Daska
History
Daska MughalDaska city was founded in the times of the Mughal King Shah Jahan (1592-1666). According to the revenue record, it was originally named Shah Jahanabad. The lands of the area were owned by Das family and thus it came to be known as Daska. “Ka†denotes belonging to; it is like English preposition ‘of’, used to indicate possession, origin, association.
According to another popular tradition the town is called Daska because it is located at an equidistance of Das Koh (24 Km) from all of its surrounding towns, hence it is called Daska. ‘Das’ means ten and ‘Koh’ is the indigenous unit of measuring distance.
The principal Jatt clans of Daska and its environs include the Ghouri, Rajput, Sahi,Maher, Ghumman, Nagra, Wallah, Goraya, Khokhar, Bajwa,Cheema and Randhawa. The Jatts are said to have originated from Scythian invaders from Central Asia. Some people have wrongly confused Jatts with Chaudries which is simply an honorific given to land owners. In addition the local population contains large numbers of Kashmiris,Malik, Gujjars, Thaheem, Pakhtuns. A number of Biharis from Eastern India as well some Afghan refugees have been settled outside Daska in the early 1970s. The local dialect of Punjabi is the Western or Northern Dialect akin to that spoken in Sialkot. A native speaker from Daska and Sialkot District will easily recognize another native speaker of the area due its rhythmic melodious sound, the use of several distinct words and aspects of syntax.
Daska-Prior to Alexander
daska prior to alexenderThe origins of Daska goes back to the period of Alexander who would became the conqueror of the Ancient World, was born in PELLA, Macedonia in 356 B.C. Though it has not any documented evidence but the history has often been related to the described period. The name Daska sounds very familiar in Serbian (Croatian, Macedonian) and means batten or sill. This is maybe in connection to Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon).
Daskavis in Hindu Regime
daska hindu regimeBefore the rise of Islamic culture the area was covered with multiple religions in which the most prominent were Hindu and Sikhs. It was the period when the society of Daska was divided into different social casts and sects. Its culture was also not in the unique form and so why various clashes between the societies and cultures were often observed by history.
Two major religions at the time were prominent “Hindu†& “Sikhâ€. Rajpoot society was the representative of “Hindu†religion while “Jatt†majority was symbol of “Sikh†ideology. “Jatt†were dominant class ever considered since the initials of Daska.
The recently developed new Daska once in the Rajpoots dominancy while old Daska was in the control of Jatts.
The advent of Islam
daska advent of islamThe Dawn of Islam in sub-continent by “Mohammad Bin Qasim†also enlightened the surface of Daska. Islamic ideology affected its tradition and the both societies “Hindus & Sikhsâ€rapidly admitted the Islam as their “Religion†after the centuries.
During Mughal’s monarchy Daska has been once a cant area of Mughal Emperors. Mughal King Shah Jahan (1592-1666) used the soil as a center point and stay there to move other adjoining lands. It was a time when Daska was a cantonment area. The demolish of Mughal’s monarchy by British colonialism Daska became an important dominant land to English men and they used the cant base for their strategic achievements. During bonds period, the land was cultivated by local slaves and the fruit was gone to English treasury which was unacceptable for then time residents. So as they found a political forum to resist against British tyrannies they took themselves in a independence struggle. Congress, a political organization of then time, motivated the people of Daska to be in the mainstream. After advent of Pakistan Muslim League, the majority of Muslims of Daska rapidly took participate in the struggle with their shoulders.
sir zafarullah khan
Sir Zafarullah Khan participated with a leading status to Daskavis and soon after partition he became the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan.
After partition the most part of Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India and Muslims became the prominent land owners. Right after partition, 1948 when first time India invaded Pakistan at Kashmir sector the locals of Daska took participate in the battle practically with great passion.
During 1965 and 1971 war between India and Pakistan Daskavis played their role again and made a prominent history. Daska has a graveyard of Shaheeds at Sambrial road which is depositary of the souls of that time war’s Shaheeds.