Kunjah, Gujrat, Pakistan History, Culture and Personalities

Introduction to Kunjah

Kunjah is a village in Pakistan located in Gujrat District in the Punjab Province, the inhabitants are called Kunjahi. There are three banks, a police station and a WAPDA sub division in Kunjah. There 1 girls inter college, 2 girls high school, 1 boys high school and 1 boys higher secondary school in Kunjah. Along with these government institutions, many private schools and colleges are also educating the youth of Kunjah. Kunjah has a textile mill (Kunjah Textile Mills), a pulp mill (Farooqi Pulp Mills) and two tobacco collection centers.

History of Kunjah

Various accounts date the founding of Kunjah anywhere from the 4th century BC (during the time of Alexander the Great) to the 8th century AD. Kunjah is named after a raja named Kunjpal who is also often credited to be the founder of the town. Islam was brought to the region by the Umayyad Caliphate early in the 8th century and soon replaced Hinduism as the dominant religion. Kunjah grew in prominence in the 9th and 10th centuries.

Starting during the Muslim period, Kunjah was considered a strategically important town. Ibrahim Bin Masood used Kunjah as his main base for his attack of Hindustan. In the Mughal period , King Aurangzeb Alamgir also visited Kunjah, and during his stay in Kunjah he built a mosque that is now named after him.

Kunjah prospered during the time of the Sikh Empire. In that period the town was home to a number of gardens, two royal palaces and a royal bathing pool connected by underground tunnels, and a baradari that still stands today.there are many kinds of families e.g. Warraich, Gondal, Dhilo & Cheema are the popular families in Kunjah. Many people are attach with agriculture and some are in army and the other departments of Government of Pakistan.

Culture of Kunjah

Kunjah has a modest type of culture i.e. it is semi-urban type. Both men and women wear shalwar qameez.

An annual fair is held in Kunjah on 4th of August . It is held at the shrine of a cleric Shah Shujah Bukhari so it is also known to be an "URS".

Transport in Kunjah

Only road transport is available. There is no railway station. The transport is available only in form of wagons and buses. Along with these the cars are available as taxis. The transport is available for Gujrat City and to other small towns surrounding Kunjah.

• Shareef Kunjahi, (1915-2007) was one of the leading writers and poets of Punjabi language. He was among the first faculty members of the Department of Punjabi Language at University of Punjab in 1970s and contributed to Punjabi literature as a poet, prose writer, teacher, research scholar, linguist, lexicographer and translator.
• Prof. Anwar Masood The famous writer and poet has academic relationship with Kunjah. He was a teacher in the Government Islamia High School Kunjah.
• Sushila Nayyar, also spelled 'Nayar' (1914-2000), was the younger sister of Piyaray Lal Nayyar, personal secretary to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the Gandhis' personal physician. She was born in Kunjah in 1914.