Kasur, the city of Bulleh Shah, located 55 km southeast of Lahore, is one of the oldest cities in Pakistan. It is adjacent to the Indo-Pak Border which is famous for its guard changing ceremony.
District Kasur came into existence on July 1, 1967 after being detached from Lahore district. Kasur is not though as old as Lahore, is a brother town of Lahore. There are different traditions about the name of Kasur. One is that the town was founded by Kasur/ Kasu the son of Ram chander and named after him as Kasur pur .The other tradition tells us that the town was founded by Pathatn families of Kandhar during the period of Akbar. The Pathans constructed some small forts known as Kot. There were about twelve Kots named after the heads of various families. These names still exist. In Arabic, Kot or fort is known as Kaser (Qaser) and plural of Kaser is kasur.
The city Kasur is famous for its very spicy fish, Kasuri Falooda, sweet dishes "Andrassa and Dhoda (sohan halwa) 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 1950's. It is also famous for saint Baba Bullay Shah whose tomb is in this city.
Kasur has a glorious past set in spiritual and cultural traditions, nurtured by Sufi Saints like Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Kamal Chishti, Shah Inayat Qadiri, 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 total population of the district is 2375875. Total register voters are 1173524. A large number of non-Muslim voters also reside in the District. The city of Kasur is a town of considerable antiquity. It is situated upon the north bank of the old bed of the Beas upon the Ferozpur Road 53 Kilometer south-east of Lahore. It is built upon the high bank which marks the termination of the Majha, and looks down upon the lowlands of the Sutlej and Beas.
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 which were built under the rule of Mogul Chapatti Genghis Khan's descendant Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar in promulgation with the grace extended from Moguls to Pathans.
Kasur has been alloted by Mongols now called Mughal to Pashtuns or Afghans of Kabul and remains in the possession of them as a remarkable colony of Pashtuns, perhaps the most remarkable on this side of the Indus. There is little doubt, however, that the site was occupied by a Rajput town long before the period of the earliest Muslim invasions. There are various traditions about the origin of the name of Kasur. Kasur was named after Kusha, son of Lord Rama of Hindu epic Ramayana, who supposedly founded the city.
Kasur District came into existence on July 1, 1976 after being detached from Lahore District. It is named after Kasur town situated 55 Kilometres south of Lahore. It has a glorious past set in spiritual and cultural traditions nurtured by Sufi Saints, like Bulleh Shah;SYED HAMEED GULL SHAH SWATI;SHAH KAMAL CHISHTI; KHAWAJA GHULAM MURTAZA [R:A] musicians like Ustad Ghulam Muhammad and singers like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ,world fameous incologist Dr Amanullah Khan and Noor Jahan. Kasur though not as old as Lahore, is a brother town of Lahore.
Kasur as bordering district and district headquarters town is the most important after Lahore built upon the high bank which marks the termination of the Majha and looking down upon the Low-Lands 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 A.D but it does no appear in history until late in the Muslim period when it was settled as a Pashtun colony from east of the Indus. These migrants entered the town either in the reign of Baber 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 also. The town of Kasur was incorporated in the Kingdom of Lahore by Ranjit Singh in 1807 and had been a municipality since 1885.
The principal castes and tribes residing in Kasur district are Meo , Rajputs belongs to Rajasthan area of India. Arain are descendants from the group of soldiers of Muhammad bin Qasim from Areeha (Jericho) were called by their Arabic name "Areehai", which changed to Arain by the usage in local languages. Mogul or Mughal belong to Chagatai Genghis Khan 's family, Pathan or Afghan belong to Israil's family, Ansari, Jutts, Rajput, Mayo, Kamboh, Dogar, Sheikh, Khojas, Khokhar, and others also live in Kasur. After the partition of the Indian Sub Continent, in 1947, the refugees from east Punjab settled in this district also belong largely to these tribes and castes. There are artists and artisans of various professions and trades also. They include blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, leather makers, shoe makers, barbers, weavers, and masons. Mazaras (peasants) are generally paid in kind at the time of each harvest. These workers are found from any caste, creed, culture and religion. The Arain and Rajput constitute the majority of the population. About 61 per cent population of the district is Mao & Rajput. The next most numerous tribe is Arain consisting of about 30 per cent of the population, Jutts with about 5 per cent and Sheikh at 4 per cent, while Sayyed, Mughal, Chagatai, Afghan, Pathan, Ansari, and Kamboh are small in number and are mostly settled in towns.
District Kasur came into existence on July 1, 1967 after being detached from Lahore district. Kasur is not though as old as Lahore, is a brother town of Lahore. There are different traditions about the name of Kasur. One is that the town was founded by Kasur/ Kasu the son of Ram chander and named after him as Kasur pur .The other tradition tells us that the town was founded by Pathatn families of Kandhar during the period of Akbar. The Pathans constructed some small forts known as Kot. There were about twelve Kots named after the heads of various families. These names still exist. In Arabic, Kot or fort is known as Kaser (Qaser) and plural of Kaser is kasur.
The city Kasur is famous for its very spicy fish, Kasuri Falooda, sweet dishes "Andrassa and Dhoda (sohan halwa) 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 1950's. It is also famous for saint Baba Bullay Shah whose tomb is in this city.
Kasur has a glorious past set in spiritual and cultural traditions, nurtured by Sufi Saints like Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Kamal Chishti, Shah Inayat Qadiri, 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 total population of the district is 2375875. Total register voters are 1173524. A large number of non-Muslim voters also reside in the District. The city of Kasur is a town of considerable antiquity. It is situated upon the north bank of the old bed of the Beas upon the Ferozpur Road 53 Kilometer south-east of Lahore. It is built upon the high bank which marks the termination of the Majha, and looks down upon the lowlands of the Sutlej and Beas.
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 which were built under the rule of Mogul Chapatti Genghis Khan's descendant Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar in promulgation with the grace extended from Moguls to Pathans.
Kasur has been alloted by Mongols now called Mughal to Pashtuns or Afghans of Kabul and remains in the possession of them as a remarkable colony of Pashtuns, perhaps the most remarkable on this side of the Indus. There is little doubt, however, that the site was occupied by a Rajput town long before the period of the earliest Muslim invasions. There are various traditions about the origin of the name of Kasur. Kasur was named after Kusha, son of Lord Rama of Hindu epic Ramayana, who supposedly founded the city.
Kasur District came into existence on July 1, 1976 after being detached from Lahore District. It is named after Kasur town situated 55 Kilometres south of Lahore. It has a glorious past set in spiritual and cultural traditions nurtured by Sufi Saints, like Bulleh Shah;SYED HAMEED GULL SHAH SWATI;SHAH KAMAL CHISHTI; KHAWAJA GHULAM MURTAZA [R:A] musicians like Ustad Ghulam Muhammad and singers like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ,world fameous incologist Dr Amanullah Khan and Noor Jahan. Kasur though not as old as Lahore, is a brother town of Lahore.
Kasur as bordering district and district headquarters town is the most important after Lahore built upon the high bank which marks the termination of the Majha and looking down upon the Low-Lands 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 A.D but it does no appear in history until late in the Muslim period when it was settled as a Pashtun colony from east of the Indus. These migrants entered the town either in the reign of Baber 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 also. The town of Kasur was incorporated in the Kingdom of Lahore by Ranjit Singh in 1807 and had been a municipality since 1885.
Tribes and Races
The principal castes and tribes residing in Kasur district are Meo , Rajputs belongs to Rajasthan area of India. Arain are descendants from the group of soldiers of Muhammad bin Qasim from Areeha (Jericho) were called by their Arabic name "Areehai", which changed to Arain by the usage in local languages. Mogul or Mughal belong to Chagatai Genghis Khan 's family, Pathan or Afghan belong to Israil's family, Ansari, Jutts, Rajput, Mayo, Kamboh, Dogar, Sheikh, Khojas, Khokhar, and others also live in Kasur. After the partition of the Indian Sub Continent, in 1947, the refugees from east Punjab settled in this district also belong largely to these tribes and castes. There are artists and artisans of various professions and trades also. They include blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, leather makers, shoe makers, barbers, weavers, and masons. Mazaras (peasants) are generally paid in kind at the time of each harvest. These workers are found from any caste, creed, culture and religion. The Arain and Rajput constitute the majority of the population. About 61 per cent population of the district is Mao & Rajput. The next most numerous tribe is Arain consisting of about 30 per cent of the population, Jutts with about 5 per cent and Sheikh at 4 per cent, while Sayyed, Mughal, Chagatai, Afghan, Pathan, Ansari, and Kamboh are small in number and are mostly settled in towns.
