Hafizabad District
Encyclopedia
Hafizabad District is located in Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. Hafizabad was made a district in 1991; formerly, it was a tehsil of Gujranwala District
Gujranwala District
Gujranwala District is a district in Punjab, Pakistan.- History :The village of Asarur which has been identified as the location of Taki, an ancient town, visited by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang contains immense ruins of Buddhist origin...

. It is situated in the central Punjab and is known for its rice industry on the agricultural side and cotton textile industry on the industrial side. The capital of the district, Hafizabad, was built by the Mughal emperor Akbara Secular ruler for strengthening administration of the Punjab.

Hafizabad is known as "Sheraz-e-Hind" as many poets and scholars of international repute were born in the area, including Arif Saharni and Hanif Saqi.

History

In 327 BC, when Sikandar-e-Azam attacked Indian subcontinent, the territory of the Sandal Bar (where Hafizabad is now located ) was a populated area. Big cities were located in this territory, and a lot of sub states were organized here in the presidency of Hindu Maharajas and Rajas. Hafizabad was formerly a place of some importance, and is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari as head-quarters of a mahal. Hafiz, the founder, was a favourite of emperor Akbar. Hafizabad is an old city.

The western side area along the Chenab river was under the Chatha Jat Muslim control. Sikhs also had share in the district ruling central and northern parts of it.

During the partiton of 1947 Hafizabad then part of Gujranwala District had a very large number of Sikhs and also Hindus, The whole population left for East Punjab and other parts of India.

Geography

It is situated at 800 feet (243.8 m) above sea-level in central Punjab. The district is located between 32°-20' north latitudes and 73°-12' and 73°-46' east longitude. The river Chenab forms the northern and northwestern boundary of the district. Hafizabad shares its borders with Sheikhupura District
Sheikhupura District
Sheikhupura District is a district of Punjab province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura District. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of 3,321,029 of which 25.45% were urban....

 and Gujranwala District
Gujranwala District
Gujranwala District is a district in Punjab, Pakistan.- History :The village of Asarur which has been identified as the location of Taki, an ancient town, visited by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang contains immense ruins of Buddhist origin...

 in the east, Mandi Bahauddin District
Mandi Bahauddin District
Mandi Bahauddin is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 32°34'60N 73°30'0E and is bounded on the northwest by the Jhelum River, on the South-East by the Chenab River which separates it from Gujranwala District and Gujrat District and on the southwest by Sargodha District...

 in the north, Sargodha District
Sargodha District
Sargodha District is a district of Punjab province, Pakistan, the capital of the district is Sargodha. It is an agricultural district, wheat, rice, and sugarcane being its main crops. The Sargodha district and region are also famous for citrus fruit; kino is a newly developed variety...

 in the west and Jhang District
Jhang District
Jhang District is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Jhang is the district's capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district's population was 2.8 million, of which 23 percent lived in urban areas. By 2008, according to estimates, the population had...

 in the south. Hafizabad is situated at a distance of 300 km from the Federal Capital, Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...

, and is 90 km away from the Provincial Capital, Lahore. The district has a total area of 2,367 square kilometres and comprises two tehsils, namely Hafizabad
Hafizabad
Hafizabad is a city and tehsil of Hafizabad District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is situated at 32° 4′ N. and 73° 41′ E.- History :...

and Pindi Bhattian.

Climate

The climate of the district is hot and dry during the summer and moderately cold in the winter. The maximum summer temperature in the month of June is 48 °C (118.4 °F), while in winter, during January, the lowest minimum temperature is 7 °C (44.6 °F). Owing to the proximity of the hills, there is more rainfall in the east than the west. The monsoon season usually starts in the middle of July and continues until September. The soil is alluvial and fertile.

Tribes and Castes of the district

There are many families in Hafizabad including Tarar, Cheema, Chattha, Bhatti, Kharal, Hanjra, Awan. But the prominent families are Tarars and Bhattis who are the largest industrialists and land owners in Hafizabad. Politics is mainly controlled by the Tarars and Bhattis.

Tarars: Tarar is basically a rajput tribe but historically it is known as a gotra of Jatts which has been further confirmed by the intermarriages with other Jatt clans. Centuries ago, this tribe migrated from Rajistan (Rajputana) to this area due to the invasion of Mahmud Ghaznavi and spread on both sides of River Chenab, present day district Mandi Bahauddin and Hafizabad. In district Hafizabad, the Tarars are agriculturists by profession and hold a major part of agricultural land in this area. The Taras had to face the attack of Shehanshah Akbar’s soldiers. But later on, Shehanshah Jahangir relaxed and facilitated the tribe. This tribe was also attacked by Mahraja Ranjeet Singh and his father Sardar Maha Singh which resulted in losses of lives and destruction. Tarars are the most educated amongst the other baradaris of the area. From a long period of time, Tarars are representing this area in politics and bureaucracy. Nowadays, Saira Afzal Tarar is the member of National Assembly. The famous villages are Kolo Tarar, Rasoolpur Tarar, Vanikay Tarar and Sudhwan Tarar. The known personalities are Honourable Attaullah Tarar, Mian Saifullah Tarar, Ch. Afzal Hussain Tarar, Haji Raaj Muhammad Tarar, Arshaadullah Tarar, Haji Peer Muhammad Tarar and Brig. Iftakhar Bashir Tarar

Chatha: They are resding in the Northern East of Hafizabad. According to a tradition, they belonged to the generation of Chuhan Rajput and Raja Parthi Rai one of their grand son was Chatha. Generally they are considered Jatt.

Hinjrah: They are one of the old settled nations of the district their grandfather was Hinyaron or Lakhat who migerated here from Hisaar and he settled here a village named Esnajab. The ruins of this villege remained here for the centuries. This city was near Kolo Tarar. The same nation populated another village Mandhianwala. Its ruins remained in near post close to Dohatta Azmat. The people of this nation had given shelter to the Bhattis of Bhat near almost eight centuries ago, but later one they themselves a were dominated by them. Nine sub castes of Hinjra are living in Hafizabad. They are very efficient farmers. A large numbers of them has migrated to District Vahari from here.

Kharal: Kharal is the most populated nation in Hafizabad. Apparently, they are known as Jatt but basically they are Rajput. They are from the generation of the popular Raja of Neshapur, Karan. One of the off springs left Neshapur and migerated to Punjab and fill finally reached Oach Shareef where he and his son were inspired by the preachings of Hazrat Makhdoom Jahanian and accept Islam as their religion. Kharal has 12 sons. Their generation moved to River Ravi from Och Shareef and settled there. But due to their internal conflicts, some of them came Hafizabad and started to reside there Chor Helra Phulbeer, Kalbeera, Lableera and Duluk are all branches of Karal.

Bhattis: Bhattis are one of the old settled nations. dullah bhatti is a hero in the history.there are a no. of subcastes like bahu k bhatti, rangi bhatti and others
Mann: These people has been living since 1947. sirblund mann and ghulam Haider mann are the key personalities of this caste. Master Muhammad Boota mann s/o Hakim Ali Mann is most famous personalty.

Industry

Weaving (cotton power looms) is also an important industry, located in and around Hafizabad city.

Demographics

According to the 1998 census, the district had a population of 832,980, of which 26.73% were urban.

97% of the population are Muslim, while Christians and Ahmadis represent 2.9% and 0.1%, respectively. Punjabi is the dominant language at 98.7%, while other languages spoken in the district are Urdu (0.9%), Pushto (0.3%) and Siraiki (0.1%).

Education

Hafizabad has many colleges; the most famous are Government Degree College for men and Islamia Girls College for women.
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