Qadian

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Qadian
ਕਾਦੀਆਂ · قادیان
town
Minaratul Masih is one of the major landmarks of Qadian
Minaratul Masih is one of the major landmarks of Qadian
Qadian is located in Punjab
Qadian
Qadian
Location in Punjab, India
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Country  India
State Punjab
District Gurdaspur
Elevation 250 m (820 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 21,899
Languages
 • Official Punjabi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)

Qadian (Punjabi: ਕਾਦੀਆਂ (Gurmukhi), قادیان (Shahmukhi);) is the 4th largest town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated 18 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India.

Qadian is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

History

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Qadian was established in 1530 by Mirza Hadi Baig, a religious scholar dedicated to Islam and the first Qazi within the area. Mirza Hadi Baig, was from a royal household of Mirza who formed Mughal Empire had the title of Mirza. He migrated from Samarkand and settled in Punjab. He was descendant of King Timur and had family relations with King Babur and was qiven 80 villages by Babur. Because of his religious beliefs, he named the center of the 80 villages 'Islam Pur Qazi' from where he administered. Over time, the name of the town changed to 'QaziMaji' (the word "Maji" means Bull referring to the animal still found in abundance in Qadian). Later, it was named just 'Qadi' and eventually, it became known as Qadian.

Qadian and the surrounding areas later fell to the Ramgharia Sikhs who offered the ruling Qazis two villages which they refused. In 1834, during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the region consisting of Qadian and five adjoining villages were given to Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, father of Ghulam Ahmad in return for Military support in Kashmir, Mahadi, Kulu valley, Peshawar and Hazara.[2]

File:Qadian group-foto.jpg
Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community who spoke in 47 different languages in Qadian.

As Ahmadiyya Centre

A remote and unknown town, Qadian emerged as a centre of religious learning in 1889, when Mirza Ghulam Ahmad established the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and in 1891, it became the venue for the annual gatherings of the community. Qadian remained the administrative headquarters and capital of the Ahmadiyya Caliphate until the partition of India in 1947 when much of the community migrated to Pakistan. Following the partition, Mirza Mahdmood Ahmad, the second Khalifa of the community, carefully oversaw the safe migration of Ahmadis from Qadian to the newly found state, instructing 313 men, including two of his own sons, to stay in Qadian and guard the sites holy to Ahmadis conferring upon them the title darveshān-i qādiyān (the dervishes of Qadian) and eventually moving the headquarters to Rabwah, Pakistan.[3]

Geography

Qadian is located at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. It has an average elevation of 250 metres (820 feet).[4][5]

Demographics

Religion in Qadian[6]
Religion Percent
Hindus
  
51.89%
Sikhs
  
31.44%
Muslims
  
12.97%
Christians
  
3.33%
Others
  
0.37%
File:Jalsa Salana Qadian 2011.JPG
Ahmadiyya Jalsa Salana India held in Qadian

As of India's census in 2013,[7] Qadian had a population of 40,827. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Qadian has an average literacy rate of 75%, slightly higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 70%. In Qadian, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Before the partition of India, the town of Qadian had a majority Muslim population because of the many religious materials belonging to the Islamic faith. Since 1947, Qadian's population is mostly Sikh or Hindu: Prajapatis (Kumhar), Bhatias, Brahmins, Arya Samajis and Bajwas (most of them migrated from Pakistani Punjab during partition); as Bajwas came from Kalaswala Punjab now in Pakistan (Kalaswala Khalsa School Qadian is there in the memory) based with some members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community staying behind to care for the community's buildings and mosques. The vast majority of the community migrated to Pakistan during the partition of India.

During the partition of India. The Prime Institute Sikh National College[8] at Lahore, was shifted to Qadian. There are so many famous names involved with this College.

Notable people from Qadian

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement

Although Qadian is relatively remote and has a very small population, it has many notable historical, religious and political figures;

Religious Leaders

Poets

File:Shiv Kumar.jpg
Shiv Kumar Batalvi (Birha Da Sultan)

Military Leaders

Business People

  • Muzaffar Ahmad Noori Bajwa
  • Sangram Choudhary (Prince of Qadian)

Politicians

Health Service Provider

  • Noor Hospital
  • Bhatia Hospital
  • Pushkarna Research Association for Natural Aid
  • Vibudhah

Education

  • Vibudhah College of Health Sciences
  • S.S.Bajwa Memorial Senior Secondary School
  • Taleem UL Islam high School
  • Jamia Ahmadiyya
  • Nusrat Girls High School
  • Nusrat Girls College
  • Ahmadiyya Centre for computer education
  • A.V.M High School
  • Daya Nanad Anglo Vedic School
  • Khalsa Sen. Sec. School
  • New generation computer centre main bazar qadian
  • SPS Garden Valley
  • Sikh National College

Notable monuments

References

  1. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=23295
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  8. http://www.sncollegeqadian.com
  9. Sahitya Akademi Award – Punjabi 1957-2007 Sahitya Akademi Award Official listings.