Sialkot District (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and ur, ), is one of the districts of Punjab

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

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 located in the Majha region of Panjab, otherwise the northeast of the province. The city of

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Kas ...

is the capital of the district. The Sialkot Cantonment was established in 1852.

Administration

The district is administratively divided into the following four tehsils (subdivisions), which contain a total of 122 Union Councils:Tehsils & Unions in the District of Sialkot – Government of Pakistan

History

Sialkot 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, bet ...

is characterized by Indo-Aryan culture that flourished in Punjab region. The Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Madras, Pauravas, Yaudheyas, Malavas and Kurus invaded, settled and ruled ancient Punjab region. 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 marched into the present-day Punjab region with an army of 50,000. The Sialkot was ruled by Maurya Empire, Indo-Greek kingdom, Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire, 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 th ...

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 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 in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate 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 ...

ruled the region. The legendary history of the District is connected with Raja Salivahan, the reputed founder of the town of Sialkot, and his famous son Rasalu.

Pasrur Pasrur (Punjabi and ur, ), is a city of Sialkot District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Pasrur Tehsil and is administratively subdivided into 26 wards of municipal committee Pasrur. It is located at 32°16'0N 74� ...

is also an ancient place. At an early date the District fell to the

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

s of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

, and under the

Mughals 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 ...

formed the Rechna Doab sarkar of the Subah of Lahore. Under Shah Jahan the sarkar was entrusted to Ali Mardan Khan, the famous engineer, who dug a canal through it to bring water from the Chenab river to the imperial gardens in Lahore. On the decline of the Mughal Empire Ranjit Singh Deo, a Rajput hill chief, extended his sway over the lowlands, owning a nominal allegiance to Delhi. In 1748 he transferred his allegiance to

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 ...

, who added Zafarwal and two other parganas to his fief. Before his death in 1773 Ranjit Deo had secured possession of the whole District, except the Sialkot town and its dependencies, which were held by a Pashtun family. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the station was denuded of British troops; and the Native regiments which were left behind the rose, and, after sacking the jail, treasury, and courthouse, and massacring several of the European inhabitants, marched off towards Delhi, only to be destroyed by Nicholson at Trimmu Ghat. The rest of the Europeans took refuge in the fort, and on the morning after the departure of the rebels order was restored. The only events of interest in the subsequent history of the District are the plague riots that occurred at the villages of Shahzada and Sankhatra in 1901. Numerous mounds are scattered about the District, which mark the sites of ancient villages and towns. None of them, except that on which the Sialkot fort stood, has been excavated, but silver and copper utensils and coins have been dug up from time to time by villagers. Most of the coins are those of Indo-Bactrian kings. The excavations in Sialkot revealed the existence of some old baths, with hot-water pipes of solid masonry. The fort itself, of which very little now remains, is not more than 1,000 years old and is said to have been rebuilt by Shahab-ud-din Ghori at the end of the twelfth century. In 1859, Gurdaspur,

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 Maj ...

and Sialkot were placed in the new division of Sialkot. But in 1884, Gurdaspur along with

again became a part of the Lahore Division. According to the 1901 census, the district had a population of 1,083,909 and contained 7 towns and 2,348 villages. The population at previous three enumerations were: 1,004,695 (1868), 1,012,148 (1881) and 1,119,847 (1891). The population decreased between 1891 and 1901 by 3.2, the decrease being greatest in the Raya tahsil and least in the Daska tahsil. The Chenab Colony was responsible for this fall in population, no less than 103,000 persons having left to take land in the newly irrigated tracts. The district was subdivided into five tehsils, namely: Sialkot, Pasrur, Zafarwal, Raya and Daska, the headquarters of each being at the place from which it is named. The chief towns of the district were Sialkot, Daska, Jamki, Pasrur, Kila Sobha Singh, Zafarwal and Narowal. In 1930, the tehsils of Raya, Daska and Pasrur were split up and parts of these were amalgamated into Gujranwala District. In 1991, the tehsils of Narowal and Shakar Garh (which was tehsil Shankar Garh of Gurdaspur district before 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 s ...

in 1947) were split up and formed into the new Narowal District.

Geography

Sialkot District lies southeast of Gujrat District, southwest of Jammu district (in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

), while

Narowal District Narowal District (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ur, ), is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the province of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab of Pakistan. Narowal city is the capital of the district. During the British rule, Narowal was the town ...

is to the southeast and Gujranwala District is situated to the west. Sialkot district is spread over an area of 3,016 square kilometers. Sunset_at_Head_Marala

Sialkot is hot and humid during the summer and cold during the winter. June and July are the hottest months. The maximum temperature during winter may drop to . The land is generally plain and fertile. The average annual rainfall is about 1000 mm. Over 25.82% of the population of the district is urban.

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census, the district had a population of 3,894,938, of which 1,921,289 were males and 1,973,150 females. Rural population is 2,750,403 while the urban population is 1,144,535. Islam is the predominant religion with 96.04% of the population while

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'' (Χρι ...

are 3.50% of the population. At the time of the 2017 census, 94.92% of the population spoke

, 2.47%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and 1.26%

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languag ...

as their first language. There is a small Hindu community in Sialkot. The Shivala Teja Singh temple is a historic Hindu temple in

Notable people

Historical figures

* Allama Iqbal, poet and philosopher * Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Pakistan's first Foreign Minister and President of the UN-General Assembly * Faiz Ahmad Faiz,Now in

poet and scholar * Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah, great orator, poet and pir, has been president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan * Zafar Ali Khan writer, poet, and journalist who played an important role in the Pakistan Movement * Sir Fazl-i-Hussain was one of the most Influential politicians in the United Punjab * Ubaidullah Sindhi pre-partition Muslim Scholar and leader * Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian politician and twice Prime Minister of India *

Umera Ahmad Umera Ahmed (Punjabi, ur, ) is a Pakistani writer, author and screenwriter. She is best known for her novels and plays '' Shehr-e-Zaat'', '' Pir-e-Kamil'', '' Zindagi Gulzar Hai'', ''Alif'', '' Durr-e-Shehwar'', '' Daam'', '' Man-o-Salwa'', ' ...

famous Urdu fiction writer of modern era *

Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad Malhi Naseer Ahmad Malhi ( ur, ) (15 August 1911 – 12 July 1991) was a Pakistani politician, known for playing a pivotal role in the formation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Malhi is recognised as one of the nation's activists of the Paki ...

a leading member of the Muslim League *

Abdul Hakim Sialkoti Abdul Hakim Sialkoti (1560–1657) (ملا عبدالحکیم سیالکوٹی) was a Muslim scholar. He was born in Sialkot during the era of Mughal Emperor Akbar. He was the son of Sheikh Shams-ud-Din. He was a scholar of Qur'an and a leading ph ...

famous Muslim intellectual of 16th century * Chaudhry Sir Shahab-ud-Din Virk, lawyer and politician in pre-partition.

Military

* Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhry was the first Chief of Air Staff * Air Marshal

M Latif Tambra M, or m, is the thirteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''em'' (pronounced ), plural ''ems''. History ...

, Chief of Air Staff *

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Khalid Shameem Wynne the

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee

Journalists and poets

* Kuldip Nayar, Indian journalist *

Amjad Islam Amjad Amjad Islam Amjad, PP, Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Urdu: امجد اسلام امجد) (born 4 August 1944) is an Urdu poet, drama writer and lyricist from Pakistan. The author of more than 40 books in a career spanning 50 years,Ally Adnan (Septemb ...

, Urdu writer, lyricist, and poet * Rajinder Singh Bedi, writer * Khalid Hasan, who was born in Srinagar but studied and lived in Sialkot. * Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist who was born in Sialkot * Abdal Bela, Urdu writer

Politicians

* Chaudhry Amir Hussain, former Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly, former acting President of Pakistan and Federal Minister of Pakistan 3 times * Khawaja Muhammad Safdar, Pakistani politician and former acting President of Pakistan *

Syed Iftikhar Ul Hassan Pir Syed Iftikhar Ul Hassan Shah (; 2 February 1942 – 2 August 2020), also known as Zahray Shah, was a Pakistani politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, since August 2018. Previously he was a member of the National ...

, Politician from Allo Mahar, re-elected several time as a Member of the National Assembly. * Khawaja Muhammad Asif, politician and Federal Minister of Pakistan * Firdous Ashiq Awan, former federal Minister *

Mumtaz Kahloon Mohammad Mumtaz Akhtar Kahloon (born 1 November 1956; Sialkot, Punjab) is the District President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Sargodha District. He has also served as the Chairman of the ''National Vocational and Technical Education Commission o ...

, politician * Gulzari Lal Nanda, former acting Indian Prime Minister

Scientist

Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema (1940 – 16 February 2019) was a Pakistani political scientist, cricketer, and a professor of International Relations and was last working as Dean, Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defence University, Islamabad - ...

Artists

* Waheed Murad, Pakistani film actor *

Rajender Kumar Rajender Kumar (born 1985) is an Indian wrestler. He beat Pakistan's Azhar Hussain in the Commonwealth Games Delhi. Career Kumar started playing wrestling at the school level in Gurukul, Kurukshetra from 1995. In the 2010 Com ...

, Indian film actor *

A. K. Hangal Avtar Kishan Hangal (1 February 1914 – 26 August 2012) was an Indian freedom fighter from 1929 to 1947 and also stage actor from 1936 to 1965 and later became a character actor in Hindi language films from 1966 to 2005. His most notable role ...

, Indian film actor *

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was o ...

, Indian film actor, born in Tehsil Shakargarh, now in Sialkot. * Ghulam Ali, ghazal singer

Sportsmen

* Shoaib Malik, former captain of Pakistani cricket team * Ijaz Ahmed, cricketer, played for Pakistan national cricket team. * Zaheer Abbas, Pakistani cricketer * Abdul Rahman, Pakistani cricketer *

Shahnaz Sheikh Shahnaz Sheikh (born 21 March 1949) is a retired Pakistani field hockey player. He was born at Sialkot, Pakistan. He is related to Olympians Zahid Sheikh and Tariq Sheikh. In 2014, he was the head coach of Pakistan National Hockey Team. ...

, Pakistan national hockey team player *

Mansoor Amjad Mansoor Amjad (, ), born 14 December 1987, is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team and Leicestershire County Cricket Club Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clu ...

Zahid Fazal Zahid Fazal (born November 10, 1973) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 9 Tests and 19 ODIs from 1990 to 1995. A right-handed batsman, he made his first-class debut in February 1990 for Pakistan Automobiles Corporation, scoring a half ...

, Pakistan national cricket team players. * Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwean cricket player * Jawaid Iqbal, Hong Kong national cricket player *

Nasir Ali Nasir Ali (born 1 January 1959 in Sialkot) is a Pakistani field hockey player. He played at fullback position. He was a player in the National hockey team from 1981 to 1988 where he played 150 matches for his country and scored 19 goals . He ...

, Pakistan national hockey team player *

Asif Bajwa Asif Muhammad Bajwa OLY ( ur, ) (born 8 March 1969) is a former field hockey player who played for Pakistan from 1992 to 1996. He later became the team's manager and chief coach. As of 2022, he is the secretary general of Pakistan ...

, Pakistan national hockey team player *

Tariq Sheikh Tariq Sheikh (born 11 December 1968) is a field hockey player who remained a member of Pakistan National Hockey Team from 1983 to 1991. He was born at Sialkot. He is cousin of Shahnaz Sheikh and nephew of Zahid Sheikh . He played 1 ...

, Pakistan national hockey team player * Muhammad Waqas, Pakistan national hockey team player * Mahmood Hussain, Pakistan national hockey team player *

Maqsood Hussain Maqsood Hussain (born 10 April 1962, in Sialkot), is a Pakistani field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round ...

, Pakistan national hockey team player * Munir Bhatti, Pakistan national hockey team player * Kamran Ashraf, Pakistan national hockey team player * Haris Sohail, Pakistani cricketer * Mukhtar Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer

Others

*Chaudhry Abdul Jalil, also known as

Chacha Cricket Chaudhry Abdul Jalil (, born 8 October 1949), famously known as Chacha Cricket () (meaning 'Uncle Cricket'), is a renowned Pakistani cricket mascot. Jalil is regularly seen at cricket matches involving Pakistan. He is easily recognized by his whi ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{Coord, 32, 31, 12, N, 74, 33, 00, E, type:adm2nd_source:itwiki, display=title Districts of Punjab, Pakistan