Narowal - History

History

About 500 years ago in the era of Sikandar Lodhi in the year 1488, Hindus belonging to the Aror tribe of District Multan embraced Islam in the hands of Habibullah Shah, a saint of the area. Nar Singh of the said tribe met Shah Shamash Tabraiz as per direction of the said saint. Nar Singh wanted to build a new city and requested Shah Shamash Tabraiz to pray for the completion of his desire. Shah Shamash Tabraiz sent his own son along with said Nar Singh towards Narowal. The tribe of said Nar Singh stationed permanently in the vicinity of Narowal. Later on the city gradually came to be known as Narowal. During British rule, Narowal was a town of the Raya Tehsil of Sialkot District; after independence from Britain in 1947 Narowal became tehsil headquarters. In 1991 the district of Sialkot was bifurcated, and Narowal became the capital of the newly formed Narowal District.

This is the place where Jagat Guru Nanak Ji died on 23rd Assu, Samvat 1596 (22 September 1529 AD). It is also called Dera Nanak Baba. Dera Sahib railway station, on Lahore-Narowal section, serves this place. The Shrine is located by the River Ravi within a distance of nine kilometers from the railway station. The present building was built at a cost of Rs 1,35,600, donated by Sardar Popindar Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala. It was repaired by the Government of Pakistan in 1995, incurring expenditure in lakhs of rupees. It is a spacious and beautiful building. Its location beside a forest and the River Ravi makes its care difficult. Narowal city has four union councils and its important colonies are Jilany colony, Jawad colony, Mumtaz colony and Mehmood colony near Railway station.