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Rahim Yar Khan District

Coordinates: 28°25′12″N 70°18′00″E / 28.42000°N 70.30000°E / 28.42000; 70.30000
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Rahim Yar Khan District
ضلع رحیم یار خان
District of Punjab
Rahim Yar Khan
Top: Bhong Masjid
Bottom: Cholistan Desert
Map of Rahim Yar Khan district is highlighted in red
Map of Rahim Yar Khan district is highlighted in red
Coordinates: 28°25′12″N 70°18′00″E / 28.42000°N 70.30000°E / 28.42000; 70.30000
Country Pakistan
Province Punjab
DivisionBahawalpur
Founded byNawab of Bahawalpur
HeadquartersRahim Yar Khan
Tehsils4
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerShakeel Ahmad Bhatti[1]
Area
 • District of Punjab
11,880 km2 (4,590 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • District of Punjab
5,564,703
 • Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
 • Urban
1,342,252
 • Rural
4,222,451
 • Gender ratio
60.2 male / 39.8 female
Literacy
[3]
 • Literacy rate
  • Total:
    (47.94%)
  • Male:
    (55.14%)
  • Female:
    (40.15%)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Area code068
Websiterykhan.punjab.gov.pk

Rahim Yar Khan District (Urdu: ضلع رحیم یار خان), (Punjabi: ضلع ریم یار خان) is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Its headquarters is the city of Rahim Yar Khan.

Administrative

[edit]

The district of Rahim Yar Khan is subdivided into four tehsils:

Tehsil[4] Area

(km2)[5]

Pop.

(2023)

Density

(ppl/km2)

(2023)

Literacy rate

(2023)[6]

Union Councils
Khanpur[7] 3,190 1,169,138 366.50 50.08% 29
Liaqatpur[7] 3,262 1,235,264 378.68 38.35% 37
Rahim Yar Khan 2,464 1,978,542 721.81 69.66% 49
Sadiqabad[7] 2,964 1,381,759 466.18 47.04% 34

History

[edit]

The entire district was a part of the Bahawalpur State before partition. Rahim Yar Khan has had the status of a separate district since 1943. The district derives its name from its headquarters, the city of Rahim Yar Khan, which was known as "Naushehra" until 1881. To avoid confusion with the similarly named city of Nowshera, the ruler of Bahawalpur, Nawab Sadiq Khan IV, renamed it after his first son, Rahim Yar Khan.

Geography

[edit]

The district lies between 27°40'-29°16' north latitudes and 60°45'-70°01' east longitudes. The riverain area of the district lies close to eastern bank of the river Indus and Panjnad. Rahim Yar Khan District is bounded on the north by Muzaffargarh District, on the east by Bahawalpur District, on the south by Jaisalmer district (India) and Ghotki District of Sindh province, and on the west by Rajanpur District. It also has two enclaves within Sindh, bordered by Ghotki District and Kashmore District.

This district is divided into three main physical features: (a) Riverside area, b) canal-irrigated area, and (c) desert area which is called Cholistan. The Riverside area of the district lies close on the southern side of the Indus river mainly falling in the river bed. The canal-irrigated area lies on the south and is separated by main Minchan Bund. The approximate height of the irrigated area is 150 to 200 meters (490 to 655 ft) above sea level. The third part of the area, called Cholistan, lies in the south of the irrigated tract up to the Indo-Pak border. The surface of the desert consists of a succession of sand dunes rising at places to a height of 150 meters (492 ft) and is covered with the vegetation peculiar to sandy tracts.

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 664,234—    
1961 1,015,715+4.34%
1972 1,398,879+2.95%
1981 1,841,451+3.10%
1998 3,141,053+3.19%
2017 4,807,762+2.27%
2023 5,564,703+2.47%
Sources:[8]

As of the 2023 census, Rahim Yar Khan district has 826,942 households and a population of 5,564,703.[9] The district has a sex ratio of 108.60 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 47.94%: 55.14% for males and 40.15% for females.[2][3] 1,684,241 (30.28% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[10] 1,342,252 (24.12%) live in urban areas.[2]

Religion

[edit]
Religion in Rahim Yar Khan district (2023) [11]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 96.27%
Hinduism
 
 3.17%
Christianity
 
 0.49%
Other or not stated
 
 0.07%

Muslims were the predominant religious community with 96.11% of the population while Hindus (including Scheduled Castes) were 3.17% of the population.[11] The Bhagwan Shri Krishna Mandir in Sadiqabad is one of the main Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan district.[12] Other minorities like Christians, Ahmadi etc. are very small in number. The proportion of population of Muslims is higher in urban than rural areas.

Religion in Rahim Yar Khan District
Religion 2017[13] 2023[11]
Pop. % Pop. %
Islam 4,639,554 96.50% 5,354,426 96.27%
Hinduism 150,093 3.12% 176,416 3.17%
Christianity 14,205 0.30% 27,057 0.49%
Ahmadi 998 0.02% 779 0.01%
Others[a] 2,912 0.06% 3,042 0.06%
Total Population 4,807,762 100% 5,561,720 100%

Languages

[edit]

Languages of Rahim Yar Khan district (2023) [14]

  Saraiki (64.92%)
  Punjabi (23.92%)
  Urdu (2.93%)
  Sindhi (2.54%)
  Balochi (1.63%)
  Hindko (1.38%)
  Others (2.68%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 64.92% of the population spoke Saraiki, 23.92% Punjabi, 2.93% Urdu, 2.54% Sindhi, 1.63% Balochi, and 1.38% Hindko as their first language. 1.72% of the population recorded their language under 'Others'.[14]

The local dialect (see Riasti) belongs to the southern dialect group of Punjabi.[15] Other languages spoken are Bagri/Cholistani and Haryanvi.

Education

[edit]

The literacy rate in the district is 98% total for the 1st grade level school, locally known as 'graduating the MA full Examination'.[16] Regarding medical education, There is Sheikh Zaid medical college affiliated with Sheikh Zaid hospital. The top ranked universities in Punjab, Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology and Islamia University of Bahawalpur Rahim Yar Khan Goverment Pilot School Khawaja Fareed Government College Campus are also located in Rahim Yar Khan District.

Sugarcane

[edit]

Rahim Yar Khan District has recently embraced growing sugarcane. The area under cultivation of sugarcane increased to 430,000 acres in 2020 from 310,000 acres in 2014–15. Six sugar mills are located in the district.[17]

Notable people

[edit]

Neighbourhoods

[edit]

Many major Towns and villages are located in the District Rahim Yar Khan. Some notables are listed below.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Sikhism or not stated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Anti-Polio campaign launched in Rahim Yar Khan". Associated Press of Pakistan. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  3. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 12" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  4. ^ Divisions/Districts of Pakistan Archived 2006-09-30 at the Wayback Machine Note: Although divisions as an administrative structure has been abolished, the election commission of Pakistan still groups districts under the division names
  5. ^ "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, PUNJAB" (PDF).
  6. ^ "LITERACY RATE, ENROLMENT AND OUT OF SCHOOL POPULATION BY SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b c "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Rahim Yar Khan". National Reconstruction Bureau, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  9. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 20" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  10. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 5" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  11. ^ a b c "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 9" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  12. ^ Dharmindar Balach (17 August 2017). "Pakistani Hindus celebrate Janmashtami with fervour". Daily Times (newspaper). Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  13. ^ "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  14. ^ a b "Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban, Census-2023" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  15. ^ Wagha, Muhammad Ahsan (1997). The development of Siraiki language in Pakistan (Ph.D.). School of Oriental and African Studies. pp. 229–31. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2016. (requires registration).
  16. ^ Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (2014-2015) Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan website, Published March 2016, Retrieved 15 May 2023
  17. ^ Khan, Ahmad Fraz (7 December 2020). "Rahim Yar Khan: riding the sugarcane bandwagon". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Member Profile, National Assembly of Pakistan". National Assembly of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Town Committee - Khan Bela" (PDF). Igcd.punjab.gov.pk.
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