Qila Didar Singh

Qila Didar Singh
Qila Didar Singh
Coordinates: 32°48′N 74°06′E / 32.8°N 74.1°E / 32.8; 74.1Coordinates: 32°48′N 74°06′E / 32.8°N 74.1°E / 32.8; 74.1
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)

Qila Didar Singh is a town of Gujranwala District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located at 32°8' N 74°1' E^[1], west of Gujranwala city - the district capital. Its population was estimated to be 54,849 in 2005^[2]. Qila Didar Singh lies on the Gujranwala-Hafizabad Road, 17 km west of Gujranwala. The town's rice market is one of the largest in the Punjab. In 2007, Qila Didar Singh was administratively upgraded to City Town, one of four in the Gujranwala District^{[citation needed]}.

Affiliated with the University of the Punjab, there are two colleges in town, one each for boys and girls, which offer BA and BSc degrees. Qila Didar Singh is centre of education and shopping for nearby villages.

History

The origin of the town is related to a Sikh land owner called Didar Singh. When Didar Singh was married, his father gave him the lands surrounding the part of Qila Didar Singh that is currently known as "Old/Inside part of Qila". The name Qila implies a fort; this name originates in the fact that Didar Singh's family had a very large and tall mansion, which was surrounded by smaller houses. Because there was a wall surrounding the whole town with several gates, the town had the appearance of a fort.

During the Indian rebellion of 1857, British troops during chase of the rebels, arrived at the Qila and surrounded it, believing it to be a fort. Representatives of the townpeople however managed to convince the troops that the town was not in fact a fortification.^{[citation needed]}

In 1947, the year of Pakistan's independence from the British Indian Empire, Qila Didar Singh was a very small town with mainly Sikh and Hindu population. Most of the Sikhs and Hindus living in the town moved to the Indian part of the Punjab and many Muslim immigrants moved to the area from the East Punjab, Haryana.

Source of income

Due to fertile soil of the surrounding area, the economic backbone of Qila Didar Singh is agriculture; the main cash crops being rice in the summer and wheat in winter.

Most people from Qila Didar Singh are labourers, government employees, and factory workers. There has been considerable migration from the area to other countries. Residents of Qila Didar Singh are not farmers but people living in villages around Qila Didar Singh earn their living from rice and wheat fields. A couple of hundred people from Qila Didar Singh commute to Gujranwala daily for labour or to do technical jobs in various small industries in the city. Leaving their families at home, many others work in different parts of Pakistan for their living.^{[citation needed]} also in Qila Didar Singh's some small Factories (karkhana) is too working and many people makes different kinds of Mechanical items. in Qila Didar Singh's most popular items are Wood Furniture , Shatters , Embroidery clothes , shoes , iran safes , spare parts of plastic items

Nearby villages

Hager, Noor Pur, Chehal, Ugoo Chak, Herdo Deuory, Juana, Jodeh Pur, Kot Shah Muhammad, Botla Junda Singh, Papnakha, Sanak, Ball, Kalowali, Nokhar,Qila Diwan Singh,Philoki, Sago Pago, Panj Graïn, Chugian, Khewa, Mosa, Chak Jaid, Herdoopur, Man, Qazi Kot,Kot Ladha and Nawan Pind are villages surrounding Qila Didar Singh

References

1. ^ Location of Qila Didar Singh - Falling Rain Genomics
2. ^ 2005 population estimates for cities in Pakistan