Chichawatni
Encyclopedia
Chichawatni is a town in the Sahiwal District
of the Pakistan
i province of Punjab
. Situated near the Grand Trunk Road
, it lies approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Sahiwal
, the district capital.
named the town Chichawatni – meaning "City of Chach" – for his father, Maharaja
Chach of Alor
, after passing by it during a hunt. According to the second etymology, the name is derived from a Hindu
family who lived in the area in antiquity, with the father of the family being named Chicha and the mother Watni.
, Chichawatni was reputedly transformed from a small Punjabi village into a relatively modern city by infrastructure investment and planning decrees, starting in 1918. At the time of the India-Pakistan Partition of 1947
, many aristocratic Indian Muslim
families migrated from Punjabi towns like Ludhiana, Jallandhar, Amritsar
and Firozpur
, and settled in towns like Chichawatni, shaping the city's present-day Muslim elite. Another legacy of the Partition is a large Christian
community, with Christianity being most prominent among poorer residents.
, and is administratively subdivided into three City Union Councils and 34 rural Union Councils
. It is also the headquarters of Chichawatni Tehsil
. It lies approximately 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from the ancient Upper Indus site of Harappa
, and is consequently a popular stop-over for tourists. It furthermore serves as the educational hub for many local villages, offering several colleges and institutions for higher education.
Chichawatni is the headquarters of a Pakistani forest division, also named Chichawatni. Dating to 1923, the Chichawatni Plantation covers a total forested area of approximately 9,000 acre
s (36 km²), constituting the second-largest forest plantation in Pakistan, the largest being Changa Manga.
The Peregrine Fund, a U.S.
-based avian conservation organisation, has conducted research in Chichawatni forest.
Kabbadi – a type of Pakistani wrestling – is a prominent sport in Chichawatni, which is home to one of the few floodlit Kabbadi stadiums in Pakistan, and has played host to numerous Kabbadi championships.
and tertiary education
, including:
, a new and more accessible railway station was constructed in Chichawatni, with the sanction of then-Prime Minister
Zafarullah Jamali.
has invested significantly into education in Chichawatni, leading to a rapid increase in the local literacy rate. In partnership with private interests, local authorities have also invested into ICT
education, improving the computer skills of school and college students in Chichawatni. Numerous municipal parks and museums have also been constructed with government aid.
Sahiwal District
Sahiwal District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. As of 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were located in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District along with Okara District and Pakpattan District has comprised the Sahiwal Division...
of the Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i province of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
. Situated near the Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
, it lies approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Sahiwal
Sahiwal
Sahiwal is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is approximately 180 km from the major city Lahore and is the city between Lahore and Multan...
, the district capital.
Etymology
There are two prominent folk etymologies for the name Chichawatni. The first asserts that the 7th-century Raja DahirRaja Dahir
Raja Dahir , born 661 AD — died 712 AD, was the last Hindu ruler situated in Sindh and parts of Punjab in modern day Pakistan. During the beginning of the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent his kingdom was conquered by Muhammad bin Qasim, an Arab general, for the Umayyad Caliphate.- Reign...
named the town Chichawatni – meaning "City of Chach" – for his father, Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
Chach of Alor
Chach of Alor
Chach is the name of the Brahmin Chamberlain and Secretary to Rai Sahasi the Second, of the Rai Dynasty who succeeded him to the throne of Sindh. The history of Chach is related in the Chach Nama as part of the history of Sind. Several places along the Sindhu river are named after the adored king...
, after passing by it during a hunt. According to the second etymology, the name is derived from a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
family who lived in the area in antiquity, with the father of the family being named Chicha and the mother Watni.
History
During the British RajBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, Chichawatni was reputedly transformed from a small Punjabi village into a relatively modern city by infrastructure investment and planning decrees, starting in 1918. At the time of the India-Pakistan Partition of 1947
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, many aristocratic Indian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
families migrated from Punjabi towns like Ludhiana, Jallandhar, Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
and Firozpur
Firozpur
Firozpur is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India, founded by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq , a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.The Manj Rajputs say the town was named after their chief, a Rajput of...
, and settled in towns like Chichawatni, shaping the city's present-day Muslim elite. Another legacy of the Partition is a large Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
community, with Christianity being most prominent among poorer residents.
Overview
Chichawatni serves as the main city of Sahiwal DivisionSahiwal Division
Sahiwal Division is one of the nine Divisions of Punjab province of Pakistan. As of 1998, current regions of Sahiwal had a population of 6,271,247 people, with an annual growth-rate of 1.92%. Since 2008, Sahiwal District along with Okara District and Pakpattan District has comprised the Sahiwal...
, and is administratively subdivided into three City Union Councils and 34 rural Union Councils
Union Councils of Pakistan
A sherwan or village council in Pakistan is an elected local government body consisting of 21 councillors, and headed by a nazim and a naib nazim...
. It is also the headquarters of Chichawatni Tehsil
Chichawatni Tehsil
Chichawatni is a tehsil of Sahiwal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The tehsil has an area of 1,602 km2 and is headquartered at the city of Chichawatni and is administratively subdivided into 37 Union Councils, three of which form the capital.The tehsils contains five towns, these...
. It lies approximately 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from the ancient Upper Indus site of Harappa
Harappa
Harappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village located near the former course of the Ravi River. The current village of Harappa is from the ancient site. Although modern Harappa has a train station left from...
, and is consequently a popular stop-over for tourists. It furthermore serves as the educational hub for many local villages, offering several colleges and institutions for higher education.
Forest division
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (36 km²), constituting the second-largest forest plantation in Pakistan, the largest being Changa Manga.
The Peregrine Fund, a U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based avian conservation organisation, has conducted research in Chichawatni forest.
Cattle market
Chichawatni's cattle market, known as Mandi Muwaishiyan, is among the largest in Pakistan. Typically, the market runs from the 21st of each month to the end of month, with its business peaking in three first days.Kabbadi stadium
Educational institutions
Chichawatni is home to numerous institutions of secondarySecondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
and tertiary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
, including:
- Darul Uloom Khatm-e-Nubuwwat (an Islamic institution)
- Dawn Cadet High School
- The Educators College
- Unique Public School
- Al-Falah Public School
- Punjab Group of CollegesPunjab Group of CollegesThe Punjab Group of Colleges Pakistan is an association of universities and colleges in Pakistan. PGC established as The Islamic Commerce Educational Society , registered in 1985 by Mian Amir Mehmood, which established its first facility, the Punjab College of Commerce, in Muslim Town on Canal...
(Chichawatni Campus) - Government Crescent College (for girls)
- Government Crescent Girls High School
- Government Degree College (for boys)
- Government High School (for boys)
- Government M.C. High School (for boys)
Rail links
In 1918, Chichawatni's first railway station was constructed, but its position – in the largely impassable forest to the north of the town – made it difficult to reach, despite the expansion of the station in 1927. In July 2007, at the insistence of the local MNA, Rai Azizullah Khan MPNational Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
, a new and more accessible railway station was constructed in Chichawatni, with the sanction of then-Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Zafarullah Jamali.
Government investment
In recent years, the Government of PunjabGovernment of Punjab
The Government of Punjab , a provincial government in the federal structure of Pakistan, is based in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province....
has invested significantly into education in Chichawatni, leading to a rapid increase in the local literacy rate. In partnership with private interests, local authorities have also invested into ICT
ICT
-Science and technology:*Information and communication technologies** Information and communication technologies for development** Information and communication technologies in education** Information and communication technologies for environmental sustainability...
education, improving the computer skills of school and college students in Chichawatni. Numerous municipal parks and museums have also been constructed with government aid.
Notable people from Chichawatni
- Abdul Latif Khalid CheemaAbdul Latif Khalid CheemaAbdul Latif Khalid Cheema is Secretary General of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam and Central convener of Muttahida Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat Rabitta Committee. He is also the head of Darul Uloom Khatm-e-Nubuwwat in Chichawatni...
, head of Chichawatni's Darul Uloom Khatm-e-Nubuwwat - Rai Hassan NawazRai Hassan NawazRai Hassan Nawaz was the nazim of the District of Sahiwal, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. He resides in Chichawatni, a tehsil of Sahiwal.-References:...
, two-time nazimNazimA nazim is the coordinator of cities and towns in Pakistan. Nazim is the title in Urdu of the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council....
of the District of Sahiwal - Azam Tariq, co-founder of the political organisation Sipah-e-Sahaba PakistanSipah-e-Sahaba PakistanSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan is a militant Sunni Deobandi organization, and a formerly registered Pakistani political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi its stated goal is to primarily to deter major Shia influence in Pakistan in the wake of the Iranian...
See also
- SahiwalSahiwalSahiwal is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is approximately 180 km from the major city Lahore and is the city between Lahore and Multan...
- HarappaHarappaHarappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village located near the former course of the Ravi River. The current village of Harappa is from the ancient site. Although modern Harappa has a train station left from...
- Chichawatni TehsilChichawatni TehsilChichawatni is a tehsil of Sahiwal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The tehsil has an area of 1,602 km2 and is headquartered at the city of Chichawatni and is administratively subdivided into 37 Union Councils, three of which form the capital.The tehsils contains five towns, these...
- Grand Trunk RoadGrand Trunk RoadThe Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
- Forestry in PakistanForestry in PakistanThe forestry sector of Pakistan is a main source of lumber, paper, fuelwood, latex, medicine as well as food and provide ecotourism and wildlife conservation purposes. Less than 4% of land in Pakistan is covered with forests.-Statistics:-Types:...