 Rawalpindi,
also known as Pindi,
has a long history
spread over several
millennia.
Archaeologists
believe that a
distinct culture
flourished on this
plateau as far back
as 3000 years. The
material remains
found at the site
prove the existence
of a Buddhist
establishment
contemporary to
Taxila, but less
celebrated than its
Vedic neighbor.
It appears that the
ancient city went
into oblivion as a
result of the Hun
devastation. The
first Muslim
invader, Mahmud of
Ghazni (979-1030),
gave the ruined city
to a Gakhar Chief,
Kai Gohar. The town,
however, being on an
invasion route,
could not prosper
and remained
deserted until
Jhanda Khan, another
Gakhar Chief,
restored it and
named it Rawalpindi
after the village
Rawal in 1493.
Rawalpindi remained
under the rule of
the Gakkhars till
Muqarrab Khan, the
last Gakkhar ruler,
was defeated by the
Sikhs in 1765. The
Sikhs invited
traders from other
places to settle
here. This brought
the city into
prominence.
Following the
British conquest of
the Sikhs and their
occupation of
Rawalpindi in 1849,
the city became a
permanent garrison
of the British army
in 1851. In the
1880s a railway line
to Rawalpindi was
laid, and train
service was
inaugurated on
January 1, 1886. The
need for having a
railway link arose
after Lord Dalhousie
made Rawalpindi the
headquarters of the
Northern Command and
Rawalpindi became
the largest British
military garrison in
British India.
In 1951, Rawalpindi
saw the
assassination of the
first elected Prime
Minister of
Pakistan, Liaquat
Ali Khan, in Liaquat
Garden. Today
Rawalpindi is the
headquarters of the
Pakistani Army and
Air Force.
The famous Murree
Road has been a hot
spot for various
political and social
events. Nala Lai,
famous for its
floods, runs in the
middle of the city,
dividing it into
city area and
Cantonment area.
History describes
Nala Lai water pure
enough to do washing
clothes but now it
has become polluted
with the waste water
from all sources
including factories
and houses. |
