Bahawalpur is a history-charged city located in Cholistan, south of the Sutlej River, in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Situated 90 km from Multan and near the ancient cities of Uch and Harappa, Bahawalpur has an old-world charm of its own as it used to be the capital of the former princely state of the same name. The city was therefore home to numerous rulers - called Nawabs - and rich landlords during the British Raj, and the sophistication of this privileged elite still pervades the area today. The princely state of Bahawalpur was stretching along the southern bank of Sutlej and Indus Rivers. History of this state goes back to 1690 when Nawab Amir Bahadur Khan of Abbasid tribe migrated from Shikarpur in interior Sindh and settled in Bahawalpur. Later, Abbasi rulers of Bahawalpur declared independence during the decline of Durrani Empire in the sub continent. Upon the rise of Ranjit Singh, the Nawab, Bahawal Khan III, made appeals to the British for protection. However as part of the 1809 Treaty of Lahore, Ranjit Singh was confined to the right bank of the Sutlej River. In 1832, British signed a treaty with Rajit Singh for regulating traffic on the Indus. It secured the independence of the Nawab within his own territories, and opened up the traffic on the Indus and Sutlej. A year later, Nawab Bahawal Khan III signed the state's first treaty with the British on 22 February 1833, guaranteeing the semi autonomous rule of the Nawab under British Raj.During the first Afghan war, Nawab of Bahawalpur co-operated actively with the British and placed the entire resources of his State at the disposal of the British Indian Government, and a contingent of his troops was employed in keeping open communications, and in guarding the Dera Ghazi Khan frontier. He assisted British again in their expedition against Multan. For those services, he was granted with additional districts by the British. His death was a matter of great dispute among his three sons regarding succession. Finally, he was succeeded by his third son, whom he had nominated in place of his eldest son. The new Amir was, however, deposed by his elder brother, and obtained asylum in British territory, with a pension from the Bahawalpur revenues; he broke his promise to abandon his claims, and was confined in the Lahore fort, where he died in 1862.After one century of British rule, the state of Bahawalpur opted to become a part of Pakistan in 1947 at freedom and was acceded to the Republic of Pakistan a few months later, but kept its autonomy. It was officially declared a province of Pakistan on 14 October 1955. Today, Bahawalpur is the twelfth largest city of the country. Its wide tree-lined streets and large houses with arched verandas give it an air to calm spaciousness. The Nawab of Bahawalpur built several palaces here before moving, ostensibly for reasons of privacy, to Dera Nawab Sahib in the 1890s. The Noor Mahal, built in 1885 in Italian style, stands in extensive gardens. It was used as a guest house for high-ranking visitors, including Edward VII of Britain who once stayed here. The Bahawalgarh, built in 1876, and the Gulzar Mahal, built in 1902, are two other palaces now used as Pakistan Army offices.Bahawalpur features a hot semi-arid climate with long and extremely hot summers, dry and relatively mild winters, a monsoon and dust storms. May, June and July are the hottest months, when the temperatures soar to 35-39 °C. Since the city is located in desert environment, there is little rainfall. Weather conditions reach extremes in both summers and winters. The average temperature in summer is 35 °C and 18 °C in winters. For your information, here below are the average temperatures per month in Bahawalpur:
JAN18 FEB20 MAR24 APR28 MAY30 JUN34 JUL36 AUG35 SEP31 OCT29 NOV20 DEC17 |