Sargodha District
Encyclopedia
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. The district has an area of 5,864 km2.
Before the Partition of Punjab In 1947 Sargodha District Then Known as Shahpur District had a large Sikh Population. And Hindu Khatri's Who were in there majority.
. Sargodha division was composed of the following districts:
s, which contain a total of 161 Union Councils
, population according to the 1998 census of Pakistan:
Also it is believed that there was an old pond in the middle of the town where an old Hindu monk or sadhu
(godha) used to live. The Hindi word for pond is "ser". Since the town had a modest population, people would refer the place as sergodha, the place where that famous Sadhu resided next to the pond.
Sargodha was a small town at the beginning of the British Empire
but, due to its geographical location, the British Royal Air Force
built an airport
there. It took on greater importance after the Independence of Pakistan
for the Pakistan Air Force
. Shahpur
, which is now a tehsil
of Sargodha District, was the district at that time. Most parts of the tehsil Sillanwali
and Kirana Hills region were part of Jhang
district and were included later during the British Raj in the Sargodha district.
The 1965 war
with India on September 6, 1965 meant the city was a prime target for India, due to the city close proximity with the neighbouring rival. The citizens of Sargodha supported the Pakistan Army
against the advancing of the Indian Army
into Pakistan. In 1966, recognising this bravery, the Government of Pakistan
awarded the city of Sargodha as well as Sialkot
and Lahore
with the award of Hilal-E-Istaqlal.
The city also has a Pakistan Air Force base within its city. The PAF Base Sargodha now known as PAF Base Mushaf, named after the late Air Chief Marshal
Mushaf Ali Mir
, a former Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force
. The strategic location of the base has allowed the Air Force to carry out experimental work within the city.
refugees from northern India
who escaped from the pograms and genocide
in India settled in Sarghoda after the independence of Pakistan
in 1947. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan the district had a population of 2,665,979 of which 27.96% lived in urban settlements. The predominant ethnic population in the Sargodha District is Punjabi
with small communities of Muhajirs and Pashtuns
. The main languages are Punjabi
and Urdu. The people of Sarghoda district are Muslim
s, with an overwhelming Sunni majority.
|Aziz Bhatti Town|Chakralla | VIJH|Chak No 34 S.B|
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CHAK .40. S.B
University Road, Sargodha. Ph: 048 3725399 - 91
Pakistan Telecommunications (PTCL)
Broadband Internet Service Provider.
Districts of Pakistan
The Districts of Pakistan are the second order administrative divisions of Pakistan. Districts were the third order of administrative divisions, below provinces and "divisions", until the reforms of August 2000, when "divisions" were abolished...
of 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...
province, 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...
, the capital of the district is Sargodha
Sargodha
Sargodha is a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab province, Pakistan.Sargodha is located in the northwest of Pakistan. It is the eleventh largest city of Pakistan and also known as Pakistan's best citrus-producing area. It is an agricultural trade centre with various industries...
. It is an agricultural district, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, and sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
being its main crops. The Sargodha district and region are also famous for citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
fruit; kino is a newly developed variety. The district has an area of 5,864 km2.
Before the Partition of Punjab In 1947 Sargodha District Then Known as Shahpur District had a large Sikh Population. And Hindu Khatri's Who were in there majority.
Administration
Until divisions were abolished as part of government reforms in 2000, Sargodha was divisional headquarters of Sargodha DivisionSargodha Division
Sargodha Division is an administrative division of four districts of the Punjab Province of PakistanBefore October 2008, divisional system was abolished by the reforms of 2000 the third tier of government....
. Sargodha division was composed of the following districts:
- Sargodha District
- Khushab DistrictKhushab DistrictKhushab District is a rural tribal district located in Punjab, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, the population was 905,711 with 24.76% living in urban areas. The district consists of 3 tehsils: Khushab, Nurpur, and Quaidabad, as well as a sub-tehsil Naushera...
- Mianwali DistrictMianwali DistrictMianwali is a district in the northwest of Punjab province, Pakistan. It borders eight districts: Attock District in the north, Chakwal District in the northeast, Khushab District in the east, and Bhakkar District in the south, while Lakki Marwat lies to the west, Kohat and Karak districts to the...
- Bhakkar DistrictBhakkar DistrictBhakkar is a District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The district was created in 1981 with Bhakkar city as the capital. It is located between 31° 10' and 32° 22' N. and 70° 47' and 72° E. with an area of , most of it lies in the desolate plain of the Thal, but the Kachhi or strip of...
Tehsils
Sargodha District is administratively divided into Six TehsilTehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
s, which contain a total of 161 Union Councils
Union Councils of Pakistan
A sherwan or village council in Pakistan is an elected local government body consisting of 21 councillors, and headed by a nazim and a naib nazim...
, population according to the 1998 census of Pakistan:
| Tehsil | Population | No. of Unions |
|---|---|---|
| Bhalwal Bhalwal Bhalwal is a town of Sargodha District in the centre of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The town of Bhalwal is the headquarters of Bhalwal Tehsil and lies in an agricultural area, close to the M-2 motorway, to which it is being connected by two interchanges... |
820,000 | 53 |
| Kot Momin Kot Momin Kot Momin is a town in Sargodha District, Punjab, Pakistan. On 21 June 2003 Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi announced it was to become a tehsil.... |
420,000 | 30 |
| Sahiwal Sahiwal Sahiwal is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is approximately 180 km from the major city Lahore and is the city between Lahore and Multan... |
236,000 | 14 |
| Sargodha Sargodha Tehsil Sargodha Tehsil is an administrative subdivision of Sargodha District in the Punjab province of Pakistan, the tehsil is subdivided into 62 Union Councils - 22 of which form the city of Sargodha.... |
1,081,000 | 62 |
| Shahpur Shahpur (Punjab) Shahpur is a city located in the west of Punjab province, Pakistan. It lies on the Jhelum River. Its old name was Rampur and it had a majority Hindu population until the 17th century... |
274,000 | 16 |
| Sillanwali Sillanwali Sillanwali is a town of Sargodha District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The town has recently been made tehsil headquarters with the creation of Sillanwali Tehsil... |
255,000 | 16 |
| Total | 3'086'000'0 | 161 |
Media
- Radio Pakistan Sargodha (FM Band),Club Road SargodhaSargodhaSargodha is a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab province, Pakistan.Sargodha is located in the northwest of Pakistan. It is the eleventh largest city of Pakistan and also known as Pakistan's best citrus-producing area. It is an agricultural trade centre with various industries...
. - FM Sunrise (96 MHz) Most popular, also plays Indian and western music, Aziz Bhatti Town Sargodha
- Pakistan Television Islamabad centre terrestrial transmissions at VHF and UHF band routed from SakesarSakesarSakesar is a mountain peak which lies on the outer fringes of the Soon Valley in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It has an height of 1522 m and used to be the summer headquarters for the deputy commissioners of three districts - Campbellpur , Mianwali and Sargodha...
rebroadcast centre.
Etymology
There are several theories as to the origins of the name. It may be derived from the Sanskrit "svargadhaama," meaning "heavenly abode." Others suggest that the name Sargodha is derived from that of a Hindu loca, Godha.Also it is believed that there was an old pond in the middle of the town where an old Hindu monk or sadhu
Sadhu
In Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman...
(godha) used to live. The Hindi word for pond is "ser". Since the town had a modest population, people would refer the place as sergodha, the place where that famous Sadhu resided next to the pond.
History
Just over a century ago, there was a well owned by a Hindu named Goodha, the well was known as "Gool Khuuh" (round well), and travellers used it as a resting place. There is a market at the place where Gool Khuuh used to exist and a grand mosque above the market and it is known as "Goal Chowk", which is the center of downtown Sargodha today.Sargodha was a small town at the beginning of the British Empire
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
but, due to its geographical location, the British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
built an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
there. It took on greater importance after the Independence of Pakistan
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
for the Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
. Shahpur
Shahpur (Punjab)
Shahpur is a city located in the west of Punjab province, Pakistan. It lies on the Jhelum River. Its old name was Rampur and it had a majority Hindu population until the 17th century...
, which is now a tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
of Sargodha District, was the district at that time. Most parts of the tehsil Sillanwali
Sillanwali
Sillanwali is a town of Sargodha District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The town has recently been made tehsil headquarters with the creation of Sillanwali Tehsil...
and Kirana Hills region were part of Jhang
Jhang
- Demographics :According to 1981 census of Pakistan population of Jhang was 1,970,944 with the 434,495 housing units in Jhang. In 1998 census, population of Jhang was 2,834,545, whose annually growth rate was 2.16%. Male population was 1,474,099 and female population was 1,360,446...
district and were included later during the British Raj in the Sargodha district.
The 1965 war
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
with India on September 6, 1965 meant the city was a prime target for India, due to the city close proximity with the neighbouring rival. The citizens of Sargodha supported the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
against the advancing of the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
into Pakistan. In 1966, recognising this bravery, the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
awarded the city of Sargodha as well as Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
with the award of Hilal-E-Istaqlal.
The city also has a Pakistan Air Force base within its city. The PAF Base Sargodha now known as PAF Base Mushaf, named after the late Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Mushaf Ali Mir
Mushaf Ali Mir
Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir was four-star general of the Pakistan Air Force who served as the chief of air staff of the Pakistan Air Force from 20 November 2000 until his death on February 20, 2003 when the PAF Fokker F-27 he was traveling in, crashed near Kohat, Pakistan...
, a former Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
. The strategic location of the base has allowed the Air Force to carry out experimental work within the city.
Demography
The population of Sarghoda grew rapidly after many MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
refugees from northern India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
who escaped from the pograms and genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
in India settled in Sarghoda after the independence of 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...
in 1947. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan the district had a population of 2,665,979 of which 27.96% lived in urban settlements. The predominant ethnic population in the Sargodha District is Punjabi
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
with small communities of Muhajirs and Pashtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
. The main languages are Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
and Urdu. The people of Sarghoda district are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s, with an overwhelming Sunni majority.
Towns and villages in Sarghoda District
Sarghoda |Bhabra( Ashraf Foto State) MoazzamAbad Tangowali(Chak 17)|Basra Qasim Park|Chak No. 84 N.B|Chak No 95 S.B. | Chak No. 41 S.B.|Shahpur | Bhalwal,Chak 3 N.B Aftab Gujjar Wala | Chak # 10 N.B. (Qudrat Abad) | Chak # 11 N.B. (Gujarn Da) | Phularwan | Bhera | Sillanwali | Lakhiwal Sharif | Haveli Majoka | Faruka | Jhawarian | Kalra [cheama colony | Shah Nikdar | Sahiwal | Nihang | Tarkhan walla | Middh Ranjha | Mitha Tiwana | Mela | | Mitha Lak | Lak More | Kot Momin | Lilyani | Shaheenabad | Jahanian Shah | Chauki Bhagatt | Talbey Wala Pattan | Aheer Pur | 12 No Chungi | Chak 71 NB | Chak 45 S.B | 46 Adda | Pul 11 | Batree Shahabdin Di | Nurpur Noon | Mangowal West | Chak 8ML | Thatti Noor dee | Chawa | Ali Pur Noon | Sardar Pur Noon | Sultan Pur Noon| Fateh Pur Noon Share Muhammad Wala Noon | Kikrawn Wala Noon | Zaffer Abad Noon | Khair Pur Noon | Aamin Abad Noon | Kot Hakim Khan Noon | Chak 8 Ghorh Pur Noon | Atta Abad Noon| Chack No 114 N.B | Chack No 113 N.B | Chak No 88 N.B | Muhammadi Colony Noor-e-Wala.//dhuddian//badeen..midhranjha|Subherwall Colony|Fatima Jinnah Colony ||Aziz Bhatti Town|Chakralla | VIJH|Chak No 34 S.B|
Chak # 89 NB107 sb
CHAK .40. S.B
ISP's
XPert-Link Networks (Wi-fi Internet Service Provider)University Road, Sargodha. Ph: 048 3725399 - 91
Pakistan Telecommunications (PTCL)
Broadband Internet Service Provider.