Bhera My City Bhera is a city on the Jhelum river in Sargodha District, Punjab province of Pakistan. It lies at latitude 32.48 N, longitude 72.92. from here.
It is located on the mid of Lahore-Islamabad motorway (M2) at the left bank of river Jhelum near Southern Salt Range in Sargodha District. Before independence 1947, it was located in Shahpur District. Bhera is surrounded by green fields and its importance increased due to Motorway passes near Bhera. The most important Mohallas or localities of old Bhera are the Mohallah Hakeemanwala, Pirachagan Mo
halla, the Sethian wala Mohalla, the Sahnian wala Mohalla. History of Bhera:"Bhera" is a Sanskrit word which means: "a place where there is no fear". According to the "Ancient Geography of India" by Alexander Cunningham Bhera was once known as Jobnathnagar[1]
“ The modern town of Bhira or Bheda is situated on the left bank of the Jhelam ;but on the opposite bank of the river , near Ahmedabad , there is a very extensive mound of ruins , called Old Bhera or Jobnathnagar , the city of Raja Jobnath , or Chobnath,
The Imperial Gazetteer of India records the History of Bhera -
“ In the seventh and eighth centuries, the Salt Range chieftain was a tributary of Kashmīr. Bhera was sacked by Mahmūd of Ghazni, and again two centuries later by the generals of Chingiz Khān. In 1519 Bābar held it to ransom; and in 1540 Sher Shāh founded a new town, which under Akbar became the head-quarters of one of the subdivisions of the Sūbah of Lahore. In the reign of Muhammad Shāh, Rājā Salāmat Rai, a Rājput of the Anand tribe, administered Bhera and the surrounding country; while Khushāb was managed by Nawāb Ahmadyār Khān, and the south-eastern tract along the Chenāb formed part of the territories under the charge of Mahārājā Kaura Mal, governor of Multān[2] ”
“ About the same time, by the death of Nawāb Ahmdyār Khan, Khushāb also passed into the hands of Rājā Salāmat Rai. Shortly afterwards Abbās Khān a Khattak who held Pind Dādan Khān, treacherously put the Rājā to death, and seized Bhera. But Abbās Khān was himself thrown into prison as a revenue defaulter and, and Fateh Singh, nephew of Salāmat Rai then recovered his uncle's dominions.[2] ”
The palace of Sopeithes which the Greek historian Arrian mentions as the place on the Hydaspes is supposed to be at Bhera[citation needed]. The Greeks refer to the Jhelum river as the Hydaspes River where Alexander fought Porus in Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326BC. It was at this battle that Alexander's famous horse Bucephalus was killed . The Kukhran Khatris are a group of eleven specific clans of Punjabi Khatris who originally hailed from the town of Bhera in Punjab. Till the time of the partition of India in 1947 Bhera had a mixed population consisting of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities. The demographic composition of Bhera was significantly altered however at the time of partition as almost the entire Hindu and Sikh Bhirochis migrated to India , some chose to stay back and converted to Islam . The refugees who came to India settled in Delhi , Punjab and other cities of Northern India . N.Delhi continues to have a colony called Bhera town where a section of these refugees were resettled . Bhera was also home to the Mohyal tribe who also claim Porus[citation needed]. It is also home to the Punjabi Muslim communities of Piracha and Elahis and the Hayats. Bhera is a historical city. Mahmud of Ghazni In his attack on Waihind (Peshawar) in 1001-3, is reported to have captured the Hindu Shahiya King Jayapala and fifteen of his principal chiefs and relations some of whom like Sukhpal, were made Musalmans. At Bhera a great many inhabitants, except those who embraced Islam, were put to the sword. It is located on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway, and connects with Bhera interchange. Sub-tehsil Bhera is the historical city of District Sargodha near Khushab. Its population is 100,000 is mainly dominated by Punjabis. Old Bhera is like old Lahore or old Peshawar. Its markets and streets are narrow. There is a circular road around the city. Old Bhera was situated on the right bank of the River Jehlum, on the opposite side new Bhera is located. There are heaps of ruins of old Bhera and remains of its markets and streets can still be seen on the other bank of the River Jehlum. Old Bhera was destroyed in 1545 because of the disputes among the Pathan forces, and was rebuilt at the present location, that is the left bank of the River Jhelum. Sher Shah Suri was the founder of the new city. When he visited the old city, he was distressed upon seeing the destroyed areas. He camped at the left bank of river Jehlum, near Qaimnath's hut, and constructed the first building there. He also constructed the Shahi Jamia Mosque in the new city, which rivals the Shahi Jamia Mosques of Delhi, Agra and Lahore in beauty. Sher Shah Suri made a road, along which he built an "Eidgah" and water tanks for the passengers.[citation needed]
1300 years ago, many Muslim saints passed by Bhera which became famous in the whole of Asia. Businessmen and scholars arrived first and then many Afghan and Central Asian conquerors such as Mahmud Ghazni, Shahab ud Din Ghori, Mughal Babur and Ahmed Shah Abdali attacked or passed through the city in their campaigns.[citation needed]
Along with other things, peacocks were also presented to Hazrat Suleman. The people of this area were well educated. The people of other cities and countries had been learning Tib, etc. Alexander the great after conquering Iran and passing through the Hindu Kush, reached the Punjab and came to the River Biyas and then turned back from there. Bhera earned a great status during the Mughal rule. Mughal emperor Zaheer-ud-din Babur mentioned this town in his famous book, Tuzk-e-Babri. The town had to face destruction when Sher Shah Suri (1540–1545) defeated Humayun and the Pathan forces took their revenge on the then pro-Mughal town of Bhera. In the recent past centuries, Bhera was an important trading outpost on the road to Kabul, and boasted of a taksal (mint) during the rule of Ranjit Singh. It declined in importance due to the gradual shifting of the course of the Jhelum river, due to which the town lost the advantage of being located on a river bank
Captain Devas came to Bhera and with the help of the local architect Dhanchand Kohli rebuilt eight Gates of the city facing different directions. These were named Multani Gate, Lahori Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Kabuli Gate, Peeranwala Gate, Chinioti Gate, Loharanwala Gate and Hajji Gulab Gate. Only four gates have survived to date, Peeranwala Gate, Hajji Gulab Gate, Loharanwala Gate and Kabuli Gate which too are in a state of disrepair now. During the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar, BHERA regained its former glory and was one of the 40 cities of Mughal India having a royal mint for minting gold and silver coins. Ghaznavi, Ghauri and Ahmad Shah Abdali also passed through Bhera while attacking the subcontinent. After the Sikh Raj (1790 to 1849), the British occupied Bhera till independence in 1947. The town of BHERA used to have a boundary wall and eight gates. Unfortunately, there is no official or public awareness about this great city of the past.
