Sargodha
Sargodha (Urdu:سرگودھا) is a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is located in northeast Pakistan. It is 8th largest city of Pakistan. It is an agricultural trade centre with various industries.[1] Sargodha is one of three "planned cities" in Pakistan (the other two are Faisalabad and Islamabad).[2]
The biggest airbase of Pakistan,PAF Base Sargodha hosts the Headquarters of the Central Air Command, one of three combatant air commands on the Pakistani Air Force. Aircraft currently based at this facility include two squadrons of General Dynamics F-16A fighters. The base is also the site of the Pakistan Air Force Combat Commander School. This fighter tactics and weapons school is the Pakistani equivalent of the American "Topgun" school at US Naval Air Station Miramar in California.
History
Origin of name
There are several theories as to the origins of the name. It may be derived from the Sanskrit Svargadhāma, meaning Heavenly Abode[2] although this would have resulted in Punjabi Sargdham. Sargodha may be derived from a legend about a pond where an old Hindu Sadhu Godha used to live, as the Punjabi word for pond is Sar: Sargodha might translate to "the pool of Godha".[3] However, Punjabi would reverse the order of the component words (for example, Amritsar means "the pool of nectar." The etymology must lie in Sar + Godha, with Sar being the adjective and Godha the noun.
Just over a century ago, there was a well owned by a Hindu, Godha, which was known as Gol Khūh, Punjabi for Round Well, and travelers used it as a resting place. The well eventually went out of use; now, there is a market where Gol Khūh was and a grand mosque above the market and it is known as "Gol Chowk", which is the centre of downtown Sargodha today.
Sargodha was a small town at the beginning of the British Raj but, due to its geographical location, the British Royal Air Force built an airport there. It took on greater importance after the Partition of India for the Pakistan Air Force.
Shahpur, which is now a tehsil of Sargodha District, was the district at that time. Most parts of the tehsil Sillanwali and Kirana Pahari region were part of Jhang district and were included later during the British Raj in the Sargodha district.
1965 Pakistan India War
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 started on September 6, 1965 and Sargodha was on its front line. The Citizens of Sargodha supported the Pakistan Army against the advancing and numerically larger Indian Army.
In 1966, recognising this bravery, the Government of Pakistan awarded the citizens of Lahore, Sialkot, and Sargodha the award of Hilal-E-Istaqlal.
PAF Base
PAF Base Sargodha is now known as PAF Base Mushaf, named after the late Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir (March 5, 1947 – February 20, 2003), the former Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force from November 20, 2000 until his death when his PAF Fokker F-27 crashed near Kohat, North-West Frontier Province. He had been posted in Sargodha as the Base Commander.
Demographics and Location
Sargodha is the 10th largest city of Pakistan. It is located 172 kilometres northwest of Lahore, in Sargodha District. It lies about 30 miles from the M2 Motorway which connects Lahore and Islamabad. it is connected to motorway M2 by several interchanges at different locations.
It is an agricultural city with citrus, wheat, rice, and sugar cane being its main crops.
Education
Sargodha has several institutions of higher education and several research centres including:
Accountancy InstitutesAir Base Inter College Sargodha,AL SHAHBAZ TRANSPORT COMPANY PVT LTD.(from sargodha to rawalpindi from 4:00 Morning to night 1:30 after every 30 mints)University of sargodha , Punjab college of sargodha , Govt Model high school No-2 sargodha, Govt college for women, AL SHAHBAZ TRANSPORT COMPANY PVT LTD,ITM group of colleges sargodha, PAF college sargodha etc.
Administration
Recently in October 2008, the Division system in Punjab Province has been restored, and now Sargodha is Divsional headquarter of Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali and Bhukkur districts.
Until divisions were abolished in the year 2000, Sargodha was also divisional headquarters of Sargodha Division,Sargodha is the district and tehsil capital - the city of Sargodha is administratively subdivided into 22 Union Councils.[4]
Languages
Punjabi is the main language of the people. The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Sargodha is the Shahpuri dialect. Urdu and Siraiki are also widely spoken. Jangli which is spoken by Ahsen Hayat who is the chaoudhay of Ratto Kala(Reddo Blacka).
Media
- Radio Pakistan Sargodha (FM 93 MHz Band),Club Road Sargodha.
- FM Sunrise (96 MHz) Most popular, also plays Indian and western music, Aziz Bhatti Town Sargodha.
- FM Bhalwal (104 MHz) Most popular in punjabi and classical music, Tehsil bhalwal District Sargodha.
- Pakistan Television Islamabad centre terrestrial transmissions at VHF and UHF band routed from Sakesar rebroadcast centre.
AGRICULTURAL POWER HOUSE
District Sargodha at the time of independance of Pakistan in 1947 till 1965 was the best organised and developed district of Pakistan for Agri produce. It had an organised Factory Area as per original master plan by which city of Sargodha was developed in 1920. It had 10 very large beautifully constructed and fully equipped Ginning Factories, a Flour Mill and as well as own electricity generating facility for the city of Sargodha called Power House, than.
City of Sargodha was the biggest hub of producing Ginned Cotton in Bales in entire Indian sub continent, since 1935. Its Grain Market, also as per master plan was fully constructed, well planned and a model in Pakistan.
Ginned Cotton of Sargodha's ancesteral district Shahpur packed by hands in bags since 1890 was exported to Manchester City of England through port of Karachi.
Some enterpreneural Farmers of tehsils of Shahpur & Sargodha in 1870s were the pioneers to build canals for irrigation of their lands in present West Punjab of British Raj, which were leased to them by the than Government as waste lands. This was the beginning of current world largest canal network through out Pakisatn developed later in the years between 1900 to 1920 by the Government. The construction of these canals brought a green revolution in Punjab which ultimately made it a developed privince of sub continent parallel to provinces of Bombai (Mumbai) & Madras (Chennai).
At the time of indepedence, Pakistan had a poor industrial base but District Sargodha was at the top of list to make significant contributions to national tax revenue and earning foreign exchange by its produced Ginned Cotton.
Sargodha is in one way or the other a prominent district in earning foreign exchange. Previously it contributed by Cotton and now by Citrus fruit. Citrus Fruit of Sargodha more commonly known as kinoo is famous in the country as well as in the world due to its taste, sweet juice and soft skin. District Sargodha is home town of Malta, Musammi, Grapefruit and Redblood.
Apart from Citrus Fruit (kinoo) currently Sargodha is largest market place (MAANDI) of whole black gram (Channa) of local variety (Desi). There are about 100 Dhal Factories which split the whole gram into Dhal Channa and during this process many other by products of black gram (Chana) are also obtained. Amongst the grains after wheat, Dhal Channa is second biggest staple food of Pakistanis. According to some researches local variety of black gram and its product Dhal Channa contains highest nutritions/proteins/carbohydrates and is considered a complete meal for low income group.
It may be interesting for many to know that famous MUHAJIR CAMP, a thickly populated locality of Sargodha City is basically established in a Ginning Factory. When the trains of Migrants started coming to Sargodha in 1947 there was no sheltered place to make camp for their temporary stay. The local administration of Sargodha chose the Godowns and Machinry Halls of a under construction Factory for their temporary stay but due to lack of arrangements it became a permanent locality. Due to being camp stay of Migrants it got the name of Muhajir Camp, which exists till date as a permanent residential locality but now is only called CAMP.
Shopping in Sargodha
In the past, shopping in Sargodha was limited to the bazaars. Small scale shopping centres spread all around the city as it developed. Sargodha has many bazaars to buy traditional food and clothing ketchery bazar,Amin Bazar, satelite Town, Muslim Bazar,urdu bazar are present for shopping
References
External links
- Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Sargodha
- University Of Sargodha
- Its All about Sargodha
