Narowal

Narowal is a district of province Punjab, Pakistan, located on the north of Indian Occupied Kashmir’s district Kathua, on the by Pathankot, on the south by Amritsar (District of India), and on the northwest by the district of Sheikhupura. The region coordinates are 32’ 6’26’’ in the north and 74’52’7” in the east.

The capital of the district is Narowal City which is considered to be 94th largest city of Pakistan. The area is 2,337sq km while according to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district population was about 1,256,102 among which 12 per cent was urban.

The population contain the majority of Muslims due to the missionary Sufi Saints of the region. The article contains all the information about the city, including Narowal History.

Narowal History

Jat Clan

The history goes 900 years back to Baba Noro Bajwa who founded the region. Jat clan was considered the first settlers of the region Syed Habib Shah to develop the region by bringing castes of Kamboh and Aroud who settled there. Different Muslim clans came and settled in the region including Syed Habib Ullah Shah and his followers after Baba Naro’s invasion.

British Rule

The district ruled by many rulers such as Kushano – Hephthalites, Maurya Empire, Kushan Empire Indo Greek kingdom, White Huns, Gupta Empire and Shahi kingdom followed by Mehmood Ghaznavi, Sikh Empire, Mughal Empire and British Raj. The area was a portion of District Amritsar during British Rule.

Sikh Rule

During Sikh rule, significant parts of the fertile land occupied by Sikh Sardars made Narowal a part of District Amritsar (tehsil Rayya Khas). In contrast, the town of Shakargarh made a part of District Gurdaspur. Muslims faced a lot of restrictions during the Sikh Empire.

British rulers ruled the region after the decline of the Mughal Empire until Pakistan’s independence in 1947. They occupied the district’s fertile regions and exploited the famous fine cotton while exporting it to the Gulf countries, Arab countries and Europe through Sea Ships.

British Empire

Population and importance of the district were increased during the British Empire. The district contained the Hindu and Sikh population who migrated to India after the independence of Pakistan.

The district was formed in 1991 by comprising two tehsils Shakargarh and Narowal. Tehsil of Shakargarh was given to Pakistan under Radcliff Award and attached with the district of Sialkot. Narowal was also a tehsil of Sialkot before its transformation to the district.

Administration

The district is administratively divided into three tehsils and seventy-four union councils. Tehsils of the district are as follow:

• Narowal (having 28 union councils)
• Zafarwal (having 26 union councils)
• Shakargarh (having 28 union councils)

Population

According to 2017 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of 1,709,757.

Narowal Postal Code and Area Code

Postal code: 51600

Area code: 0542

Natural Resources

Agriculture

The region has fertile land, and its main crops are enlisted below:

• Sugarcane
• Rice
• Wheat
• Fodders

Fruits

Main fruits of the district are as follow:

• Citrus
• Watermelon
• Guava

Mangoes, oranges and grapes also produced in minor quantity.

Vegetables

Numbers of vegetables grown in the district given below:

• Carrots
• Chillies
• Squash
• Cauliflower
• Peas
• Coriander
• Radish
• Spinach

Industries

The district contains many industries including twenty-six rice mills, three flour mills one ghee mill and ten other cold storage industries.

Transportation

Roads

The district is with the other cities of Pakistan through following roads.

• Pasrur Road
• Muridke Road
• Motorway
• Lahore Road

Railway

The region connected through a railway line with the other main cities of Pakistan such as Lahore and Sialkot. During British Rule, the railway station of Narowal was built and reconstructed in 2017.

Narowal Climate

The climate of the region is hot and dry. The season of summer starts in April and ends in the mid of October. The months of May, June and July are the most desirable, and the temperature varies from 24 to 40 degrees centigrade. The season of winter is severe cold having the recorded less temperature of 1-degree centigrade.

Education

The district is a home for many different universities, colleges and schools. Some of the major educational institutions are as follow:

• Sahara Medical College
• University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Narowal Campus
• UOG Narowal Campus
• Superior College Narowal 
• Government Islamia Degree College
• Hassan Scholars Public School
• Govt. High School Narowal
• Punjab College Narowal Campus
• The Educators, Narowal Campus
• The Knowledge School Talwandi Bhindran, Sipra Campus

Places of interest

Kartarpur is considered to be one of the historical and interesting places. The meaning of Kartarpur is “The City of God, situated on the bank of river Ravi. The nearest town with Kartarpur is Jassar. In Sikhism, it is considered to be one of the holiest places as Guru Nanak used to live here and died in Kartarpure.

Sports

The district people play many different games such as cricket, football, table tennis, and volleyball.

Notable People

• Baqar Raza Saint (Companion of Quaid –e- Azam)
• Abrar -ul- Haq (Famous Singer)
• Chaudry Naseer Ahmad Malhi (Former Education Minister)
• Yasir Ali (Urdu Poet)
• Faiz Ahmad Faiz (Urdu Poet)
• Ahsan Iqbal (Secretary Information PMLN)
• Chaudry Mohammad Sarwar Khan (Former MNA)
• Chaudry Abdul Rahim (MNA)
• Mirza Amjad Ali (Architect)

Narowal Languages

The native language of the people of the district is Punjabi, spoken by 81 per cent of the population. Other languages spoken by the people include English and Urdu, spoken by 13 per cent of the people. The English language is mostly used in offices and educational institutions.