History of Kasur
Historically, Kasur is
one of the oldest cities of Pakistan. In ancient times, it was just
a small settlement with Katcha houses on the northern bank of the
older river Beas. According to an estimate Kasur was a big village
in 1 AD. In 553 Ad this was occupied by Khaweshgan. In 1020 AD,
Kasur was included in the territory of
Lahore, which was the capital of
the state under Raja Jaipal. When Emperor Baber captured the whole
of India in 1526AD, he gave this city to the Afghans as a token of
their service towards his victory. During the reign of Shah Jahan
and Aurangzeb, Kasur was glorified and every rich man constructed
his own palace in Kasur. In 1830 AD Maharaja Ranjeet Singh captured
Kasur and it was under Sikh role by the year 1847 when the British
took over control of India.
The city Kasur is famous for its very spicy fish,
Kasuri Falooda, sweet dishes "Andrassa and Dhoda (sohan halwa) and
Kasuri methi. Apart from that, it is also the birthplace of Noor
Jehan, the famous Pakistani singer and actress who gained popularity
in the 1950's. It is also famous for saint Baba Bullay Shah whose
tomb is in this city. According to some historians, the name Kasur
is derived from Kasha war, the same way Lahore is said to be taken
from Lahawar.Kush, the son of Ram Chander or Rama, is said to have
founded Kasur like his brother Loh or Lav is said to have founded
Lahore. However, some historians opine that Kasur is a Persian word
and a plural of "Kasr" or "Qasr" (meaning palace), which was the
name given during the times Kasur was a remarkable colony of Pathans,
perhaps the most remarkable on this side of Indus. There is said to
be seven tribes of Pathan who settled here sometimes during the
reign of Moghal king Baber but more probably in 1560, during the
times of his grandson Akbar. At that time the town is said to have a
population of about 3,500. Among the Pathans who settled here were
certain Hasanzais, whose descendents became the chiefs of the town
and founded a considerable principality, including territory on both
banks of the Sutlej River.
History of the area is often endorsed as being very ancient by quoting the mud filled town near it (1/2 km away from District Headquarters), which was called Rohay Wal. A tomb of a Muslim mystic Baba Kamal Chishti and some other graves are still found at the top of these teelas, who was of mughal era and disciple of Baba Fareed-ud-Din Ganj Shakar and Nizam-ud-Din Aulia. Many of these teelas has been dug up and has been leveled to ground for encroachments and roads etc. It is said that Rohay Wal (the lost town) was once the main city and the current city was a suburb of that. The city is built upon the high bank which marks the termination of the Majha and looks down upon the lowlands of the Satluj hither. It is a place of great antiquity and is identified by the historians as one of the place visited by the Chinese pilgrim, Howang Tsang in the 7th century BC but it does no appear in history until late in the Muslim period when it was established as a Pashtun colony near the northern/western bank of the Sutlej. These migrants entered the town either in the reign of Babar or in that of his grandson Akbar and founded a considerable principality with territory on both sides of the Satluj. When the Sikhs rose to power, they met great opposition from the Pashtuns of Kasur. The chiefs of the Bhangi confederacy stormed the town in the 1763 and again in 1770 and although they succeeded in holding the entire principality for a while, the Pashtun leaders re-established their independence in 1794 and resisted many subsequent attacks. The town of Kasur was incorporated in the Kingdom of Lahore by Ranjit Singh in 1807 and had been a municipality since 1885. There is said to be seven tribes of Pathan who settled here sometimes during the reign of Moghal king Baber but more probably in 1560, during the times of his grandson Akbar. At that time the town is said to have a population of about 3,500. Among the Pathans who settled here were certain Hasanzais, whose descendents became the chiefs of the town and founded a considerable principality, including territory on both banks of the Sutlej River. When the Sikhs rose to power, they experienced great resistance from Kasur. In 1763 and again in 1790, a large number of Pathans embraced martyrdom while defending their territory. In 1794, two Pathan brothers, Nizam ud Din and Kutab ud Din expelled the Sikhs from Kasur and reestablished the Pathan rule until 1807 when at last, Kutab ud Din was forced to give way to Ranjit Singh and retire to his territory at Mamdot, beyond the Sutlej River. The town of Kasur was then incorporated into the dominion of Ranjit Singh. After the Sikhs, this area was taken over by the British. In 1867, the British constituted the Municipality of Kasur. It remained a tehsil of Lahore District with an Extra Assistant Commissioner in-charge of the sub division until 1st July 1976 when it was made a district. Initially, the district comprised two sub divisions namely Kasur and Chunian. Later on in 1992, the Government of Punjab created a third sub division called Pattoki. While in 2008 another town Kot Radha Kishan was notified as fourth tehsil (sub-division) of the district.
History of Name
Historically the city of Kasur was named by ancient Aryan tribe of Kambojas who migrated from Mittani and Kussara and belonged to Ancient King Pithana of Mesopotamian Kussara. This fact is also endorsed by renowned folk Baba Bulay Shah that all Pathans of Kasur would become weavers very soon. The town of Khudian was built by ancient Aryan Iranian Kambojas of Kasur who claim descent from Saman Khuda. A village Khoda nearKhudian is also inhabited by Kambojah Clan. The same clan Kambojas also claims to be offsprings of Kumbakarna and Rama. Ancient town of Rajowal of Kambojas is also related to Kambojas of Khemkaran. According to a traditional belief, Kasur was founded by Prince Kusha, the son of Lord Rama, while Lahore, called Lavapuri in ancient times, was founded by his brother Prince Lava. Kasur had been allotted by the Mughals to Pashtuns or Afghans of Kabul and still contains a colony of Pashtuns. However the site was occupied by a Rajput town long before the period of Muslim rule. According to some historians, the name Kasur is derived from Kashawar, the same way Lahore is said to be taken from Lahawar. Kush, the son of Ram Chander or Rama, is said to have founded Kasur like his brother Loh or Lav is said to have founded Lahore. However, some historians opine that Kasur is a Persian word and a plural of "Kasar" or "Qasar" (meaning palace), which the name was given during the times Kasur was a remarkable colony of Pathans, perhaps the most remarkable on this side of Indus.
In 1867, the British
constituted the Municipality of
Kasur. It remained a tehsil of
Lahore District with an Extra Assistant Commissioner in-charge of
the sub division until 1st July 1976 when it was made a district.
Initially, the district comprised of two sub divisions namely Kasur
and Chunian. Later on in 1992, the Government of Punjab created a
third sub division called Pattoki.
According to some historians, its name is corrupted from
of Kashawar, in the same way as Lahore is said to be a shortened
from of Lahawar. Tradition refers the foundation of the town to Kush,
a Brother of Loh or Lav, son of Rama, who is said to have founded
Lahore. Some historians opine that Kasur is the Persian word and is
plural from of "Kasr" or "Qasr" (Kot). However this may be, Kasur
does not appear in history until far on in the Muhammad period. The
colony of Pathans was located at some time during the reign of Baber,
but more probably in 1560BC, during the reign of his grandson Akbar-e-
Azam. At that time the town is said to have numbered 3500 souls.
Among the Pathans who settled here were certain Hasanzais, whose
descendents became the chiefs of the town and founded a considerable
principality, including territory on both banks of the Sutluj.
When the Sikhs rose to power, they experienced great
resistance from the brave Sikhs of Kasur, in 1763 and again in 1770.
However, later, they were able to subdue the territory. Large
numbers of Pathans embraced martyrdom on these occasions. In 1794,
two Pathan brothers, Nizam ud Din and Kutab ud Din again expelled
the Sikhs from Kasur and re-established the Pathan rule, held their
own against the repeated attacks of Sikhs until 1807, when at last
Kutab ud Din was forced to give way before Ranjit Singh and retire
to his territory at Mamdot beyond Sutluj. The town of Kasur was then
incorporated in the dominion f Ranjit Singh. After the Sikhs the
area was taken over by British.
In 1867 the Kasur Municipality was constituted. At
that time, Kasur was given the status of Sub-division and included
in Lahore Civil Division. The Raiwind-Ganda Singhwala Railway line
was laid in 1883 whereas the Kasur-Lodhran Railway line was
completed in 1910, thereby connecting the town with the rail
network. During this period, Kasur served as an important commercial
as well as industrial center of the area. After independence in
1947, industrial and commercial activities were re-established and
Kasur contributed more and more towards the national economy. Kasur
remained a Tehsil of Lahore District, during the times of the
British, and Extra Assistant Commissioner used to be the in charge
of the Sub-Division. In 1976, Kasur was given the status of District
Headquarters and subsequently a number of local offices were
established.
Initially, the District comprised to Sub-Divisions
namely Kasur & Chunian. Later on, in 1992, the Government of Punjab
created another Sub Division with it does headquarter at Pattoki. At
present Kasur consists of Three Sub-Divisions; namely Kasur, Chunian
and Pattoki.
Kasur the city of Bulleh Shah, located 55 km southeast of
Lahore, is one of the oldest cities in Pakistan. It is adjacent to
the Indo-Pak Border which is famous for its guard changing ceremony.
District Kasur came into existence on July 1, 1967 after
being detached from Lahore district. Kasur is not though as old as
Lahore, is a brother town of Lahore. There are different traditions
about the name of Kasur. One is that the town was founded by Kasur/
Kasu the son of Ram chander and named after him as Kasur pur .The
other tradition tells us that the town was founded by Pathatn
families of Kandhar during the period of Akbar. The Pathans
constructed some small forts known as Kot. There were about twelve
Kots named after the heads of various families. These names still
exist. In Arabic, Kot or fort is known as Kaser (Qaser) and plural
of Kaser is kasur.
Kasur has a glorious past set in spiritual and cultural
traditions, nurtured by Sufi Saints like Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba
Kamal Chishti, Shah Inayat Qadiri, Imam Shah Bukhari, on one hand
and by musicians, singers like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad
Barkat Ali Khan, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Malka-e-Tarrannam Noor Jehan
etc. on the other hand. The important cultural events in the
district are the Urs of Baba Bulleh Shah and Urs of Baba Imam Shah
Bukhari.
Basant
Basant is annual festival celebration of spring season, which connotes that winter is gone and days of joy and blossom have arrived as harvest of wheat crop is also anticipated in same season. Use of yellowish shades during festival of basant hints towards the joy and blossom of spring and the shining sun. Kasur is very famous all around the world for its specific basant festival, which is now linked with more formal functions in its neighbor city Lahore.well famous for also many traditions and festivals. it is rich in agriculture and crop production. land is well fertile and high yielding.
Famous Personalities
Noor Jehan, famous singer and actress.
Abdul Hamid, former Auditor General of Pakista. Ex Secretary, Defence Production
Sahibzada Ahmad Raza Khan Kasuri, former MNA
Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Former Foreign Minister
Asif Ahmad Ali, former Foreign Minister
Rana Phool Muhammad Khan, served as caretaker chief minister for more than one year
The total population of the district is 2375875. Total
register voters are 1173524. A large number of non-Muslim voters
also reside in the District. The city of Kasur is a town of
considerable antiquity. It is situated upon the north bank of the
old bed of the Beas upon the Ferozpur Road 53 Kilometer south-east
of Lahore. It is built upon the high bank which marks the
termination of the Majha, and looks down upon the lowlands of the
Sutlej and Beas.
The city of Kasur is an aggregation of fortified
hamlets, called kots, small in themselves, but together forming a
considerable town. In 1592 Originally there were 12 principal
residential colonies which were built under the rule of Mogul
Chapatti Genghis Khan's descendant Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar in
promulgation with the grace extended from Moguls to Pathans.
The names of 12 Kots are as
fallows:
Kot Pacca Qila
Kot Nawan Qila
Kot Azam Khan
Kot Ghulam Mohyyulddin Khan
Kot Murad Khan
Kot Haleem Khan
Kot Peeraan
Kot Fateh Din Khan
Kot Usman Khan
Kot Badar-ud-Din Khan
Kot Ruken Din Khan
Kot Nawab Hussain Khan
For more Information contact to M. Awais Abid 03006582300
