Narowal

Narowal /نارووال
Narowal /نارووال
Coordinates: 32°6′26″N 74°52′7″E / 32.10722°N 74.86861°E / 32.10722; 74.86861Coordinates: 32°6′26″N 74°52′7″E / 32.10722°N 74.86861°E / 32.10722; 74.86861
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Established	1991
Incorporated	1991
Area
– Total	2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi)
Population (2011)
– Total	429,876
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Postal code span	51800
Area code(s)	0542

Narowal (Urdu/Punjabi: نارووال) is a city in the northeast of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Narowal District and tehsil.^[1] It is situated on the banks of Ravi River about 4–5 km from the Indian border.

Etymology

There are several theories as to the origin of the name. The most famous of them is that it was named after a Sikh landlord, Naro Singh, who was the owner of the land before the partition of the sub-continent in 1947. The city is situated on the banks of River Ravi, about 4-5 Km from Indian Border and about 50 km away from the Indian part of Kashmir. It is famous for the production of rice and cereals and for the local dish Dahi Barray.^{[citation needed]}

History

About 500 years ago in the era of Sikandar Lodhi in the year 1488, Hindus belonging to the Aror tribe of District Multan embraced Islam in the hands of Habibullah Shah, a saint of the area. Nar Singh of the said tribe met Shah Shamash Tabraiz as per direction of the said saint. Nar Singh wanted to build a new city and requested Shah Shamash Tabraiz to pray for the completion of his desire. Shah Shamash Tabraiz sent his own son along with said Nar Singh towards Narowal. The tribe of said Nar Singh stationed permanently in the vicinity of Narowal. Later on the city gradually came to be known as Narowal. During British rule, Narowal was a town of the Raya Tehsil of Sialkot District;^[2] after independence from Britain in 1947 Narowal became tehsil headquarters. In 1991 the district of Sialkot was bifurcated, and Narowal became the capital of the newly formed Narowal District.^[3]

This is the place where Jagat Guru Nanak Ji died on 23rd Assu, Samvat 1596 (22 September 1529 AD). It is also called Dera Nanak Baba. Dera Sahib railway station, on Lahore-Narowal section, serves this place. The Shrine is located by the River Ravi within a distance of nine kilometers from the railway station. The present building was built at a cost of Rs 1,35,600, donated by Sardar Popindar Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala. It was repaired by the Government of Pakistan in 1995, incurring expenditure in lakhs of rupees. It is a spacious and beautiful building. Its location beside a forest and the River Ravi makes its care difficult.^{[citation needed]}

Notable residents

• Dr. Tahir Ali Javed^[4], Unification Bloc Leader^[5], Ex Health Minister and Special Education Minister (Punjab)
• Dr. Naimat Ali Javed, Ex District Nazim Narowal, Heavy Water Nuclear Scientist, N.A. Javed, Director of Directorate of Quality Assurance (DQA).
• Ahsan Iqbal - Politician - PML(N) - Member of National Assembly
• Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar Khan, Longest serving parliamentarian from 1951 to 1999.
• Muhammad Sarwar Khan Kakar - Politician
• Faiz Ahmad Faiz Urdu poet and journalist
• S.M. Zafar Senior Advocate Supreme Court
• Abrar-ul-Haq - Pakistani Pop, Bhangra and Folk legend singer

Educational institutions

Government institutions

• Narowal Information Technology University Narowal (A Project of Col.(R) Javaid Safdar Kahlon Ex. District Nazim District Narowal)
• Government High School Narowal
• Government Muslim High School Narowal
• Government College of Commerce Narowal
• Government Islamia Degree College (for Boys) Narowal
• Government Muslim Girls College Narowal
• Government College for Elementary Teachers Narowal
• Vocational Training Institute, Narowal
• Technical Institute Narowal
• Government Muslim Girls High School Narowal

Private institutions

• Ahmad Model School Narowal
• Narowal Public School Narowal
• Massali cadet science secendary school narowal
• Jandha public school narowal
• Haroon public school narowal
• asfand kalian da school narowal
• Minhaj Ul Quran Model School & Tahfiz Ul Quran Institute Narowal
• St. John's High School Narowal
• The Punjab Public School Narowal
• Jamal-u-Din Trust High School Narowal
• Shahid City Public School Narowal
• Sir Syed Joiner Model School Narowal
• The Pakistan Foundation School Narowal
• FK Middle School Sankhatra
• The Educators Narowal Campus
• Punjab group of college Narowal

Private commerce colleges

• Sialkot College of Commerce
• Standard College of Commerce
• Pakistan College of Commerce
• National College of Commerce
• Lahore College of Commerce
• Leaders College of Commerce
• Narowal College of Commerce
• shaheryar college of commerce
• ali quaid e azam college of commerce
• kalay khan da college of commerce

Tehsils

• Narowal Tehsil
• Shakargarh Tehsil
• Zafarwal

Narowal Police

• Police strength: 200129^{[citation needed]}
• Police-to-population ratio: 1:16
• Police stations: 91
• Highway patrolling posts: 101

Hospitals and medical centres

• Sughra Shafi Medical Complex - Established by Sahara for Life Trust
• District Headquarter Hospital
• Tehsil Headquarter Hospital
• sarwar hospital narowal
• shukar din hospital narowal
• ali hospital narowal
• almustafa hospital narowal
• amina hospital narowal
• alhayat hospital narowal
• Dr. Shafiq Medical Complex, Chowk Zafarwal Bypass, Narowal

See also

• Barapind
• Shakargarh
• Zafarwal

References

1. ^ Tehsils & Unions in the District of Narowal
2. ^ Raya - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 21, p. 273.
3. ^ Punjab portal
4. ^ http://www.pap.gov.pk/index.php/members/profile/en/19/596
5. ^ http://archives.dawn.com/archives/76569