Bahawalpur

Bahawalpur (Punjabi, Urdu: بہاولپور‎), is a city in Pakistan. The city is capital of the Bahawalpur District and is the 13th most populous metropolitan area of Pakistan.

History

The princely state of Bahawalpur was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan II after the break-up of the Durrani Empire. The city is over 4.51 kilometres long. Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan III signed a treaty with the British on 22 February 1833, guaranteeing the independence of the Nawab. The state acceded to Pakistan on 7 October 1947 when Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V Bahadur decided to join Pakistan at the time of independence. The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslims refugees from India settled down in the Bahawalpur state. Bahawalpur became a province of Pakistan in 1952 and was merged into the province of West Pakistan on 14 October 1955. When West Pakistan was divided into four provinces — Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab — Bahawalpur was amalgamated in Punjab.

Bahawalpur (princely state)

Bahawalpur was a princely state of British India and later, Pakistan, that existed from 1802 to 1955. It was a part of Punjab States Agency. The state covered an area of 45,911 km² (17,494 sq mi) and had a population of 1,341,209 in 1941. The capital of the state was the town of Bahawalpur.

Bahawalpur state was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi after the breakup of the Durrani Empire. His successor was Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi III. On 22 February 1833, Abbasi III entered into subsidiary alliance with the British by which Bahawalpur was admitted as a princely state of British India. When India became independent of British rule in 1947 and partitioned into two states, India and Pakistan, Bahawalpur joined the Dominion of Pakistan. Bahawalpur remained an autonomous entity till 14 October 1955 when it was merged with the province of West Pakistan.

History

The Abbasi tribe from whom the ruling family of Bahawalpur belong, claim descent from the Abbasid Caliphs. The tribe came from Sindh to Bahawalpur and assumed independence during the decline of the Durrani Empire. Bahawalpur along with other Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states, lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the south, and Sirsa District on the west. These states were ruled by the Scindhia dynasty of the Maratha Empire, various Sikh sardars and other Rajas of the Cis-Sutlej states paid tributes to the Marathas, until the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803-1805, after which the Marathas lost this territory to the British.

Bahawalpur District

Bahawalpur District (Punjabi,Urdu: ضلع بہاول پور‎) is one of the districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Its capital is Bahawalpur city. According to the 1998 Census of Pakistan it had a population of 2,433,091 of which 27.01% were urban Bahawalpur district covers 24,830 km². Approximately two-thirds of the district (16,000 km²) is covered by the Cholistan Desert, which extends into the Thar Desert of India. The district is a major producer of cotton.

It is located in the south of the Punjab province, Bahawalpur district is bordered by India to its south and south east, Bahawalnagar to its north east, Vehari, Lodhran and Multan to its north, Rahimyar Khan to its west and Muzaffargarh to its north west.

Administration

The district is administratively divided into five tehsils and 107 Union Councils:

Language

Following are the demographics of the Bahwalpur district, by spoken language:

Inhabitants of District speak a great variety of Punjabi dialects, although few of these dialects are called as separate language “Saraiki”, but because of good and loving nature of people there is no distinction or hate among different dialects and have a mix culture of Great Bahawalpur State, Punjab and Choolistan.