Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur (Urdu and ), is a city located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Bahawalpur is the 11th largest city in Pakistan by population as per a 2017 census, with a population of 762,111. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi family of "Nawabs" until 1955. The "Nawabs" left a rich architectural legacy, and Bahawalpur is now known for its monuments dating from that period. The city lies at the edge of the Cholistan Desert, and serves as the gateway to the nearby Lal Suhanra National Park. History. Bahawalpur  was among the 584 princely states before the Partition of India. Early history. Bahawalpur State was home to various ancient societies. The Bahawalpur region contains ruins from the Indus Valley Civilisation, as well as ancient Buddhist sites such as the nearby Patan minara. British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham identified the Bahawalpur region as home of the Yaudheya kingdoms of the "Mahābhārata". Prior to the establishment of Bahawalpur, the region's major city was the holy city of Uch Sharif - a regional metropolitan centre between the 12th and 17th centuries that is renowned for its collection of historic shrines dedicated to  Muslim mystics from the 12-15th centuries built in the region's vernacular style. Establishment. Bahawalpur was established in 1748 by Nawab Bahawal Khan I, after he migrated to the region around Uch from Shikarpur, Sindh. Bahawalpur replaced Derawar as the clan's capital city. The city initially flourished as a trading post on trade routes between Afghanistan and central India. Durrani Attacks. In 1785, the Durrani commander Sirdar Khan attacked Bahawalpur city and destroyed many of its buildings on behalf of Mian Abdul Nabi Kalhora of Sindh. Bahawalpur's ruling family, along with nobles from nearby Uch, were forced  to take refuge in the Derawar Fort, where they successfully repulsed further attacks. The attacking Durrani force accepted 60,000 rupees as "nazrana" or tribute, though Bahawal Khan later had to seek refuge in the Rajput states as the Afghan Durranis occupied Derawar Fort. Bahawal Khan returned to conquer the fort by way of Uch, and re-established control of Bahawalpur. Princely state. The princely state of Bahawalpur was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan II after the break-up of the Durrani Empire, and was based in the city. Sikh Attacks and treaties with the British. In 1807 , Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire laid siege to the fort in Multan, prompting refugees to seek safety in Bahawalpur in the wake of his marauding forces that began to attack the countryside around Multan. Ranjit Singh eventually withdrew the siege, and gifted the Nawab of Bahawalpur some gifts as the Sikh forces retreated. Bahalwapur offered an outpost of stability in the wake of crumbling Mughal rule and declining power of Khorasan's monarchy. The city became a refuge for prominent families from affected regions, and also saw an influx of religious scholars escaping the consolidation of Sikh power in  Punjab. Fearing an invasion from the Sikh Empire, Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan III signed a treaty with the British on 22 February 1833, guaranteeing the independence of the "Nawab" and the autonomy of Bahawalpur as a princely state. The treaty guaranteed the British a friendly southern frontier during their invasion of the Sikh Empire. Trade Routes. Trade routes had shifted away from Bahawalpur by the 1830s, and British visitors to the city noted several empty shops in the city's bazaar. The population at this time was estimated to be 20,000, and was noted to be made up primarily of  Hindus. Also in 1833, the Sutlej and Indus Rivers were opened to navigation, allowing goods to reach Bahawalpur. By 1845, newly opened trade routes to Delhi re-established Bahawalpur as a commercial centre. The city was known in the late 19th century as a centre for the production of silk goods, "lungis", and cotton goods. The city's silk was noted to be of higher quality than silk works from Benares or Amritsar. Increased British Influence. An 1866 crisis over succession to the Bahawalpur throne markedly increased British influence in the princely state. Bahawalpur was constituted as a municipality in  1874. Bahalwapur's Nawab celebrated the Golden Jubillee of Queen Victoria in 1887 in a state function at the Noor Mahal palace. In 1901, the population of the city was 18,546. The Second World War. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Bahawalpur's Nawab was the first ruler of a princely state to offer his full support and resources of the state towards the crown's war efforts. Joining Pakistan. British Princely states were given the option to join either Pakistan or India upon British withdrawal from the Sub-Continent in August 1947. The city and princely  state of Bahawalpur acceded to Pakistan on October 7, 1947 under Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V Bahadur. Following independence, the city's minority Hindu and Sikh communities migrated to India "en masse", while Muslim refugees from India settled in the city and surrounding region. District Statistics. There are 6 tehsils in District Bahawalpur, with 109 union councils, 714 villages and 5 municipal committees. Climate. Bahawalpur lies some 117m above sea level. The climate is dry. Over the year, there is virtually no rainfall in Bahawalpur. According to the Köppen-Geiger system, it is classified as BWP. The average  annual temperature is 25.7 °C | 78.3 °F. The rainfall is around 143 mm | 5.6 inch per year. Economy. The main crops for which Bahawalpur is recognised are cotton, sugarcane, wheat, sunflower seeds, rape/mustard seed and rice. Bahawalpur mangoes, citrus, dates and guavas are some of the fruits exported out of the country. Vegetables include onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes and carrots. Being an expanding industrial city, the government has revolutionised and liberalised various markets allowing the caustic soda, cotton ginning and pressing, flour mills, fruit juices, general engineering, iron and steel re-rolling mills, looms, oil  mills, poultry feed, sugar, textile spinning, textile weaving, vegetable ghee and cooking oil industries to flourish. Sheep and cattle are raised for export of wool and hides. Crafts. Bahawalpur is famous for its carpets, embroidery and pottery. The Punjab government has set up a Craft Development Centre from where handicrafts can be purchased. These handicrafts are mostly manufactured in the Cholistan area. Following is the list of some of mementos manufactured in the city: Demographics. According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, the city's population was recorded to have risen to 762,111 from 408,395 in 1998. The Bakhri are  a clan found in the Shabr Farid "ilaqa" of Bahawalpur claiming Rajput origin. They converted to Islam after shifting to Multan from Bhakkar by Baha-ud-Din Zakaria. Fearing a return to their Hindu kinsmen in Bhakkar, they instead settled in Multan as weavers, with some eventually migrating from Multan and settling in Bahawalpur. Religion. Bahawalpur emerged as a centre of "Chishti" Sufism following the establishment of a "khanqa" by Noor Muhammad Muharvi in the mid 18th century. Most residents are Muslims with a small minority being Hindus and Christians. There are about 2000 Christian families with one church, St.  Dominic's Church built in 1962 by the Government of Punjab (the Dominican Convent School for girls and St. Dominican's Middle School for Boys were also built under the same project). Father Zafar Iqbal was the first Parish priest of the church until his death on February 19, 2009. Language. Above ninety percent of the population are locals from the Punjab province. Urdu is widely spoken and understood by a significant number of people whereas English is the secondary language of many. Punjabi is the most spoken lanuage.There are many punjabi dialects, Siraiki being one of them. Other  majorly spoken languages include Riyasti, Majhi, Bagri and Haryanvi. These languages are spoken according to different districts and are a mix of many other punjabi dialects. Also, Balochi is spoken by a small number of people. Civic administration. Bahawalpur was announced as one of six cities in Punjab whose security would be improved by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority. 5.6 billion Rupees were allocated for the project, for the city to be modeled along the lines of the Lahore Safe City project in which 8,000 CCTV cameras were installed throughout the city at a cost of 12 billion rupees to  record and send images to the Integrated Command and Control Centres. Infrastructure. Bahawalpur Museum. The Bahawalpur Museum, established in 1976, is a museum of archaeology, art, heritage, modern history and religion. It comes under the control of Bahawalpur district government. The current director of the museum is Hussain Ahmed Madni. It has eight galleries: Bahawalpur Zoo. The Bahawalpur Zoo, established in 1942, is a 25-acre (10 ha) zoological garden. It is managed by the Government of Pakistan. The zoo has occasionally bred and supplied wild cats, such as Asiatic lions and Bengal tigers, to other zoos in the country . It also has an aquarium and zoological museum with stuffed birds, reptiles and mammals.The Bahawalpur Zoo is the fourth biggest zoo in Pakistan, after Lahore Zoo, Karachi Zoo and Islamabad Zoo. Lal Suhanra National Park. Lal Suhanra is a national park in Pakistan, the park itself is situated some 35 kilometres east of Bahawalpur. It is one of South Asia's largest nationals parks, and is a UNESCO declared Biosphere Reserve. Lal Sohanra is notable for the diversity of its landscape, which includes desert, forest and wetland ecosystems. Education. Bahawalpur's Sadiq Egerton College was founded in 1886. The  first university, Islamia University was founded as "Jamia Abbasia" in 1925. The city's Quaid-e-Azam Medical College was founded in 1971. The District has an overall literacy rate of 48% with a total of 1662 schools and 24 colleges. Transportation. Local transportation vehicles include buses, cars, motorbikes and rickshaws. N-5. Pakistan's longest national highway, N-5, also passes through the city, connecting Bahawalpur to Karachi and Lahore. Railroad. The railway connects Bahawalpur with the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan, Nawabshah, Attock, Sibi, Khanewal, Gujrat, Rohri , Jacobabad, and Nowshera. Sports. Bahawal Stadium or The Bahawalpur Dring Stadium (formerly) is a multipurpose stadium of the city. It hosted a sole international match, a test match between Pakistan and India during the 15th and 18 January 1955. Motiullah hockey stadium is in the Bahawal Stadium and is used for various national and international hockey tournaments in the country. Aside from the cricket ground, it has a gym and a pool facility for citizens. There are also tennis courts, under administration of the Bahawalpur Tennis Club, and a 2 kilometer jogging track around the football ground.