Bahawalpur (Punjabi/Urdu: بہاولپور), located in the province of Punjab, is the twelfth largest city in Pakistan. The city was once the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The city was home to various Nawabs (rulers) and counted as part of the Rajputana states (now Rajasthan, India). The city is known for its famous palaces such as the Noor Mahal, Sadiq Ghar Palace, and Darbar Mahal, as well as the ancient fort of Derawar in the Cholistan Desert bordering India. The city is located near the historical and ancient cities of Uch and Harappa, which were once a stronghold of the Delhi Sultanate and Indus Valley Civilisation. The city is home to one of the few natural safari parks in Pakistan, Lal Suhanra National Park.

In 2007, the city's population was recorded to have risen to 798,509 from 403,408 in 1998.^[4] Saraiki is the local language, while Urdu and English are official languages used in various educational and government institutions. Bahawalpur is located south of the Sutlej River and lies in the Cholistan region near the Thar Desert. It is situated 90 km from Multan, 420 km from Lahore, and 270 km from Faisalabad.

The main crops for which Bahawalpur is recognised are cotton, sugarcane, wheat, sunflower seeds, rape/mustard seed and rice. Bahawalpur mangoes, citrus, dates and guavas are some of the fruits exported out of the country. Vegetables include onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes and carrots. Being an expanding industrial city, the government has revolutionised and libertised various markets, allowing the caustic soda, cotton ginning and pressing, flour mills, fruit juices, general engineering, iron and steel re-rolling mills, looms, oil mills, poultry feed, sugar, textile spinning, textile weaving, vegetable ghee and cooking oil industries to flourish.^[5]

History

Map of Bahawalpur Division before they were axed in 2000

According to the Abbasi historians, the city of Bahawalpur was founded in 1748 by Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi I.

A photograph of an inner market in central Bahawalpur, c.1980

Noor Mahal, one of the residences of the Nawabs (King's) of Bahawalpur

The Royal House of Bahawalpur is said to be of Arabic origin and claims descent from Abbas, progenitor of the Abbasid Caliphs of Baghdad and Cairo. Sultan Ahmad II, son of Shah Muzammil of Egypt, left his country and arrived in Sindh with a large following of Arabs in 1370. He married a daughter of Raja Rai Dhorang Sahta, receiving a third of the country as a dowry. Amir Fathu'llah Khan Abbasi is the recognized ancestor of the dynasty. He conquered the Bhangar territory from Raja Dallu, of Alor and Bahmanabad, renaming it Qahir Bela. Amir Muhammad Chani Khan Abbasi entered the imperial service and gained appointment as a Panchhazari in 1583. At his death, the leadership of the tribe was contested between two branches of the family, the Daudputras and the Kalhoras. Amir Bahadur Khan Abbasi abandoned Tarai and settled near Bhakkar, founding the town of Shikarpur in 1690. Daud Khan, the first of his family to rule Bahawalpur, originated from Sind, where he had opposed the Afghan Governor of that province and was forced to flee.^{[citation needed]}

The princely state of Bahawalpur was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan II after the breakup of the Durrani Empire. The city claimed to be one of the largest states of British India, more than 451 kilometres long. Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan III signed a treaty with the British on 22 February 1833, guaranteeing the independence of the Nawab. The state acceded to Pakistan on 7 October 1947 when Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V Bahadur^[6] decided to join Pakistan at the time of independence. Bahawalpur was merged into the province of West Pakistan on 14 October 1955. When West Pakistan was divided into four provinces — Sindh, Balouchistan, NWFP, and Punjab — Bahawalpur became a part of Punjab.

Economy

Darbar Mahal, a former palace of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur

Irrigation from canals such as this provides the city with fertile soil for crop production.

Bahawalpur lies at the junction of trade routes from the east, south-east, and south. It is a center for trade in wheat, cotton, millet, and rice grown in the surrounding region. Dates and mangoes are also grown here. Canals supply water for irrigation. The principal industries are cotton ginning, rice and flour milling, and the handweaving of textiles.

Soapmaking and cotton ginning are important enterprises; cotton, silk, embroidery, carpets, and extraordinarily delicate pottery are produced. Factories producing cottonseed oil and cottonseed cake were built in the 1970s. It is an important marketing center for the surrounding areas and is located on the crossroads between Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and Karachi. Bahawalpur is also known for its distinctively embroidered slippers and shoes and filigree pottery.

Bahawalpur has only one railway bridge, the Adamwahan (Empress) Bridge, over the Sutlej River, and also has rail links with Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province and Karachi, the capital of Sindh (which is 899 km from Bahawalpur), making it an important rail centre. The surrounding area is mostly agricultural, which allows agricultural exports to many parts of the world. There is also a large market town for mangoes, dates, wheat, sugarcane, and cotton that brings in continuous demand all year round. It has soap making and cotton spinning factories, as well as enterprises producing silk and cotton textiles, carpets, and pottery. Bahwalpur has sugar mills that provide some of the export market out of the country.

Punjab is Pakistan's most fertile province, rich in both agriculture and ancient history. It is also one of the more stable of the country's regions. The prosperous and hospitable town of Bahawalpur is a gentle introduction to the area, which makes the city an ideal tourist destination. From here one can journey into Cholistan - a sandy wasteland dotted with nomadic communities and windswept forts - or the Lal Suhanra National Park, an important wildlife reserve. Further north is Harappa which is, after Moenjodaro, the second most important site of the Indus Valley Civilization. Bahawalpur is the most southerly town in the Punjab. There are daily flights from Islamabad about 555 km (344 mi) away. Most of the major destinations in the Punjab can be reached by car, bus, coach, and train.

Culture

Uch Sharif Tomb is an ancient city located near Bahawalpur.

Sadiq Ghar Palace is in urgent need of restoration; the palace has been closed to the public.

The city of Bahawalpur has a rich heritage and is an important hot spot for historians as well as archeologists. Bahawalpur is known for its cotton, silk, embroidery, carpets, and extraordinarily delicate pottery. The Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) has established a Craft Development Center for Cholistan area, outside Farid Gate, Bahawalpur from where handicrafts manufactured in Cholistan can be purchased. Some of the souvenirs produced in the city include:

• Flassi - 4 ft by 7 ft, made of camel hair and cotton yarn; it is used for wall hanging, as a decoration piece and a carpet.
• Gindi or Rilli - Made of small pieces of many colors of cotton cloth and needlework; they can be used as wall hangings, bed covers, carpets and blankets.
• Changaries - Like big plaques, these are made of palm leaves in different bright colours with beautiful patterns and geometric designs. These are used for keeping the 'chapattis' and also as a wall decoration.
• Khalti - Like a purse embroidered on top with multicoloured threads.
• Artwork - An attractive type of embroidery done on dupatta, kurta and chaddar, etc.

The main shopping centers of Bahawalpur are Shahi Bazaar, Machli Bazaar, Farid Gate and the Mall. The commercial area in Satellite Town is a newly developed center that is gaining popularity. A few shopping malls, including Bobby Plaza, Takbeer Shopping Mall, Time, and Prince, cater for all kinds of needs. Shopping is a major attraction in the city; the city is bustling with traders and craftsmen selling all sorts of artwork for travellers and tourists.

The Cholistan Jeep Rally is held in the city every year in the Cholistan desert

Derawar Fort is on the outskirts of the city in the Cholistan Desert

East of Bahawalpur is the Cholistan Desert, which covers an area of about 15,000 km² and extends into the Thar Desert of India. The region was once watered by the Hakra River, known as the Saravati in vedic times. At one time there were 400 forts in the area and archaeological finds around the Derawar Fort, the only place with a perennial waterhole, indicate that it was contemporaneous with the Indus Valley Civilisation. The average annual rainfall is only 12 cm, and the area's scant cultivation is made possible by underground wells, drawn up by camels. The water is stored in troughs, built by the tribes, between sandhills and din waterholes called tobas. The people are racially similar to those in Rajasthan - tall, with sharp features. They live in large, round, mud and grass huts, usually built on the top of sandhills. On the whole, they are pastoral and nomadic. The main tribes are the Chachar, Mehr, Lar, Paryar, Channar, Chandani and Bohar. The forts here were built at 29 km intervals, which probably served as guard posts for the camel caravan routes. There were three rows of these forts. The first line of forts began from Phulra and ended in Lera, the second from Rukhanpur to Islamgarh, and the third from Bilcaner to Kapoo. Built with double walls of gypsum blocks and mud, they are all in ruins now. Some of them date back to 1000 BC, and were destroyed and rebuilt many times.

Noor Mahal lit at night after being newly renovated

Bahawalpur Library

Even with all the markets and forts, one thing for which Bahawalpur is recognised above all others is the numerous palaces that still remain intact ever since the fall of the Nawabs. There are countless palaces in the city, locally known as Mahals. Some of the most famous include: Noor Mahal, Gulzar Mahal, Darbar Mahal, Shimla Khoti Sadiq Ghar Palace and Darbar Mahal. The city also has a city gate called Farid Gate, which in its heyday provided the only entrance to the city for its rulers. The gate still remains and is now located in a busy market in the inner city. The Bahawalpur Museum and Bahawalpur National Library house various collections of coins, medals, postage stamps of the former state of Bahawalpur, manuscripts, documents, inscriptions, wood carvings, camel skin paintings, historical models and stone carvings from Islamic and pre-Islamic eras. There is a complete set of medals of all classes issued by the ex-state to its military officers, civilians, and other important citizens of the ex-state.

The city also has several mausoleums of prominent leaders who fought and defended the region over several thousands of years. Some of the most prolific include the tombs of Channen Peer Tomb Yazman and Mausoleums of Haugha Sahib. There is also an old fort of Munde Shahid, 50 km from Bahawalpur and Marot Fort, which are considered to be antiquities. A place outside the Marot Fort is known as 'Baithak Maula Ali'. The tomb of Naugaza is located in the Munde Sharif Fort.