Bahawalnagar District

Bahawalnagar District (Urdu and Punjabi: ضلع بہاولنگر), is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. Before the independence of Pakistan, Bahawalnagar was part of Bahawalpur state governed by the Nawab of Bahawalpur. The city of Bahawalnagar is the capital of the district.^[3]

Bahawalnagar ضلع بہاولنگر
District of Punjab
Top: Marot Fort Bottom: Fields in Chak 38-R
Map of Bahawalnagar District (highlighted in red) within Punjab.
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Bahawalpur
Headquarters	Bahawalnagar
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Muhammad Waseem
• District Police Officer	Muhammad Essa Khan Sukhera
Area
• District of Punjab	8,878 km2 (3,428 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[1]
• District of Punjab	3,550,342
• Density	400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
• Urban	974,118
• Rural	2,576,224
Literacy [2]
• Literacy rate	Total: (57.01%) Male: (63.55%) Female: (49.95%)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PKT)
Area code	063
No. of Tehsils	5
Tehsils	Bahawalnagar Chishtian Fort Abbas Haroonabad Minchinabad
Website	bahawalnagar.punjab.gov.pk

District boundaries

The boundaries of Bahawalnagar in the east and south touches the Indian territory of Bikaner and Firozpur districts^[4] while Bahawalpur district lies on its west and river Sutlej flows on its northern side. District Bahawalnagar spreads over an area of 8878 square kilometers.^[5]

History

Nawab Bahawal Khan-1^[6] as second nawab of Bahawalpur ascended the throne in 1746 A.D.

Muhammad Mubarik, after ruling successfully for years, died issueless in 1772 A.D. He was succeeded by his nephew Sahibzada Jafar Khan alias Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan-II^[7] in 1772.

Administration

Tehsils of Bahawalnagar district

The district of Bahawalnagar is spread over an area of 8,878 square kilometres (3427.8 square miles) comprising five tehsils and 118 Union Councils:^[8]

Tehsil[9]	Area (km²)[10]	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km²) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)[11]	Union Councils
Bahawalnagar[8]	1,729	976,049	564.52	53.5%	31
Chishtian[8]	1,500	845,439	563.63	60.49%	29
Fort Abbas[8]	2,536	510,253	201.20	61.36%	16
Haroonabad[8]	1,295	615,476	475.27	66.28%	22
Minchinabad[8]	1,818	603,125	331.75	44.05%	20
Total		2,981,919			118

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1951	630,430	—
1961	822,827	+2.70%
1972	1,073,891	+2.45%
1981	1,373,747	+2.77%
1998	2,061,447	+2.42%
2017	2,975,656	+1.95%
2023	3,550,342	+2.99%
Sources:[12]

As of the 2023 census, Bahawalnagar district has 557,616 households and a population of 3,550,342.^[13] The district has a sex ratio of 108.27 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.01%: 63.55% for males and 49.95% for females.^[1][2] 971,921 (27.42% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.^[14] 974,118 (27.44%) live in urban areas.^[1]

Religion

Religion in Bahawalnagar district (2023)[15]
Religion			Percent
Islam			99.45%
Christianity			0.41%
Other or not stated			0.14%

In 2023, 19,653 (0.55%) were from religious minorities, of which Christians were 14,577, Hindus (incl. Scheduled Castes) 3,106, Ahmadi 1,598, Sikhs 39, Parsis 2, and 331 others.^[15]

Religion in Bahawalnagar District

Religion	2017[16]		2023[15]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	2,963,239	99.58%	3,525,258	99.45%
Christianity	7,625	0.26%	14,577	0.41%
Hinduism	2,631	0.09%	3,106	0.09%
Ahmadi	2,025	0.07%	1,598	0.05%
Others[a]	136	~0%	372	~0%
Total Population	2,975,656	100%	3,544,911	100%

Languages

Languages of Bahawalnagar district (2023)^[17]

  Punjabi (94.08%)

  Urdu (3.35%)

  Saraiki (1.74%)

  Others (0.83%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 94.08% of the population spoke Punjabi, 3.35% Urdu and 1.74% Saraiki as their first language.^[17]

Shrine of Tajuddin Chishti

Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti also known as Taj Sarwar Chishti was a Sufi saint of Chishti Order. He was a grandson Shaikh Farid-ud-din Ganjshakar of Pakpattan and his descendants founded the village of Chishtian around 1265 CE (574 Hijri, Islamic calendar). Many native tribes in Punjab region accepted Islam due to his missionary Dawaah. Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti faced hostility from many Mughal and Turk tribes that opposed his Muslim missionary Daawah as it interfered with their plans and he was martyred in a battle and was buried in Chishtian. Shrine of Sufi saint Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti, located at the city of Chishtian. The dargah of Shaikh Taj-ud-din Chishti is called Roza Taj Sarwar.^[18]

See also

• Bahawalnagar Junction railway station
• Punjab, Pakistan
• India–Pakistan relations

References

1. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
2. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 12" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
3. "Bahawalnagar District - population per 2017 Census of Pakistan (scroll down to page 8 of 16 for Bahawalnagar District)" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
4. "District Overview Bahawalnagar". District Overview Bahawalnagar. District Police Bahawalnagar. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
5. "Bahawalnagar". Punjab Portal, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
6. "Bahawalpur Princely State - History of its Rulers". Cholistan Development Authority, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
7. "Bahawalpur City - Ruler Nawabs of Bahawalpur State". Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
8. "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Bahawalnagar". National Reconstruction Bureau, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
9. Divisions/Districts of Pakistan Archived 2006-09-30 at the Wayback Machine Note: Although divisions as an administrative structure has been abolished, the election commission of Pakistan still groups districts under the division names
10. "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, PUNJAB" (PDF).
11. "LITERACY RATE, ENROLMENT AND OUT OF SCHOOL POPULATION BY SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023" (PDF).
12. "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
13. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 20" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
14. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 5" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
15. "Population by Sex, Religion, and Rural/Urban, Census-2023" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
16. "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
17. "Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban, Census-2023" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
18. "Shrine of Tajuddin Chishti, Chishtian, Bahawalnagar". Merawatan.pk website. Retrieved 14 December 2023.

1. Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Sikhism or not stated

30°00′N 73°15′E