Toba Tek Singh District

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Toba Tek Singh District
Map of Punjab with Toba Tek Singh District highlighted
Location of TTS in Punjab.
Area  km²
Population (1998)
 • Density		 1,621,593
 • /km²
Time zone PST (UTC+5)
Established
 • District Nazim
 • District Naib Nazim
 • District Council
 • Number of Tehsils
 • Abdul Sattar Chaudhary
 • Muhammad Khalid Sardar[1]
 •  seats 
 • 3
Main language(s)
Website [1]

Toba Tek Singh (Urdu: ٹوبہ ٹیک سنگھ) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located between 30º33' to 31º2' Degree north latitudes and 72º08' to 72º48' Degree longitudes.[2]

Toba Tek Singh Train Station
Toba Tek Singh Train Station

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Origins of Name

The town and district is named after a Sikh religious figure Tek Singh. Legend has it that Mr. Singh a kind hearted man served water and provided shelter to the worn out and thirsty travellers passing by a small pond ("TOBA" in Punjabi) which eventually was called Toba Tek Singh, and the surrounding settlement acquired the same name.[2] There is also a park here named after the Sardar Toba.

[edit] British Raj

Toba Tek Singh was developed by the British toward the end of the 18th Century when a canal system was built. People from all over the Punjab (currently Indian and Pakistani Punjab) moved there as farmlands were allotted to them. Most of the people who migrated there belonged to Lahore, Jalandhar, Sadiq Abad districts.

The Imperial Gazetteer of India described the tehsil of Toba Tek Singh as follows:

"Tahsil of the new Lyallpur District, Punjab, lying between 30°50' and 31°23' N. and 72° 20' and 72°54' E., with an area of 865 square miles. The population in 1906 was 148,984. It contains 342 villages, including Toba Tek Singh (population, 1,874), the head-quarters, and GOJRA (2,589), an important grain market on the Wazirabad-Khanewal branch of the North-Western Railway. The land revenue and cesses in 1905-6 amounted to 4.7 lakhs. The tahsil consists of a level plain, wholly irrigated by the Chenab Canal. The soil, which is very fertile in the east of the tahsil, becomes sandy towards the west. The boundaries of the tahsil were somewhat modified at the time of the formation of the new District of Lyallpur"[3]

[edit] After Independence

During 1970's, when many Pakistani cities were renamed to change names given after British Rulers to their original or native names or more acceptable names to local population like Montgomery was renamed to its old original name Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh remained one of the very few cities to maintain it's original name mainly because of reputation of Tek Singh. In 1982 Toba Tek Singh, formerly a subdivision, was separated from Faisalabad District and became a separate district.[2]

[edit] Demography

Toba Tek Singh is located in central Punjab and occupies 3252 square kilometres and is made up of large areas of lowlands that flood frequently during the rainy season; the floods originate from the Ravi River that runs along the southern and southeastern borders. The Pre-partition T.T.Singh had a sizeable Sikh population which migrated to Indian Punjab in 1947.

According to the 1998 census of Pakistan the population was 805,580 of this, 520,601 were Muslim and 284,979 were non-Muslim (mainly Christian).[4]

[edit] Administration

The district of Toba Tek Singh is administratively subdivided into three tehsils and 82 Union Council[5]:

Name of Tehsil No of Unions
Gojra 24
Kamalia 26
Toba Tek Singh 32
Total 82

The district is represented in the provincial assembly by seven elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies: [6][7]

Constituency MPA Party
PP-84 Ch.Bilal Asghar Warraich Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
PP-85 Haji Muhammad Ishaq Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians
PP-86 Neelam Jabbar Chaudhary Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians
PP-87 Lieutenant Colonel (R) Sardar Muhammad Ayub Khan Gadhi Pakistan Muslim League (N)
PP-88 Begum Nazia Raheel Pakistan Muslim League (N)
PP-89 Makhdoom Syed Ali Raza Shah Pakistan Muslim League (N)
PP-90 Mian Muhammad Rafique Pakistan Muslim League (N)

Until the year 2000, when the Divisions of Pakistan were abolished, Toba Tek Singh and Jhang districts were part of Faisalabad Division (this included Faisalabad District.

Major towns in Toba Tek Singh District are:

[edit] Famous people

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Please improve this article if you can.
  • The Late Haji Sardar Mohammad Murad Khan Gadhi was one of the most popular politicians of Toba Tek Singh. He was the last District Chairman of Faisalabad, when Toba Tek Singh was a Tehsil of Faisalabad. After Toba Tek Singh got the status of District, he became the first District Chairman of Toba Tek Singh. Twice he was District Chairman of Toba Tek Singh and he was elected four times as a Member of the Punjab Assembly - he never lost any elections where he was candidate. After his death his son Sardar Masood Ahmad Khan Gadhi become a member of Punjab Assembly - he was elected twice. The eldest son of Haji Sardar Mohammad Murad Khan Gadhi, Col (retd) Sardar Muhammad Ayub Khan Gadhi won the 2008 election and a member of Punjab Assembly.
  • Mohammad Sarwar (born 18 August 1952, Toba Tek Singh), a politician in the United Kingdom who served as the Labour Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow Central, Scotland. He was the UK's first Muslim MP, and an opponent of the 2003 Iraq war.
  • Dr Muhammad Sarwar, Chaudhry, (Country) President Pakistan Medical Association, Pakistan.
  • Ch. Mukhtar Ahmed Nusrat. Member District Council. Current Nazim. Ex Chairman Market Committee. Business man. He has started first Free Hospital and donated prime land for the School.
  • Hafeezullah Ishaq, CSP, ex Federal secretary Interior Pakistan.
  • M. Hamzah, Ex-MNA, great statesman, freedom fighter.
  • Choudhry Asad ur Rehman ex Minister and MNA.
  • Choudry Muhammad Ashfaq ex MNA and ex District Nazim.
  • Choudry Abdul Sattar is currently District Nazim of Toba Tek Singh and is also ex MNA.
  • Mian Muhammad Aslam Advocate Vice President Of Lahore High Court Bar Association
  • Syed Hamid Ullah Shah HASHMI is also presidincial awards winner on his three books. He dilverd many lecturs on pakistani literature in GERMANY CHINA,UNITED KINGDOM AND INDIA.He also served as principal in Pakistan Embassy College.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Zila Nazims & Naib Zila Nazims in the Province of Punjab
  2. ^ a b c Official Government website of Toba Tek Singh
  3. ^ Toba Tek Singh - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 406.
  4. ^ District Stats - District Government of Toba Tek Singh
  5. ^ Tehsils & Unions in the District of Toba Tek Singh - Government of Pakistan
  6. ^ Legislators from Toba Tek Singh - Website of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab
  7. ^ Election Results 2008

[edit] External links

 

Towns & Cities of Toba Tek Singh District
Toba Tek Singh (city) | Pirmahal Kamalia | Gojra | Rajana | Sandhilianwali