Nankana Sahib

History

Originally, the locality was founded by a Hindu ruler named Raja Vairat and was originally named Raipur but it was destroyed during the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. A town on the site of the first settlement was founded during the Delhi Sultanate rule by Rai Bhoi, a Rajput of Bhati stock whose Hindu ancestor had converted to Islam under the influence of Sufism, and thus was known as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi. His great-grand son Rai Bular Bhatti, renamed it as 'Nankana Sahib' after the birth of Guru Nanak. The Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, originally constructed by the Sikhs during the Mughal-era in around 1600 CE was renovated in 1819–20 CE by the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

During the Akali movement, on 20 February 1921, Narain Das, the Udasi mahant (clergy) of the gurdwara at Nankana Sahib, ordered his men to fire on Akali protesters, leading to the Nankana massacre. The firing was widely condemned, and an agitation was launched until the control of this historic Janam Asthan Gurdwara was restored to the Sikhs. Again in the 1930s and 1940s the Sikhs added more buildings and more architectural design.

Geography

Nankana Sahib and it surroundings were formerly a tehsil of Sheikhupura District. In May 2005, the provincial government raised the status of Nankana Sahib to a district for promoting development in the area. The present District has three tehsils: Nankana Sahib, Shah Kot, and Sangla Hill. Before December 2008, District Nankana Sahib also included Safdarabad Tehsil.

There are plans to construct a 100 acre university as well as hospitals and health care facilities by the district government with mutual interest of local communities and family of Rai Bular.

In 2007, the Pakistan government announced a plan to set up a university on Sikh religion and culture at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak. Chairman of Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Gen (R) Zulfikar Ali Khan, said that "The international Guru Nanak University planned at Nankana Sahib would have the best architecture, curricula and research centre on Sikh religion and culture".

Notable places

• Quba Masjid (A replica of Quba Masjid of Madina)
• Gurdwara Janam Asthan
• Nankana Lake Resort
• Residency of Baba Guru Nanak
• Gurdwara Patti Sahib
• Gurdwara Bal Leela
• Gurdwara Mal Ji Sahib
• Gurdwara Kiara Sahib
• Gurdwara Tambu Sahib And other historical Gurdwaras of Sikhism.

Notable people

• Guru Nanak, founder and first of the Sikh Gurus
• Rai Bular Bhatti
• Mohammad Irfan, Pakistani cricketer
• Rai Mansab Ali Khan
• Rai Rashid Ahmed Khan
• Shizra Mansab Ali Khan
• Ganga Ram
• Ijaz Shah
• Babra Sharif, film actor
• Barjees Tahir

Demographics

The partition of India and Pakistan significantly changed the demographic composition of Pakistan's cities with the vast majority of Hindus and Sikhs having to leave Pakistan and vice versa for Muslims in India. The 2023 Pakistani Census however showed that while still overwhelmingly Muslim at 97%, there is now a re-established Sikh community in the holy city their founder was born in. This can be attributed to the migration of the Pashtun Sikhs to the city fleeing from the Taliban insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Data from the 2023 census shows that the city of Nankana Sahib has a Sikh population of 1,875 out of a total population of 130,041. Nankana Sahib is the only city in Pakistan where Sikhs are the largest minority religion comprising just under 1.5% of the population. There is also a significant Christian population of 1,734 in the city making up 1.3% of the population.

The city is overwhelmingly Punjabi speaking, with Punjabi speakers comprising over 96.3% of the population. 2.5% also stated Urdu as their mother tongue.

The average household size in 2023 was 6.3 per household while the 2017-2023 average annual growth rate was 2.82%.

Education

Universities/Higher Education Institutes

• Virtual University of Pakistan Nankana Sahib Campus
• Baba Guru Nanak University

Colleges

Education

Nankana Sahib is home to several educational institutions, including:

• Government College of Commerce, Nankana Sahib
• Government G.N. Degree College, Nankana Sahib
• Government G.N. Degree College for Women, Nankana Sahib
• Punjab Group of Colleges, Nankana Sahib
• Superior College, Nankana Sahib

Schools

Nankana Sahib is home to several schools. A notable institution is:

• Allied Schools (Pakistan)

Notes

References

References

1. Iqbal, Amjad. (22 November 2015). "Over 2,500 Indian Sikhs attend annual pilgrimage".
2. [http://www.sgpc.net/historical-gurdwaras/gurdwaras_in_pakistan.asp Historical Gurudwaras:Nankana Sahib] {{webarchive. link. (2011-09-14 . Sgpc.net. Retrieved on 2011-11-15.)
3. link. (2011-12-22 . Nha.gov.pk. Retrieved on 2011-11-15.)
4. (23 May 2018). "Nankana Sahib District Population of Cities, Towns and Villages 2017-2018".
5. Singh, Bhupender. (December 2022). "Baba Nanak Shah Fakir". Blue Rose Publishers.
6. Khalsa, Sukhmandir. (1 January 2010). "Historical Gurdwaras of Nankana, Pakistan Commemorating Guru Nanak Dev".
7. "Our History {{!}} Nankana Sahib".
8. Singh, Roopinder. (March 23, 2011). "Bhagat Singh: The making of the revolutionary". [[The Tribune (Chandigarh).
9. [http://www.dawn.com/2005/05/10/nat43.htm Nankana becomes a district] {{Webarchive. link. (2005-10-01 . Dawn.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-15.)
10. link
11. (Sep 27, 2003). "Nankana Sahib in Pak to be a recreational village". [[The Times of India]].
12. (Apr 17, 2007). "Pak govt plans university at Nankana Sahib". [[The Times of India]].
13. https://www.facebook.com/NankanaLakeResort/ {{Webarchive. link. (2019-03-25 {{User-generated source). (March 2022)
14. "Nankana Lake Resort Nankana Sahib | Pakistan Hotels".
15. "Nankana Lake Resort and Gurdwara Nankana Sahib".
16. (2020-01-07). "Explained: What is the historical significance of Nankana Sahib in Pakistan?".
17. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results".
18. http://faculty.washington.edu/brass/Partition.pdf {{Webarchive. link. (2015-04-14 Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2021.)
19. Khalid, Haroon. (2018-01-09). "How Pakhtun Sikhs fleeing the Taliban made Nankana Sahib a cultural hub".
20. "TABLE 9 : POPULATION BY SEX, RELIGION AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS - 2023".
21. "TABLE 11 : POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE, SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023".
22. "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, PUNJAB".
23. "Government College of Commerce, Nankana Sahib". Punjab Higher Education Department.
24. "Government Colleges in Nankana Sahib". Punjab Higher Education Department.
25. "Government Colleges for Women in Punjab". Punjab Higher Education Department.
26. "Punjab Group of Colleges". Punjab Group of Colleges.
27. "Superior College Nankana Sahib". Superior Group.
28. "Allied Schools". Allied Schools Pakistan.