Montgomery District
Encyclopedia
Montgomery District was an administrative district of the former Punjab Province
of British India, in what is now Pakistan
. Named after Sir Robert Montgomery, it lay in the Bari Doab, or the tract between the Sutlej and the Ravi
rivers, extending also across the Ravi into the Rechna Doab
, which lies between the Ravi and the Chenab
. The administrative headquarters was the town of Montgomery, present-day Sahiwal
.
s, these were:
, Pakpattan
, Okara
, and portions of Shekhupura, Faisalabad
, Tobo Tek Singh, and Vihari.
It was bounded by the Districts of Lahore on the north-east, Jhang on the north-west, and Multan on the south-west, while on the south-east it bordered the Native State of Bahawalpur
and the British District of
Ferozepore.
In the former tract a fringe of cultivated lowland skirted the bank of either river, but the whole interior upland consisted of a desert plateau partially overgrown with brushwood and coarse grass, and in places with impenetrable jungle. On the farther side of the Ravi, again, the country at once assumed the same desert aspect.
to Multan
, and is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system, and also from the Ravi.
The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoral Jats, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. The sites of Kot Kamalia and Harappa
contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins left by the Indus Valley Civilisation, while many other remains of ancient cities or villages lie scattered along the river bank, or dotted the then-barren stretches of the central waste. The pastoral tribes of this barren expanse did not appear to have paid more than a nominal allegiance to the Muslim rulers, and even in the 19th century, when Ranjit Singh
extended the Sikh
supremacy as far as Multan, the population for the most part remained in a chronic state of rebellion. British influence was first exercised in the district in 1847, when an officer was deputed to effect a summary settlement of the land revenue. Direct British rule was effected on the annexation of the Punjab in 1849.
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857
, there was a general rising of the Jat clans, the District formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from Sirsa and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other wild Jat clans. The District authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till August 26, when the prisoners in jail made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained at Gugera, broke his arrest, and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains.
On September 16 they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion. Kot Kamalia was sacked; and Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from Multan, was besieged for some days at Chichawatni
on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements from Lahore. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale.
The district was part of the Lahore Division
of Punjab Province. The district went to Pakistan upon the Partition of British India
into the independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947.
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
of British India, in what is now 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...
. Named after Sir Robert Montgomery, it lay in the Bari Doab, or the tract between the Sutlej and the Ravi
Ravi River
The Ravi is a trans-boundary river flowing through Northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of the six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region ....
rivers, extending also across the Ravi into the Rechna Doab
Rechna Doab
The Rechna Doab, or Rachna Doab , can be classified as one of the main regions of Punjab. Punjab historically has been divided into regions based on its various rivers, since the name Punjab is based on its 5 main rivers...
, which lies between the Ravi and the Chenab
Chenab River
The Chenab River چنRiver' آب) is a major river of Jammu and Kashmir and the Punjab in Pakistan. It forms in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of the Punjab, Pakistan...
. The administrative headquarters was the town of Montgomery, present-day 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...
.
Administration
The district was administratively subdivided into 4 tehsilTehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
s, these were:
- MontgomeryMontgomery TahsilMontgomery Tahsil was an administrative subdivision of Montgomery District in Punjab province of British India. The tahsil was located between 30°16' and 31°2' N. and 72°27' and 73°26'E on both banks of the Ravi River, with an area of 1,472 square miles....
- Gugera
- DepalpurDepalpur TehsilDepalpur Tehsil is an administrative subdivision of Okara District in the Punjab province of Pakistan, headquartered at the town of Depalpur...
- PakpattanPakpattan DistrictPakpattan District is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan, Pakpattan is the district capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, it had a population of 1,286,680 of which 14% were urban...
Boundaries
The district had an area of 4771 sq mi (12,356.8 km²) and included the present-day districts of SahiwalSahiwal 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...
, Pakpattan
Pakpattan District
Pakpattan District is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan, Pakpattan is the district capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, it had a population of 1,286,680 of which 14% were urban...
, Okara
Okara District
Okara District is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. The Multan Road connects the district capital, Okara with tLahore 110 km away. Okara began as a small town about 40 km from the city of Sahiwal. It later become a city in its own right. According to the 1998 census, the district had a...
, and portions of Shekhupura, Faisalabad
Faisalabad District
Faisalabad District is one of the districts of Punjab province, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 5,429,547 of which almost 42% were in Faisalabad City....
, Tobo Tek Singh, and Vihari.
It was bounded by the Districts of Lahore on the north-east, Jhang on the north-west, and Multan on the south-west, while on the south-east it bordered the Native State of Bahawalpur
State of Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur was a princely state, stretching along the southern bank of the Sutlej and Indus Rivers, with its capital city at Bahawalpur. The state was counted amongst the Rajputana states...
and the British District of
Ferozepore.
In the former tract a fringe of cultivated lowland skirted the bank of either river, but the whole interior upland consisted of a desert plateau partially overgrown with brushwood and coarse grass, and in places with impenetrable jungle. On the farther side of the Ravi, again, the country at once assumed the same desert aspect.
History
The population according to the 1901 census of India was 463,586, a decrease of 0-4 % in the decade due to emigration to the Chenab Colony. The principal crops were wheat, pulse, cotton and fodder. Camels were bred for export. The leading manufactures are of cotton and silk, and lacquered woodwork, and there are factories for ginning and pressing cotton. The district was traversed by the main line of the North-Western Railway, from LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
to Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
, and is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system, and also from the Ravi.
The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoral Jats, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. The sites of Kot Kamalia and 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...
contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins left by the Indus Valley Civilisation, while many other remains of ancient cities or villages lie scattered along the river bank, or dotted the then-barren stretches of the central waste. The pastoral tribes of this barren expanse did not appear to have paid more than a nominal allegiance to the Muslim rulers, and even in the 19th century, when Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
extended the Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
supremacy as far as Multan, the population for the most part remained in a chronic state of rebellion. British influence was first exercised in the district in 1847, when an officer was deputed to effect a summary settlement of the land revenue. Direct British rule was effected on the annexation of the Punjab in 1849.
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, there was a general rising of the Jat clans, the District formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from Sirsa and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other wild Jat clans. The District authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till August 26, when the prisoners in jail made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained at Gugera, broke his arrest, and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains.
On September 16 they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion. Kot Kamalia was sacked; and Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from Multan, was besieged for some days at Chichawatni
Chichawatni
Chichawatni is a town in the Sahiwal District of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Situated near the Grand Trunk Road, it lies approximately from Sahiwal, the district capital.-Etymology:...
on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements from Lahore. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale.
The district was part of the Lahore Division
Lahore Division
Lahore Division was an administrative division of the Punjab Province of Pakistan, until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government.-History:Lahore Division was originally an administrative division of the Punjab Province of British India...
of Punjab Province. The district went to Pakistan upon the Partition of British India
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...
into the independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947.