Depalpur (Pakistan)

Depalpur, the headquarters of Depalpur Tehsil, is a town of Okara District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. [ [http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/union.asp?district=24&dn=Okara Tehsils & Unions in the District of Okara - Government of Pakistan] ]

History

Depalpur city is an ancient city about 2000 years old, the city has been demolished and rebuilt several times during this period. According to the historian Abnashi Chander Das "AC DAS", the original name of this city was Siri Puria or Siri Nagar after that the elder brother of Raja Salkan (who was the explorer of Sialkot) Raja Depa Chand renamed it to the name of his beloved son Raja Depa DEPALPUR. According to A C DAS, that was about 2000 years ago when Aryans entered the Subcontinent they began to live in the land of PERT SINDHU (The Land of Seven Rivers) including River Ravi, Chinab, Satluj, Jhelum, Beas, Indus and Kabul. So the famous civilisation which was developed at that time was Ajodhan (Pakpattan), Qabula and Depalpur. Now the Depalpur is a tehsil of district OKARA and it is an older tehsil than Okara. This area also remained the part of Montgomery District before 1982 when Okara became a district. The cities Basirpur and HUJRAH are also a part of DEPALPUR tehsil.

People

In Depalpur the Famous Religious scholar of Pakistan, Saien Abdul Razzaq Sab, Maulana Ghulam Ali.The Depalpur has always been politically significant as it has produced people of such high stature as [Mian Yaseen Wattoo (former Minister of Education), Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo (former CM of Punjab), Rao Qaiser Ali Khan a member of the National Assembly .General Secretary District Bar Association Okara Other prominent leaders include Zahid Shah Gilani, Malik Abbas Khokhar, Abbas Raza Razvi, Rao Ajmal Khan,other personalities such as Malik Farooq Ahmad Nonary Advocate,Haji Ahmad Raza Khan and Ghaulam Mustafa Khan of Boota Kot,Parvez Akram Khan of Baseer Pur and Mehboob Ahmad Khan, Ahmad Raza Khan of Kariwalla Jagir and Khan Muhammad Yousaf Riaz Khan of Fareed Pur Jagir. The city is proud of Engineers like Muhammad Siddique Chohan and Zahid Munir. It is also known for the wide variety of culture reflecting the traditions and customs of the area. Melas (fairs) in the month of 'Saawan' are notable among these traditions where different types of games are played on the drum-beat and shops of sweets and toys etc are decorated. The population mostly relies on agriculture as their main source of livelihood, although a number of people work in factories and offices as well. Dairy and fruit products are the identical mark of the area. Pashtun, Rao, Syed, and Wattu, are the main castes living in the district.

These Pathans are from Zamand section were knows as Khweshgi and are relatives of Pathan of Kasur. Most famous remains of Pathan culture and tradition is the fort situated in the heart of the city which was under the rule of Nawab Dawood Khan(from Zamand section Kweshgi clan) he was in his 90s when Ranjeet Singh defeated Nawab Dawood Khan and captured him because more than half of his clan had returned to Afghanistan.Famous villages and small towns are Fareed Pur Sohaag, Fareed Pur Jagir, Weindela Jagir, Kariwalla Jagir, Bootakot, BHOMAN SHAH and Nawa-Kot, Baseer Pur and Haveli Lakha are also associated with this place.

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