

Kasur was established as a city by the Kheshgi tribe of

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

from

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

who had migrated to the region in 1525 from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

during the reign of

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through hi ...

and built several small forts in the area, establishing the Kheshgi Dynasty. The city was built as an aggregation of about twelve fortified hamlets, known as kots () forming a considerable town. The 12 mahallahs (abodes) were built by the order of Mughal Emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

, named after the heads of various Pashtun families. Some of these forts have been severely damaged over time. Under Mughal rule, the city flourished and was notable for commerce and trade. It became the home of the legendary Sufi saint and celebrated poet, Bulleh Shah, who is buried in a large shrine in the city. After the decline of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, the Kasur region fell into a power vacuum. Kasur was captured by

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

of the Durrani Empire.

Sikh

The Sikhs sacked the city in 1747 under

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period ...

, and again in 1763 after Durrani shifted to Afghanistan. The Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh, captured the city in 1807 in the

Battle of Kasur The Battle of Kasur took place in 1807 between the Sikh Empire and the Afghans. The battle was the first significant Sikh victory over the ruler of Kasur. It was Hari Singh Nalwa's first independent expedition in which the Muslim army surrend ...

. During the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

, the city was occupied by Company forces on February 10, 1846.

British

During 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 ...

, 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. Riots erupted following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, leading to the destruction of civic infrastructure, including the city's railway station.

Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

was imposed on 16 April 1919 in response to the riots.

Modern

Refugee at Balloki, Kasur during partition of India

After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, the minority

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s and Sikhs migrated to India, while Muslim refugees migrated from India and settled in Kasur. Kasur emerged as a major centre of leather tanning after independence, and is home to 1/3rd of Pakistan's tanning industry. Kasur is one of the biggest market and trading hub in the country of hides collection and leather tanning and processing. In recent times, hide traders in Kasur were engaged in smuggling donkey hides, a medicinal demand, to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

via Karachi Port. In January 2018, two protestors were killed in rioting over the rape and murder of

Zainab Ansari Zainab may refer to: * Zainab (given name), an Arabic female given name * Zainab (surname), an Arabic surname {{disambiguation ...

, a seven-year-old girl. There had been 12 similar murders in the past two years, five of which have been linked to one suspect, leading to widespread anger at police failures. In November 2020,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

sponsored a 1,122-km high pressure RLNG pipeline from Port Qasim,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

to Kasur. In May 2021,

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

agreed to change the name of the North-South Gas Pipeline Project to " Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline".

Geography

Kasur is bordered to the north by

, by India to the south and east, it also has borders with Okara and Nankana Sahab district, the city is adjacent to the border of Ganda Singh Wala, a border with its own flag-lowering ceremony.

Ecoregion

Kasur is situated in a subtropical thorn woodland biome (

Northwestern thorn scrub forests The Northwestern thorn scrub forests, presently known as Aravalli west thorn scrub forests, is a xeric shrubland ecoregion of Pakistan and Northern India, stretching along the border lowlands and hills between the two countries. Once covered in ...

) and in the Deserts and xeric shrublands

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

according to the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the W ...

's map of ecological regions in the world.

Climate

Kasur has a hot semi-arid climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BSh''). 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 and 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 and respectively. 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 to . Water logging and salinity has effected a large area of the district making the underground water brackish.

Demography

The population of Kasur is 382,000 as of 2020. The principal tribes residing here include the

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

, Jats, Arains, Dogars, Ansari, Sheikh,

etc. Among them there are also a concentration of

Kashmiris Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India.(a) (subscriptio ...

who had migrated earlier, during partition. There are also Moeens or

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s; they include

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

s (Lohar), carpenters (Tarkhan), ceramicists (Kumhar), barbers, weavers etc.

Religion

The population in Kasur is predominantly

with some small Christian and

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 being Christian minorities.

Notable people

Aseff Ahmad Ali Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali Daula (21 October 1940 – 19 May 2022) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 18th Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 1993 to 1996. He was a senior member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Peoples Party. On ...

, former Foreign Minister * Naveed Anwar, 21st Leader of

Saskatchewan Liberal Party The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was the provincial affiliate of the Liberal Party of Canada until 2009. It was previously one of the two largest parties in the provi ...

Bawa Lal Dayal Bawa Lal Dayal (Lal Das Bairagi) (?–?) was a 14th-century Indian saint. Biography Bawa Lal was born in the village of Kasur near Lahore, Punjab. His father was Bohlamal and his mother was Krishna Devi. He left his home at the age of 8 in s ...

, 14th-century saint * Irshad Ahmed Haqqani, journalist, writer *

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Press ...

, singer and actress *

Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan is a Pakistani politician who had been the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from 2008 to May 2018. He had been a Member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2008 t ...

former speaker Punjab assembly *

Ahmad Raza Khan Kasuri Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri Kheshgi (born 1940) is a Pakistani politician and lawyer. He is the son of Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri (1903-1974) who was assassinated in a car ambush in 1974. Early life and career Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri was born int ...

, former member of National Assembly of Pakistan *

Fauzia Kasuri Fauzia Kasuri ( ur, فوزیہ قصوری, born September 8, 1952) is a Pakistani politician who was until recently one of the central figures of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Career Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Kasuri is a former member and recent ...

, a Pakistani politician and women's activist * Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, former Foreign Minister *

Mahmud Ali Kasuri Mian Mahmud Ali Kasuri (1910–1987) was a prominent Pakistani opposition politician, human rights advocate and lawyer who became a Senior Advocate Supreme Court. He joined the He served in the Indian National Congress (INC) Party before Pakistan' ...

, a Pakistani politician, lawyer and human rights activist *

Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri (1922–1974) was a Pakistani man assassinated in 1974 in a car ambush targeting his son. Ahmad Raza Khan Kasuri, a critic of the country's prime minister, escaped the ambush. The attack was allegedly on the orders of Pak ...

, Pakistani judge, allegedly assassinated by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto * Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, classical vocalist of British India *

Barkat Ali Khan Ustad Barkat Ali Khan (1908 – 19 June 1963) was a Pakistani classical singer, younger brother of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and elder brother of Mubarak Ali Khan, and belonged to the Patiala gharana of music. Early life and career Barkat Ali Khan ...

, classical vocalist of British India *

Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza was a 17th-century Sufi saint and scholar of the Qadiri-Chishti Sufi order, living in Kasur, Punjab. He was also the teacher of the poets Bulleh Shah and Waris Shah. He was the Imam (main spiritual head) of the city of Kasur ...

, spiritual murshid of Bulleh Shah and

Waris Shah Waris Shah ( pa, ; ; 1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of ''Heer Ranjha'' . Background Waris Shah was born in Jandiala Sher Kh ...

* Sardar Muhammad Asif Nakai, Member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly * Sardar Talib Hassan Nakai, Member of National Assembly of Pakistan *

Najam Sethi Najam Aziz Sethi (Urdu, pa, ; born 20 May 1948) is a Pakistani journalist, businessman and cricket administrator, currently serving as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also is the founder of ''The Friday Times'' and ''Vanguar ...

, journalist, writer, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman * Bulleh Shah,

saint and spiritual poet *

Pran Kumar Sharma Pran Kumar Sharma (15 August 1938 – 5 August 2014), better known as Pran, was an Indian cartoonist best known as the creator of '' Chacha Chaudhary'' (1971). He also created other characters like Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo, Raman, and Channi ...

, Indian cartoonist *

Basit Jehangir Sheikh Basit Jehangir Sheikh ( ur, , 13 April 1949 – 20 October 2010) was a Pakistani politician who served as the First District President PPP, District Kasur. He was an active leader in politics. He was one of the youngest founding member Pakis ...

, Politician, youngest founder member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (P.P.P) *

Fateh Muhammad Sial Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sial (1887–1960) was a companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the first Ahmadi missionary sent from India, under the leadership of Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya movement. In 1913, Mirza Basheer-u ...

, first Ahmadi missionary sent from India

References

External links

* Hasan Saeed
Kasur Safe City Project

Minister inspects progress on Kasur Safe City Project
July 27, 2019
Kasur Safe City Project: PSCA connects CCTV cameras with IC3 Lahore
June 26, 2019
CM inaugurates three mega projects in Kasur
July 26, 2019 * Failsal Saeed
Punjab govt all set to launch safe city project in yet another district
April 16, 2019 {{Authority control Populated places in Kasur District Kasur District Places in the Ramayana Populated places in Punjab, Pakistan Cities in Punjab (Pakistan)