Chakwal District (Urdu: ضلع چکوال) is a district located on the Pothohar Plateau in Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern area of the Punjab province, bordered by Talagang to its south, Rawalpindi to its northeast, Jhelum to its east. The district was created out of parts of Jhelum and Attock in 1985.[3]
History
During British rule, Chakwal was a tehsil of Jhelum district, the population according to the 1891 census of India was 164,912 which had fallen to 160,316 in 1901. It contained the towns of Chakwal and Bhaun and 248 villages. The land revenue and cesses amounted in 1903-4 to 3–300,000.[4] The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India and later it was upgraded as a District on 1 July 1985.
Administrative divisions
The district of Chakwal, which covers an area of 6,524 km2, is subdivided into five tehsils.[5] These tehsils were formerly part of neighbouring districts:[6]: 1
Choa Saidan Shah was carved out of sub-division Pind Dadan Khan of Jhelum District and was amalgamated with sub-division Chakwal. Choa Saidan Shah was upgraded to the level of a sub-division in 1993.
Now the district is administratively subdivided into five tehsils and 45 union councils.[7]
The district is represented in the National Assembly by two constituencies: NA-60 and NA-61. The district is represented in the provincial assembly by four elected MPAs and in National Assembly by two MNAs who represent the following constituencies:[9]
Chakwal district borders the districts of Rawalpindi and Attock in the north, Jhelum in the east, Khushab in the south and Mianwali in the west. The total area of Chakwal district is 6,609 square kilometres, which is equivalent to 1,652,443 acres (6,687.20 km2).[clarification needed]
The southern portion runs up into the Salt Range and includes the Chail peak, 3,701 feet (1,128 m) above the sea, the highest point in the district. Between this and the Sohan river, which follows more or less the northern boundary, the country consists of what was once a fairly level plain, sloping down from 2,000 feet (610 m) at the foot of the hills to 1,400 feet (430 m) in the neighbourhood of the Sohan; the surface is now much cut up by ravines and is very difficult to travel over.[4]
Demographics
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1951
...
—
1961
...
—
1972
...
—
1981
...
—
1998
1,083,725
—
2017
1,495,463
+1.71%
2023
1,734,854
+2.51%
Sources:[12] Includes Talagang and Lawa tehsils which have since become a separate district.
As of the 2023 census, residual Chakwal district has 187,476 households and a population of 1,132,608.[13] The district has a sex ratio of 98.54 males to 100 females[1] and a literacy rate of 77.79%: 86.12% for males and 69.52% for females.[14] 266,804 (23.62% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[15] 334,755 (29.56%) live in urban areas.[1]
Muslims formed the overwhelming majority at 1,722,147 (99.37%) while 0.63% of the population were from religious minorities, mainly Christians, who mostly live in Chakwal town.[16]
Chakwal has a total of 1,140 government schools out of which 52.63% (600 schools) are for female students. The district has an enrollment of 181,574 in public sector schools.[22]
Educational institutions
Notable Educational institutions in the Chakwal District include:
Khudadad KhanVC, British Indian Army, operated a machine gun despite being wounded after his team was overrun and bayoneted by the Germans, holding them back long enough for reinforcements in the Western Front
Nur Khan, was a three-star air officer, politician, sports administrator, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force, serving under President Ayub Khan from 1965 until 1969.
Muhammad Safdar, Lt. General Muhammad Safdar is the former Governor of Punjab, having served from 1999 to 2001. He has also previously served as the ambassador to Morocco and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Punjab until 1993.
Sukh Devis, an Indian organic chemist, academic, researcher and writer, known for his contributions in the development of Guggulsterone, a plant-derived steroid used as a therapeutic and nutritional agent.
^1998 District Census report of Chakwal. Census publication. Vol. 77. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.
^Rensch, Calvin R. (1992). "The Language Environment of Hindko-Speaking People". In O'Leary, Clare F.; Rensch, Calvin R.; Hallberg, Calinda E. (eds.). Hindko and Gujari. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan. Islamabad: National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguistics. p. 7. ISBN969-8023-13-5.
^1941 figures are for Chakwal and part of Pind Dadan Khan tehsil of Jhelum district. Figures for present-day Choa Saidan Shah were taken from the current ratio of the current population of the tehsil to the current population of undivided Pind Dadan Khan tehsil. Proportion of religions in rural areas was assumed to be homogenous.
University of Engineering and Technology. Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering; Pakistan Science Foundation (1979), National Seminar on Land and Water Resources Development of Barani Areas, [July 21-24, 1979], The University of Wisconsin, ISBN978-01-9023-806-3
