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Nankana Sahib
ننکاݨا صاحب ننكانہ صاحِب | |
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Nankana Sahib - Birthplace of Guru Nanak | |
Coordinates: 31°27′0″N 73°42′24″E / 31.45000°N 73.70667°E | |
Country | Pakistan |
Province | Punjab |
Division | Lahore |
District | Nankana Sahib |
Government | |
Elevation | 187 m (614 ft) |
Population | |
• City | 110,135 |
District Council | 3 seats |
Nankana Sahib | |
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Punjabi language | |
Gurmukhi | ਨਨਕਾਣਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ |
Transliteration | nankāṇā sāhib |
Shahmukhi | نَنْکانَہ صَاحِب |
Transliteration | nankāna ṣāḥib |
IPA | [nə̃nə̆käːɳa‿s̪äː˧ɪb] |
Nankana Sahib ( Urdu: ننکانہ صاحب, romanized: nankāna sāhib; Punjabi: ننکاݨا صاحب ( Shahmukhi), romanized: nankāṇā sāhib) is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is among the most important religious sites for the Sikh religion. [2] [3] It is located about 91 km (57 mi) west of Lahore and about 75 km (47 mi) east of Faisalabad. [4] According to the census of 2017 the city has a population of 110,135 inhabitants. [5] Until 2005, it was a part of the Sheikhupura District.
Originally, the locality was founded by a Hindu ruler named Raja Vairat and was originally named Raipur but it was destroyed during the Islamic invasions of the Indian subcontinent. [6] A later, re-built township on the site of the first settlement was founded during the Delhi Sultanate rule by Rai Bhoi, a Rajput of Bhati stock whose Hindu ancestor had converted to Islam due to the influence of Sufism, and thus was known as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi. [6] [7] His great-grand son Rai Bular Bhatti, renamed it as 'Nankana Sahib' after the birth of Guru Nanak.[ citation needed] The Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, originally constructed by Sikhs during the Mughal era in around 1600 CE was renovated in 1819–20 CE by Gian-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh The Sikh Conference of Panjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Peshawar, Kangra and Hazara.[ citation needed]
During the Akali movement, on 20 February 1921, Narain Das, the Udasi mahant (clergy) of the gurdwara at Nankana Sahib, ordered his men to fire on Akali protesters, leading to the Nankana massacre. The firing was widely condemned, and an agitation was launched until the control of this historic Janam Asthan Gurdwara was restored to the Sikhs. [8] Again in the 1930s and 1940s the Sikhs added more buildings and more architectural design.
Nankana Sahib and it surroundings were formerly a tehsil of Sheikhupura District. In May 2005, the provincial government raised the status of Nankana Sahib to a district [9] as a way of promoting development in the area. The present status is District Nankana Sahib has three tehsils: Nankana Sahib, Shah Kot, and Sangla Hill. Before December 2008, District Nankana Sahib also included Safdarabad Tehsil.
There are plans to construct a 100 acres (40 ha) university as well as hospitals and health care facilities by the district government with mutual interest of local communities and family of Rai Bular. [10]
In 2007, the Pakistan government announced a plan to set up a university on Sikh religion and culture at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak. Chairman of Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Gen (R) Zulfikar Ali Khan, said that "The international Guru Nanak University planned at Nankana Sahib would have the best architecture, curricula and research centre on Sikh religion and culture". [11]
And other historical Gurdwaras of Sikhism.
The partition of India and Pakistan significantly changed the demographic composition of Pakistan's cities with the vast majority of Hindus and Sikhs having to leave Pakistan and vice versa for Muslims in India. [17] The 2017 Pakistani Census however showed that while still overwhelmingly Muslim at 97.2%, there is now a re-established Sikh community in the holy city their founder Guru Nanak was born in. Though Sikhs were not included in the 2017 census, (but included in upcoming 2023 Census results) it can be estimated the large majority of the 'Any other religion' category which numbered over 1,500 individuals are Sikhs comprising 1.4% of Nankana Sahib's population. [18] There is also a significant Christian community in the city comprising 1.2% of the population. Hindus and Ahmadis both represent about 0.1% of the population.
Talwandi is said to have been originally built by a Hindu king, Raja Vairat. It was sacked and destroyed by fire and crowbar, like most Hindu towns and cities, during the Muslim invasions. Rai Bhullar restored Talwandi (earlier known as Raipur) and built a fort on the summit of the tumulus (ancient burial mound), in which he lived as the secure and happy ruler of a small village, some limited acres of cultivated land, and a boundless wilderness. The Bhatti clan is known to have founded the cities of Bathinda and Jaisalmer, among others. Rai Jaisal Bhatti (who lived around 1000 AD) founded Jaisalmer. One of the descendants of Rai Jaisal Bhatti came out of Jaisalmer, moved towards Punjab and settled down in Lahore. From within the same clan a gentleman named Rai Addel Bhatti (1265–1350), the grandson of Rai Jaisal Bhatti adopted the Islam faith due to the influence of Sufism, but did not leave his Hindu Rajput traditions and culture and Rai Bhoi Bhatti, one of his descendants, established Talwandi Rai Bhoi Khan Ki (today's Nankana Sahib).
Bhagat Singh was a well-read, articulate young man who significantly impacted Indian history and left behind a legacy that even 80 years after his martyrdom is still very much a part of our cultural ethos