Jhang District

Jhang District (Punjabi, Urdu: ضلع جھنگ‎) is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Jhang is the district's capital.^[2] According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district's population was 2.8 million, of which 23 percent lived in urban areas.^[3] By 2008, according to estimates, the population had risen to 3.5 million.^[4]The native language is Punjabi,^[5] though Urdu is also spoken in educational institutions.

Location and geography

Jhang is one of the oldest districts on the subcontinent(being one of five districts established in Punjab in 1849), having being populated even around 2,000 BC, when it was known as Jhagi Sial. Jhang is bordered by Sargodha District to the north, Gujranwala District to the northeast, Faisalabad District and Toba Tek Singh District to the east,Khanewal and Muzaffargarh District to the south, Leiah District and Bhakkar District to the west, and Khushab District to the northwest.

The district comprises on four administrative units (tehsils) Jhang, Athara Hazari, Shorkot, and Ahmad Pur Sial.^[6]

Jhang District covers 8,809 km².^[7] Almost all the area is cultivatable land except in the north near Rabwah and Chenab Nagar where the land turns rocky as it approaches the Kirana hills. The western portion of the district holds the Thal Desert, which starts in Mari Shah Sakhira and extends to banks of the Jhelum River far to the west in the districts of Khushab and Bhakkar. There is also an area known as the Sandal Bar arising from Pabbarwala near the Gujranwala boundary. "Bar", in the local language, means a forested area where there are no resources for cultivation, like water. This area used to be forested and was unable to be cultivated before British colonial rule, when a canal system was installed near the town of Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), which is now the textile industry hub of Pakistan. Between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab is also a small area of Kirana bar, ending at Ghoriwala village. The area alongside the banks of rivers Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum is called Hitthar (area in which flood water reaches), while the upland area between the bars and Hitthar is called Utar.

History

Jhang District was agricultural region with forests during the Indus Valley Civilization. The Vedic period is characterized by Indo-Aryan culture that invaded from Central Asia and settled in Punjab region. The Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Madras, Pauravas, Yaudheyas, Malavas, Saindhavas and Kurus invaded, settled and ruled ancientPunjab region. After overunning the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BCE, Alexander marched into present-day Punjab region with an army of 50,000. The Okara was ruled byMaurya Empire, Indo-Greek kingdom, Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire, White Huns, Kushano-Hephthalites and Shahi kingdoms.

In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslimdue to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Punjab region. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh invaded and occupied Jhang District. During the period of British rule, Jhang district increased in population and importance.

The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhsmigrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Jhang District.

Climate and flora

engineer akhtar kawan

The climate is hot and dry in the summer and cold and dry in winter. The surface of the district presents three distinct levels (Thal's sand dunes on the extreme west, a low lying river valley in the centre and the Sandal Bar on the extreme east). The rivers of Jhelum and Chanab make their way through the district and Trimmu Head-works is the point of their confluence. Mari Shah Sakhira, a big town in the Thal Desert, is the district's hottest area, sometimes exceeding 50 C in June and July.

The district's trees consist of jand (Prosopis spicigera), karir (Capparis aphylla), beri (Zizyphus jujuba), van (Salvadora oleoides), kikar (Acacia nilotica), shisham (Dalbergia sissoo) and aak (Calotropois spp).^[8] Various herbs can also be found, including harmal, akrey and bathoo.

Culture and religion

Punjabi folk dances such as Jhummar and Sammi originated in Jhang District. Jhummar is a dance for men while Sammi is for women. The district also originated a well-known form of folk music known as "Dhola", or "Jhang da Dhola".

Traditionally men wear turbans and dhotis (similar to a skirt or kilt) though in recent years people have started wearing the national dress, the shalwar kameez. Some older women also wear dhotis. When women wear dhotis, the style is referred to called "Majhla" in Jhangochi; th male style is called "Dhudder". However, it is more common for women to wear shalwar kameez.

Street sports are important in Jhang District and include tent pegging (naiza baazi), kabaddi, volleyball, cricket and football (soccer).

In the past, women wove cloth with spinning wheels – known as Teeyan and Trinjan – but now that the area is industrialized the practice is no longer common.

The northwestern Jhang District, particularly the area at the west bank of the Jhelum River, is somewhat different in its culture because it is more influenced by the Thalochi culture emanating from the neighboring districts of Mianwali and Bhakkar .

Jhang District has dominant Muslim population(both Shia and Sunni.The non-Muslim minorities include small number of Ahmadiyya and Christian.

Language

The native language is Punjabi,^[9] though Urdu is also spoken in educational institutions.^[10]

Notable residents

• Sultan Bahoo (ca 1628 – 1691), saint, founder of the Sarwari Qadiri Sufi order
• Abdus Salam, Nobel laureate in Physics
• Aleem Dar, An award winner and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel
• Abida Hussain, politician, former Federal Minister and Ambassador to USA
• Faisal Saleh Hayat, Politician, Former Federal Minister
• Syed Ali Raza, President and Chairman of the National Bank of Pakistan
• Tariq Saleem Dogar, former Inspector General of Police, Punjab
• Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Sufi scholar Sufi scholar and former professor of international constitutional law at the University of the Punjab
• Sheikh Waqas Akram, MNA Jhang; he was also a Minister of State for Labour and Manpower Pakistan He resigned from the ministry and MNAship because he left PML-Q and announced to join PML-N before general elections of 2013.
• Mariam Hasan, Played for Pakistan national women’s cricket team
• Majeed Amjad,

Tomb

Jhang District is home to the tomb of the heroine of a famous love story, Heer Ranjha. Heer's tomb lies just north of Jhang on the way to Faisalabad. An annual fair is held at her tomb. Engineer Imran Ali Pithorana Sial

Education

• Govt. College, Jhang
• Faran Model College, Jhang
• Chenab College, Jhang
• Lahore College for Women University
• I-Soft College Of Commerce And Computer Sciences Jhang

8Superior College, Jhang

• College Of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Sub Campus- UVAS, Lahore.
• Arqam schools Jhang
• Govt. College of Commerce, Jhang