Sialkot History
Sialkot is the major export city in the
northern Punjab province of Pakistan, located 135 kilometer north-west of Lahore
and only a few kilometers from Jammu comprising a population of approximately
6,00,000. It is one of the major industrial centers of Pakistan. Sialkot is
well-known for its manufacture and export of surgical instruments, musical
instruments, sports goods, leather goods, textile products and other light
manufactures. A Pakistan Army base (Sialkot Cantonment) is situated adjacent to
the city. The Sialkot International Airport, Limited (SIAL) and the Sialkot Dry
Port serve the Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat region. A university of
Engineering Sciences and Technlogy is being set up in Sialkot (on the
Sialkot-Eimanabad road) by the Government of Pakistan with Swedish
collaboration. A Medical College is also being established in the city. In
addition, a Polytechnic Institute and a Paramedic Institute are already
functional in Sialkot.
Sialkot History
Sialkot is believed to have been founded by Raja Sul or S??
the uncle of the Pandavas, whose heroic deeds are recorded in the epic
Mah?h?ta. After his death, some 5000 years ago, there is a tradition that the
dynasty continued for some 1500 years. The seasonal stream, known as the Aik
Nala, that flows through the city is mentioned in the Upanishads. S?aladvipa
(island of S?ala) was the name of the do? (land lying between two rivers)
between Chandrabh?a (Chenab) and Ir?ati (Ravi). S?ala (Si?kot) was the
capital of the Madras who are known in the late Vedic period (c. 1500 - c. 200
B.C.) (Brihad?anyaka Upanishad). In those early days, S?ala was studded with
thick forests and inhabited by a pastoral race called Yahars or Yirs.
S?ala or Sagala was the capital, or one of the capitals, of the Indo-Greek
Kingdom which broke-away from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom during the Euthydemid
Dynasty, and the residence of Menander I (Milinda) during his reign between 160
and 135 B.C. During the reign of Vikrama Ditya of Ujjain (380-413 A.D.), Shun
and Dall were two of the most powerful tribes in Sialkot. Then the country was
flooded and remained one vast uninhabited region for about 1000 years.
The antiquities of Sialkot are discussed by Sir Alexander Cunnigham in his
Archaeological Survey Reports, II, 21, 22, and XIV, 44 to 47. It's early history
is closely interwoven with traditions of the Raja Sivan, his son, Raja
Ras?u, and his foe, Raja H?i, so famous in the Punjabi folk-lore.
The popular belief is that it was re-founded by Raja S?iv?an or S?b? when
Sialkot became a part of Kashmir under Raja Sam Dutt. Raja S?iv?an built a
fort and the city and gave the place its present name. He was of Sia caste, and
it is believed that the word "Sialkot" means 'the fort of Sia'. Legend also says
that Raja S?iv?an had two sons: Puran and Rasalu. Puran got punished by his
father, Raja S?iv?an, due to the instrumentality of a wicked step-mother and
thrown into a well, still the resort of pilgrims near Sialkot, called "Puran di
Khui", (Puran's Well). A mohalla (town) in the city is also named "Puran Nagar".
The other son of Raja S?iv?an, Rasalu, became Raja after the death of Raja
S?iv?an. Attacks from the neighboring Raja of Jehlum ruined the city. Raja
Rasalu got involved in wars with Raja Hudi, popularly stated to have been a
Gakkhar chieftain. Being worsted in battle, Rasalu, as the price for peace, was
forced to give his daughter in marriage to his conqueror, who gave the territory
he had conquered to Rasalu's adopted son. After Rasalu?s death in 400 A.D.,
there are no significant accounts of Sialkot for the next 300 years in the known
history except that after the invasion of the H?as (Huns or Hephthalites) in
the last quarter of the 5th century A.D., it became the capital of Toram?a and
his son Mihirakula until he was defeated by a native Indian Prince, Yeshodharman.
In 790 A.D., Raja Nairut, supported by the Yousafzai tribe, attacked and
demolished the city. There is again no mention of Sialkot in historical texts
for a fairly long period after that except that it remained a part of Jammu
under the rule of Raja Braham Deo.
Sialkot then became a part of the Muslim Sultanate of India and, later, the
Muslim Mughal Empire of India. Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Ghauri invaded Punjab in
1011. He was unable to conquer Lahore but left a garrison in Sialkot. Later,
Sultan Khusro Malik tried to capture the city but failed to do so.
In 1394, Taimur captured Jammu and compelled the Raja to embrace Islam. The
Mughal Emperor, Zaheer-ud-Din Muhammad Babur, advanced toward India by way of
Sialkot which capitulated to his armies. During the era of the Mughal Emperor,
Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar, the present district of Sialkot formed a part of
Rachna-Bar Sarkar of the Lahore province. Under the reign of the Mughal Emperor,
Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Shah Jahan, Ali Mardan Khan held the charge of Sialkot.
At the end of the Mughal Dynasty, the suburbs and outlying districts and areas
of Sialkot were left to themselves. Sialkot itself was appropriated by a
powerful family of Pathans, and the sub-mountainous tracts were in the hands of
Raja Ranjit Deo of Jammu.
In 1748, the four districts of Gujrat, Sialkot, Pasrur and Daska were given to
the Afghan invader, Ahmed Shah Durrani. After 1751, Ahmed Shah Durrani left his
son, Taimur, to rule Lahore and these districts. During that time, Raja Ranjit
Deo of Jammu expanded his domination over this area, but the city of Sialkot was
not included in it. The city was held strongly by a Pathan family till the time
of Sikhs.
During the decline of the Durrani regime, the Sikhs organized themselves into 12
well-organized groups called Misls. Sialkot was wrested from the control of the
Pathans by two Sikh leaders, Jhanda Singh and Ganda Singh (sons of the leader of
the Bhangi Misl, Hari Singh Dhillon), who represented the Bhangi Misl. Thus, the
area came under the rule of Bhangis. During that time, Sialkot suffered from
extreme famine and starvation leading to a mass migration of people to Kashmir.
From that time onwards, the Bhangi Sardars carried incessant raids upon Raja
Ranjit Deo?s principality and, ultimately, the areas were appropriated between
them. However, from 1797 to 1810, Raja Ranjit Singh succeeded in acquiring the
Sialkot district and establishing his sovereignty in the area. He also absorbed
the Bhangi Misl, which was stronger than his Sukerchakia Misl, into the Sarkar
Khalsa. After the death of Raja Ranjit Singh, the British officers were
appointed in Sialkot to restore order.
It was annexed by the British after the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849; since
then its area has been considerably reduced, assuming its present proportions in
1867. During the Mutiny of 1857 it was the scene of heavy fighting, and the
Sialkot Fort was used by the Europeans for protection. The native troops
plundered the treasury and destroyed all the records. In 1930, the Tehsils of
Rayya Daska and Pasrur were split up and parts of these were amalgamated in
District Gujranwala.
After the partition of British India in 1947, Sialkot came under Pakistani rule.
In 1991, The Tehsils of Narowal and Shakar Garh (which was Tehsil Shankar Garh
in District Gurdaspur before partition) were split up and formed into a new
District of Narowal.
As mentioned earlier, it is believed that the name of the city means "Fort of
the Sial" (the word/root kot, meaning fort, being common in South Asian place
names), the Sial being a gotra of the Jat caste which founded the city in
ancient times. The city still has the biggest caste of Jats.
The great saint of Sialkot, Imam Ali-ul-Haq, better known as Imam Sahib, lived
in the 13th century, during the reign of Feroz Shah Tughlaq (of the Tughlaq
Dynasty). He is reputed to have converted a majority of the local population to
Islam. Another renowned scholar of Sialkot was Mullah Abdul Hakim who is known
in the Middle East as Fazil Lahori. The Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, had him
weighed in gold once and in silver twice. He is buried in Sialkot near the old
Power House (Bijli Ghar).
The British laid the foundation of the Sialkot Cantonment in 1849 which was
completed in 1852. For establishing the Sialkot Cantonment, the British-Indian
Commander-in-Chief, Sir Lord Napier, surveyed and selected the area between the
seasonal streams, Bher Nala and Palkhu Nala, from the point of view of defence.
He also laid the foundations of the Brigade Headquarters. The Area Command laid
its foundation in 1852 under the leadership of Major General Angulas. A
Gothic-style church was designed by an engineer from Bengal, J. Harley. Sheikh
Mola Bukhsh bore all the expenses for its construction. The church was opened
for public in 1857. Archbishop Mr. Michelangelo Jacobi of Agra from Sardhana
laid the foundation of Convent of Jesus & Mary School in 1855. Sheikh Ghulam
Qadir and Seth Rai Bahadur laid the foundation stone for the Clock House (Ghanta
Ghar) in the Sadar Bazar.
The Church of Scotland came to Sialkot in 1855 and set up the Scotch Mission
High School in 18xx and the Scotch Mission College (later renamed Murray
College) in Sialkot in 1889.
In 1859, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Sialkot were placed in the new Division of
Sialkot. But in 1884, Gurdaspur alongwith Amritsar again became a part of the
Lahore Division.
The Alexandra Bridge, where the North-Western Railway crossed Chenab at
Wazirabad on its way to Sialkot, was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1876. The
railway branch from Wazirabad to Sialkot was extended to Jammu in 1890. The
Sialkot-Narowal railway line was opened in 1915.
In 1886 Dr. Maria White, a medical missionary appointed by the Board of Foreign
Missions of India under the United Presbyterian Church of North America, opened
a small dispensary in Sialkot which, later, became The American Mission
Hospital, Sialkot. The Christian Training Institute (CTI) at Bara Pathar was
established in 1888 by the United Presbyterian Church of North America whose
Sialkot Mission was registered as a society in 1895.
Sialkot is the birthplace of the British-Indian Muslim philosopher, scholar and
poet, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, as well as the famous Pakistani poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Another prominent figure from Sialkot was the eminent philosopher Professor
William Lilly who taught at the Murray College, Sialkot and spent most of his
working life there. His book on ethics remains a classic. Professor William
Lilly and Dr. Muhammad Iqbal used to act as examiners in philosophy for Punjab
University. The famous Indian journalist, Kuldip Nayyar, is the son of Dr.
Gurbakhsh Singh who was from Sialkot and used to practice medicine in the city?s
Trunk Bazar. The famous Indian politician, Gulzari Lal Nanda, also came from
Sialkot.
Papermaking in Sialkot dates back to the time of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and it
was Raja Man Singh who, as the Governor of Kabul, initiated the industry.
Sialkoti paper, also known as Man Singhi paper, was famous all over the world.
The Damascene craftsmen of Sialkot (koftgars or koftars) were famous during the
Mughal period for their fine swords and daggers, but the introduction of rifle
in 1857, put them out of work. The opportunity for alternative work arose in
1905, when some broken equipment at the American Mission Hospital in Sialkot
afforded a chance to adopt their skills. Encouraged by the hospital staff, they
gradually started manufacturing replicas of originals. Before long, orders were
received from other Christian mission hospitals in British India. By 1920,
Sialkot was exporting to all parts of British India and as far away as
Afghanistan and Egypt and was later selected for supplying surgical instruments
for the Allied forces in World War II. The Metal Industries Development Centre (MIDC)
was established in 1942 to act as a supply and inspection agency for the Allied
forces. Although the surgical instruments manufacturing factories were mostly
owned by Hindus, the craftsmen were mostly Muslim and the industry was not
affected by the partition of British India.
According to a myth, the sport goods industry started in Sialkot because an
English man broke his tennis racket and, since an immediate replacement was not
possible, he asked a local to repair it. The man did a perfect job and the
sports goods manufacturing industry took root in Sialkot. Recorded history of
the industry goes back to 1895 when the city started becoming famous for its
tennis racquets. By 1903, cricket bats were being crafted from imported English
willow and exported to different parts of British India and beyond. In 1922,
one, Mr. Syed, was awarded the British Empire Export Award for supplying
footballs to the British Army. Over the years the industry grew to include a
variety of wood and leather-based sports equipment, and diversified into related
industries such as sports apparel and riding equipment and even the Scottish
bagpipes.
The biggest name in the sports industry of Sialkot was Oberoi Sports which was
owned by Sardar Ganda Singh and whose entire workforce was Muslim. His brilliant
deputy, Khawaja Hakim Din, managed the factories. Sardar Ganda Singh used to own
a magnificient residence made entirely of red brick.
Sialkot used to have a great departmental store, Ghulam Qadir & Sons, which was
the biggest in Northern India before partition. The Maharaja of Kashmir used to
shop there (the store closed down in the 1970s because of property divisions and
disputes among the family members of the owners).
Paris Road used to be a fashionable area of Sialkot where rich and fashionable
Hindus once lived. The most wonderful residence on Paris Road belonged to the
famous Hindu barrister, C. Rai, which was converted to the official residence of
the sessions judge in Sialkot after the formation of Pakistan. At the farthest
end of the Paris Road, near the seasonal stream, Bher Nala, there were two
enormous homes, both owned by Hindus, which were taken over by the government
and turned into the official residences of the deputy commissioner and the
superintendent of police after the partition of British India.
The Connelley Park (named after a British deputy commissioner of Sialkot) was
converted to Jinnah Stadium (by another deputy commissioner of Sialkot, Mr.
Waqar Ahmed) in 1979 which was formally inaugurated in 1984 by the deputy
commissioner of Sialkot at that time, Mr. Ismail Qureshi.
The famous roundabout of Sialkot, Iqbal Chowk, has been variously known in the
past as Drumman-wala Chowk.Some other famous roundabouts are Samaj Chowk, Beri
wala chok, Shaban Chowk, China Chowk, and Anwar Khawaja Chowk. The Sialkot Dry
Port was established in Sambrial (home-town of Dr. Muhammad Iqabl's mother)
between 1985 and 1986.
During the Second Kashmir War in 1965, the Lahore-Sialkot region was attacked by
the Indian Army which, despite overwhelming numerical superiority managed only
to capture some outlying areas in the sector. These were later given back as per
the Tashkent Agreement.[1] In fact, the armoured battles in the Sialkot sector
(especially, the Battle of Chawinda), in 1965, were the most intense since the
Second World War
Again, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the region witnessed bitter
battles, most importantly, the Battle of Basantar in the Sialkot-Shakar Garh
area. The major Indian counter-offensive came in this area where, two Pakistani
tank regiments, equipped with obsolete Patton tanks, confronted the Indian First
Armored Corps, which was equipped with the British Centurion tanks.
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