Sialkot is a city and capital of Sialkot District located in the north-east of the Punjab province in Pakistan and is 13th in the List of most populated metropolitan areas in Pakistan. It is located at the foot of Kashmir hills near the Chenab River. The city is about 125 km (78 mi) north of Lahore. The recorded history of Sialkot covers thousands of years. Sialkot has, since its foundation, expe
rienced migrations of Hindu, Buddhist, Persian, Greek, Afghan, Turk, Sikh, Mughal and British people to that of present-day Pakistan. Sialkot has been the birthplace of many noted personalities, including philosopher / poet Dr Muhammad Iqbal, poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, the second Prime Minister of India, Gulzarilal Nanda, writer Rajinder Singh Bedi, Kuldip Nayyar and a number of sports and art personalities. Contents [show]
History of Sialkot[edit]
Main article: History of Sialkot
Ancient Sialkot[edit]
There are various sources tracing the origins of the city of Sialkot but the authenticity of many of these sources varies. Excavations throughout the area have revealed large amounts of Greek coins, ancient Zoroastrian temples and several Buddhist stupas. The antiquities of Sialkot have also been discussed by Sir Alexander Cunningham in his Archaeological Survey Reports, II, 21, 22, and XIV, 44 to 47. According to the Greek historical texts, which bring mention of the city of Sialkot dating back to before 327 BC when the city was known as Sagala, it represented the eastern-most outpost and expansion of the Hellenic Empire created by Alexander the Great which has been cross-correlated to ancient Greek maps of the era and several monuments found in the Sialkot District. The Greek historians state that the city was one of the most productive Silk regions of the Achaemenid Empire. Sákala 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
the Indo-Greek king, Menander, ruled in Sialkot during the 2nd century
Popular legends attribute the foundation of Sialkot city to Raja Sala – the uncle of the Pandavas. According to Punjabi folk-lore, the early history of Sialkot is closely interwoven with the traditions of Raja (King) Sáliváhan, his son, Raja Rasálu, and his foe, Raja Húdi. A popular belief is that the city was re-founded by Raja Sáliváhan or Sálbán when it became a part of Kashmir. Raja Sáliváhan built a fort (Sialkot Fort) and the city and gave the place its present name.it is believed that the word "Sialkot" means the 'Fort of the Sia'. Medieval Sialkot[edit]
Sialkot became a part of the Muslim Sultanate of Delhi when the Afghan noble Sultan Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Ghauri conquered Punjab in 1185. 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. Sialkot then became a part of the Muslim Mughal Empire which was of Central Asian origin. The Mughal commander, Usman Ghani Raza, advanced towards Delhi by way of Sialkot which capitulated to his armies. In 'Babur Nama', Zaheer-ud-Din Muhammad Babur records:
“ 29th December: We dismounted at Sialkot. If one goes into Hindustan, the Jats and Gujars always pour down in countless hordes from hill and plain for loot in bullock and buffalo. These ill-omened peoples are senseless oppressors! Previously, their deeds did not concern us because the territory was an enemy's. But they did the same sensless deeds after we had captured it. When we reached Sialkot, they swooped on the poor and needy folk who were coming out of the town to our camp, and stripped them bare. I had the witless brigands apprehended, and ordered a few of them to be cut to pieces.[1] ”
During the era of the Mughal Emperor, Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar, the present district of Sialkot formed a part of the 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 the outlying districts and areas of Sialkot were left to themselves. Sialkot, itself, was appropriated by powerful families of Pashtuns from Multan, Afghanistan and Swat, the Kakayzai and Sherwani, and another family from Quetta. In 1748, the four districts of Gujrat, Sialkot, Pasrur and Daska were given to the Afghan Pashtun ruler, Ahmed Shah Durrani, and the area was amalgamated into the Afghan empire. 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 the peripheral areas, but the city of Sialkot was not included in it. Afterwards, the city was held strongly by a Pashtun clan till the occupation of the Sikhs who ruled for a period of about 40 years. The Pashtun presence is still considerable to this day and continues to attract newer Pashtun migrants and workers from Pakistan's tribal areas. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh invaded and occupied Sialkot. The Muslims faced severe restrictions during the Sikh rule.[2]
Colonial Sialkot[edit]
During the decline of the Durrani regime, Sialkot was occupied from the Pashtuns by the Sikhs and, thus, began the rise of their short-lived empire. Throughout the Sikh empire the majority of the subjects flourished and the Sikh rule was just and allowed basic freedoms for everyone. The empire lasted from 1797 to 1849,during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's empire . After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the British officers were appointed in Sialkot. Sialkot was annexed by the British after the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849. The British laid the foundation of the Sialkot cantonment in 1849 which was completed in 1852. For establishing the Sialkot cantonment, the British 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. The Area Command laid its foundation in 1852 under the leadership of Major-General Angulas. During the Indian Rebellion 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. Murray College, Sialkot was established in 1889. The railway branch from Wazirabad to Sialkot was extended to Jammu in 1890. The Sialkot-Narowal railway line was opened in 1915. The city played an important role during the Pakistan Movement. The national poet of Pakistan, who spearheaded the movement for an independent country, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal was born in Sialkot in 1877. In May 1944, the historic Sialkot Convention was held here. This convention is widely regarded as the landmark event which catapulted the All India Muslim League into prominence in the British-Indian Punjab. This convention was host to such Muslim League luminaries as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad Malhi, Khawaja Nazim-ud-Din, Sardar Abd-ur-Rab Nishtar, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan Daultana, Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot and Maulvi Tamiz-ud-Din. Modern Sialkot[edit]
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 Muslim refugees from India settled in the Sialkot district. Most of the refugees have since settled and inter-married into the local population. Ever since, Sialkot has become one of the major industrial centres of Pakistan and is well known for its manufacture and export of surgical instruments, sports goods, leather goods and other light manufactures. During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, the Second Kashmir War in 1965, when Pakistani troops arrived in Kashmir, the Indian Army counterattacked in the Sialkot Sector. The Pakistan Army was able to successfully defend the city and the people of Sialkot, who came out in full force to support the troops of the Pakistan Army to repel the Indian army.[3] 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.[4] In 1966, the Government of Pakistan awarded the Hilal-i-Istaqlal to the citizens of Sialkot, Lahore and Sargodha for their courage and bravery during the 1965 war between Pakistan and India. Again, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the region witnessed bitter battles, most importantly, the Battle of Basantar in the Sialkot-ShakarGarh area. The major Indian counter-offensive came in this area where two Pakistani tank regiments, equipped with the US Patton tanks, lost part of the region despite outnumbering the Indian First Armoured Corps, which was equipped with British Centurion tanks. Pakistani gains were made in Chamb sector, where the city of Chamb was captured by Pakistan Army, and is now called Iftikharabad, named after the Major General Iftikhar Janjua who later died fighting on the frontline and was the most senior officer to do so, he commanded the Pakistan Army in the Battle of Chamb. Both the forces returned to international borders after the Simla Accord, except Chamb sector, as it was located on the Line of Actual Control in the disputed territory of Kashmir. Geography and climate[edit]
Lying between 32°30′ North latitude and 74°31′ East longitude at an altitude of 256 m above sea level, Sialkot is bounded on the north by Jammu, north-west by Gujrat, on the west by Gujranwala and on the south by Narowal. The Chenab River flows to the north of Sialkot. There are three small seasonal streams flowing through the city, Aik, Bher and Palkhu. Sialkot features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification. Sialkot is chilly during winters and hot and humid during summers. May and June are the hottest months.
