Overview
Jhang District Overview, my famous and historic city, was founded in 1288 by Rai Sial under the guidance of Hazrat Shah Jalal Bukhari (his peer). Mal Khan was the first ruler of Jhang in 1462. The Sial tribe governed this city for 360 years, with Ahmad Khan as the last monarch from 1812 to 1822, until the Sikhs seized possession. Jhang was taken over by the British after being under Sikh authority.
Jhang is known for its men rather than its products. Jhang is supposed to have been founded in the fourteenth century, devastated by the river, and refounded under Aurangzeb's reign. The city thrived and was known for commerce and trade under the Central Asian Mughal administration. It was annexed to Afghanistan in the late 18th century and became part of the Afghan Empire.
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| Railway Station |
With the internal conflict in western Afghanistan in disarray and the Mughal Empire gradually declining, Ranjit Singh briefly took the city in 1805. Later that year, in 1849, the British made inroads into Punjab, adding Jhang to their growing South Asian dominion. During British rule, the two-mile-apart towns of Jhang and Maghiana formed a single municipality called as Jhang-Maghiana.
Jhang-Maghiana was incorporated as a municipality in 1867. During the ten years ending 1902-3, the average income was Rs.46,800 and the average expenditure was Rs.44,200; in 1903-4, the income was Rs.49,700, primarily from octroi. Maghiana is located on the outskirts of the mountains, overlooking the Chenab alluvial valley, whereas Jhang, the older town, is located at its foot.
Government Offices
The government offices and establishments had been relocated to a higher location, and commerce had fallen in Jhang, which was no longer regarded as an important location. Maghiana, on the other hand, was a significant trader in grain and country cloth, as well as a manufacturer of leather, soap, locks, and other brass work. Jhang also had a high school and a dispensary, whereas Maghiana possessed a civil hospital.
According to the 1901 Indian census, the population was 24,381, with 12,189 Hindus and 11,684 Muslims.
Jhang is the Punjabi folklore burial place of Heer and Ranjha. Jhang has produced a lot of well-known individuals, including doctors and engineers. Dr.Abdus Salam, the Nobel Prize winner in physics, was born in Jhang. Jhang was also home to the former Sipah-e-Sahaba Allama Haq Nawaz Jhangvi Shaheed. Other jhang personalities include Tahir-ul-Qadri and Abida Hussain.
Sultan Bahu (sometimes written Bahoo; about 1630-1691) was a Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher who lived mostly in Pakistan's present-day Punjab state. He belonged to the Qadiri Sufi order, and the mystic tradition he founded became known as Sarwari Qadiri. Except for Manaqib-i Sultani, a hagiography composed by a descendant of Bahu seven generations later, little is known about his life. Sultan Bahu was born in Shorekot, Jhang, Pakistan's current Punjab Province.
More than forty writings on Sufism are credited to him, most of which are in Persian and deal with specialized parts of Islam and Islamic mysticism. However, it is his Punjabi poetry that has endeared him to the public and gained him lasting fame. His couplets are performed in a variety of Sufi music genres, including qawwali and kafi, and tradition has established a distinct way of singing them.
History
Rai Sial erected Jhang in 1288 with the help of Hazrat Shah Jalal Bukhari (his colleague). Mal Khan was the first ruler of Jhang in 1462. The Sial tribe governed this city for 360 years, with Ahmad Khan being the last monarch from 1812 to 1822 until the Sikhs conquered over. Jhang was taken over by the British after being under Sikh authority.
Jhang is known for its people rather than its products. The Jhang are sturdy peasants who are tall, robust and have pale skin. Because they live on the plains, the people are straightforward, open-minded, welcoming, and progressive. Jhang is the hub of a purely agricultural society.
Agriculture is Jhang's main source of revenue and employment. Irrigation covers around 85 percent of the cultivable area in Jhang. The main crops are wheat and cotton. Rice, sugarcane, corn (maize), oilseeds, fruits, and vegetables are among the other crops farmed. Jhang district also has a big amount of livestock and poultry farms.
Weather
Jhang has a severe climate; the temperature is often high, with significant differences between summer and winter. Because the monsoon arrives fatigued, the rainfall is fairly modest. During the winter, there is also some rain. The summer may be uncomfortable, but the atmosphere is perfect and stimulating for most of the year. Spring in the Jhang is the greatest time of year, lasting from the middle of February until the middle of April.
It's not freezing or hot, just lovely and delightful. The entire district is transformed into a wide stretch of vegetation. Yellow blossoms blanket the mustard fields, trees sprout new leaves, fruits begin to bloom, and there are flowers everywhere.
Jhang Road Connections
Jhang is connected to some of the country's major cities via road or rail. The Multan Sargodha road runs through the city center. During my long stay in Multan, I used to commute on this road from Multan to Mandi Bahauddin. That's when I became acquainted with the location. Every time I drove through the city, I was reminded of Heer Ranjha, a story told in the form of an opera and a ballet, sung by young people and vocalists.
Heer&Ranjha
This is an example of our literary legacy. Heer was the daughter of a feudal landlord named Chuchak Sial, who lived in a village near Jhang's outskirts. Before her sacrifice for Ranjha, Heer had proven herself to be a brave and adventurous young lady. Sardar Noora of the Sambal clan is supposed to have had a truly beautiful boat built and assigned a boatman named Luddan.
Noora was really harsh on his employees. Due to the mistreatment, Luddan ran away with the boat one day and asked Heer for refuge. Heer provided him with both moral support and shelter. Sardar Noora was angered by this occurrence. He gathered his pals and started off to find Luddan. Heer gathered her friends into an army and confronted Sardar Noora.
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| HEER&RANJHA TOMB |
When Heer's brothers found out about the incident, they asked her, "If a mishap had befallen you, why did you not send for us?" "What was the need to send for all of you?" Heer said. "We had not been attacked by Emperor Akbar." It is the same Heer who, when she falls in love with Ranjha, gives up her life for him and says, "Rangha Rangha kardi ni mein aape Rangha hoi, menu Heer na aakhe koi" (Ranjha, Ranjha all the time, I too have become Ranjha). No one should address me as Heer; instead, address me as Dheedho Ranjha.)Heer Ranjha is the most well-known genuine love story in South Asian history. Similar to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, it depicts the narrative of two lovers, "Heer" and "Ranjah," whose families were at odds and separated for many years.
Heer was a very attractive woman with a wealthy father named "Chuchak." Ranjha was the youngest of four brothers, all except one of whom was married. In his late teens, he moved out to find work in a faraway village, where he met Chuchak, who hired him to look after his livestock. When Heer met Ranjha, he was captivated by the way he played the flute and finally fell in love with him.
They would meet covertly for several years until they were discovered by her parents and revealed who Dido truly was. Heer was married against her will to another man, leaving Ranjha heartbroken and alone in the tranquil villages until he met Gorak, a Jogi (dedicated believer in God). Dido was emotionally terrified after entering Gorak's Tilla (Shrine) and seeing only his departed sweetheart, so he deliberately became a Yogi.
On his travels around Punjab, he found the village of "Kher" and was reunited with his devoted sweetheart by reciting the Lord's name. They both fled and returned to Heer's Village, where her parents agreed to their marriage and put an end to the feud between the two families. The wedding preparations went smoothly, but on the wedding day, Heer's envious uncle, "Kedoh" (who walked with a limp after being assaulted by Ranjha's brothers many years before), poisoned her, causing the wedding to be canceled. Dido hurried to help Heer after hearing the news, but it was too late as she died in his arms, but tragically, Dido too died holding Heer to his bosom.
Only the poet's poetry is remembered now because no one has penned a more beautiful Heer than Waris Shah. But there is no "romance" left in Jhang, the sleepy and dusty district headquarters. Those who venture into the rustic city must fight their way past waves of Tongas, rickshaws, donkey and bullock carts, and queues of sellers peddling Gandeerian. And it is the city's first taste (and smell). Jhang's roadways are so congested with animal transport that they resemble highways of respiratory sickness and tragic accidents.
Overcrowding, population growth, garbage, power outages, and water shortages have all contributed to the transformation of the little hamlet built by the Sials in the early thirteenth century into a teeming sprawling slum. If Rai Sial returns, he will be unable to recognize the city. A quick trip across the city demonstrates everyone's disregard. The first thing a city requires is a Bypass. The Lalamusa-Sargodha-Khanewal railway line runs through Jhang and is a profitable route.
This route is currently served by only one Peshawar-Karachi train, the Chenab Express. Adding at least one more Peshawar-Karachi express train for passengers and agricultural products produced in the region could be beneficial. Furthermore, this route is strategically vital if the Peshawar-Lahore-Karachi main railway track is threatened. In that situation, the train route Lalamusa-Sargodha-Khanewal could handle all rail traffic.