FAISALABAD- The City I Love
BY
MUHAMMAD ARSHAD CHAUDHRI
M.Sc. (Agri.) (Pb.)
BY
MUHAMMAD ARSHAD CHAUDHRI
M.Sc. (Agri.) (Pb.)
1. Introduction
2. Faisalabad; the city I love - an overview
3. Some more details; Old Mohallas, Living Habits, Zail Ghar,
Local Bar, Municipal
Corporation, Jamia Mosque, Mandir, Gurdawara,
Kaisri Gate,Statue of King George
V, Kaisri Bagh, Clock Tower, Old Bus Stand, Polo
Ground, Old Slaughter Houses,
Cinemas, Schools, Horse and Cattle Show, Saanvas,
Divali, Dusehra, Holi, Dimond Market,
informatgion.
4. Sandal Bar
5. Quaid-e-Azam in Lyallpur
6. Important Institutions of higher learning and research:
7. Miscellaneous: Saints, Marriages, Basant, Newspapers, Poets,
Banks, 1965 War with
India, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and
Industry.
8. Journey through the city in 1945.
9. Luminaries of Lyallpur (Faisalabad) Politicians, Writers, Sportsmen etc.
10. References.
Having been born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad) in December, 1929, he had his early schooling at Muslim Middle School, Eid Gah Road and then at the Muslim High School, Tariqabad. He did his Master's from the former Punjab Agricultural College, Lyallpur in 1951. By the time he earned his last degree, he was already a known figure in his age group in the city on the basis of excellent academic record - passed all school and university examinations in first division with merit scholarships and an equally enviable record on the play field, being a university blue in hockey apart from holder of colours of the college and the district. He served the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Department for six years, the University of Punjab for four years as Assistant/Deputy Registrar and the University of Agriculture for almost thirty years, twenty six years as Treasurer. He had the rare distinction of being elected from the adminis-trative staff to the Syndicate by the Senate of the University. He retired in 1991. His contribution in the field of hockey are such as anybody who holds them will feel proud of. He played for Punjab University, Punjab Province and was stand by of the National Team. He was Manager of the National Team and later on its Leader/Chef-de-Mission while participating in Asia Games, Tehran, 1974, World Cup, London, 1986 Asian Games Seoul, 1986 and on tours of Australia, New Zealand, Singapur, West Germany, Holland, Poland, Dubai and Kuwait. He was member Jury of Appeal in Olympics, Los Angles, 1984. Far about 27 years he sat on the Council/Working Committee of Pakistan Hockey Federation, the period during which he served in Honorary Capacity as Treasurer, Sr. Vice President and briefly as President. He is member Anjaman-Islamia Faisalabad for the last 25 years. M. Arshad Chaudhri has emotional attachments with Faisalabad, the city of his birth. This work is a testament to these emotions.
Writing of history is a stupendous task, more so of a city about which the pertinent information is scarce and is mostly buried deep in the hearts of the old dwellers. In such cases doubt lurks in the mind about the authenticity of the information gathered, making it essential to do lot of sifting and rechecking before clearing it for the book. The facts can't be distorted for the posterity, said Ibn-e-Khaldoon, and the author thus carried lot of responsibility on his shoulders in presenting the true unbiased facts. Information about Faisalabad, in black and white, is thoroughly inadequate. Of the few books available, those too covering only a part of the history, geography, architecture of buildings, social and cultural events of the past, Government Gazetteer of Faisalabad appears to be relatively authentic. Unfortunately the old edition is really old and the latest edition of that book is under print, the rough proof had, therefore, to be depended upon. And that too was trimmed where found necessary. Chenab Colony Gazetteer is another authentic document. But these valuable books shed light only on a few facets of the history, mostly included in Chapter II. The Rest had to be collected and compiled of my own, based on personal knowledge, and through the generous help of friends and connoisseurs. As mentioned in chapter VIII titled, "Journey through the City" I have walked through each street and mohallah, as they were in 1945, to find its culture, traditions and many hidden paths. It was not thus very difficult to check the veracity of many statements and suggestions which came across. Nothing is perfect. Even "near perfect" is difficult to achieve. This book is the first attempt and hopefully many additions will be made in the second edition, particularly the photographs of the old buildings which are gradually crumbling. Faisalabad is much more than the sum of its minarets, clock tower, educational and research institutions, its narrow lanes bustling with life, horse-drawn tongas, donkey carts, mill chimneys, and of course the buffaloes which have become an integral part of its culture. Emotions and feelings were also involved in the write up beside innumerable hurdles for which there was no immediate solution. It was therefore not easy to pen down a comprehensive account. The description that is offered here is, therefore, circumscribed. We have an obsession with difficult words to impress the reader of our prowess of the language rather than the knowledge of the subject matter. When Mr. Lee Kuan Ten, the former Prime Minister of Singapore, visited Pakistan last year and spent several days discussing Pakistan's economic and financial policies with some of the senior officers, he was deeply puzzled, by our excessive commitment to the English language. He was shown thick manuals of procedures dealing with the deregulation and privatization of public sector industries. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was the constant companion of our officials and their legal aides. By the fourth day, he threw up his hands and declared that nowhere in the world had he seen such obsession with words and their legal meanings and connotations. Fortunately there were not many Pakistanis settled in Singapore, he said, otherwise the country would have still been busy unravelling linguistic and verbal knots instead of making any economic progress. Fortunately, I do not have any claim to presenting a write up sprinkled with difficult words. This book would not have appeared without the love and support of my many friends. Their generosity with time, inspired suggestions, conversations over endless cups of tea have enriched the document. But for their moral support and encouragement I might have left the book midway through. They are wonderful people and my diction fails me in recording appropriately my gratitude not only to those whose names appear hereunder but also to others who contributed one way or the other and whose names I might have forgotten to include unintentionally.