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History of Gujranwala
Gujranwala
city appears to be 500 years old. The origin of the name Gujranwala is shrouded in mists of time. The first name of the settlement
according to the compilers of the first edition of the district Gazette was khanpur Shansi after an individual of the JAT
cast called Khan Shansi who founded 11 villages in the nearby area. For some reason the Jaat Tribe Gujar occupied the land.
They reach such dominance that the town came to be known  as Gujranwala. It seems likely that the district once
contained the capital of the Punjab, at an epoch when Lahore had not begun to exist. We learn from the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim,
Hsuan Tsang, that about the year 630 he visited a town known as Tse-kia (or Taki), the metropolis of the whole country of
the five rivers. A mound near the modern village of Asarur has been identified as the site of the ancient capital. Until the
Mahommedan invasions little is known of Gujranwala, except that Taki had fallen into oblivion and Lahore had become the chief
city. ‘Under Mahommedan rule the district flourished for a time; but a mysterious depopulation fell upon the tract,
and the whole region seems to have been almost entirely abandoned. The Compilers of the district Gazetteer Gujranwala date
this name to Approximately 300 years, giving us a rough estimate of the middle of the 16th century . Other smaller town in
the vicinity for example Sohdara Eminabad Wazirabad and Ghakhar have older antecedent than Gujranwala itself. In the indispensable
1969 Essay " Gujranwala ; past and present " Dr.Waheed Quereshi names four villages in the Vicinity at the time of Abdalies
invasion i.e. in the late 18th century.
1. Sirai Kachi: a European merchant in the area in 1608 A.D. mentioned in his
memorial book a place he calls Coojes Serai. Before finch there is a very little evidence in history of Sirai Kachi . by the
late 18th century it was a wagon stop village and a graveyard. Probably the antecedent of Chaman Shah graveyard in existence
today.
2. Sirai Gujran : this village existed in the area inside the current Khiyaaly Gate in the city. Hafiz Abdul haq
in his " Tareekh-e-Gujranwala" and " Molvi Adbul Malik in his " Shahan-e-Gujran" mention Sirai Gujran.
3. Sirai Kambohaan:
Charat Singh a Sikh leader built a Mud Fort here in 1758.
4. Thatta : this village existed between the current railway
line and the G.T. Road. Charat Singh son Mahaan Singh develop this village
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Sikh Period: 1762-1849 A.D.
The Sikhs established their Empire in the Punjab after the
death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir in 1707. With the death of Aurangzeb the country saw a series of rapid governmental
changes that stressed it in |
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to
the depths of anarchy. Taking advantage of this certain Charat Singh, who was the head of one of the Sikh
Clans, established his stronghold in Gujranwala in 1763. Charat Singh died in 1774 and was succeeded by his son, Mahan Singh,
who in turn fathered the most brilliant leader in the history of the Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was this short scattered
man, addicted to strong drink, unlettered; blind in one eye who united the Punjab under one flag. His rule stretched from
the banks of the Gambian to the Khyber and from Kashmir to Multan. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the most powerful of all the Sikh Rulers and ruled over for complete 40 years. After his death in 1840 the Sikh
Empire was divided
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 Haveli Ranjit Singh |
| into small principalities looked after by several Sikh Jagirdars. This weak
situation provided a good opportunity to the British of East India Company
to put an end to the Sikh strong hold in the Punjab in 1849. |
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Rail Track With G.T.Road | British Period: 1849-1947 A.D.
The
area was annexed by the British in 1849. The
Deputy Commissioner of that time Sir Bernardth
Rebuilt the "Sialkoti Gate" , "Lahore Gate" and "Khiyaaly Gate". A railway line was built along G.T. Road which then was moved
100 yards towards the Eastern Punjab in 1881. That railway
line interconnected Gujranwala with other cities of Punjab and made the commercial trade between cities more convenient. British
ruled the city until Pakistan's independence in 1947. | After Independence After the distribution of subcontinent India, all the Sikhs and the Hindus migrated to India and
the Muslim pilgrims of the Eastern Indian-Punjab moved to Gujranwala. Gujranwala Today Gujranwala now is an agricultural marketing center (grains, melons,
sugarcane), it is also a commercial and industrial center, manufacturing ceramics,iron safes, copper, brass, and aluminum
utensils. The establishment of an industrial park, textile, silk, pipefitting, electric fan,  and tannery production increased its importance. Cultivation in the surrounding area is dependent upon canal irrigation.
Wheat, cotton, rice, barley, and millet are the chief crops. World 's best Quality Rice grows here. In 1951 the city was converted
into the capital of the district which Gave rise to the new industries in the city. The Gujranwala hydroelectric project provides
power from the Chanab River. There are also rice and sugar mills and glassworks in the locality. City has an International
Level Cricket Stadium, Jinnah Stadium also or formerly known as Municipal Stadium. Gujranwala, chamber of commerce & industry
came into being. In November 1978, and the first elected executive committee (Majlis-a-Aamla) took the charge of the chamber.
In all over Pakistan GCCI is one of those chambers who have their own building. The credit of construction of chamber's building
undoubtedly goes to its founders. Now apart from the chamber office, the Zonal / Circle offices of Habib Bank Limited, United
Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited and State Bank of Pakistan are functioning in the building. The city has many hospitals
and several colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab.
General Information about the City
Gujranwala city, northeastern Punjab province,
Pakistan. The city is connected by rail and the Grand Trunk Road with Peshawar and Lahore. Gujranwala has a relatively glorious
history. City's oral evidence from a resident and also cites inflection of the word Gujar to support his conclusion " we ,
the inhabitant of Gujranwala " have two sounds of the letter GAF- the soft letter and the hard letter. We pronounced Gujranwala
with the soft one .The word Gujar " milkman " is pronounced with the hard Gaf and Gujar Jaat with the soft Gaf therefore it
is not unreasonable to accept the view that it is from Gujars(milkman) that the city got its name.
Gujranwala,
on the Grand Trunk Road from Rawalpindi to Lahore, now the third largest city in the Punjab, is of little centrality, even
in the provincial context, due to its proximity to Lahore; like a number of secondary cities, it has been benefitting from
the spill overs of the capital of Punjab.
Situated on the both sides of 'G.T. Road' which is the
longest Road of Pakistan, Gujranwala is about 67 kms to the north of Lahore. It takes 1 hour to be at the city by any Local
Train from Lahore. The District comprises an area of 3198 sq. m. In 1981 the population was 7,522,352. Showing an increase
of 29% in the decade . The district is divided between a low alluvial tract along the rivers Chenab and Degh and the upland between them, which
forms the central portion of the Rechna Doab, intermediate between the fertile submontane plains of Sialkot and the desert
expanses of Jhang. Part of the upland tract has been brought under cultivation by the Chenab canal. The new Railway Station
was being opened on 15 May 1996 by the Commissioner of Gujranwala Division, It is a Busy Railway Station with 2 stops for
Lahore and Peshawar daily. Punjabi is the daily life language, however Urdu and English is extensively used in all official
and commercial circles. The Gujranwala District includes many small villages like Kamonke, Eminabad, Ferozwala, Rahwali, Talwandi
Ghakhar. City is known as the "City of Wrestlers". It has produced famous wrestlers of the subcontinent, who have proved their
skill and strength. This city is proud to attain fame in subcontinent in this behalf with grand titles ever won by any city
of the world. People are fond of food. The Hotels, Restaurants with their "Tikkas" "Chanps" "Kababs" are the favorite places
of the people. In order to meet their appetite the Gujranwala fisher department has made Artificial Fish Ponds near Eminabad,
which serves as hatchery for fishes for selling them in market. Where they are being Fried or being served with Rice.
Christian
minority is living in FrancisAbad Gujranwala, with complete independence of their religion. A number of churches are there.
Also a minority of Sikhs are living in Eminabad where they celebrate their annual "Bisaki" Festival.
City
has an Interntional Level Cricket Stadium, Jinnah Stadium formerly known as Municipal Stadium. Many National and International
Cricket matches had been held there. Jinnah stadium has a space of 20,000 spectators.
 Gujranwala is playing a major roll to support the economy of Pakistan. Different industries are working in various fields.
Cotton, woolen textile, rice mills, vegetable oil mils, industrial machinery, fan manufacturing, motor industry, washing machine
industry of wooden work, electric goods, poultry feed, soap, ball point rubber tire and tube, metal utensils, melamine utensils,
cutlery, kitchen ware, ceramics tiles, sanitary wares, sanitary fittings and steel pipe industry are included. Utensils of
Gujranwala are famous all over Country. The major exports of the city are Rice, textiles, carpets, transformers, garments,
goods of glass, electric fans, sanitary fittings, surgical equipment, hosiery, leather products, metal utensils, auto parts
sanitary wares and fittings.
The GCCI (Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industries)
promotes, aid, develop, stimulate and protect the economic interest of Pakistan general and of those engaged in industry,
agriculture, commerce, trade, banking and insurance, in particular. The GCCI communicates with the chambers of commerce &
industry or public bodies within or outside Pakistan concerts and promotes measures for the protection of trade, commerce
and manufacturers and the labor engaged therein and to remove mutual hardships. GCCI collects and circulates statistics and
other information relating to the commercial, industrial, agricultural and financial interest of the businessman and industrialists.
In
spite of being an industrial region and potential agricultural trade base of Pakistan, Gujranwala has always been discriminated
against other cities in terms of development and enhancement of Internet Services in the city. The Internet Service Providers
in the city are quite relaxed and cold in their attitude as compared to the services they are providing in other cities.
Punjab
tanneries are mostly scattered in four main clusters: Sialkot, Multan, Gujranwala and Lahore-Sheikhupura-Muridke, (treated
as one cluster). Major tannery agglomerations in Gujranwala referred as "Gujranwala Tannery Cluster", are located in two different
geographical areas. These include 'Hide market, Ferozwala road' and 'Naroki Village Tannery Estate', at Gujranwala-Sheikhupura
road. One individual tannery unit is located in 'Butranwali' at Sialkot-Gujranwala road. Out of total 32 tanneries of Gujranwala,
29 units have been ranked as small tanneries where as rest of three tanneries fall under the category of medium units. Except
one, all the tanneries of Gujranwala process hides by old tanning method, i.e., vegetable tanning. Sole leather is the major
end product of the tanneries of Gujranwala, which is generally supplied to local market.
The GEPCO
(Gujranwala Electric Power Company) supplies the electrical power to commercial and residential sectors.
 Gujranwala Development Authority (G.D.A.) was created in 1989 under the Punjab Development of Cities Act,
1976 to establish a comprehensive system of Planning & Development in order to improve the quality of life in Gujranwala.
The G.D.A. is headed by the Director General, G.D.A. The authority has two wings i.e. Urban Development and WASA.
The WASA
is headed by Managing Director. Important functions of GDA are:
• Preparation of Development Plans for Gujranwala.
•
Preparation of Planning Controls and Building Plans Regulations.
• Preparation of Annual Development Plans
and their execution.
• Causing Studies, Surveys and Technical Researches.
• Supply of Potable
Water and Provision of adequateSanitation.
G.D.A. Telephone: 0431-250895 - Fax: 0431-256432.
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