Montgomery District

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Montgomery District was an administrative district of the former

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, there was a general rising of the Jat clans, the District formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from Sirsa and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other fierce Jat clans. The District authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till August 26, when the prisoners in jail made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained at Gogera, broke his arrest, and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains. On September 16 they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion. Kamalia was sacked; and Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from Multan, was besieged for some days at Chichawatni on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements from Lahore. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale.^[2]

The district was part of the

In 1967, the name of Montgomery District was changed to Sahiwal District.

Administration

The district was administratively subdivided into 4 tehsils, these were:^[3]

• Montgomery
• Gogera
• Depalpur
• Pakpattan

Boundaries

The district had an area of 4,771 sq mi (12,360 km²) and included the present-day districts of

In the former tract a fringe of cultivated lowland skirted the bank of either river, but the whole interior upland consisted of a desert plateau partially overgrown with brushwood and coarse grass, and impenetrable jungle in places.^[1] On the farther side of the Ravi, again, the country at once assumed the same desert aspect.

Demographics

Religious groups in Montgomery District (

British Punjab province

era)

Religious group	1901[5]		1911[6][7]		1921[8]		1931[9]		1941[10]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	334,474	72.15%	399,723	74.67%	513,055	71.88%	697,542	69.77%	918,564	69.11%
Hinduism [a]	109,945	23.72%	66,803	12.48%	94,791	13.28%	136,783	13.68%	210,966	15.87%
Sikhism	19,092	4.12%	68,175	12.74%	95,520	13.38%	148,155	14.82%	175,064	13.17%
Christianity	66	0.01%	581	0.11%	10,408	1.46%	17,245	1.72%	24,432	1.84%
Jainism	8	0%	13	0%	12	0%	38	0%	49	0%
Zoroastrianism	1	0%	4	0%	0	0%	7	0%	4	0%
Buddhism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	2	0%	3	0%
Judaism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	21	0%
Total population	463,586	100%	535,299	100%	713,786	100%	999,772	100%	1,329,103	100%
Note1: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: Presently known as Sahiwal District , following district renaming in 1978.

References