Kasur
is one of the districts in the province of Punjab, Pakistan It came
into existence on 1 July 1976. Earlier it was part of Lahore District.
The district capital is Kasur city, the birth city of the Sufi poet Bulleh
Shah, well known in that region as well as in the whole of Pakistan. The
total area of the district is 3,995 square kilometres.Kasur is located
adjacent to the border of Gunda Singh Wala between Pakistan and the India,
and is a tourist attraction because of the daily occurring Flags
lowering ceremony. Kasur district is surrounded at north by Lahore, at
east and south by India, at southern west Depalpur tehsil of Okara district
and at northern west Sheikhupura district. At east-southern border it is
circled by the Sutlej River and at west-northern border of district the
river Ravi flows.The famous man made forest Changa Manga is located at
western direction of the city Kasur about 30 miles away.
Kasur is known for its foods and dishes, e.g. a spicy fried fish, sweet
dishes like Andrassay, Falooda and vegetable (both as fresh and dried)
Kasuri Methi.The area is birthplace of many popular figures e.g. Noor Jehan,
the Pakistani singer and actress who gained popularity in the 1950s. The
city is also the resting place of Sufi poet Abdullah Shah (Bulleh Shah).
There are different traditions about the name of Kasur.One is that the town
was founded by Kassu the son of King Ram and named after him as Kasur Pur.
(One of Kassu's brothers was Laaho and the City of Lahore was named after
him.) According to another tradition the town was founded by Pashtun
families from Kabul (today the capital of Afghanistan) during the period of
Mughal emperor Akbar. The Pashtuns constructed 12 small forts (called as "Qasar"
in Persian) so the city was later on named as Qasoor i.e. city of many Qasar
(Forts). There are twelve known Qasars (Kot-urdu/Punjabi word of Qasar)
named after the heads of various families.
Seach
Kasur on Satellite Map
Hotels
| Eating &
Dining | Parks & Gardens
|
Educational Institutes |
Hospitals |
Sport Centers |
Banks |
ATM |
Fuel Stations |
CNG Stations |
Police Stations |
Shopping
/Trade
History
History of City
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.
Kots (Forts-Qasars-Qasoor)
The city of Kasur is an aggregation of fortified hamlets, called kots, small
in themselves, but together forming a considerable town. In 1592 12
principal residential colonies were built by Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin
Muhammad Akbar. The names of 12 kots are Kot Pacca Qila, Kot Nawan Qila, Kot
Azam Khan, Kot Ghulam Mohayyudin Khan, Kot Murad Khan, Kot Haleem Khan, Kot
Peer Mohammad Khan, Kot Fateh Din Khan, Kot Usman Khan, Kot Badar-ud-Din
Khan, Kot Ruken Din Khan, Kot Nawab Hussain Khan.
Now along with these there are many other towns and colonies in the city.
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 "Kasarâ€