Montgomery District

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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, [1] 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. In 1967, the name of Montgomery District was changed to Sahiwal District.

Contents

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. [1] The principal crops in the early 20th century were wheat, pulse, cotton and fodder; camels were bred for export. [1] The leading industries were cotton, silk and lacquered woodwork, and there were factories for ginning and pressing cotton. [1] The district was traversed by the main line of the North-Western Railway, from Lahore to Multan; it is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system and also from the Ravi. [1]

The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoral Jats, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. [1] The sites of Kamalia and Harappa contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins [1] 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. In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of northern Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Punjab region. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh Empire invaded and occupied Sahiwal. 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. In 1847 British influence was first exercised in the district when an officer was deputed to effect a summary settlement of the land revenue. [1] Direct British rule was commenced on the annexation of the Punjab in 1849. [1]

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 fierce 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 Gogera, 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. 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. [2]

The district was part of the Lahore Division of Punjab Province. The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Montgomery District.

In 1967, the name of Montgomery District was changed to Sahiwal District.

Administration

The district was administratively subdivided into 4 tehsils, these were: [3]

Boundaries

The district had an area of 4,771 sq mi (12,360 km2) and included the present-day districts of Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Okara, and portions of Shekhupura, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, and Vehari.

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 Firozpur. [4]

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 impenetrable jungle in places. [1] On the farther side of the Ravi, again, the country at once assumed the same desert aspect.

Demographics

Religious groups in Montgomery District (British Punjab province era)
Religious
group		1901 [5] 1911 [6] [7] 1921 [8] 1931 [9] 1941 [10]
Pop. %Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%
Islam Star and Crescent.svg 334,474399,723513,055697,542918,564
Hinduism Om.svg [lower-alpha 1] 109,94566,80394,791136,783210,966
Sikhism Khanda.svg 19,09268,17595,520148,155175,064
Christianity Christian cross.svg 6658110,40817,24524,432
Jainism Jain Prateek Chihna.svg 813123849
Zoroastrianism Faravahar.svg 14074
Buddhism Dharma Wheel (2).svg 00023
Judaism Star of David.svg 00000
Others000021
Total population463,586535,299713,786999,7721,329,103
Note1: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Note2: Presently known as Sahiwal District, following district renaming in 1978.
Religion in the Tehsils of Montgomery District (1921) [8]
Tehsil Islam Star and Crescent.svg Hinduism Om.svg Sikhism Khanda.svg Christianity Christian cross.svg Jainism Jain Prateek Chihna.svg Others [lower-alpha 2] Total
Pop. %Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%
Montgomery Tehsil156,96537,08023,7374,88760222,675
Okara Tehsil104,01515,09124,4815,12360148,716
Dipalpur Tehsil151,57220,10629,2109000200,978
Pakpattan Tehsil100,50322,51418,09230800141,417
Note: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.
Religion in the Tehsils of Montgomery District (1941) [10]
Tehsil Islam Star and Crescent.svg Hinduism Om.svg [lower-alpha 1] Sikhism Khanda.svg Christianity Christian cross.svg Jainism Jain Prateek Chihna.svg Others [lower-alpha 3] Total
Pop. %Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%
Montgomery Tehsil289,16171,01855,25812,26533294428,029
Okara Tehsil203,60241,00839,6828,2881037292,627
Dipalpur Tehsil210,83537,74326,07731403274,972
Pakpattan Tehsil214,96661,19754,0473,234625333,475
Note1: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Note2: Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labeled as "Indian Christians" on census. Does not include Anglo-Indian Christians or British Christians, who were classified under "Other" category.

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Ganji Bar is the lower valley region from the old flow of the rivers Satluj and river Beas or river Hakra to river Ravi. There was a high ridge in the middle of Montgomery (Sahiwal), Sahiwal District, old Gogaira district. This high land runs from northeast to southwest. it was also called Dhaya. Dhaya is a term applied to a slope to the top of the ridge from the low lands at foot. This ridge occupied the middle part of the area and its top was called Ganji Bar. The soul of the ridge was inferior and saline. But on the other hand, it was a view that with a plentiful supply of water and good cultivation the greater position of the land could be brought to bear fair crops. Ganji Bar was the only Bar for its elevated situation, the aridest and naturally barren portion of the Bari Doab. But it was a fact that all this Jungle of Bar was composed of good quality soil which only requires irrigation to produce many crops. Ravi Bar was a dense forest. It is 40 miles from Chatuchak, a village in Gogaira, to Harappa. This entire portion is called Ganji Bar.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montgomery"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 784.
  2. ↑ Montgomery District – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 411
  3. ↑ Montgomery District – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 412.
  4. ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 409.
  5. ↑ "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. p. 34. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25363739 . Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. p. 27. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25393788 . Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  7. ↑ Kaul, Harikishan (1911). "Census Of India 1911 Punjab Vol XIV Part II". p. 27. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Census of India 1921. Vol. 15, Punjab and Delhi. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. p. 29. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25430165 . Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  9. ↑ "Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1931. p. 277. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25793242 . Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab". 1941. p. 42. JSTOR   saoa.crl.28215541 . Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  1. 1 2 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis
  2. ↑ Including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated
  3. ↑ Including Anglo-Indian Christians, British Christians, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated

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