My City " The City of Eagles"

HISTORY OF SARGODHA





Population = 558,440 (1998)

Estimate = 700,500 (2007)

Sargodha City is located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the eighth largest city of Pakistan, 175 kilometres north-west of Lahore, in Sargodha District. It is called “Shaheeno Ka Shahar” (City of Eagles), having Pakistan Air Force Operational and Central Command Air Base, and an Army Garrison. It is an agricultural city, Wheat, rice, and sugarcane being its main crops. Also it is famous for its Kennoo Oranges. Sargodha is one of three “Planned Cities” in Pakistan(other two are*Faisalabad & *Islamabad (Capital of Pakistan).

It is located in northeast Pakistan, to the north-west of Lahore by the lower Jhelum Canal. It is 10th largest city of Pakistan. It is an agricultural trade centre with varied industries.[1] Sargodha is one of three “planned cities” in Pakistan (the other two are Faisalabad and Islamabad).

It is an industrial centre for trade in cotton and other agricultural commodities. Hosiery, textiles, chemicals, and soap are the major manufactures
A large Pakistan Air Force base is located in the city.


History

Origin of name

There are several theories as to the origins of the name. It may be derived from the Sanskrit ’svargadhama’, meaning ‘heavenly abode’ Though this would have given rise to the Punjabi *sargdham. Other theories suggest that the name Sargodha is derived from that of a Hindu resident GodhaAlso it is believed that there was an old pond in the middle of the town where the old Hindu sadhu Godha used to live. In Punjabi the word for pond is sar hence sargodha, “The pool of godha”. Again this can’t be accepted as the order of words doesn’t refelect Punjabi usage, e.g., Amritsar, “the pool of nectar.” The place would have been called Godhsar if anything. The etymology must lie in sar + godha, with sar beinng the adjective and godha the noun.

Just over a century ago, there was a well owned by a Hindu Godha. The well was known as Gol Khuh, Punjabi “round well, and travellers used it as a resting place. As time passed the well eventually went out of use and a market evolved around it. There is a market at the place where Gol Khuh used to exist and a grand mosque above the market and it is known as “Gol Chowk”, which is the centre of downtown Sargodha today.

Sargodha was a small town at the beginning of the British Raj but, due to its geographical location, the British Royal Air Force built an airport there. It took on greater importance after the partition for the Pakistan Air Force.

History of Sargodha can be traced back to July 1951, when the disused WW II airfield was first occupied by a PAF Care and Maintenance Party. With this, the first step had been taken and by 16 November 59, all the infrastructure had been completed under the supervision of Wing Commander R D Rollo to make Sargodha ready to receive its First flying squadrons. Group Captain Salahuddin was posted in November 59 as the first commanding officer of PAF Station Sargodha. Over the next five months, by April 60, Nos 5, 11 and 16 Squadrons equipped with F-86F aircraft, had been positioned at this base; they comprised No 33 Wing.

The Air Force has about 65,000 active (40,000 uniformed and 25,000 civilian) personnel with about 10,000 reserves. The overall operational and administrative control of the PAF vests in the Chief Of the Air Staff who excercises these functions through Air Headquarters. He is assisted by a Vice Chief Of Air Staff and five Deputy Chiefs Of The Air Staffs.

The flying operations of the air force are carried out from a number of operational, training and maintanance air bases located all over the country. The respective Base Commanders are responsible to their Air Officer Commanding for the operaional readiness and combat efficiency of their bases.



Nishan-e- Istiqlal

A ttile Nishan-e-Istiqlal was given to three cities of Punjab in the Pakistan India War of 1965 against showing severe resitance in front enemy. Thse cities included Sargodha, Lahore and Sialkot.

1965 Pakistan India War

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 started on September 6, 1965 and Sargodha was on its front line. Citizens of Sargodha supported the Pakistan Army against the advancing and numerically larger Indian Army.

In 1966, recognising this bravery, the Government of Pakistan awarded the citizens of Lahore, Sialkot and Sargodha the award of Hilal-E-Istaqlal.



PAF Base

PAF Base Sargodha is now known as PAF Base Mushaf, named after the late Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir (March 5, 1947 – February 20, 2003), the former Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force from November 20, 2000 until his death when his PAF Fokker F-27 crashed near Kohat, North-West Frontier Province. He had been posted in Sargodha as the Base Commander.by Sami-ul-Ah Wahla

Demographics and Location

Sargodha is the 10th largest city of Pakistan. It is located 172 kilometres northwest of Lahore, in Sargodha District. It lies about 30 miles from the M2 Motorway which connects Lahore and Islamabad.

It is an agricultural city with wheat, rice, and sugar cane being its main crops. Also it is famous for its Kinow oranges.

Administration

Until divisions were abolished in the year 2000, Sargodha was also divisional headquarters of Sargodha Division, currently Sargodha is the district and tehsil capital – the city of Sargodha is administratively subdivided into 22 Union Councils.

Divisional Headquarter:

Sargodha is infact a divisional headquarter of the Sargodha Division. Sargodha division has following Districts:

1. Sargodha District 2. Khushab District

3. Mianwali District 4. Bhakkar District

Tehsils of Sargodha:

Sargodha District is further divided into following major Tehsils.

1. Sargodha 2. Sillanwali

3. Bhalwal 4. Sahiwal

5. Kot Momin 6. Shahpur Sadar

Sargodha is connected to other major cities of Pakistan by motorways through Pindi-bhatian Interchange for Lahore and Bhalwal Interchange for Islamabad/Peshawar. A title Nishan-e-Istiqlal was given to three cities of Punjab in the Indo Pak war of 1965 against showing severe resistance in front enemy. These cities included Sargodha, Lahore and Sialkot.

City is also called a City of Eagles or ‘Shaheenon ka Shahar’. Most poeple think that it is because of the second largest Pakistan Airforce Airbase. Most of the 1965 India Pakistan Air war was fought over Sargodha city and hence this name was officially adopted. Some people think that M.M.Alam flew his fighter plane from Sargodha base & detroyed nearly 12 Fighter jets of India during the Air war.

Presidential Awards

Only two people from Sargodha have been Conferred upon with the presidential awards by the PRESIDENT of PAKISTAN.They are Prof.Ghulam Jilani Asghar and Prof.M.H.Musaddiq for their flawless contribution in the field of education

Citrus Fruit:

Sargodha is famous for production of citrus fruit “Kinnu”, “Malta”, “Grapefruit” etc. Soil is very receptive to citrus fruit and Sargodha arguably produces the best quality “Kinnu” (type of orange) in the world. Per acre yield of “Kinnu” is arguably the highest in the world. Demand for “Kinnu” of Sargodha is highest in domestic fruit markets, especially from Tehsil “Sillanwali” followed by a narrow margin by “Kinnu” of “Kot momin".

Sargodha City, the headquarters of the district with the same name, was founded in the year 1903, soon after the opening of thelower Jhelum canal and the colonization in the area that followed as a result thereof. The name Sargodha consists of two words, namely; ‘Sar’ and ‘Godha’, Sar, means pond or pool and Godha was the name of a Hindu ‘jogi’ (hermit). As the tradition goes, there was a natural water pond on the place where, at present, a portion of the Divisional Headquarters Hospital and Municipal Office stand. Godha had put up a small hut for himself on the side of this pond. The area around it was an uninhabited ‘bar’ or bush jungle where the cattle used to graze and drink water from the pond, named after the jogi. According to another tradition, the original name of the jogi was Lalu; Godha was the name of histribe, and he was known as Lalu Godha. When the new city was founded, it automatically took the name Sargodha.

City of Brave:

The word Godha is probably derived from the Sanskrit word ‘yoddha’, meaning fighter. Even now there are manypersons having the name ‘Jodha’ as well as ‘Godha’, both derived from the word ‘Yoddha’. There exists an old tribe of this name also. So Sargodha means pond of ‘Godha’ or Abode of the Fighter. It is, therefore, not a mere coincidence that Sargodha has made a name for itself, for fighting valiantly against the Indian Air Force during the wars of 1965 and 1971, as a result of which, it has won the well-deserved title of the City of Eagles.

Cultural Diversity:

The Sargodha city was founded by Lady Trooper in 1903. The city is very close to the heart of the Punjab. not just geographically but also in terms of cultural depth and diversity, now a city of about half million. A big canal arising from the river Jhelum brought green revolution to the barren valley of Karana Hills. New people started pouring in, not only from the neighbouring districts but also from distant towns like Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat. As a result of the partition in 1947 the Muslims from the East Punjab and the United Province (UP) added more colours to the already coloured and diverse culture of the city. Being the District Headquarters since 1940, Sargodha was upgraded to the status of Divisional Headquarters in the year 1960. Apart from being a well planned city, Sargodha enjoys the distinctionof being one of the most important bases of Pakistan Air Force. There is a beautiful cantonment area marked by the Pakistan Army

Links:

Sargodha is linked with all the major cities of the country by road and rail. It is at just two hours traveling distance from the Provincial Capital (Lahore) and three hours from the Federal Capital (Islamabad). Road Transport connections are very frequent and comfortable, and maintain direct service to and fro Peshawar. Karachi is in direct contact through express train service and Quetta is also easily accessible through railways.

Moving Ahead:

The last decade has seen Sargodha expanding and prospering. Heavy investment was attracted in the field of industry, especially the agro-based industry. A number of national and multi-national companies have established their offices and new investment is being pumped into the city’s economy. Sargodha is a smart and exceptionally cheap place to shop. Getting around the city is very easy. It has an affordable comprehensive transport network.

California of Pakistan:

With its lush-green and glowing orange orchards, the District of Sargodha,the greatest Kinno producer throughout the world, deserves the title of the “Kinno Capital of the World”, or the
“California of Pakistan

Media

” Indus News TV Channel
Sargodha (Bureau Office)
Upper Story NADARA Office, Khayyam Chowk Sargodha.
Bureau Chief:
Muhammad Shafiq Khan
Audio-Visual Editor:
Ghulam Muhammad Malik
” Dhoom News TV Channel
Sargodha (Bureau Office)
Upper Story NADARA Office, Khayyam Chowk Sargodha.
Bureau Chief: Raja Asif Mahmood
Audio-Visual Editor:
Ghulam Muhammad Malik
” Royal News TV Channel
Sargodha (Bureau Office)
Upper Story NADARA Office, Khayyam Chowk Sargodha.
Bureau Chief: Amjad Ali
Audio-Visual Editor:
Ghulam Muhammad Malik
” Radio Pakistan Sargodha (FM Band),Club Road Sargodha.
” FM Sunrise (96 MHz) Most popular, also plays Indian and western music, Aziz Bhatti Town Sargodha
” Pakistan Television Islamabad centre terrestrial transmissions at VHF and UHF band routed from Sakesar rebroadcast centre.
” Cable tv transmissions via cable service providers

Print Media

National News papers include:

” Daily Pakistan (Rawalpindi)
” Daily Patriot (Rawalpindi)
” Daily Pak Watan (Rawalpindi)
” Daily Inkishaf-i-Haq (Lahore)
” Daily Asian Post (Lahore)

Local News papers include:

” Daily Rafaqat Sargodha
” Daily Express
” Daily Tijarat
” Daily Khabria
” Daily Zaroorat
” Daily Sham E Sargodha



Schools/Colleges and Universities

” University of Sargodha (formerly Government College, Sargodha)
” Quaid-e-Azam Law College http://www.qlc.edu.pk
” Fazaia Inter College Mushaf Sargodha(Formerly Air Base Inter College)
” PAF Model Inter College Sargodha
” Govt. Polytechnic institute Sargodha (GPI Sargodha)
” Govt Colleges of Commerce
” Punjab Group of Colleges for Commerce and IT
” I.T.M College
” Govt. Degree College For Women, Chandni Chowk
” Govt. Degree College For Girls, Farooq Colony Sargodha
” Govt Comprehensive High School for Boys
” Center model high school
” Govt Comprehensive High School for Girls
” Government model High School No.1
” Progressive Public Higher Secondary School
” The Apostles School http://www.apostles.cjb.in
” Sargodha Catholic School
” Sargodha Institute of Technology
” The Punjab Girls High School
” St. Doris Girls High School
” St. Marry’s High School
” Iqra College for Women
” ThinkPatterns (An Institution for Professional Education)
” Shakespeare Academy Sargodha(School of Linguistics)
Dar-e-arqam model school and college,sargodha by Muhammad Imran Malik



Shopping in Sargodha

In previous decades, shopping in Sargodha was limited to the bazaars like Ameen Bazaar, Kachehri Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, Anarkali Bazaar. With the city’s development and progress, new small scale shopping centres spread all around the city.