Bahawalnagar District

Bahawalnagar District (Urdu and ), is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. Before the independence of Pakistan, Bahawalnagar was part of Bahawalpur state governed by the Nawab of Bahawalpur. The city of Bahawalnagar is the capital of the district.

Etymology Bahawalnagar was originally known as Rojhanwali, then a small village. It was renamed by the Nawab of Bahawalpur, Bahawal Khan V, during a visit in 1904 (from 'Bahawal' and '-nagar', 'the town of Bahawal').

Geography The boundaries of Bahawalnagar in the east and south touches the Indian territory of Bikaner and Firozpur districts while Bahawalpur district lies on its west and river Sutlej flows on its northern side. District Bahawalnagar spreads over an area of 8878 square kilometers.

History Nawab Bahawal Khan I as second Nawab of Bahawalpur ascended the throne in 1746. Muhammad Mubarik, after ruling successfully for years, died issueless in 1772. He was succeeded by his nephew Sahibzada Jafar Khan alias Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan II.

Administration

The district of Bahawalnagar is spread over an area of 8,878 square kilometres (3427.8 square miles) comprising five tehsils and 118 Union Councils: TehsilDivisions/Districts of Pakistan Note: Although divisions as an administrative structure has been abolished, the election commission of Pakistan still groups districts under the division namesArea (km²)Pop. (2023)Density (ppl/km²)

(2023)Literacy rate (2023)Union CouncilsBahawalnagar1,729976,049564.5253.5%31Chishtian1,500845,439563.6360.49%29Fort Abbas2,536510,253201.2061.36%16Haroonabad1,295615,476475.2766.28%22Minchinabad1,818603,125331.7544.05%20Total8,8783,550,342399.7857.01%118 Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Bahawalnagar district has 557,616 households and a population of 3,550,342. The district has a sex ratio of 108.27 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.01%: 63.55% for males and 49.95% for females. 971,921 (27.42% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 974,118 (27.44%) live in urban areas.

Religion

In 2023, 19,653 (0.55%) were from religious minorities, of which Christians were 14,577, Hindus (incl. Scheduled Castes) 3,106, Ahmadi 1,598, Sikhs 39, Parsis 2, and 331 others.

+ Religion in Bahawalnagar DistrictReligion20172023Islam 2,963,23999.58%3,525,25899.45% Christianity 7,6250.26%14,5770.41% Hinduism 2,6310.09%3,1060.09%Ahmadi2,0250.07%1,5980.05% Others136~0%372~0% Total Population2,975,6563,544,911100%

Languages

At the time of the 2023 census, 94.08% of the population spoke Punjabi, 3.35% Urdu and 1.74% Saraiki as their first language.

Shrine of Tajuddin Chishti Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti, also known as Taj Sarwar Chishti, was a Sufi saint of Chishti Order. He was a grandson Shaikh Farid-ud-din Ganjshakar of Pakpattan and his descendants founded the village of Chishtian around 1265 CE (574 Hijri, Islamic calendar). Many native tribes in Punjab region accepted Islam due to his missionary efforts. The Shrine of Shaikh Khawaja Tajuddin Chishti is located in the city of Chishtian, known as Roza Taj Sarwar.

Bahawalnagar District

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