Bhera

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Bhera
بھیرا
City
Jamia Mosque, 1540
Jamia Mosque, 1540
Bhera is located in Punjab, Pakistan
Bhera
Bhera
Location of Bhera
Bhera is located in Pakistan
Bhera
Bhera
Bhera (Pakistan)
Coordinates: 32°28′52″N 72°54′25″E / 32.48111°N 72.90694°E / 32.48111; 72.90694
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab, Pakistan Punjab
DistrictSargodha
Time zoneUTC+5 (PKT)

Bhera (Punjabi: بھیرا; Urdu: بھیرہ) is a city and a tehsil of Sargodha District, in Punjab province of Pakistan.[1] The city is known for wood-carved items, textiles (such as quilts and khussas), and certain desserts (such as pheonian and pateesa).[2]

The city comprises the walled Old Town and the surrounding newer development. The Old Town is surrounded by tall walls with eight gates, and is divided into mohallas, or neighborhoods; historically, different castes lived in different mohallas.[2] The Jhelum River flows to the north of Bhera.

History

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According to Ancient Geography of India by Alexander Cunningham, Bhera was once known as Jobnathnagar.[3]

The Imperial Gazetteer of India records the history of Bhera as follows:

In the seventh and eighth centuries, the Salt Range chieftain was a tributary of Hindu Shahi (rulers of Lahore). Bhera was sacked by Mahmūd of Ghazni, and again two centuries later by the generals of Chingiz Khān. In 1519 Bābar held it to ransom; and in 1540 Sher Shāh founded a new town, which under Akbar became the headquarters of one of the subdivisions of the ''Sūbah of Lahore. In the reign of Muhammad Shāh, Rājā Salāmat Rai, a Khukhrain of the Anand tribe, administered Bhera and the surrounding country; while Khushāb was managed by Nawāb Ahmadyār Khān, and the south-eastern tract along the Chenāb formed part of the territories under the charge of Mahārājā Kaura Mal, governor of Multān.[4]

About the same time, by the death of Nawāb Ahmdyār Khan, Khushāb also passed into the hands of Rājā Salāmat Rai. Shortly afterwards Abbās Khān a Khattak who held Pind Dādan Khān, treacherously put the Rājā to death, and seized Bhera. But Abbās Khān was himself thrown into prison as a revenue defaulter, and Fateh Anand, nephew of Salāmat Rai then recovered his uncle's dominions.[4]

In the recent past centuries, Bhera was an important trading outpost on the road to Kabul, and boasted of a taksal (mint) during the rule of Ranjit Singh. The city was known for its knife and cutlery craftsmen, who made fighting daggers (Pesh-kabz) as well as hunting knives and table cutlery, often fitted with handles of serpentine (false jade) or horn.[5] Sir Robert Baden-Powell described the process by which craftsmen manufactured gem-quality serpentine aka false jade from ores obtained from Afghanistan: "The sang-i-yesham (ore) is cut by means of an iron saw, and water mixed with red sand and pounded (with) kurand (corundum). It is polished by application to the san (polishing wheel), wetted with water only, then by being kept wet with water, and rubbed with a piece of wati (smooth pottery fragment), and lastly by rubbing very finely pounded burnt sang-i-yesham on it. This last process must be done very thoroughly."[5]

Bhera is the setting of the novel Mayyadas Ki Mari (Mayyadas's Castle), by Indian playwright Bhisham Singh Sahni.[6]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ "Tehsils and Unions in the District of Sargodha (see Bhera listed under Bhalwal Tehsil)". National Reconstruction Bureau, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b Khan, Omar Mukhtar (9 July 2019). "Bhera: Town on the river". Dawn (newspaper). Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  3. ^ Ancient Geography of India, page 130 – Alexander Cunningham
  4. ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India v22 page 214
  5. ^ a b Watt, Sir George, The Commercial Products of India, London: John Murray Publishers (1908), p. 561
  6. ^ Khan, Omar Mukhtar (9 July 2019). "Bhera: Town on the river". Dawn (newspaper). Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  7. ^ Some new faces in Sargodha Dawn (newspaper), Published 26 August 2002, Retrieved 5 June 2023
  8. ^ "Sikandar Sultan Raja named new CEC | The Express Tribune". 21 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Pirachas again go for NA-64: A test of voters' memory". Dawn (newspaper). 16 November 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Ulema and Mushaikh Council formed to promote inter faith harmony: Minister of Religious affairs". Pakistan Today (newspaper). 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
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