Gujrat, Pakistan

This article is about the city in Pakistan. For the district, see Gujrat District. For other uses, see Gujrat (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Indian state Gujarat.

Gujrat^[a] (Punjabi pronunciation: [ɡʊd͡ʒɾaːt̪]; Urdu pronunciation: [gʊd͡ʒ.ɾɑːt̪]) is the thirteenth largest city in the Pakistani province of Punjab.^[4] Located on the western bank of the Chenab River in northern Punjab's Chaj Do'āb, it serves as the headquarters of the eponymous district and disvision; and is the 20th most populous in Pakistan, with a population of 390,533 in 2017.^[5][3] Along with Sialkot and Gujranwala, Gujrat forms part of the "Golden Triangle of Punjab", as these industrial cities have export-oriented economies.^[6][7]

Gujrat گُجرات
City
Chal-e-Sharif Tomb Eid Gah Gujrat A mosque in Gujrat Mohri Sharif Kotha Gujjran
Gujrat Location in Punjab, Pakistan Show map of Punjab, Pakistan Gujrat Gujrat (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan
Coordinates: 32°34′26″N 74°4′44″E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Gujrat
District	Gujrat
Founded	Before 9th century CE
City status	16th century CE
Government
• Type	Metropolitan Corporation (Pakistan)
• Mayor	None (Vacant)
• Deputy Commissioner	Safdar Hussain Virk
• District Police Officer	Mastansar Atta[1]
Area
• Total	65 km2 (25 sq mi)
Highest elevation	250 m (820 ft)
Lowest elevation	223 m (732 ft)
Population  (2023 census)[2]
• Total	574,240
• Rank	13th, Punjab 20th, Pakistan
• Density	8,800/km2 (23,000/sq mi)
• Language	Punjabi (native)
Demonym	Gujrati
Time zone	UTC+5 (PKT)
Postal code	50700
Calling code	053
Number of union councils	18[3]

History

Gujrat is a place of some antiquity and abounds in important ancient sites. The city and district formed part of the kingdom of Porus who ruled primarily within the Chaj Doab. He was defeated by Alexander after a difficult campaign at the Battle of Hydaspes in May 326 BC.^[8] Alexander was impressed by his bravery and decided to reinstall him as a vassal of the Macedonian Empire. With Alexander's death in June 323 BC, Chandragupta Maurya (referred to in Greek sources as "Sandrokottos") who was of relatively humble origin possibly from the Punjab region, took control of the Punjab using it as a base for the founding of the Mauryan Empire.^[8] It remained under the Mauryas until shortly after the death of Ashoka in 231 BC, and later came under the sway of Demetrius I who founded the Indo-Greek Kingdom.^[8] The Scythian invasion brought about by Maues in the latter half of the second century brought a change of rulers and the Indo-Scythian Kingdom was established shortly after.^[8] This would change in the early first century CE when a Parthian governor Gondophares declared independence from the Parthian Empire. He moved east in 19 CE, conquering territory from the Indo-Scythians and Indo-Greeks, thus forming his own Indo-Parthian kingdom.^[8] The domains of the Indo-Parthians were greatly reduced following the invasions of the Kushans in the second half of the 1st. century CE who formed a vast prosperous empire in Central and South Asia which oversaw a flowering of Buddhism.^[8]

For several hundreds years, nothing is known about the area except between 455 and 550 CE when it was exposed to the ravages of the Alchon Huns.^[8] After the decline of the Alchon Huns, it became the main base of the new kingdom of Gurjara, under a certain Alakhana.^[8] According to the Rajatarangini, it was invaded between 883 and 902 CE by Sankaravarman of the Utpala dunasty in Kashmir who fought and defeated the Gurjara ruler Alakhana.^[9] The name Alakhana etymologically is in reference to the Alchon Huns.^[9][10] This may be the Ali Khan whom the present Gujjar tribe in Gujrat hail as their elder and founder of Gujrat.^[8][10] The putative Hunnic origin of the ruler Alakhana, remembered as Ali Khan in the tradition and memory of the Gujjars centuries after their conversion to Islam, led British historians to conclude that the Gujjars were originally from the stock of the Alchon Huns.^[10]

Gujrat was known and inhabited during the early 16th century when the Suri ruler Sher Shah toppled the Mughals under Humayun.^[8] The area was named Khwaspur,^[8] in honour of Suri's Governor of Rohtas, Khwas Khan.^[11] The city came under the Mughal Empire and was further developed during the reign of Akbar in the latter half of the 16th century, who built the Gujrat Fort,^[12] and allowed Gujjars to settle in the fort who had been living within the district for centuries up to this time.^[8][13][14] The city and district was formally named in reference to the local Gujjar tribe.^[8][14]

In 1605, Syed Abdul Kasim was granted the city as a fief by Akbar.^[8] During the reign of Jahangir, Gujrat was part of the route used by the Mughal family when visiting Kashmir.^[15] In the Mughal era, Gujrat was encircled by a wall with five gates, of which only the Shah Daula gate survives.^[16]

Gujrats's Alexandria bridge spans the Chenab River, and was built during the British era.

With the death of Aurangzeb, in 1707, the Mughal Empire began to weaken significantly.^[17] Mughal authority in Punjab remained in the hands of Mughal Nawabs, despite the Afsharid ruler Nader Shah leading an invasion in 1739 that resulted in the sacking of the capital Delhi.^[8][17] During his campaign, Nader Shah sacked Gujrat on the way which was at the time a prosperous city. Mughal rule collapsed in Punjab after Mir Mannu died in 1753. The Durrani Afghans under their new ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani annexed the region directly from the Mughals. The city suffered further from the eight invasions of the Durrani Afghans between 1748 and 1767 who fought the Sikhs for control of Punjab.^[8] In the ensuing chaos, the city was captured by local Gakhar Punjabi tribesmen from the Pothohar Plateau to the west.^[11]

In 1765, the city was overrun by the Sikh Bhangi Misl under Gujjar Singh who defeated the Ghakars under their chief Muqqarab Khan.^[11] The Sikhs defeated an Afghan force in a battle for Gujrat on 29 April 1797.^[18] In 1798, the Bhangi leader Sahib Singh pledged allegiance to the Sukerchakia Misl of Ranjit Singh who later established the Sikh Empire in 1799.^[8] By 1810, Ranjit Singh's armies captured the city from Bhangi forces, thereby extending the rule of the Sikh Empire to the city.^[8]

Gujrat finally came under British control in 1849, following the collapse of the Sikh Empire in the wake of the Sikh defeat at the Battle of Gujrat on 22 February, which ended the Second Anglo-Sikh War.^[8] In 1867, Gujrat was constituted as a municipality.^[12] According to the census, the city had a population of 18,396 in 1881, 19,410 in 1901 and 21,974 in 1921.

Geography

Gujrat is an ancient city of Pakistan located between two famous rivers, Jhelum River and Chenab River. It is bounded to the northeast by Azad Kashmir; to the northwest by the Jhelum River; to the east and southeast by the Chenab River, separating it from the districts of Gujranwala and Sialkot; and to the west by Mandi Bahauddin District. Gujrat consists of three tehsils: Sarai Alamgir, Kharian and Gujrat.

It is served by Gujrat railway station on the Karachi–Peshawar Line, the main railway line of Pakistan Railways.

Demography

Religious groups in Gujrat City (1881−2017)^[b]

Religious group	1881[20][21][22]		1891[23]: 68 [24]		1901[25]: 44 [26]: 26		1911[27]: 23 [28]: 19		1921[29]: 25 [30]: 21		1931[31]: 26		1941[19]: 32		2017[32]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	13,637	72.76%	12,824	71.05%	14,047	72.37%	14,253	74.66%	16,284	74.11%	19,482	73.49%	24,681	79.88%	532,896	98.19%
Hinduism [c]	4,762	25.41%	4,703	26.06%	4,823	24.85%	4,226	22.14%	5,016	22.83%	5,984	22.57%	5,011	16.22%	30	0.01%
Sikhism	317	1.69%	452	2.5%	415	2.14%	495	2.59%	486	2.21%	659	2.49%	630	2.04%	—	—
Jainism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	4	0.02%	0	0%	10	0.03%	—	—
Christianity	—	—	71	0.39%	125	0.64%	116	0.61%	184	0.84%	386	1.46%	553	1.79%	9,121	1.68%
Zoroastrianism	—	—	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	—	—	—	—
Judaism	—	—	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	—	—	—	—
Buddhism	—	—	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	—	—	—	—
Ahmadiyya	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	659	659%
Others	27	0.14%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	14	0.05%	2	0%
Total population	18,743	100%	18,050	100%	19,410	100%	19,090	100%	21,974	100%	26,511	100%	30,899	100%	542,708	100%

Climate

Gujrat has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh), although it is almost wet enough to be a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Cwa).

Climate data for Gujrat
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	19.2 (66.6)	22.1 (71.8)	27.4 (81.3)	33.7 (92.7)	39.1 (102.4)	41.1 (106.0)	36.3 (97.3)	34.6 (94.3)	35.1 (95.2)	33.1 (91.6)	27.2 (81.0)	21.2 (70.2)	30.8 (87.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	12.4 (54.3)	15.1 (59.2)	20.3 (68.5)	26 (79)	31.1 (88.0)	34 (93)	31.4 (88.5)	30.2 (86.4)	29.4 (84.9)	25.3 (77.5)	18.7 (65.7)	13.5 (56.3)	24.0 (75.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	5.6 (42.1)	8.1 (46.6)	13.3 (55.9)	18.4 (65.1)	23.2 (73.8)	26.9 (80.4)	26.6 (79.9)	25.8 (78.4)	23.8 (74.8)	17.6 (63.7)	10.2 (50.4)	5.8 (42.4)	17.1 (62.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	38 (1.5)	37 (1.5)	36 (1.4)	21 (0.8)	19 (0.7)	47 (1.9)	182 (7.2)	205 (8.1)	83 (3.3)	12 (0.5)	5 (0.2)	18 (0.7)	703 (27.8)
Source: [33]

Education

University of Gujrat garden

Punjab College of Science, Gujrat Campus

Some of the notable educational institutes of Gujrat include:

• Beaconhouse School System^[34]
• Dar-e-Arqam Schools
• Lahore Grammar School^[35]
• Nawaz Sharif Medical College^[36]
• Pakistan International Public School, Gujrat Campus^[37]
• Punjab Colleges, Gujrat Campus^[38]
• The Superior University, Lahore, Gujrat Campus^[39]
• University of Central Punjab^[40]
• University of Gujrat^[41]
• University of Lahore^[42]

Notable persons

• Chaudhry Hussain Elahi, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan; son of Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain
• Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former deputy prime minister of Pakistan, former Chief Minister of Punjab, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, August 2018–present, previously 1997–1999; former chairman of District Council, Gujrat; former Provincial Minister for Local Government and Rural Development
• Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1962 and 1970; Deputy Opposition Leader in the National Assembly of Pakistan 1972–1977; Federal Minister for Manpower, Labor, Local Government & Rural Development 1978–1979
• Moonis Elahi, Federal Minister for Water Resources,^[43] Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, twice elected as the member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, 2008–2013 and 2013–2018
• Syed Munir Hussain Gilani, Pakistani politician
• Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gul, former Adviser to Prime Minister of Pakistan
• Imam Din Gujrati, humorous poet of Urdu and Punjabi
• Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, former prime minister of Pakistan, Member Pakistan Majlis-e-Shura; re-elected five times as Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan; re-elected twice as Member of the Senate of Pakistan; former Federal Minister for Interior, Information, Industries & Production; "Honorary Consul General" of the Republic of Korea
• Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, former Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis; Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower and Federal Minister for Human Resource Development; three times MPA and two times MNA
• Orya Maqbool Jan, social analyst
• Saleem Sarwar Jaura, Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab
• Muhammad Afzal Lone, lawyer and judge
• Mian Imran Masood, former MPA of Gujrat and Minister of Education Punjab
• Ahmad Mukhtar, former Minister for Defence, Government of Pakistan
• Shujaat Nawaz, Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab
• Yasmin Qureshi, British MP
• Muhammad Abdullah Warraich, Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab

References

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8. "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 12, page 365 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
9. Zutshi, Chitralekha (7 July 2014), "The Multiple Lives of Rajatarangini", Kashmir's Contested Pasts, Oxford University Press, pp. 184–239, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199450671.003.0005, ISBN 978-0-19-945067-1, retrieved 7 June 2023
10. Ibbetson, Denzil (1916). Panjab castes. University of California Libraries. Lahore : Printed by the Superintendent, Government Printing, Punjab.
11. Americanized Encyclopaedia Britannica: Rev. and Amended A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Literature, to which is Added Biographies of Living Subjects. 96 Colored Maps and Numerous Illustrations. Belford-Clarke Company. 1890.
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14. Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan (1999). The Jahangirnama memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India. Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. doi:10.5479/sil.849796.39088018028456.
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24. Edward Maclagan, Sir (1891). "The Punjab and its feudatories, part II--Imperial Tables and Supplementary Returns for the British Territory". JSTOR saoa.crl.25318669. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
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26. "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
27. Edward Albert Gait, Sir; India Census Commissioner (1911). "Census of India, 1911. Vol. 1., Pt. 2, Tables". Calcutta, Supt. Govt. Print., India, 1913. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393779. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
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33. "Gujrat climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Gujrat weather averages - Climate-Data.org". en.climate-data.org. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
34. "Home". Beaconhouse.
35. "LAHORE GRAMMAR SCHOOL | Prepared to Lead".
36. "You are being redirected..." uog.edu.pk.
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38. "Punjab Group of Colleges | The Largest Educational Network in Pakistan - Punjab Group of Colleges".
39. "SUPERIOR COLLEGE GUJRAT | Superior Group Of Colleges".
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42. "UoL." uol.edu.pk.
43. "PML-Q's Moonis Elahi sworn in as federal minister". 20 July 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

1. Punjabi, Urdu: گُجرات
2. 1881-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Gujrat, which included Gujrat Municipality and Gujrat Civil Lines.^[19]: 32
3. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis