Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: December 14, 2021 | 
| 中文
Shrine of the sufi saint Sulatn Bahoo
In an article about Jhang, writer and playwright Muhammad Hassan Miraj narrates an interesting encounter with a singing faqeer (vagabond). Miraj recollects the crooner's line:
'Assi Jhang da vaasi lok sajjan, Saada dil darya, saadi akh sehra'
'We, the people of Jhang, are friends forever. Our hearts resemble rivers, our eyes are deserts.'
Map of Jhang
Jhang District, with its capital city of the same name, is situated on the east bank of River Chenab. The historical name of the city is Jhang Sial. It is said that the word Jhang is derived from 'jangala’, a word of Sanskrit language that means 'a forested terrain'. The Chief tribe that inhabits this region is called Sial, thus Jhang Sial means the 'Forest of Sials'. Although the area was inhabited at the time of Alexander, according to the recorded history, Jhang was built in 1288 by Maharaja Rai Sial, a Rajput chief, on the advice of his Peer (spiritual guide) Shah Jalal Bukhari. Sials ruled this city for 360 years. The city was then ruined by the river and floods, and the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb rebuild it to save it from further destruction. Under the Mughal rule, the city flourished and got recognition for commerce and trade. The last Sial chieftain, Ahmad Khan (1812 to 1822), was defeated by Ranjit Singh after a fierce battle. In 1849, the British made inroads into Punjab and included Jhang in their expanding South Asian Empire. Under the British, the towns of Jhang and Mighiana became a joint municipality known as Jhang-Mighiana. Mighiana lies on the edge of the highlands, overlooking the alluvial valley of the Chenab, while Jhang occupies the lowlands. It is in Jhang District that Chenab confluences with Jhelum River at Trimmu Barrage near the town of Athara Hazari.
Chenab Bridge on Jhang Road
Shaped like a triangle, the geography of the district can be divided into several regions: the lowland areas are called Hithar; the intermediate zone is known as Utar; and the three upland areas are called Sandal Bar, Kirana Bar, and Thal.
Jhang Sadar, Punjab, Pakistan. (Photography by S_r__Photography)
The temperature of Jhang is not much different from the adjacent areas. After an extremely hot summer, monsoon rains bring relief to the district by mid-July. By August, nights and mornings get cooler. Like in the rest of South Punjab, cold weather in Jhang District is characterized by crisp, fresh mornings, cool bright days and frosty nights.
Rivaz Bridge
One of the most attractive sites for tourists is the famous Trimmu Barrage. Constructed in 1938 –39, the barrage is located at a distance of about 25 kilometers from Jhang city, and has a desert on its right and the Rechna Doab on its left. The 750 meters long Rivaz Bridge (locally known as Chund Pull), built over the river Chenab in 1904, is another place of tourists’ attraction. The Date Palm Research Sub Station was established in 1945 in Jhang due to its favorable climate for date palm plantation. Suckers of different varieties were brought from Basra region of Iraq and planted here. Today the Research Station preserves the germplasm of 44 varieties of date palms in an area of 52 acres.
Trimmu Barrage
The population of Jhang District, according to the 2017 census, is a little over 2.7 million. The majority speaks a local dialect called 'Jhangi' which is a mix of Punjabi and Saraiki. The district is adjoined by Toba Tek Singh and Faisalabad to the East, Hafizabad to the North-East, Khanewal on the South, Sargodha on the North, and Khushab, Bhakkar, and Layyah on the West. Spreading over an area of 8809 square kilometers, the district is an amalgamation of Punjabi and Seraiki cultures. Folk dances 'Jhummar' and 'Sammi' are performed by men and women respectively. Another beautiful dance of Jhang is called 'Dharees'.
Sammi dance
Like every corner of the land that constitutes today's Pakistan, Jhang too has a lot of mysticism attached to it. It is the land of Sultan Bahu, a 17th-century Sufi poet born in Shorkot. His poetry is still regarded to be amongst the best of the literary heritage of this land. Bahu's shrine was first built in Kergan but with River Chenab changing course continuously, it was moved to its present location. His Urs (death anniversary) is held every year in Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Other important shrines of the district include those of Mahni Sharif, Hazrat Shah Jewana, Ghazi Peer, Athara Hazari, and Baloki Shareef.
Sultan Bahoo
Perhaps no account of Jhang is complete without mention of 'Heer', the heroine of the most famous folk story of Punjab whose square, half-roofed tomb, with an unfinished dome lies north of Jhang on way to Faisalabad. The Tale of Heer Ranjha was first written by Damodar Das Arora, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Like all folk stories, the story of love between 'Heer' and 'Ranjha' has various oral and documented versions, each claiming to be more authentic than the other. Some claim that this love story is an excess and that Heer and Ranjha were chaste and unworldly people. The most popular account remains the one narrated by Waris Shah, an 18th-century Punjabi poet. Heer was an extremely beautiful woman, born into a wealthy Sial family. Dheedo Ranjha of the Ranjha tribe was the youngest of four brothers and lived in Takht Hazara. Being his father's favorite son, unlike his brothers who had to toil in the lands, Ranjha led a life of ease. After the death of his father, Ranjha quarreled with his brothers and left home. Eventually, he arrived in Heer's village and fell in love with her. Heer's father offered Ranjha a job of herding his cattle. Heer became mesmerized by the way Ranjha played flute. They met each day secretly for many years until they were caught by Heer's jealous uncle, Kaido. Heer was forced to marry another man named Saida Khera. The heartbroken Ranjha wandered in the countryside, met a Jogi (ascetic), and eventually became a Jogi himself. After piercing his ears and renouncing the material world, he wandered all over Punjab, eventually finding the village where Heer lived. The two returned to Heer's village, where Heer's parents agreed to their marriage. On the wedding day, Kaido poisoned Heer's food in order to punish her. Hearing this news, Ranjha rushed to her but was too late as she had already eaten the food and died. Devastated, Ranjha ate the remaining poisoned food and died by her side.
Heer Ranjha. (Painting by Gurdish Pannu)
Another very popular Punjabi folk love story, written by Pilu, is of Mirza Sahiban and that too has its roots in Jhang. Mirza and Sahiban were lovers who lived in Khewa, a town of Jhang. As Muhammad Hassan Miraj goes on to document, 'The mystery of Jhang revolves around the trinity of mysticism, love and poetry……... I felt that the entire city lives under the ambiance of love. It might have been because of the madrassah of Maulvi Imdad Ali where Sahiban and Mirza studied together and after Mirza left for his village, Sahiban never returned to her class. It might have been the handlooms, which as late as the 1950s, existed in every house of Jhang and every Jhangvi was skilled in tying the two ends and knitting it together.'
A painting depicting Mirza Sahiban
Hundreds of oral and written versions of these stories of love from Jhang continue to inspire people across the subcontinent. Dozens of films and TV serials have been made on both Heer Ranjha and Mirza Sahiban. Ballads about these stories are sung to date and are a testimony to the romance that continues to blow in the early morning breeze of Jhang.
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