Sahiwal: Home Land of Mohyals Vaid etc./ Mahesh Kant

Sahiwal is a city in Punjab,Pakistan. Sahiwal under Sargodha distt was the home land of Mohyals brahmans , who migrated to India after partitionin 1947. Dutta,Bali,Chhibber,Bhimwal,Vaid, Lauand Mohan Mohyals were living here. Shri Aas Karan Vaid was a sanskrit scholar who was teaching there. His grand sons are settled in New Delhi.
This city was a small village on the Karachi-Lahore railway line in 1865 when it was named Montgomery after Sir Robert Montgomery, then Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab. It took its current name in 1966 after Sahi clan of Kharal Rajputs who were the actual inhabitants of this area.It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division.The districts of Okara and Pakpattan are under Sahiwal division. Sahiwal lies approximately 180 km from the major city of Lahore. And it is the biggest city between Lahore and Multan. The population is 207,388 (1998 Pakistan Census). Sahiwal District is included in the former Multan Division and lies between 30-39 north latitude and 73-06 longitude. The city lies in the densely populated region between the Sutlej and Ravi rivers. Irrigation in the region is provided by the Bari Doab Canal system. The principal crops are wheat, cotton, tobacco, legumes, potato and oilseeds. Cotton goods and lacquered woodwork are manufactured. About 18 miles Southwest of Sahiwal is Harappa, an ancient city of the world, oldest urban center of Harappan or Indus civilization in South Asia. About 28 miles (45 km) west of Sahiwal, at Kamalia, is the site of a Malli city captured by Alexander the Great in 325 bc. Pop. (1998) city, 207,388.
Porus was a Mohyal brahaman .He was Vaid. He was the king of this region and was a great warrior.He forced Alexander to return back to his country.
The people of Sahiwal are known as Sahiwalians. This city got its name from the first inhibitants of this city the Sahis of kharal / Jatt origin. Sahis had their first settlement at the place called Yaadgar-e-Sahiwal। When the development was started under British rule in this area in 1865, Sahis moved to Chak No.60-61/G.D. Rai Haji Ali Sher Sahi is a prominent figure amongst the Sahis in this region.
Cricket is the most popular sports in Sahiwal. Sahiwal produced many cricketers like Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Muhammad Zahid, Mustafa Kamal, Manzoor Ilahi, Zahoor Ilahi and Saleem Ilahi. Football is also fairly popular.

Industry

Sahiwal's industries include cotton ginning and pressing, tanning, textile (City cloth palace, City Fashion Center), textile spinning, weaving, leather products, garments, pharmaceuticals, flour mills, food processing, oil mills, cold storage, potato, tobacco, vegetable ghee/cooking oil, biscuits, chip board, confectionery, and woollen textile spinning and weaving. The Sahiwal breed of cattle, recognised as productive among Zebu dairy breeds, originated here; they are now found throughout the tropics. The main crops of the Sahiwal district are wheat, cotton, sugarcane, maize and rice. Main fruits are citrus, mangoes and guava. Sahiwal is a green and fertile town with 11,522 acres (46.63 km²) under naturally grown forests. KSC is an electrical industry in Sahiwal, producing water heaters, water coolers, air coolers, fans and washing machines.

Education

Sahiwal has several educational institutes of quality. But the literacy rate is still very low: about 30% overall and 51% in the city of Sahiwal. The Divisional Public School (DPS) and St. Mary's Convent High School are a schools of the city. Other notable schools are Government High School, Comprehensive High School, Government Pilot Higher Secondary School and Junior Model High School. Government Immamia College, Government Postgraduate College (GPGC) and Government College for Men and Women.and it has also a biggest istitute of technology(govt.college of technolgy).

Medical & Dental College and COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) are also working.Virtual University has opened a campus in Sahiwal, and offers distance learning programmes. It is situated near the Government College Sahiwal. Baha-u-Deen Zikria University (BZU) sub-campus Sahiwal has been successfully providing several under-graduate and graduate programmes since 2005.

The private sector is playing a major role in education system. schools in this regard are:

The Educators 4(Campuses), Acute Business College ACCA and CAT, The Allied School, The Knowledge School, The Beaconhouse School System, Bloom Field Hall, The City School Pre-Forces Cadet School. Dare-Aqram Model School Bhagwan Public School Muhammadan Law College Sahiwal Multan Law College Sahiwal The Limit College The Command College Quaid e Azam Polytechnic Institute Quaid e Azam Technology College.