Sialkot Town
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Sialkot Town in 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Head-quarters of Sialkot District and tahsil,
Punjab, situated in 32 30' N. and 74 32' E., on the Wazirabad-
Jammu branch of the North- Western Railway; distant by rail from
Calcutta 1,341 miles, from Bombay 1,369, and from Karachi 808.
Population (1901), 57,956, Sialkot stands on the northern bank of
the Aik torrent, upon the edge of the high triangular ridge which
extends southward from the Jammu hills, and is 72 miles from
Lahore.
Popular legends attribute its foundation to Raja Sala, the uncle of the Pandavas, and say that it was refounded in the time of Vikramaditya by Raja Salivahan, who built the fort and city. Salivahan had two sons : one, Puran by name, was killed by the instrumentality of a wicked step- mother, and thrown into a well, still the resort of pilgrims, near Sialkot; the other, Rasalu, the great mythical hero of Punjab folk-tales, is said to have reigned at Sialkot. Towards the end of his reign Rasalu became involved in wars with Raja Hudi, popularly stated to have been a Gakhar chieftain. Being worsted in battle, Rasalu, as the price of peace, was forced to give his daughter in marriage to his conqueror, who gave the teiritory he had conquered to Rasalu's adopted son. According to a further legend related to Mr. Prinsep :
c After the death of Raja Rasalu, the country is said to have fallen under the curse of Puran (brother of Rasalu, who had become a fakir] for 300 years, lying totally devastated from famine and in- cessant plunder. 3
It has recently been suggested that Sialkot is the ancient site known as Sakala or Sagal. In A,D. 790 the fort and city were demolished by an army under Raja Naraut, supported by the Ghandaurs of the Yusufzai country. Under the Mughal emperors, Sialkot became the head-quarters of a fiscal district (sarkdr). The country was afterwards occupied in the seventeenth century by the Rajput princes of Jammu. The mound which rises in the centre of the town, crowned with the remains of an ancient fort, is popularly believed to mark the site of the original stronghold of Raja Salivahan ; but the fort itself is not more than 1,000 years old, and is said to have been rebuilt by Shahab-ud- din at the end of the twelfth century. Some old baths with hot-water pipes of solid masonry have been discovered here. Other similar mounds stand among the outskirts of the town. In modern times, the old fort is of historical interest for its gallant defence by the few European residents who took refuge here during the Mutiny of 1857. It is now dismantled, and the few buildings it contains are used for public purposes. The town also contains the shrine of the first Sikh Guru, Baba Nanak (see AMRITSAR DISTRICT), the scene of an annual fair largely attended by Sikhs from all parts of the District ; the Darbar Baoli Sahib, a covered well, erected by a Rajput disciple of Baba Nanak, held high in religious consideration among the Sikhs; the Muhammadan shrine of Imam Ali-ul-hakk, a handsome building of ancient construction ; and a temple erected by Raja Tej Singh. The municipality was created in 1867. The income and expenditure during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged about a lakh. In 1903-4 the income was a lakh, chiefly derived from octroi (Rs. 80,500); and the expenditure was also a lakh, including conservancy (Rs. 13,200), education (Rs. 17,000), medical (Rs. 12,000), and administration (Rs. 25,900).
The large military cantonment is situated about a mile and a half from the native town. The garrison, which belongs to the Rawalpindi division, consists of one battery and one ammunition column of horse artillery, one regiment of British cavalry, two regiments of Native cavalry, one battalion of Native infantry, and one company of sappers and miners. There is also a mounted infantry school. During the ten years ending 1902-3 the income and expenditure of cantonment funds averaged Rs. 37,000.
Sialkot is a flourishing trade centre and depot for agricultural pro- duce. It has an extensive manufacture of cricket and tennis bats, hockey sticks, &c., tents, surgical instruments, and tin boxes. Boots are also made, and various cotton stuffs, chiefly twill (silst). The manufac- ture of paper is said to have been introduced four centuries ago, and under the Mughal emperors Sialkot paper was largely used at the Delhi court. The manufacture has now greatly declined, owing to the competition of mill-made paper. The town contains three flour-mills, in one of which cotton-ginning is also carried on. The number of employes in 1904 was 85. The Alliance Bank of Simla has a branch in the town. The principal educational institutions are the Sialkot Arts college and four Anglo-vernacular high schools, of which one is managed by the Educational department, two by the Scottish and American Missions, while the fourth is the Christian Training Insti- tute of the Scottish Mission. There are five middle, schools for girls, one of which is attached to the convent. In the town are a civil hospital with a branch dispensary, an American Mission hospital for women and children, and a charitable dispensary maintained by a member of an old family of hakims or native physicians.
Iqbal Manzil
Iqbal Manzil’s repair comes to a halt
By Our Correspondent
SIALKOT, April 20: The repair work of the dilapidated Iqbal Manzil, the birthplace of poet-philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal, has abruptly been come to a halt.
It is learnt that the former provincial government had started the work with the repair of outer walls of Iqbal Manzil in November last year. Before launching the renovation project, a detailed survey was conducted under the supervision of senior architects and engineers. The main aim was to preserve this national heritage in its original shape.
Sources said though only Rs0.5 million were required for the renovation of the 145-year-old Iqbal Manzil, neither the provincial nor the district governments have allocated even a single penny for preserving this national heritage.
While the Sialkot business community has also failed to honour its commitment in relation to bearing all renovation expenditures of Iqbal Manzil.
Meanwhile, the death anniversary of the poet of the East will be observed with solemnity here on Monday (today).
Quran Khwani will also be held at the Iqbal Manzil.
The people will lay floral wreaths at the graves of Allama Iqbal’s parents at the Imam Sahib graveyard.
Iqbal Manzil renovated
By Abid Mehdi
SIALKOT, Nov 8: The Sialkot district government has repaired the cracked walls of 147-year-old Iqbal Manzil, the birth place of Allama Iqbal. Iqbal Manzil has now been electrified and an alternative power supply system installed there to provide uninterrupted electricity to the building.
Cracks appeared several years ago in almost all the walls of the building. Now the walls have been repaired and whitewashed, decade-old curtains replaced and the second storey of the three-storeyed building has been carpeted.
After the renovation, over 200 people visit the ancient place every day. Earlier, the number of visitors was limited to a few dozens as the building looked like a haunted place.
The third storey is still closed for visitors as it has not been renovated.
The Punjab government’s promise to establish an advanced research centre at Iqbal Manzil has yet to be materialised.
The management has displayed some rare pictures of Allama Iqbal, his family, teachers, class fellows and other leaders of the All India Muslim League at the building. Most of these photos hold autographs of Allama Iqbal.
A room of Iqbal Manzil houses a more than 4,000 old books, among them 2,000 are on Iqbaliyat. Officials say no funds have ever been allocated by anyone to buy the books written on Allama Iqbal. They said that all the 4,000 books have been donated by the visitors.
Kutchery Road-Abbott Road junction (Bohar Wala Chowk)
Century-old tree’s likely chopping irks locals
Abid Mehdi
SIALKOT, Jan 17: The administration is bent upon cutting a century-old Pipal tree (ficus religiosa) for its obstructing traffic flow in Kutchery Road-Abbott Road junction while locals have vowed to resist the move, terming it detrimental to their acclimatisation with the tree accrued over the years.
The locals are of the view that the tree provided them shade and shelter for over 100 years and its removal or ‘biological killing’ would be shocking for them.
The TMA’s earlier move to remove the tree did not bear fruit as locals and shopkeepers running businesses in the vicinity resisted it sternly.
The locals displayed posters and banners in various parts of the city urging citizens to collectively help protect and preserve the ancient Pipal tree, which had acquired the status of city’s heritage and had given recognition to the area.
