Gujranwala
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Gujranwala گوجرانوالہ |
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| State : |
 Pakistan
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| Province : | Punjab | ||
| Coordinates : |
32 ° 9 ' N , 74 ° 12' E
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| Area : |
3 198 km²
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| Residents : | 2,027,001 (2017) | ||
| Population density : | 634 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Time zone : | PST ( UTC + 5 ) | ||
| Telephone code : | (+92) 055 | ||
| Postal code : | 52250
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Gujranwala ( Panjabi , Urdu : گوجرانوالہ) is a city with about 2 million inhabitants in the northeast of the Pakistani province of Punjab .
location
Gujranwala is about 70 km (driving distance) northwest of Lahore at an altitude of about 230 m above sea level. d. M. The city is directly connected to Lahore (capital of Punjab Province), Islamabad (capital of Pakistan ) and Peshawar (capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province) via the railway and highway network . The Indian city of Amritsar is only about 90 km to the southeast, but most of the road links between India and Pakistan are closed.
population
About 98% of the city's residents are Muslim; Hindus , Sikhs and other religious groups are numerically small minorities. One speaks Punjabi and Urdu .
Population development
| Census year | population |
|---|---|
| 1972 | 323,880 |
| 1981 | 600.993 |
| 1998 | 1,124,799 |
| 2017 | 2,027,001 |
economy
Gujranwala is on the one hand an agricultural center (grain, melons, sugar cane), but on the other hand it is also a center of trade and industry (ceramics, leather, production of safes, textiles, silk, engine industry, washing machine industry). But the metalworking area is also important with the processing of copper, brass and aluminum. In 1951, Gujranwala was named the district capital, which gave the economy an upswing, particularly in the newer industries. The Gujranwala District hydropower plant generates electricity using the Chanab River .
history
The name of the settlement was first "Khan Shansi". Khan Shansi was the founder of eleven surrounding villages in the area. In the following years the country was occupied by the Jat tribe of the Gurjar. Due to its dominance, the city soon became known as Gujranwala. Probably the capital of Punjab was once in this district - at a time when Lahore did not yet exist. It is known from the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang that a city called Taki (or Tse-kia ) is said to have been the metropolis of the entire Five Rivers country . This ancient capital was discovered near the modern village of Asarur. However, it is not known how the fall of Taki and the rise of Lahore came about. While the district initially prospered and strengthened, it later became mysteriously depopulated ; the region lost almost all of its importance. At the beginning of the 11th century, the west of Punjab was conquered and Islamized by the army of Mahmud of Ghaznis (r. 997-1030); the east with today's Gujranwala remained under Rajput rule until 1193 . In the 13th and 14th centuries, the area belonged to the Sultanate of Delhi , which was conquered in 1526 by the Mughals who had lived in Kabul ( Afghanistan ) since 1504 .
After the death of the last important Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in 1707, the Sikhs gradually established themselves in Punjab. The death of the old ruler was followed by a series of rapid changes of government that brought the country to the brink of anarchy. At that moment, Charat Singh, the head of one of the Sikh clans, seized the opportunity and made Gujranwala his bulwark in 1763. The period between 1762 and 1849 is also called the Sikh period. Charat Singh died in 1774, but his work was carried on extremely successfully by his son Mahan Singh. Mahan is considered to be one of the most brilliant leaders in Punjab history . He achieved the unification of the entire country under one flag. Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled until his death in 1839; after that the empire of the Sikhs was divided. The British East India Company took advantage of this period of weakness in 1849 and ended the rule of the Sikhs after the Second Sikh War . Until 1947 the area was part of the British Empire .
After independence and the division of the Indian subcontinent , many Sikhs and Hindus emigrated to India, while Muslim refugees took the opposite route.
Attractions
The city has various historically significant sights:
- The most important building is a representative reception pavilion ( Baradari ) from the end of the Mughal period (1788). It suffered from rioting in 1992 but was restored in 2012.
- Three city gates in the old town date from the same era. The best known is the Sialkoti Gate, also known as "Brandreth Gate". The Lahori Gate and the Khiyali Gate have also been preserved.
- Another multi-storey Baradari , built in honor of Sher Singh, dates from the early 19th century; however, it is largely in ruins.
- The Mai Mala cupola tomb is an octagonal building in honor of a Sufi saint from the 18th century.
- A high towering Clock Tower ( clock tower ) on an octagonal floor plan was built in 1906 by the British.
- The main train station, built in 1881 in British colonial style, is currently (2018) being renovated. The smaller Gujranwala Cantonment station, built in the same architectural style, is located in the south of the city.
- The Nishan-e-Manzil Monument commemorates the fallen soldiers of the Indo-Pakistani wars in 1965 and 1971.
- One of the largest churches in the city is Saint Paul's Presbyterian Church, which was inaugurated in 2010 after nine years of construction, with its two bell towers that can be seen from afar.
education
The city has several colleges linked to the University of Punjab and several universities
Sports
The Jinnah Stadium is a cricket stadium with around 20,000 seats on an international level. The stadium formerly known as the Municipal Stadium has hosted many national and international cricket matches. In addition, Gujranwala is famous for its wrestlers who Kabaddi exercise
See also
Web links
- Gujranwala - video
- University of the Punjab, Gujranwala (English)
- Sher Singh-Baradari - Photo + Info (English)