Historical Overview of Rawalpindi:
RAWALPINDI, the commercial
center of the Potowar plateau, is one of the largest
cities of Pakistan. It is a glamorous mixture of ancient
culture and modern traditions. In the past few
years,Rawalpindi has grown
rapidly. Modern shopping complexes have
sprung up through out the city and it now boasts a
collection of High-Rise buildings. It has grown from a
mere village to the largest city in the
area.
Rawalpindi
is ideally located in the foot of the Margalla. It
therefore holds the unique status of being the staging
ground for tourists from around the
world.
Pindi Through the
Ages:
Throughout the ages, Rawalpindi has been on the
route of invaders. The first muslim invader, Mahmood of
Ghazni (979-1030 AD), gifted the city to a Gakkhar
chief, Kai Gohar. The town however, being on the
invaders route, could not prosper and remained deserted
until Jhanda Khan, restored it and gave it the name
Rawalpindi after the villiage Rawal in 1493 AD.
Rawalpindi remained under the rule of the Gakkhars until
Muqarrab Khan, the last Gakkhar ruler was defeated by
the Sikhs in 1765 AD. The Sikhs invited traders from
other places to settle here. This brought the city into
prominence. Sikhs lost the city to the British in 1849
AD. The British, seeing the strategic importance
of the city, turned it into a military garrison in 1849
and established a military cantonment south of the old
city. It soon became one of the major centers of the
British Indian army. In 1879, the Punjab Northern
Railway was extended to Rawalpindi but the train service
was formally inaugurated on January 01, 1886. After the
partition of the subcontinent, Rawalpindi was made the
General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army and began to
grow rapidly. Today, it is one of the most important
cities of Pakistan, both politically and
economically.
