Sialkot District

Infobox Pakistan district
district = Sialkot District
area = 3,016
population = 3.5Million
pop_year = 2007
density = 903
caption =
region = Punjab
established =
nazim = Mr.Muhammad Akmal Cheema
naib_nazim = Rana Ijaz Ahmad [ [http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/results.asp?state=1 Zila Nazims & Naib Zila Nazims in the Province of Punjab] ]
seats =
tehsils = 4
languages =
website = www.sialkot.gov.pk

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Sialkot is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan, it is located in the north-east of the province [ [http://www.sialkot.gov.pk/sialkotmaps.php Map of Sialkot - Government site] ] , the city of Sialkot is the capital of the district. [ [http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/union.asp?district=29&dn=Sialkot Tehsils & Unions in the District of Sialkot - Government of Pakistan] ]

History

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 is also an ancient place. At an early date the District fell to the Rajas of Jammu, and under the Mughals 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 to the imperial gardens at 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, 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 Sialkot town and its dependencies, which were held by a Pathan family. [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V22_334.gifSiālkot District - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 22, p. 328.] ]

After his death the Bhangi confederacy of the Sikhs took Sialkot from the Pathans, and eventually overran the whole country up to the foot of the Jammu hills, dividing it among a score of leaders. These petty States were, however, attached by Ranjit Singh in 1791 ; and his annexation of Pasrur in 1807 gave him control of the tract, after his general, Diwan Mohkam Chand, had defeated the Sardars of Sialkot at Attari.

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the station was denuded of British troops; and the Native regiments which were left behind 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 which 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 onwhich 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,ooo 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 and Sialkot were placed in the new division of Sialkot. But in 1884, Gurdaspur along with Amritsar 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 1891-1901 by 3.2, the decrease being greatest in the Raya tahsil and least in Daska. The Chenab Colony is responsible for this fall in population, no less than 103,000 persons having left to take land in the newly irrigated tracts. [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V22_335.gifSiālkot District - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 22, p. 329.] ]

The district was subdivided into five tehsils namely: Sialkot, Pasrur, Zafarwal, Raya and Daska. The chief towns of the districts were Daska, Jamki, Pasrur, Kila Sobha Singh, Zafarwal and Narowal.

In 1930, the tehsils of Rayya 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 partition) were split up and formed into the new Narowal District.

Geography

Sialkot District lies southeast of Gujrat District, southwest of Jammu district, while Narowal District is to the southeast and Gujranwala District is situated to the west. Sialkot district is spread over an area of 3,016 square kilometres comprising of the following four tehsils: [ [http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/union.asp?district=29&dn=Sialkot Tehsils & Unions in the District of Sialkot - Government of Pakistan] ] .

# Daska
# Pasrur
# Sambrial
# Sialkot

Climate and Soil

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 -2°C. The land is generally plain and fertile. The average annual rain fall is about 1000 mm. Over 25.82% of the population of the district is urban. [ [http://www.urckarachi.org/Population%20Table-5.htm Urban Resource Centre (1998 Census details)]

Infrastructure

The main crops grown in the district are wheat and rice, the main fruits are guava and citruses - vegetables cultivated include potatoes, turnips, garlic, cauliflower, peas, and onions. The district has 15,078 acres of forest, 12,295km of metalled roads, 12 grid stations, 45 telephone exchanges and 3229 industrial units.

Agriculture

The major crops and fruit of district Sialkot are wheat, rice, citrus and guava. Their average annual production over the period 1998-2001 was 453, 242, 6 and 11 thousand Metric Tons, respectively. A variety of vegetables are also grown in the district.

There are 14 flour mills, 57 rice husking units, one sugar mill, one vegetable ghee unit and one fruit juice unit already working in the district. However, there exist good prospects for rice bran oil, rice husk briquettes, maize products, dal mills, etc.

Livestock

As per Punjab Development Statistics for the year 2000, the population of cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats was 195, 471, 42 and 137 thousand heads respectively. For poultry, there were 954 broiler, 134 layer and 9 breeding poultry farms, having a rearing capacity of 11150, 747 and 63 thousand birds respectively. The annual availability of hides and skins is estimated at 536 thousand pieces. In the district of Sialkot there are 92 tanneries, 244 leather garments/products manufacturing units, and more than 900 leather sports goods manufacturing units. There exists a scope for dairy farms, animal/poultry feed, and cattle/sheep/goat fattening farms.

Industry

District Sialkot is traditionally a centre of sports goods, surgical instruments, leather goods/garments, cutlery, musical instruments industries. There are also various types of plastic- and metal-based industries. In view of the existing industries, there exists a good scope for material testing laboratory, forging, electroplating unit, hospital furniture, disposable syringes, hospital gloves, steel furniture, cast iron pipe, steel pipes/tubes, galvanized iron pipe, industrial gloves, and special thread for sports goods industries.

ee also

* Sialkot
* Punjab (Pakistan)
* Sialkot International Airport

References