Gujrat
This article is about a city in Pakistan. For the Indian state see Gujarat.Gujrat (
Urdu/
Punjabi:
گجرات) is a city in
Pakistan located in
Gujrat District in the
Punjab Province.
Gujrat's history is long and wide-reaching in its significance. Historical consensus is that it existed in the time of Alexander the Great, and that the city's Raja Porus put up a fierce challenge to Alexander's invasion at the bank of river Jehlum.
During the
Mughal Empire period, Mughal royalty would travel through the district en-route to Kashmir. When King Jahangir died while he was returning from Kashmir, the news of his death was not released to avoid any unrest in the empire. As such, his abdominal organs were taken out and buried in Gujrat. To this day an annual festival is held commemorating this event, commonly known as the "Festival of Jahangir".
There are many historical buildings and ruins in and around Gujrat. In the time of
Shair Shah Suri a road was built to link the city to
Jalal Pur Jattan (another major town of the district). The road still exists today, along with its period stone wall. The nearby towns of
Adowal,
Dinga and
Kunjah are also historically important.
Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, a recipient of the
Nishan-e-Haider (Pakistan's highest aviation award) during the India-Pakistan war of 1965 was born in Laadhian, a village near Gujrat. He was killed in the war and interred in the village.
Gujrat is situated 120 km north of
Lahore. To the north lies
Jhelum, to the south
Gujranwala, to the west
Mandi-Bahauddin, and to the east
Pakistan-Administrated Kashmir. It is located near the
Chenab river. The city is surrounded by hundreds of villages.
Many famous political personalities have come from Gujrat, including
Fazal Elahi Chaudhry, former
President of Pakistan;
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, former
Prime Minister of Pakistan and
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Chief Minister of
Punjab.
The fields of Gujrat produce a large
rice crop. Thanks to the system of
irrigation canals, Gujrat produces
sugarcane,
wheat,
gram and a wide range of pulses and vegetables.
Gujrat's principal industries include fan manufacture and export, pottery and furniture. Gujrat has a unique status throughout Punjab due to its relatively impressive manufacturing capabilities: there are around 1000 industrial units operating in the district. Several small and large textile industrial units have been established in
Jalalpur Jattan, a large town near the city.
Gujrat houses the shrines and tombs of many renowned Islamic Sufis and saints. The most notable include the shrine of
Kanwan Wali Sarkar and the shrine of
Shah-Daula.The anniversary of Kanwan-Wali Sarkar is held in August every year.
Gujrat is linked directly by road to
Gujranwala,
Jhelum,
Mandi Bahauddin and
Bhimber (Pakistan-Administrated Kashmir). The main Peshawar-Karachi railway line passes through Gujrat, linking the city to Jhelum and Gujranwala districts, with the nearest junctions at
Wazirabad and
Lalamusa.
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Gujrat District
