Qadian (; ; ) is a city and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

Gurdaspur district Gurdaspur district is a district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, and the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala a ...

, north-east of

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

, situated north-east of

Batala Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corpo ...

city in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

. Qadian is the birthplace of

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphoric ...

, the founder of the

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

movement within

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. It remained the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya movement until the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947.

History

Qadian was established in 1530 by

Mirza Hadi Baig }; fl. 1530 CE) was an Indian nobleman and Qadi (Islamic judge) of Central Asian origin and a direct ancestor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. He migrated from Samarqand, in what is today Uzbekistan, to northern India an ...

, a religious scholar dedicated to Islam and the first Qazi in the area. Mirza Hadi Baig was from a royal household of

Mirza Mirza may refer to: * Mirza, Kamrup, town in Assam, India * Mirza (name), historical royal title & noble * ''Mirza'', the genus of giant mouse lemur * "Mirza", song by Nino Ferrer * ''Mirza – The Untold Story'', Punjabi action romance film wri ...

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 ...

. He migrated from

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

and settled in Punjab where he was granted a vast tract of land comprising 80 villages by the emperor

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 his ...

. Because of his religious beliefs, he named the center of the 80 villages ''Islam Pur Qazi'' and governed from there. Over time, the name of the town changed to ''Qazi Maji'', then ''Qadi'', and eventually it became known as 'Qadian'. Qadian and the surrounding areas later fell to the Ramgarhia Sikhs under the leadership of

Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Jassa Singh Ramgarhia (1723–1803) was a prominent Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy. He was the founder of the Ramgarhia Misl, Early life Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was born into a Sikh family with surname Bhambra in 172 ...

who offered the ruling Qazis, two villages which they refused. In 1834, during the rule of

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

, the region consisting of Qadian and five adjoining villages was given to

Mirza Ghulam Murtaza }) (c.1791 – June 1876) was an Indian nobleman, chief, military officer and physician, best known for being the father of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. He belonged to a family of landed nobility within the Mughal Emp ...

, father of Ghulam Ahmad in return for military support in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, Mahadi, the

Kulu valley Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport at B ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

and Hazara. Qadian group-foto

As the home of the Ahmadiyya Movement

A remote and unknown town, Qadian emerged as a centre of religious learning in 1889, when

established the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

. In 1891 it became the venue for the Community's annual gatherings. Qadian remained the administrative headquarters and capital of the

Ahmadiyya Caliphate The Ahmadiyya Caliphate is a non-political caliphate established on May 27, 1908 following the death of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who claimed to be the promised Messiah and Mahdi, the expected redeemer aw ...

until the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947, when much of the Community migrated to Pakistan. Following the partition, Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, the second

Khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalifa ...

of the Community, carefully oversaw the safe migration of Ahmadis from Qadian to the newly founded state, instructing 313 men, including two of his own sons, to stay in Qadian and guard the sites holy to Ahmadis, conferring upon them the title ''darveshān-i qādiyān'' (the dervishes of Qadian) and eventually moving the headquarters to

Rabwah Rabwah (Urdu, pnb, ), officially known as Chenab Nagar ( ur, ), is a city in Chiniot District, Chiniot, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan on the bank of Chenab River. It was the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community since Septemb ...

, Pakistan.

Geography

Qadian is located at . It has an average elevation of 250 metres (820 feet).

Demographics

Qadian has a population of 23,632. Males constituted 54% of the population and females 46%. Qadian has an average literacy rate of 75%, slightly higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 70%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Languages

Most of the residents of Qadian are speakers of the

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 m ...

. A significant minority, about a 1/10 of the population, also speak the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Qadian Assembly Constituency Qadian Assembly constituency (Sl. No.: 6), also known as Qadian Assembly constituency, is a Punjab Legislative Assembly constituency covering Qadian in Gurdaspur district, Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also ...

Notable monuments

* Jamia Ahmadiyya Qadian *

Aqsa Mosque, Qadian The Aqsa Mosque or Masjid Aqsa is an Ahmadi mosque in Qadian, India. The mosque was built by Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, father of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, in 1876. The mosque had been renovated and extended repeate ...

* Bahishti Maqbara cemetery * Mubarak Mosque

Hospitals

* Noor Hospital

Education

* Jamia Ahmadiyya Qadian

Notable people

Although Qadian is relatively remote and has a very small population, it has many notable historical, religious and political figures;

Religious Leaders

Ahmadiyya Caliphs

Hakeem Noor-ud-Din Hakeem Noor-ud-Din (also spelt: Hakim Nur-ud-Din) ( ar, حکیم نور الدین) (8 January 1834 – 13 March 1914) was a close companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, and was chosen as his first successor on ...

from 1908 to 1914 *

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad ( ur, ) (12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965), was the second caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثاني, ''khalīfatul masīh al-thāni''), leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the e ...

from 1914 to 1965 *

Mirza Nasir Ahmad Hāfiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad ( ur, ) (16 November 1909 – 9 June 1982) was the third caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثالث, ''khalīfatul masīh al-Thālith''), head of the Ahmadiyya Community. He was elected as the third successor o ...

from 1965 to 1982 *

Mirza Tahir Ahmad Mirza Tahir Ahmad ( ur, ) (18 December 1928 – 19 April 2003) was the Ahmadiyya Caliphate, fourth caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الرابع, ''khalīfatul masīh al-rābi'') and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya, Ahmadiyya Communi ...

from 1982 to 2003

Poets

Shiv Kumar Batalvi Shiv Kumar Batalvi (23 July 1936 - 6 May 1973) was an Indian poet, writer and playwright of the Punjabi language. He was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony, due to that he ...

Military Leaders

Dilbagh Singh Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VM (10 March 1926 – 9 February 2001) was the head of the Indian Air Force from 1981 to 1984, as Chief of the Air Staff. He was the second Sikh to hold that position. Dilbagh Singh was commissio ...

Politicians

Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa is an Indian politician and a member of Indian National Congress. He is a Member of Punjab Legislative Assembly (MLA) and represents Fatehgarh Churian. He heads the Ministries of Rural Development Now Animal Husband ...

Partap Singh Bajwa Partap Singh Bajwa is an Indian politician having served as a member of the Lok Sabha representing Gurdaspur in Punjab from 2009 to 2014. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Punjab. Early life He is the son of Satnam Singh Bajwa ...