Gujrat District


Gujrat is a district of Gujrat Division in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The Gujrat District was created by the British Government in 1846. According to the 2023 Pakistani census, the population of the Gujrat District is 3,219,375.

Geographics

It is bounded on the northeast by Bhimber district, on the north by Mirpur district, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum district, on the east and southeast by the Chenab River, separating it from the districts of Gujranwala and Sialkot, and on the west by Mandi Bahauddin district. Gujrat district is spread over an area of 3,192 square kilometres.
It is geographically located between the Chenab River and Jhelum River and headquartered at the city of Gujrat.

History

Ancient history

According to the British Imperial Gazetteer:
However the foundation of the capital, Gujrat, according to the Ancient Geography of India:

Islamic Rule (Ghaznavid, Ghurid, Delhi, Suri, and Mughal Empires)

In 997 CE, Mahmud Ghaznavi inherited the Ghaznavid dynasty established by his father Sebuktegin. After defeating the Hindu Shahis, he conquered their kingdom entirely which included the Punjab region of modern-day Pakistan.
After defeating the Ghaznavids, the Ghurids took over the region. They were in turn succeeded by the Sultanates of Delhi.
The Mughal emperor Akbar established Gujrat as a district along with many others when he began consolidating his rule over his vast empire. Jahangir, Akbar's son and successor, in his memoirs records the following information on Gujrat:
Revenue records have been preserved in the families of the hereditary registrars, and these exhibit Gujrat as the capital of a district containing 2,592 villages, paying a revenue of 11.6 million. In 1605, the famous Sayyid Abdul Kasim received Gujrat as a fief from Akbar.
In 1707, with Aurangzeb's death, the decline of Mughal power began in the Punjab region. Nadir Shah occupied the Punjab including Gujrat during his invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1739. The area was captured by Punjabi Gakhar tribesmen from near the Rawalpindi area after the invasion.
Gujrat and Punjab as a whole was devastated further from the invasions of the Durrani Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani between 1748 and 1767. Durrani took direct control over Punjab after Mir Mannu, the Mughal governor of Punjab, died in 1753. Durrani would frequently cross the area for plunder and to fight the newly emerged Sikh Misls.

Sikh and British era

The Sikhs eventually took over most of northern Punjab after Ahmad Shah Durrani’s final invasion in 1767. The Sikhs under Gujjar Singh Bhangi took Gujrat after defeating the local Punjabi Ghakhars under Muqqarab Khan.
In 1798, the Bhangi leader Sahib Singh pledged allegiance to the Sukerchakia Misl of Ranjit Singh. By 1810, Ranjit Singh's armies captured the city from Bhangi forces, thereby extending the rule of the Sikh Empire to the city.
The Sikh empire declined following Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839. The British East India Company defeated the Sikhs between 1845 and 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh War, reducing their power significantly. Two years later, the empire collapsed after the British EIC again decisively defeated the Sikhs at the Battle of Gujrat, thus ending the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The Sikh empire was entirely annexed and incorporated into the rule of the British EIC. Gujrat district was annexed by the British from its former Sikh rulers after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–1849.

Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Gujrat district has 489,337 households and a population of 3,219,375. The district has a sex ratio of 99.83 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 81.37%: 84.81% for males and 77.95% for females. 717,826 are under 10 years of age. 1,324,264 live in urban areas.

Religion

As per the 2023 census, Islam is the dominant religion with 98.92% of the population while there is a minority of 0.95% Christians who live mainly in urban areas.

Language

According to the 2023 Pakistani census, 93.47% of the population spoke Punjabi, 3.48% Urdu and 2.16% Pashto as their first language.

Administration

The district is administratively subdivided into following tehsils:
TehsilArea
Pop.
Density
Literacy rate
Union Councils
Gujrat1,4631,746,1731,193.5682.48%...
Kharian1,1541,174,9351,018.1479.69%...
Sarai Alamgir575298,267518.7381.55...
Jalalpur Jattan...............
Kunjah...............

Education

Gujrat district has the 2nd highest literacy rate in Punjab. District Gujrat has a total of 1,475 government schools at primary and secondary level. Out of these public schools, 60 percent are for girls. According to the latest available data, 323,058 students are enrolled in the public schools while 10,581 teachers are working in these schools.

Notable people

Politicians