Kasur the city of Bulleh Shah, located 55 km southeast of Lahore, is one of the oldest cities in Pakistan. Kasur is adjacent to the border between Pakistan and India. It is a major tourist attraction because of the famous guard changing ceremony.
Kasur, one of the districts of Punjab province, is bounded on the north by Lahore district, on the south and east by the Indian districts of Feroz Pur and Amritsar respectively, and on the west by Sahiwal district. Kasur city is located on the Feroz Pur road at a distance of about 55 km. from Lahore to the south and about 25 km from Feroz Pur, situated in India to its north. Kasur is well connected to Lahore by road and also by rail, which takes off from the Raiwind junction and runs up to Lodhran. Before partition, it was also linked by rail with Amritsar and Feroz Pur city in India (Government of Pakistan, 1980).
It is famous for its very spicy fish, a sweet dish called Andrassay, Falooda and Kasuri methi. Apart from that, it is also the birthplace of Noor Jehan, the famous Pakistani singer and actress who gained popularity in the 1950s.
Kasur is one of the oldest cities of Pakistan. In ancient times, it was just a small settlement with katcha houses on the northern bank of the old river Beas. According to an estimate Kasur was a big village in 1 AD. In 553 AD this was occupied by Khaweshgan. In 1020 AD, Kasur was included in the territory of Lahore, which was the capital of the state under Raja Jaipal (Government of Pakistan, 1980).
When Emperor Babar captured the whole of India in 1526 AD, he gave this city to the Afghans as a token of their service towards his victory. During the reign of Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb, Kasur was glorified and every rich man constructed his own palace in Kasur. In 1830 AD Maharaja Ranjeet Singh captured Kasur and it was under Sikh Rule by the year 1957 when the British took over control of India.
At that time, Kasur was given the status of a sub-division and was included in Lahore Civil Division. The Raiwind-Ganda Singhwala Railway Line was laid in 1883 whereas the Kasur-Lodhran Railway Line was completed in 1910, thereby connecting the town with the rail network. During this period, Kasur served as an important commercial as well as industrial center of the area (Government of Pakistan, 1980)
After independence in 1947, industrial and commercial activities were re-established and Kasur contributed more and more towards the national economy. In 1976, Kasur was given the status of district headquarters and subsequently a number of local offices were established. But due to uncontrolled and haphazard development of tanning industries, the city is under a state of environmental degradation and there is a severe threat to both people and natural resources in Kasur.
There are different traditions about the name of Kasur. One is that the town was founded by Kasur/ Kasu the son of Lord Ram and named after him as Kasurpur. (One of Kasu brother was Loh and the City of Lahore was named after him.) The other tradition tells us that the town was founded by Pashtun families of Kabul (The capital of, nowadays Afghanistan) during the period of Mughal King Akbar. The Pashtuns constructed 12 small forts known as Kot. There were about twelve Kots named after the heads of various families. These names still exist.
Kasur has a glorious past set in spiritual and cultural traditions, nurtured by Sufi Saints like Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Kamal Chishti, SYED HAMEED GULL SHAH SWATI, Imam Shah Bukhari, on one hand and by musicians, singers like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Malka-e-Tarrannam Noor Jehan etc. on the other hand. The important cultural events in the district are the Urs of Baba Bulleh Shah and Urs of Baba Imam Shah Bukhari.
The city of Kasur is an aggregation of fortified hamlets, called kots, small in themselves, but together forming a considerable town. In 1592 originally there were 12 principal residential colonies were built under the rule of Mogul Chagatai Genghis Khan's descendant Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar in promulgation with the grace extended from Moguls to Pashtuns.
The names of 12 kots are as follows:
Kasur, one of the districts of Punjab province, is bounded on the north by Lahore district, on the south and east by the Indian districts of Feroz Pur and Amritsar respectively, and on the west by Sahiwal district. Kasur city is located on the Feroz Pur road at a distance of about 55 km. from Lahore to the south and about 25 km from Feroz Pur, situated in India to its north. Kasur is well connected to Lahore by road and also by rail, which takes off from the Raiwind junction and runs up to Lodhran. Before partition, it was also linked by rail with Amritsar and Feroz Pur city in India (Government of Pakistan, 1980).
It is famous for its very spicy fish, a sweet dish called Andrassay, Falooda and Kasuri methi. Apart from that, it is also the birthplace of Noor Jehan, the famous Pakistani singer and actress who gained popularity in the 1950s.
Kasur is one of the oldest cities of Pakistan. In ancient times, it was just a small settlement with katcha houses on the northern bank of the old river Beas. According to an estimate Kasur was a big village in 1 AD. In 553 AD this was occupied by Khaweshgan. In 1020 AD, Kasur was included in the territory of Lahore, which was the capital of the state under Raja Jaipal (Government of Pakistan, 1980).
When Emperor Babar captured the whole of India in 1526 AD, he gave this city to the Afghans as a token of their service towards his victory. During the reign of Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb, Kasur was glorified and every rich man constructed his own palace in Kasur. In 1830 AD Maharaja Ranjeet Singh captured Kasur and it was under Sikh Rule by the year 1957 when the British took over control of India.
At that time, Kasur was given the status of a sub-division and was included in Lahore Civil Division. The Raiwind-Ganda Singhwala Railway Line was laid in 1883 whereas the Kasur-Lodhran Railway Line was completed in 1910, thereby connecting the town with the rail network. During this period, Kasur served as an important commercial as well as industrial center of the area (Government of Pakistan, 1980)
After independence in 1947, industrial and commercial activities were re-established and Kasur contributed more and more towards the national economy. In 1976, Kasur was given the status of district headquarters and subsequently a number of local offices were established. But due to uncontrolled and haphazard development of tanning industries, the city is under a state of environmental degradation and there is a severe threat to both people and natural resources in Kasur.
There are different traditions about the name of Kasur. One is that the town was founded by Kasur/ Kasu the son of Lord Ram and named after him as Kasurpur. (One of Kasu brother was Loh and the City of Lahore was named after him.) The other tradition tells us that the town was founded by Pashtun families of Kabul (The capital of, nowadays Afghanistan) during the period of Mughal King Akbar. The Pashtuns constructed 12 small forts known as Kot. There were about twelve Kots named after the heads of various families. These names still exist.
Kasur has a glorious past set in spiritual and cultural traditions, nurtured by Sufi Saints like Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Kamal Chishti, SYED HAMEED GULL SHAH SWATI, Imam Shah Bukhari, on one hand and by musicians, singers like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Malka-e-Tarrannam Noor Jehan etc. on the other hand. The important cultural events in the district are the Urs of Baba Bulleh Shah and Urs of Baba Imam Shah Bukhari.
Kots (residential areas)
The city of Kasur is an aggregation of fortified hamlets, called kots, small in themselves, but together forming a considerable town. In 1592 originally there were 12 principal residential colonies were built under the rule of Mogul Chagatai Genghis Khan's descendant Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar in promulgation with the grace extended from Moguls to Pashtuns.
The names of 12 kots are as follows:
- Kot Pacca Qila
- Kot Nawan Qila
- Kot Azam Khan
- Kot Ghulam Mohammad Khan
- Kot Murad Khan
- Kot Haleem Khan
- Kot Peeraan
- Kot Fateh Din Khan
- Kot Usman Khan
- Kot Badar-ud-Din Khan
- Kot Ruken Din Khan
- Kot Nawab Hussain Khan
- Khara Road
- Pakeeza Colony
- Bhatta Gorian Wala
- Munir Shaheed Colony
- Kot Ghulam Muhammad Khan
- Kot Mir Baz Khan
- Kot Sherbaz Khan
- Kot Abdul Qadir
- Rod Kot
- Dhoor Kot
- Jinnah Colony
- Baghdadia Colony
- Bulley Shah Colony
- Mushtaq Colony
- Ghosia Colony
- Gulberg Colony
- Gora Nagar
- Fazal Colony
- Roshan Colony
- Shakoor Colony
- Bhasar Pura
- Salamat Pura
- Din Garh
- Ali Garh
- Niaz Nagar
- Wylie Pur
- Jamat Pura
- Kirshna Nagar
- BASTI SHAHDRA SHARIF Basti Chiragh Shah
- Basti Barat Shah
- Basti Qadir Abad
- Basti Babian Wali
- Basti Noor Shah Wali
- Garden View Housing Scheme Steel Bagh
