Muzaffargarh District

Muzaffargarh District (Urdu: ضِلع مُظفّرگڑھ) is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is Muzaffargarh city. It lies on the bank of the Chenab River.

Muzaffargarh District ضِلع مُظفّرگڑھ
District of Punjab
Top: Tomb of Sheikh Sadan Bottom: Fields in Muzaffargarh district
District Government logo
Map of Muzaffargarh District highlighted in red
Coordinates: 30°4′10″N 71°11′39″E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Dera Ghazi Khan
Headquarters	Muzaffargarh
Government
• Type	District Government
• Deputy Commissioner	Mian Usman Ali [1]
• District Police Officer	Syed Hasnain Haider[2]
• District Health Officer	Allah Bux Khan
Area
• District of Punjab	4,778 km2 (1,845 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[3]
• District of Punjab	3,528,567
• Density	738.5/km2 (1,913/sq mi)
• Urban	662,975 (18.79%)
• Rural	2,865,592 (81.21%)
Literacy [4]
• Literacy rate	Total: (43.74%) Male: (51.38%) Female: (35.74%)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils	3
Website	muzaffargarh.punjab.gov.pk

History

Muzaffargarh (lit. 'Fort of Muzaffar') was founded by the Saddozai Nawab of Multan, Nawab Muzaffar Khan, in 1794. Muzaffargarh district was annexed by the British from its former Sikh rulers after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–1849.^[5] In 1861 it became a separate Muzaffargarh District. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Muzaffargarh District. Muslim refugees from East Punjab, Haryana, Jammu started arriving and crossed the border into Pakistan; many were given land in Muzaffargarh District to settle.^[6]

Administration

The district is administratively divided into the following three tehsils (subdivisions), which contain a total of 93 Union Councils:^[7]

Tehsil[8]	Area (km²)[3]	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km²) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)[4]	Union Councils
Jatoi	1,010	862,046	853.51	40.67%	16
Alipur	1,391	760,526	546.75	39.15%	14
Muzaffargarh	2,377	1,905,995	801.85	46.84%	35
Total	4,778	3,528,567	738.50	43.74%	65

Demographics

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1951	446,038	—
1961	532,015	+1.78%
1972	756,221	+3.25%
1981	1,048,243	+3.69%
1998	1,827,465	+3.32%
2017	2,981,048	+2.61%
2023	3,528,567	+2.85%
Sources:[9]

As of the 2023 census, present Muzaffargarh district has 552,926 households and a population of 3,528,567.^[10] The district has a sex ratio of 104.18 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 43.74%: 51.38% for males and 35.74% for females.^[3][4] 1,185,064 (33.60% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.^[11] 662,975 (18.79%) live in urban areas.^[3]

Religion

Religion in contemporary Muzaffargarh District

Religious group	1941[12]: 62–63		2017[13]		2023[14]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	360,868	86.29%	2,977,231	99.87%	3,515,344	99.68%
Hinduism [a]	53,458	12.78%	332	0.01%	288	0.01%
Sikhism	3,280	0.78%	—	—	65	~0%
Christianity	162	0.04%	2,565	0.09%	10,122	0.29%
Ahmadi	—	—	845	0.03%	734	0.02%
Others	426	0.1%	75	~0%	89	~0%
Total Population	418,194	100%	2,981,048	100%	3,526,642	100%
Note: 1941 census data is for Muzaffargarh and Alipur tehsils of erstwhile Muzaffargarh District, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Muzaffargarh district. District and tehsil borders have changed since 1941.

Religious groups in Muzaffargarh District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1881[15][16][17]		1891[18]		1901[19]		1911[20][21]		1921[22]		1931[23]		1941[24]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	292,476	86.38%	327,727	86%	350,177	86.32%	494,915	86.91%	493,369	86.79%	513,265	86.79%	616,074	86.42%
Hinduism [a]	43,297	12.79%	50,625	13.28%	52,221	12.87%	68,158	11.97%	69,878	12.29%	72,577	12.27%	90,643	12.72%
Sikhism	2,788	0.82%	2,715	0.71%	3,225	0.8%	6,322	1.11%	4,869	0.86%	5,287	0.89%	5,882	0.83%
Christianity	33	0.01%	27	0.01%	33	0.01%	60	0.01%	356	0.06%	246	0.04%	227	0.03%
Jainism	11	0%	1	0%	0	0%	1	0%	6	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Zoroastrianism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	4	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Buddhism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	1	0%	0	0%	0	0%	23	0%
Judaism	—	—	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Total population	338,605	100%	381,095	100%	405,656	100%	569,461	100%	568,478	100%	591,375	100%	712,849	100%
Note: 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.

Religion in the Tehsils of Muzaffargarh District (1921)^[22]

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[b]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Muzaffargarh Tehsil	154,990	86.79%	22,629	12.67%	655	0.37%	300	0.17%	5	0%	0	0%	178,579	100%
Alipur Tehsil	126,350	86.12%	18,672	12.73%	1,681	1.15%	7	0%	1	0%	0	0%	146,711	100%
Sanawan Tehsil	96,325	88.4%	11,317	10.39%	1,279	1.17%	49	0.04%	0	0%	0	0%	108,970	100%
Leiah Tehsil	115,704	86.21%	17,260	12.86%	1,254	0.93%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	134,218	100%
Note: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Religion in the Tehsils of Muzaffargarh District (1941)^[24]

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism [a]		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[c]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Muzaffargarh Tehsil	192,516	86.96%	27,714	12.52%	962	0.43%	161	0.07%	0	0%	23	0.01%	221,376	100%
Alipur Tehsil	168,352	85.54%	26,144	13.28%	2,318	1.18%	1	0%	0	0%	3	0%	196,818	100%
Kot Adu Tehsil	117,005	87.59%	14,803	11.08%	1,720	1.29%	52	0.04%	0	0%	5	0%	133,585	100%
Leiah Tehsil	138,201	85.8%	21,982	13.65%	882	0.55%	4	0%	0	0%	1	0%	161,070	100%
Note1: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labeled as "Indian Christians" on census. Does not include Anglo-Indian Christians or British Christians, who were classified under "Other" category.

Language

Languages of Muzaffargarh district (2023)^[25]

1. Saraiki (93.4%)
2. Punjabi (3.65%)
3. Urdu (2.50%)
4. Others (0.45%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 93.40% of the population spoke Saraiki, 3.65% Urdu and 2.50% Punjabi as their first language.^[25]

Ethnicity

The most famous tribes and races are as under; Khar (offshoot of Kharal tribe), Khokhar, Dasti, Qureshi, Jatoi, Hinjra, Langrial, Thahim, Gopang, Bukhari, Gilani, Rajput, Jat and Arain.^[26] The major ethnic group are the Saraiki-speaking Jat forming the majority, with Saraiki-speaking Gujjar, Baloch, Rajputs and Pathan groups in minority.^[27][28]

Geography and climate

Muzaffargarh
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     7.2     21 5     9.5     23 8     20     29 14     23     36 20     60     40 24     92     42 29     131     39 29     73     38 28     41     37 25     1.7     35 18     2.3     29 11     6.9     23 6 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: World Meteorological Organization
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.3     70 40     0.4     74 46     0.8     83 56     0.9     96 67     2.4     105 76     3.6     108 83     5.2     103 84     2.9     100 82     1.6     99 77     0.1     94 65     0.1     83 52     0.3     73 42 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Muzaffargarh spreads over an area of 8,249 km2 and forms a strip between the Chenab River on its east and Indus River on its west, which pass along the Eastern and Western boundaries respectively of the district and a triangle at Alipur tehsil of the district. The district is bounded on the north by district Layyah, on the south by Bahawalpur and Rahimyar Khan districts across the river Chenab.

Districts Multan and Khanewal are on the eastern side of district Muzaffargarh, across the river Chenab. District Jhang touches it on the northeast. Dera Gahzi Khan and Rajanpur districts lie on the western side across the river Indus. It is one of oldest districts of Punjab. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the population of the district was 2,635,903, of which 12.75% were urban.^[29] Muzaffargarh is one of oldest established districts of Punjab.

2010 floods

Muzaffargarh was especially hard hit by the 2010 Pakistan floods, given its position between the Chenab and Indus rivers It is spread over an area of 8,249 km². Muzaffargarh District lies in the strip between the rivers Chenab and Indus.

The city of Muzaffargarh is located in southern Punjab province at almost the exact centre of Pakistan. The closest major city is Multan. The area around the city is a flat, alluvial plain and is ideal for agriculture, with many citrus and mango farms. There are many canals that cut across the Muzaffargarh District providing water from nearby farms. This makes the land very fertile. However usually land close to the Chenab are usually flooded in the monsoon season.

Climate

Muzaffargarh features a semi arid climate with very hot summers and mild winters. The city witnesses some of the most extreme weather in the country. The highest recorded temperature is approximately 54 °C (129 °F), and the lowest recorded temperature is approximately −1 °C (30 °F). The average rainfall is roughly 427 millimetres (16.8 in). Dust storms are a common occurrence within the city.

The district's towns include Basti Malik Wala, Taliri, Mauza Bahadur Dawana, Dawana Bahadur Peer Rajan Bukhsh, Kot Addu, Khangarh and Hayat Nagar.

Education

Although Muzaffargarh is one of the oldest and largest districts of Pakistan by area and population, it still has only a single campus of Virtual University of Pakistan. The literacy rate is among the lowest in the country.^[30] District Muzaffargarh has a total of 1,072 male and 1,009 female public sector schools.^[31]

Notable people

• Milkha Singh, a famous track and field athlete

Notes

1. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis
2. Including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated
3. Including Anglo-Indian Christians, British Christians, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated