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Gojra گوجرہ
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
District	Toba Tek Singh District
Established	1896
No. of Towns	1
Government
• Union Councils	6
Area
• Total	7 sq mi (17 km)
Elevation	1,526 ft (465 m)
Population
• Total	117,892
• Density	17,000/sq mi (6,900/km)
• Estimate (2005)	143,369
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+6 (PDT)
Area code	046 International +9246

Gojra (Punjabi, Template:Lang-ur), the capital of Gojra Tehsil, is a city of Toba Tek Singh District in the Punjab province of Pakistan, it is located at 31°9'N 72°41'E and is located 30 miles (50 km) from Faisalabad, 125 km from Burewala, 157 km from Vehari and 20 miles (32 km) north of Toba Tek Singh. It has a history of more than hundred years, and being the centre of the cultivated lands, the village was famous for its "Mandi" (market) for cash crops. Before the 1947 Partition of India that created Pakistan the "Mandi" was mainly handled by Hindus and Sikhs.

History

Gojra town was established in 1896 when colonisation of Lyallpur (Faisalabad) began. The railway line between Lyallpur and Gojra was laid in 1899. The town was given the status of notified area committee in 1904 and upgraded as B-Class Municipality in 1925. In 1906 the population was 2,589, according to The Imperial Gazetteer of India "The business done in this rising mart on the railway, which has sprung into existence in the last six years owing to the extension of the Chenab Canal to the surrounding country, bids fair to rival in importance that of Lyallpur itself".

In 1919 following the Rowlatt Act, hartals broke out throughout Punjab, Gojra was affected by serious protests and a member of the Church Mission Society had to be escorted out of the town by loyal residents.

After independence from Britain, in view of its increasing size, it was declared as 2nd class Municipal Committee in 1960. The town was raised to the status of Tehsil town and affiliated with the newly established district Toba Tek Singh on 01.07.1982. After the introduction of Devolution of Powers Plan, the Tehsil Municipal Administration Gojra came into being on 12.08.2001.

Eye Surgery

Gojra was a renowned centre for eye surgery. Its fame for ophthalmic excellence was known throughout colonial India. One of the leading figures of Gojra was the eye surgeon, Dr. Harbhajan Singh. He gave eyesight to a huge number of patients whose eyes could not be cured by many of the ophthalmologists in more sophisticated hospitals in big cities like Delhi, Lahore or Calcutta.

Education

• "The Educators" Amna Campus
• Junior Model High School
• Govt M.C High School
• Govt Islamia High School

Hockey

Gojra became famous in Pakistan after contributing a number of players to the Pakistan Hockey team, including Iqbal Bali and Muhammad Aslam (famous as Aslam Roda). When they returned to Gojra they established their own hockey teams, and provided free training to the youth of the village. The biggest event in the calendar it used to be the annual fixture between these two teams. This match use to attract a huge crowd. This actually created a nursery for the Pakistan hockey team and many of the Pakistan hockey team players including Tahir Zaman, Muhammad Shahbaz Junior, Muhammad Qasim.

The Gojra Hockey Club (a local club, has won this years Jat Tar Singh memorial U19 (Under 19) hockey tournament, this high profile tournament was held in India, where Gojra city team competed again best of Indian U19 hockey teams and won this championship. The Gojra team won this title by defeating Amritsar Academy 4–2 at Ludhiana hockey stadium.

The Manzoor-ul-Hassan and Rasheed-ul-Hasan brothers were the main source of inspiration for hockey and establishing it in their native town. They brought Gojra to be recognised in the hockey playing nations of the world. Manzoor-ul-Hassan (1972–1982) played 154 games and scored 101 goals for Pakistan. He was given the name "Wall of China" because he was so hard to beat as he was a defender (full back). Rashid-ul-Hassan played 199 matches and scored 9 goals. He was the backbone of the Pakistan Hockey team from 1979 to 1987.

Religious riots

On 1st August 2009 seven people were burnt alive and 18 others injured in Gojra after violence erupted in the town over the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran three days earlier. More than 50 houses were set on fire and a place of worship belonging to a minority community was damaged by an angry mob. This sparked a nationwide controversy as regards to the Blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

Bishop Ijaz Inayat from the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Karachi questioned the incident while Brig Samson Sharaf believes it was sparked because of a drunkard who choose to ransack a wedding and after he was bounced out he returned with a mob which turned ravage against the Christians present accusing them of desecrating the pages of the Holy Quran, an eye witness account also share the same opinion.

See also

• Pakistan
• Toba Tek Singh
• Pirmahal
• Burewala
• Pakistan Hockey Team
• 2009 Gojra riots

References

1. Punjab Portal
2. Location of Gojra
3. ^ Gojra - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 12, p. 306
4. Punjab disturbances, April 1919; compiled from the Civil and military gazette (1919)
5. Tehsil Administration of Gojra
6. ^ Gojra Eye Complex Pakistan
7. Eye care in his blood - Tribune India
8. Hockey players honoured - Dawn Pakistan
9. Gojra club wins hockey final in India
10. Seven people burnt alive - Dawn
11. Bishop Ijaz Inayat's letter questioning the Gojra Massacre - Teeth Maestro
12. Brig Samson Sharaf reports that a drunkard sparked the riots at a wedding - - Teeth Maestro
13. An Eye Witness account of what happened in Gojra massacre - Teeth Maestro

• Cities, towns and villages in Toba Tek Singh District