Vehari also spelled Vihari (), is a city and the headquarters of Vehari District in the

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 ...

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 Pakistan's 62nd largest city. Vehari is about from the historical city of

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...

. Vehari is located at the Multan-Delhi Road constructed by Indian Muslim Emperor

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

. It is at an altitude of .,

Location

It is from the regional metropolis of Multan, from

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 ...

, from

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 ...

, from

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 ...

, from

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

, from

Hasilpur Hasilpur (Punjabi and ur, ), is a city in Hasilpur Tehsil of Bahawalpur District in southern Punjab, Pakistan. The city is located between the Satluj River and the Indian border and lies east of the district Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a ...

, from

Mailsi Mailsi () is a city in southern Punjab, Pakistan. It is the headquarters of Mailsi Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of Vehari District. Description It is one of the largest tehsil of Vehari District; the cities of Lodhran and Vehari wer ...

, from Kacha Khuh, from Burewala, from Luddan, from Arifwala, from

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 ...

, and about north of the river

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 ...

– the southernmost of the five rivers of 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 ...

Islam Headworks The Islam Headworks, commonly known as Head Islam, is a headworks on the River Sutlej in Hasilpur Tehsil of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is used for irrigation and flood control. The barrage is about north of Hasilpur and about ...

is on this river near Luddan on the Luddan-Vehari canal providing

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

water to both banks of the river, which includes the upper fringes of the

Cholistan Desert The Cholistan Desert ( ur, ; Punjabi: ), also locally known as Rohi (), is a desert in the southern part of Punjab, Pakistan that forms part of the Greater Thar Desert, which extends to Sindh province and the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is on ...

Agriculture

Vehari is known to be a city of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

, among other crops. Vehari has dozens of cotton processing factories and

cottonseed oil Cottonseed oil is cooking oil from the seeds of cotton plants of various species, mainly '' Gossypium hirsutum'' and ''Gossypium herbaceum'', that are grown for cotton fiber, animal feed, and oil. Cotton seed has a similar structure to other oi ...

manufacturing plants;

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

farming and processing is also common. Agricultural products include

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

es in the summer and

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, t ...

and other citrus fruits orange in the winter. The summer in Vehari is extremely hot; the weather became pleasant during October and February but in recent years it has been reduced to barely three months from December to February. During the summers, temperature hit 45 to 50 degree Celsius on a regular basis. The rainfall is very light throughout the year in Vehari. Recent years have seen Vehari struggle for rainfall even during the usually busy monsoon season. When rainfall is light rainfall the land is generally arid and dusty.

History

Vehari district was created in 1976 when it was cut off from Multan district. Vehari District was an agricultural region with forests during the

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

. The

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...

is characterized by Indo-Aryan. The

Abhira The Abhira tribe is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath o ...

Ahir Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...

, Daradas, Kaikayas, Madras,

Pauravas The Pauravas were an ancient dynasty on the Indus (present-day India and Pakistan) to which King Porus may have belonged. Porus and the Pauravas The origins of the Pauravas are still disputed. The Pauravas may be related to the Puru tribe, d ...

, Yaudheyas,

Malavas The Malavas (Brahmi script: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander's invasion ...

and

Kuru Kuru may refer to: Anthropology and history * Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people * Kuru (mythology), part of Meithei mythology * Kuru Kingdom, ...

s invaded, settled and ruled ancient

. After overrunning the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

in 331 BCE,

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

marched into present-day

with an army of 50,000. The Vehari was ruled by

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...

Indo-Greek kingdom The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent (p ...

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 the

Turk Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

and

Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details ...

kingdoms. In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin. In 1005, he conquered the Shahis in

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 ...

and followed it by the conquests 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 later

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 ...

ruled the region. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, 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 ter ...

invaded and occupied Vehari District. During the period of

British rule 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 hims ...

, Vehari district increased in population and importance. Vehari District is the result of construction of the

canal from Sulemanki Head Works on the

and the institution of Nili Bar

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

project in 1925, so called because of the hints of blue in the water of the Sutlej. The ancient history of the district is obscure. The populated areas in ancient times was restricted to the banks of the river Sutlej where seasonal inundation permitted some cultivation. The rest of the area was a vast sandy scrap-land at best affording pastures itinerant herdsmen. The

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

tract formed the state of Fatehpur during the time of

Akbar the Great 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 ...

. This was ruled by Fateh Khan of Joya family who founded and gave his name to the town of Fatehpur. (Fatehpur is still in existence about 15 kilometres to the south of Mailsi and is the oldest town of Mailsi subdivision. It has some remains of archaeological value.) The predominantly Muslim population supported

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

and

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

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

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

s migrated to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

while the

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 ...

refugees from India settled in the Vehari District. The main castes in Vehari are Jatt, Dhudhi-Rajput, Joyia-Rajput, Sheikh, Bhatti-Rajput, Baloch, Khokhars, Daha, Gujjar, Aheer, Arian, Sial, Awan, Langrial.

Education

City has two full-fledged university campuses and two post-graduate colleges for men and women. COMSATS University, Vehari Campus is offering MS and BS programs since 2009. Virtual University Campus is working at Vehari since 2001. The city contains many higher secondary schools and private colleges. Education University is a government-funded and operated campus with more than four faculties and many departments. COMSATS University, Vehari Campus is public sector university funded by ministry of Science and Technology. Pakistan's leading university,

University of Agriculture Faisalabad The University of Agriculture (UAF) is a public research university in Faisalabad, Pakistan. History Origins The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Urdu: ), (formerly: ''Punjab Agricultural College and Research Institute''), is a univers ...

(UAF), Bahaudin Zikriya University Multan,

University of Education The University of Education ( ur, ) (initials: UE), is a public research university located in a residential area of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a multi–campus university whose institutions and campuses are located in different metropol ...

and

Allama Iqbal Open University Allama Iqbal Open University is a public university in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is named after Allama Iqbal. The university is the world's second largest institution of higher learning, with an annual enrollment of 1,121,038 students (), th ...

has a sub-campus in Vehari.

Transport

Vehari is on the southern alternate route of railway and road between

and

, the capital of the province. The northern route is the main route. Both run roughly in a northeasterly direction, almost parallel to each other and only 20 to 30 miles apart at any point. A section of the railway between Multan and Lahore was electrified on the main line between

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 ...

and Lahore during the 1960s; however, in subsequent decades and lately with rapid decline and deterioration of the infrastructure of Pakistan Railway (PR), the electrified section lies in ruins and is not likely to be restored in the foreseeable future. With the new motorway between Multan and Lahore which was due to be completed sometimes in the early part of 2014, Vehari is set to benefit from its proximity to its north.

Culture

The Vehari route goes to Lahore through the religiously renowned city of

, where the

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 ...

saint

Fariduddin Ganjshakar Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar ( ; – 7 May 1266) was a 13th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic, who was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as B� ...

is buried. Thousands of pilgrims come annually to Pakpattan for the saint's Urs celebration which include all sorts of festivities. Selections from his work are included in the

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...

, the

sacred scripture. He was commonly known as "Baba Farid". Power Radio FM 99 has a station for Vehari.

Climate

The climate of the district is hot and dry in summer and cold in winter Amin et al. (2017). The maximum and minimum temperature ranges between 45 °C and 28 °C in summer. During winter, the temperature fluctuates between 21 °C and 5 °C.

Notable personalities

Waqar Younis Waqar Younis Maitla HI (Punjabi, ur, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, Waqar Younis is regarded as one of the great ...

, former Pakistan Cricket Team player and head coach * Saleem Sherwani, hockey player * Tahir Iqbal Chaudhry (MNA Vehari) * Tehmina Daultana (MNA vehari) *

Muhammad Waseem Muhammad Waseem (born 29 August 1987) is a Pakistani professional boxer who challenged twice for the IBF flyweight title in 2018 and in 2022. Known for his quick and swift style of boxing, Waseem is nicknamed "Falcon". Early life Muhammad Wa ...

, hockey player * Mian Muhammad Saqib Khurshid (MPA vehari) * Zubair Tarar (

Poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

)

References

Amin A, Nasim W, Mubeen M et al (2016) Regional climate assessment of precipitation and temperature in southern Punjab (Pakistan) using SimCLIM climate model for different temporal scales. TheorApplClimatol. doi:10.1007/s00704-016-1960-1

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Vehari District