Nankana Sahib () is a city and capital of

Nankana Sahib District Nankana Sahib District ( pa, ; ur, ) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Nankana Sahib is the seat of the district government, and Shahkot is the largest urban center. The district of Nankana Sahib is located about west of La ...

in the

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 ...

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 List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It is named after the first Guru of the

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...

, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is the most important religious site for the Sikh religion. It is located about west of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and about east of

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 Pak ...

. According to the census of 2017 the city has a population of 79,540 inhabitants. Until 2005, it was a part of the

Sheikhupura District Sheikhupura District ( pa, ; ur, ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura district. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of ...

History

The township was founded by Rai Bhoi, a Hindu and thus was known as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi. His great-grand son

Rai Bular Bhatti Rai Bular, (died c. 1515 or 1518) was a Muslim Rajput landlord of the Bhati clan during the latter half of the 15th century. He inherited the position as ''zamindar'' of Talwandi from his father Rai Bhoi. Although a Muslim Rajput, Rai was in ...

, renamed it as 'Nankana Sahib' after the birth of Guru Nanak. The

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib Gurdwara Janam Asthan ( Punjabi , Urdu: ; Punjabi : ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਜਨਮ ਅਸਥਾਨ), also referred to as Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, is a highly revered gurdwara that is situated at the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak ...

, originally constructed in around 1600 CE was renovated in 1819–20 CE by Gian-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh The Sikh Conference of Panjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Peshawar, Kangra and Hazara. During the

Akali movement The Akali movement , also called the Gurdwara Reform Movement, was a campaign to bring reform in the gurdwaras (the Sikh places of worship) in India during the early 1920s. The movement led to the introduction of the Sikh Gurdwara Bill in 1925, w ...

, on 20 February 1921, Narain Das, the

Udasi Udasi (Gurmukhi: ਉਦਾਸੀ ਸੰਪਰਦਾ; ''udāsī saparadā'') is a religious sect of ascetic ''sadhus'' centred in northern India. Becoming custodians of Sikh shrines in the 18th century, they were notable interpreters and spreade ...

mahant Mahant () is a religious superior, in particular the chief of a temple or the head of a monastery in Indian religions. James Mallinson, one of the few westerners to be named as a mahant, describes the position of a mahant as a combination of a ...

(clergy) of the gurdwara at Nankana Sahib, ordered his men to fire on Akali protesters, leading to the

Nankana massacre The Nankana massacre (or Saka Nankana Sahib) in Nankana Sahib gurdwara on 20 February 1921, at that time a part of the British India but today in modern-day Pakistan. Between 140 and 260 Sikhs were killed, including children as young as seven, ...

. The firing was widely condemned, and an agitation was launched until the control of this historic Janam Asthan Gurdwara was restored to the Sikhs. Again in the 1930s and 1940s the Sikhs added more buildings and more architectural design.

Geography

Nankana Sahib and it surroundings were formerly a

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

. In May 2005, the provincial government raised the status of Nankana Sahib to a district as a way of promoting development in the area. The present status is District Nankana Sahib has three tehsils: Nankana Sahib, Shah Kot, and Sangla Hill. Before December 2008, District Nankana Sahib also included Safdarabad Tehsil. There are plans to construct a university as well as hospitals and health care facilities by the district government with mutual interest of local communities and family of Rai Bular. In 2007, the Pakistan government announced a plan to set up a university on Sikh religion and culture at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak. Chairman of Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Gen (R) Zulfikar Ali Khan, said that "The international Guru Nanak University planned at Nankana Sahib would have the best architecture, curricula and research centre on Sikh religion and culture". In 2019 after prolonged efforts of the Sikh community the historical Gurudwara on Nankana sahib was given direct access to pilgrims via the

Kartarpur corridor The Kartarpur Corridor ( pa, ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ ਲਾਂਘਾ , , translit=kartārpur lāṅghā; ur, , translit=kartárpúr ráhdári) is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, ne ...

project. The first batch of Sikh pilgrims arrived in Pakistan on 12 November, the historical occasion of the 550th gurupurab (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak, the founding guru of Sikhism.

Demographics

Languages

Punjabi is the most widely spoken in

, and the district with the highest proportion of Punjabi speakers in the Punjab province.

Transportation

*Nankana sahib interchange Exit 3 on

M3 motorway (Pakistan) The M-3 ( ur, ) is a north–south motorway in Pakistan, connecting the Lahore end of the M-2 to M-4 near Abdul Hakeem. The M-3 motorway is parallel motorway of M-4 motorway and took eastern route from Lahore to Abdul Hakeem city, while M- ...

*Railway Station Nankana Sahib on

Shorkot–Sheikhupura Branch Line Shorkot–Sheikhupura Branch Line ( ur, ) is one of several branch lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line begins from Shorkot Cantonment Junction station and ends at Qila Sheikhupura Junction. The total len ...

Faisalabad International Airport Faisalabad International Airport is an international airport and standby Pakistan Air Force military base situated on Jhang Road, southwest of the city centre of Faisalabad, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The airport is home to two flyi ...

88 km *

Allama Iqbal International Airport Allama Iqbal International Airport ( ur, , ) is the third largest civilian airport by traffic in Pakistan, after Jinnah International Airport, Karachi and Islamabad International Airport. It serves Lahore, capital of Punjab and second-larges ...

Lahore 96 km * Jaranwala-Nankana Road

Notable places

Quba Masjid The Quba Mosque ( ar, مَسْجِد قُبَاء, Masjid Qubāʾ) is a mosque located on the outskirts of Medina, Saudi Arabia. Initially, the mosque was built off Medina in the village of Quba, before Medina expanded to include this village. De ...

(A replica of Quba Masjid of Madina) *

Gurdwara Janam Asthan Gurdwara Janam Asthan (Punjabi language, Punjabi , Urdu: ; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਜਨਮ ਅਸਥਾਨ), also referred to as Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, is a highly revered gurdwara that is situated at the site where ...

* Nankana Lake Resort * Residency of Baba Guru Nanak *Gurdwara Patti Sahib *Gurdwara Bal Leela *Gurdwara Mal Ji Sahib *Gurdwara Kiara Sahib *Gurdwara Tambu Sahib And other historical

Gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

s of

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

Notable people

founder and first of the

Sikh Gurus The Sikh gurus ( Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the found ...

* Mohammad Irfan Pakistani cricketer * Rai Mansab Ali Khan * Rai Rashid Ahmed Khan * Shizra Mansab Ali Khan *

Ganga Ram Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram (born Ganga Ram Agarwal; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927) was an Indian civil engineer and architect. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of Lahore, then in colonial India and now in modern Pakistan, cau ...

Ijaz Shah Ijaz Ahmed Shah is a Pakistani politician, former officer of the Pakistan Army, and a former Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer.Babra Sharif Babra Sharif ( ur, ), (born 10 December 1954) is a Pakistani film actress, most known for her roles from the mid-1970s to the 1980s. She started her career in television commercials. She has worked with many famous names of her time, including Sh ...

film actor *

Barjees Tahir Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir (; born 20 April 1948) is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018. Previously, he was a member of the National Assembly between 1990 and May 2018. He s ...

Education

Universities/Higher Education Institutes

Virtual University of Pakistan The Virtual University of Pakistan (VU) ( ur, ) is a public university with its headquarters in M.A Jinnah Campus, Defence Road, Off Raiwind Road Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It mainly focuses on providing distant learning programs through utilizat ...

Nankana Sahib Campus *

Baba Guru Nanak University Baba Guru Nanak University ( Punjabi and ur, ; ''bābā gurū nānaka yūnīvarasiṭī'') is a public university located in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan, the birthplace of Guru Nanak. On 28 October 2019, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imra ...

Colleges

* Government G.N Degree College, Nankana Sahib * Government College of Commerce Nankana Sahib * Government Govt. G.N. Degree College For Women, Nankana Sahib * Punjab Group of Colleges Nankana Sahib * Radiant College Nankana Sahib * The Message Campus Nankana Sahib * Superior college, Nankana Sahib * The City Grammar school & College Nankana Sahib * Govt College of Commerce Nankana Sahib * Al-Muarif School & College Nankana Sahib

Schools

Dar-e-Arqam Schools Dar-e-Arqam schools system (Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Allied Schools (Pakistan) Allied Schools is a school system and a group of schools in Pakistan. This school system is working under the Punjab Group of Colleges. Its founder & chairman is Mian Amer Mahmood Mian Amer Mahmood, (born 25 July 1960) is a Pakistani bu ...

* Pak Garrison SchoolPak Garrison Buland School System
/ref>

Police stations

There are two Police stations in Nankana Sahib * Police Station City Nankana Sahib * Police Station Sadar Nankana Sahib

Hospitals

* District Headquarter Hospital

References

{{Authority control Cities in Punjab (Pakistan) Sikh places Sikhism in Pakistan Populated places in Nankana Sahib District Populated places in Punjab, Pakistan Guru Nanak Dev Memorials to Guru Nanak Nankana Sahib District