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Kunjah

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Template:Pakistani Cities Kunjah(Urdu/Punjabi: کنجاہ ) is a city in Pakistan located in Gujrat District in the Punjab Province. A Person living in Kunjah is called a Kunjahi.

History

Various accounts date the founding of Kunjah [1] anywhere from the 4th century BCE during the time of Alexander the Great to the 8th century CE. Kunjah is named after a raja named Kunjpal who is also often credited to be the founder of the town. Islam was brought to the region by the Umayyad Caliphate early in the 8th century and soon replaced Hinduism as the dominant religion. Kunjah grew in prominence in the 9th and 10th centuries.

Starting during the Muslim period, Kunjah was considered a strategically important town. Ibrahim Bin Masood used Kunjah as his main base for his attack of Hindustan. In the Mughal period , King Aurangzeb Alamgir also visited Kunjah [2] [3], and during his stay in Kunjah he built a mosque that is now named after him.

Kunjah prospered during the time of the Sikh Empire. In that period the town was home to a number of gardens, two royal palaces and a royal bathing pool connected by underground tunnels, and a baradari that still stands today.

Demographics

Kunjah Street Map in 2007

According to 1998 Population and Housing Census, population was estimated to be 30,000 [4]but now it is estimated to be 35,000, with about 4500 households. The main religion is Sunni Islam, with a small Shi'a minority and a few Christians. There are about 50 mosques.Many residents live abroad, mainly in Greece.The detailed map of Kunjah is as shown here along with the text.


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Politics and Government

Kunjah lies in the NA 105 Gujrat-II halqa of Punjab for the national assembly elections[5].The main political party is the Pakistan Muslim League(in short PML Q). Aside from the local government and a regional police station[6],a police post in the centre of the city[7]the national government is represented by a military signals station and a WAPDA subdivision.

Education

The government operates seven schools: two primary schools for boys, two high schools for girls and one for boys[8], a boys higher secondary school and a girls inter-college[9]. There are also 25 private schools.

Economy

Most economic activity revolves around agriculture. The primary crops are wheat, rice, tobacco and vegetables. Farms are supplied with irrigation from the Upper Jehlum Canal, and tobacco production is supported by two tobacco factories and a research substation[10]. The main bazaar is a regional trade center consisting of 500 shops.

Culture

People of Kunjah believed that The famous Sohni among the Sohni Mahiwal folklore came from Kunjah but the intellectual Dr. Qureshi Ahmad Hussain Qiladari had ohter ideas and he contradicted from this myth.[11] For now Kunjah has a modest type of culture i.e. it is semi-urban type. Both men and women wear shalwar qameez. But the youth like to wear pant shirt & jeans joggers.

Fairs & Festivals

An annual fair is held in Kunjah on 4th of August . It is held at the shrine of a cleric Shah Shujah Bukhari so it is also known to be an urs. Other festivals are also held but they are losing their touch now a days due to the busy lives of the modern days and children getting more interested in the TV films and Computer Games rather than the oldies.

Sports

Cricket like all the other parts of the country is the game of choice for majority. Along with cricket, indoor games like snooker and billiard are also played. Some other games like chess, badminton and football are also played seasonally.

Transport

Only road transport is available. There is no railway station. The transport is available only in form of wagons and buses. Along with these the cars are available as taxies. The transpot is available for Gujrat City and to other small towns surrounding Kunjah.

Notable people from Kunjah

A town of the Poets Kunjah have produced a number of (Shair's or) poets. The major and most of famous among them are:

  • Ghaneemat Kunjahi. Muhammad Akram Ghaneemat Kunjahi better known as Ghaneemat Kunjahi writer of Nairang e Ishq [14]; One of the greatest Persian poet history has ever produced. He wrote the famous Persian masnavi in 1685 [15]He was born and buried in Kunjah[16]
  • Shareef Kunjahi, (1915-2007) was one of the leading writers and poets of Punjabi language. He was among the first faculty members of the Department of Punjabi Language at University of Punjab[17] in 1970s and contributed to Punjabi literature as a poet, prose writer, teacher, research scholar, linguist, lexicographer and translator.


  • Prof. Anwar Masood The famous writer and poet has academic relationship with Kunjah. He was a teacher in the Government Islamia High School Kunjah.
  • Sushila Nayyar, also spelled 'Nayar' (1914-2000), was the younger sister of Pyarelal Nayyar, personal secretary to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the Gandhis' personal physician. She was born in Kunjah in 1914

Communications Services Available

Dialing Codes

NWD 053

ISD +9253xxxxxxx

Postal Code

50620

Internet Service Providers(ISPs)

WOL :World Online

Brain net

Paknet

Hinet

Cybernet

Dancom Online

Pol :Pakistan online

Mobile Phone Operators

Paktel GSM

Mobilink GSM

Ufone

Telenor (Telenor Pakistan)

WLL Operators

V-PTCL Wireless (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd.)

Worldcall Wireless (Worldcall Telecom Ltd.)

GO CDMA (TeleCard Ltd.)

Media

Transmission of Radio Awaz FM 105[18] and Cable Service Is Available. Full PTV Transmission.

A weekly newspaper with the name Kunjah Times and two news sites named apnakunjah.com and merakunjah.com

See Also

References

  1. ^ Page no.2-5 on Book. Kiran Kiran Ghaneemat.
  2. ^ Introduction of Kunjah on the Starting Pages of Kiran Kiran Ghaneemat.
  3. ^ He built a mosque here in Kunjah during his stay which is known as the Alamgiri Mosque after his name
  4. ^ Population|http://population.wn.com/country/Pakistan/Punjab/Kunjah
  5. ^ [www.hrcpelectoralwatch.org/punjab.cfm NA 105]
  6. ^ Kunjah Police Station Established In 1919
  7. ^ Police Posts in Gujrat
  8. ^ Schools and colleges list at pak fellow.com
  9. ^ HEMISColleges in distric Gujrat
  10. ^ Pakistan Tobbaco Board Research
  11. ^ [Sohni Mahiwal, a romantic legend of Gujrat
  12. ^ History of the Punjab Regiment (1759 - 1981)", by Brig. Syed H.A. Rizvi
  13. ^ Sharif Story
  14. ^ Ghaneemat
  15. ^ Heritage of Sufism
  16. ^ Ghaneemat Rest In Kunjah
  17. ^ Safir Rammah (2007), Sharif Kunjahi – Serving his language
  18. ^ http://www.radioawaz.com.pk/grtmap.html
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