Multan Division
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Multan Division
South-western Division of the Punjab, form- ing a wedge between the North-West Frontier Province and the State of Bahawalpur. It lies between 28° 25' and 33° 13' N. and 69* 19' and 73° 39' E. The Sutlej divides it from Bahawalpur on the south-east, while the Indus flows partly through the Division and partly along its border to the west. The head-quarters of the Com- missioner are at Multan or, in the hot season, at Fort Munro. The Division was abolished in 1884, but reconstituted in 1901. In 1881 the population of the area now included was 2,036,956, in 1S91 it had risen to 2,277,605, and in 1901 to 3,014,675. The total area is 29,520 square miles, and the density of the population was the lowest in the Province, 102 persons per square mile, compared with the Provincial average of 209. The Multan Division is considerably larger in area, but its population is considerably less than that of any other Division in the Punjab. In 1901 Muhammadans numbered 2,391,281, or 79 per cent, of the total ; Hindus, 536,052 ; Sikhs, 79,269 ; Jains, 334 ; and Christians, 7,686.
The Division includes five Districts, as shown below : —
'In 1904 part of Jhang District was separated, to form the new District of Lyai.i.pur.
The Division contains 5,085 villages and 23 towns, the largest being Mui.TAN (population, 87,394), Jhaxg-Maghiana (24,382), and Dera Ghazi Khan (23,731). The whole area is flat, excepting a spur ot the Salt Range which runs into Mianwali, and the Sulaiman range which divides Dera Ghazi Khan from the trans-frontier Baloch tribes. A great part of the Division is desert, but the Chenab Canal is rapidly changing the face of Jhang. Multan is the only place of first-rate commercial importance, though Dera Ghazi Khan is a collecting mart for trans-Indus products, and Lyallpur is rapidly becoming a centre of trade. The historical importance of Multan and Mankera is considerable. Fort Munro in the Sulaiman range (6,300 feet) and Sakesar in the Salt Range (5,010 feet) are minor sanitaria.
