Name : Mahad Nisar

Registration No: F20-BSTH-007

Subject : Tourism Concepts
Submitted To: Sir Maseeh Ullah
Section : Tourism 3rd Semester
Date: 16/11/2021
 Assignment

Rawalpindi
Introduction:
Rawalpindi also known as, is the capital city of Rawalpindi
Division located in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
Rawalpindi is the fourth-largest city in Pakistan after
Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad respectively while the larger
Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area is the country's
third largest metropolitan area. Rawalpindi is adjacent to
Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, and the two are jointly
known as the "twin cities" on account of strong social and
economic links between the cities.
Rawalpindi is located on the Pothohar Plateau, known for its
ancient Buddhist heritage, especially in the neighbouring
town of Taxila – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was
destroyed during the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni before
being taken over by Gakhars in 1493. In 1765, the ruling
Gakhars were defeated as the city came under Sikh rule, and
eventually became a major city within the Sikh Empire based
in Lahore. The city was conquered by the British Raj in 1849,
and in 1851 became the largest garrison town of the British
Indian Army. Following the partition of British India in 1947,
the city became home to the headquarters of the Pakistan
Army hence retaining its status as a major military city.
Construction of Pakistan's new purpose-built national
capital city of Islamabad in 1961 led to greater investment in
the city, as well as a brief stint as the country's capital
immediately before completion of Islamabad. Modern
Rawalpindi is socially and economically intertwined with
Islamabad, and the greater metropolitan area. The city is
also home to numerous suburban housing developments
that serve as bedroom-communities for workers in
Islamabad. As home to the GHQ of the Pakistan Army & the
former Benazir Bhutto International Airport (now part of
PAF Base Nur Khan), and with connections to the M-1 and
M-2 motorways, Rawalpindi is a major logistics and
transportation centre for northern Pakistan. The city is also
home to historic havelis and temples, and serves as a hub for
tourists visiting Rohtas Fort, Azad Kashmir, Taxila and Gilgit-
Baltistan.

History
Origins:
The region around Rawalpindi has been inhabited for
thousands of years. Rawalpindi falls within the ancient
boundaries of Gandhara, and is in a region littered with
Buddhist ruins. In the region north-west of Rawalpindi,
traces have been found of at least 55 stupas, 28 Buddhist
monasteries, 9 temples, and various artifacts in the
Kharoshthi script. To the southeast are the ruins of the
Mankiala stupa – a 2nd-century stupa where, according to
the Jataka tales, a previous incarnation of the Buddha leapt
off a cliff in order to offer his corpse to seven hungry tiger
cubs. The nearby town of Taxila is thought to have been
home to the world's first university. Sir Alexander
Cunningham identified ruins on the site of the Rawalpindi
Cantonment as the ancient city of Ganjipur (or Gajnipur), the
capital of the Bhatti tribe in the ages preceding the Christian
era. Rawalpindi received its name from early Bhatti Rajput
rulers in the region named Bappa Rawal.

Possible Kushano-Sasanian plate, excavated in Rawalpindi, 4th century CE.

 The "Fasting Buddha, on display at the British Museum in London, was discovered in Rawalpindi.

Medieval:
The first mention of Rawalpindi's earliest settlement dates
from when Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed Rawalpindi and the
town was restored by Gakhar chief Kai Gohar in the early
11th century. The town fell into decay again after Mongol
invasions in the 14th century. Situated along an invasion
route, the settlement did not prosper and remained deserted
until 1493, when Jhanda Khan re-established the ruined
town, and named it Rawal.

Mughal:
During the Mughal era, Rawalpindi remained under the rule
of the Ghakhar clan, who in turn pledged allegiance to the
Mughal Empire. The city was developed as an important
outpost in order to guard the frontiers of the Mughal realm.
Gakhars fortified a nearby caravanserai, in the 16th century,
transforming it into the Rawat Fort in order to defend the
Pothohar plateau from Sher Shah Suri's forces. Construction
of the Attock Fort in 1581 after Akbar led a campaign against
his brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim, further securing
Rawalpindi's environs. In December 1585, the Emperor
Akbar arrived in Rawalpindi, and remained in and around
Rawalpindi for 13 years as he extended the frontiers of the
empire, in an era described as a "glorious period" in his
career as Emperor.

Sikh Empire:
Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh allowed the son of Sardar
Milkha Singh to continue as Governor of Rawalpindi, after
Ranjit Singh seized the district in 1810. Sikh rule over
Rawalpindi was consolidated by defeat of the Afghans at
Haidaran in July 1813. The Sikh rulers allied themselves with
some of the local Gakhar tribes, and jointly defeated Syed
Ahmad Barelvi at Akora Khattak in 1827, and again in 1831
in Balakot. Jews first arrived in Rawalpindi's Babu Mohallah
neighbourhood from Mashhad, Persia in 1839,in order to
flee from anti-Jewish laws instituted by the Qajar dynasty. In
1841, Diwan Kishan Kaur was appointed Sardar of
Rawalpindi.

British:
Following Rawalpindi's capture by the British East India
company, 53rd Regiment of the company army took
quarters in the newly captured city. The decision to man a
permanent military cantonment in the city was made in
1851 by the Marquess of Dalhousie. The city was also
connected to railways that offered connection to India and
the northwest frontier in Peshawar in the 1880s. The
Commissariat Steam Flour Mills were the first such mills in
Punjab, and supplied most of the needs of British
cantonments throughout Punjab. Rawalpindi's cantonment
served as a feeder to other cantonments throughout the
region.
Rawalpindi flourished as a commercial centre, though the
city remained largely devoid of an industrial base during the
British era. A large portion of Kashmir's external trade
passing through the city; in 1885, 14% of Kashmir's exports,
and 27% of its imports passed through the city.

Partition:
On 5 March 1947, members of Rawalpindi's Hindu and Sikh
communities took out a procession against the formation of
a Muslim ministry within the Government of Punjab.
Policemen fired upon protestors, while Hindus and Sikhs
fought against weaker Muslim counter-protestors. The
area's first Partition riots erupted the next day on 6 March
1947, when the city's Muslims, angered by the actions of
Hindus and Sikhs and encouraged by the Pir of Golra Sharif,
raided nearby villages after they were unable to do so in the
city on account of Rawalpindi's heavily armed Sikhs.
At the dawn of Pakistan's independence in 1947 following
the success of the Pakistan Movement, Rawalpindi was a
43.79% Muslim, while Rawalpindi District as a whole was
80% Muslim. The region, on account of its large Muslim
majority, was thus awarded to Pakistan. Rawalpindi's Hindu
and Sikh population, who had made up 33.72% and 17.32%
of the city, migrated in masses to the newly independent
Dominion of India after anti-Hindu and anti-Sikh pogroms in
western Punjab, while Muslim refugees from India settled in
the city following anti-Muslim pogroms in eastern Punjab
and northern India.

Modern:
In the years following independence, Rawalpindi saw an
influx of Muhajir, Pashtun and Kashmiri settlers. Having
been the largest British Cantonment in the region at the
dawn of Pakistan's independence, Rawalpindi was chosen as
headquarters for the Pakistani Army, despite the fact that
Karachi had been selected as the first capital.

Geography
Climate:
Rawalpindi features a humid subtropical climate with hot
and wet summers, a cooler and drier winter. Rawalpindi and
its twin city Islamabad, during the year experiences an
average of 91 thunderstorms, which is the highest frequency
of any plain elevation city in the country. Strong windstorms
are frequent in the summer during which wind gusts have
been reported by Pakistan Meteorological Department to
have reached 176 km/h (109 mph). In such thunder/wind
storms, which results in some damage of infrastructure.[47]
The weather is highly variable due to the proximity of the
city to the foothills of Himalayas.
The average annual rainfall is 1,254.8 mm (49.40 in), most of
which falls in the summer monsoon season. However,
westerly disturbances also bring quite significant rainfall in
the winter. In summer, the record maximum temperature
has soared to 47.7 °C (118 °F) recorded in June 1954, while
it has dropped to a minimum of −3.9 °C (25 °F) several
occasions, though the last of which was in January 1967.

Cityscape:
Social structures in Rawalpindi's historic core centre around
neighbourhoods, each known as a Mohallah. Each
neighbourhood is served by a nearby bazaar and mosque,
which in turn serve as a place where people can gather for
trade and manufacturing. Each Mohallah has narrow gallies,
and the grouping of houses around short lanes and cul-de-
sacs lends a sense of privacy and security to residents of
each neighbourhood. Major intersections in the
neighbourhood are each referred to as a chowk.

South of Rawalpindi's historic core, and across the Lai

Nullah, are the wide lanes of the Rawalpindi Cantonment.
With tree-lined avenues and historic architecture, the
cantonment was the main European area developed during
British colonial rule. British colonialists also built the Saddar
Bazaar south of the historic core, which served as a retail
center geared towards Europeans in the city. Beyond the
cantonment are the large suburban housing developments
that serve as bedroom communities for Islamabad's
commuter population.

Demographics
The population of Rawalpindi is 2,098,231 in 2017. 84% of
the population is Punjabi, 9% is Pashtun, and 7% is from
other ethnic groups.

Religion:
96.8% of Rawalpindi's population is Muslim, 2.47% is
Christian, 0.73% belong to other religious groups. The city's
Kohaati Bazaar is site of large Shia mourning-processions for
Ashura. The neighbourhoods of Waris Shah Mohallah and Pir
Harra Mohallah form the core of Muslim settlement in
Rawalpindi's old city.

Transportation
Public transportation
The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus is a 22.5 km (14.0 mi)
bus rapid transit service that connects Rawalpindi to
Islamabad. The Metrobus network was opened on 4 June
2015, and connects the Pak Secretariat in Islamabad to
Saddar in Rawalpindi. A second stage is from Peshawar Morr
Interchange to the New Islamabad International Airport. The
system uses e-ticketing and Intelligent Transportation
System wand and is managed by the Punjab Mass Transit
Authority.

Road
Rawalpindi is situated along the historic Grand Trunk Road
that connects Peshawar to Islamabad and Lahore. The road
is roughly paralleled by the M-1 Motorway between
Peshawar and Rawalpindi, while the M-2 Motorway
provides an alternate route to Lahore via the Salt Range. The
Grand Trunk Road also provides access to the Afghan border
via the Khyber Pass, with onwards connections to Kabul and
Central Asia via the Salang Pass. The Karakoram Highway
provides access between Islamabad and western China, and
an alternate route to Central Asia via Kashgar in the Chinese
region of Xinjiang.
The Islamabad Expressway connects Rawalpindi's eastern
portions with the Rawal Lake and heart of Islamabad. The
IJP Road separates Rawalpindi's northern edge from
Islamabad.

Motorways
Rawalpindi is connected to Peshawar by the M-1 Motorway.
The motorway also links Rawalpindi to major cities in the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, such as Charsadda and
Mardan. The M-2 motorway offers high speed access to
Lahore via the Potohar Plateau and Salt Range. The M-3
Motorway branches off from the M-2 at the city of Pindi
Bhattian, where the M-3 offers onward connections to
Faisalabad, and connects to the M-4 Motorway which
continues onward to Multan. A new motorway network is
under construction to connect Multan and Karachi as part of
the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Hazara
Motorway is also under construction as part of CPEC, and
will provide control-access motorway travel all the way to
Mansehra via the M-1 or Grand Trunk Road.

Rail
Rawalpindi railway station in the Saddar neighbourhood
serves as a stop along Pakistan's 1,687 kilometres (1,048
mi)-long Main Line-1 railway that connects the city to the
port city of Karachi to Peshawar. The stations is served by
the Awam Express, Hazara Express, Islamabad Express,
Jaffar Express, Khyber Mail trains, and serves as the
terminus for the Margalla Express, Mehr Express, Rawal
Express, Pakistan Express, Subak Raftar Express, Green Line
Express, Sir Syed Express, Subak Kharam Express, and
Tezgam trains.
The entire Main Line-1 railway track between Karachi and
Peshawar is to be overhauled at a cost of $3.65 billion for the
first phase of the project,[61] with completion by 2021.[62]
Upgrading of the railway line will permit train travel at
speeds of 160 kilometres per hour, versus the average 60 to
105 km per hour speed currently possible on existing track.

Air
Rawalpindi is served by the Islamabad International Airport.
The airport is located in Fateh Jang, Attock. It offers non-stop
flights throughout Pakistan, as well as to the Middle East,
Europe, North America, Central Asia, East Asia, and
Southeast Asia.

Parks
Ayub National Park is located beyond the old Presidency on
Jhelum Road. It covers an area of about 2,300 acres (930 ha)
and has a playland, lake with boating facility, an aquarium
and a garden-restaurant.
Rawalpindi Public Park is on Murree Road near Shamsabad.
The Park was opened to the public in 1991. It has a playland
for children, grassy lawns, fountains and flower beds.
In 2008 Jinnah Park was inaugurated at the heart of
Rawalpindi and has since become a hotspot of activity for
the city. It houses a state-of-the-art cinema, Cinepax, a Metro
Cash and Carry supermart, an outlet of McDonald's, gaming
lounges, Motion Rides and other recreational facilities. The
vast lawns also provide an adequate picnic spot.
Rawalpindi is situated near the Ayub National Park formerly
known as 'Topi Rakh' (keep the hat on) is by the old
Presidency, between the Murree Brewery Co. and Grand
Trunk Road. It covers an area of about 2,300 acres (930 ha)
and has a play area, lake with boating facility, an aquarium, a
garden-restaurant and an open-air theater. This park hosts
"The Jungle Kingdom" which is particularly popular among
young residents.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawalpindi