Qadian

For the village in Iran, see Qadian, Iran.
Qadian
ਕਾਦੀਆਂ · قادیان
town

Minaratul Masih is one of the major landmarks of Qadian
Qadian

Location in Punjab, India

Coordinates: 31°49′N 75°23′E / 31.82°N 75.39°E / 31.82; 75.39Coordinates: 31°49′N 75°23′E / 31.82°N 75.39°E / 31.82; 75.39
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)
Website alislam.org

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 Islamic movement. It had remained the centre of the Ahmadiyya movement until the Partition of India in 1947.

History

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. 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]

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 Mahmood 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 31°49′N 75°23′E / 31.82°N 75.39°E / 31.82; 75.39. 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%
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

Military Leaders

Politicians

Businessmen

Health Service Provider

Education

Notable monuments

References

  1. ↑ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=23295
  2. ↑ Shahid, Dost Mohammad (2007) [2000]. Taareekhe–Ahmadiyyat (Tareekh E Ahmadiyyat) [History of Ahmadiyyat] (PDF) (in Urdu). 1. India: Nazarat Nashro Ishaat Qadian. p. 40. ISBN 81-7912-121-6. ISBN incorrectly printed in the book as 181-7912-121-6. Complete PDF: 19 Volumes (11,600 pages) (541.0 M). (Volume 14 meta-data appeared to closely match the original reference, but is unverified as the correct volume).
  3. ↑ "From Sufism to Ahmadiyya: A Muslim Minority Movement in South Asia". Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Qadian in India is Situated Exactly to the East of Damascus in Syria". Flickr. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  5. ↑ "The Divine guidance about leadership in the latter days". Ahmaddiya Muslim Community. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  6. ↑ "Gurdaspur Religion Census 2011". Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Sahitya Akademi Award – Punjabi 1957-2007 Archived 31 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Sahitya Akademi Award Official listings.
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