History of Tehsil Chichawatni City – Old Buildings, Hospitals and Politics
Nobody lives in present times who could tell the reason of calling this city Chichawatni.
By: Arshad Farooq Butt
Chichawatni was once situated on the bank of the Ravi river which changed its course with the passage of time and shifted several miles away from this town.
It was known as Chichawatni after the name of an elderly person – CHICHA – whose descendants established this settlement and named it after him as the “Residence of Chicha”.
He was in fact a Sandhu Jatt of a village in Amritsar district of Punjab. His son, Natha Sarpanch, and other members of his family turned Sikhs in the early decades of 18th century.
A son of Natha Sarpanch, Sewa Singh, came to this place and founded Chichawatni. And it was he who gave this name to the new settlement as ‘Chich di Watni’, which later became Chichawatni. It now lies in Sahiwal district of West Punjab in Pakistan. (Dr Sewak)
Some historians say, the name was given by Maharaja Dahir. Since the name was given 3 centuries ago, no one is present to testify why this city is called Chichawatni and whom Chichawatni is on the name of.
Chichawatni city is the tehsil of sahiwal district and is located about 45.3 km from sahwail at multan bypass road. History of Chichawatni refers back to the British Raj. There are two references why this city is called Chichawatni.
First, this name was given by Maharaja Dahir. Secondly, a hindu family lived there whose names were Chicha (man) and Watni (his wife) name.
Nobody lives in present times who could exactly tell the reason of calling this city Chichawatni. Its postal code is 57200 and its map shows it as a small city having a number of villages.
Chichawatni to Multan distance is about 132.8 km and Harappa, a historical place, is about 23.9 km from Chichawatni. Lahore to Chichawatni travel is about 214 km and it takes 3 hours drive.
Chichawatni weather is extremely hot in summer and usually it goes up to 46 degree centigrade. It’s big stations are Kassowal, Iqbal Nagar, Farid Nagar (90 Morr), Okanwala Bangla, Gaziabad and some area of Harappa.
Chichawatni tehsil is famous for its second largest jungle (chichawatni forest) after Changa Manga. It was planted by the prisoners of the British Raj in 19th century. There used to be a central jail in Chichawatni near kotla adeeb shahid forest.
Chichawatni Politics
Rai Hassan Nawaz from PTI is current MNA from NA-143 Chichawatni and Rai Murtaza Iqbal from PTI is MPA form PP 203. So the city area supported Rai family.
Another influential political family is Jutt group under Ch Tufail Jutt who lost in the Election 2024 and could not win any seat. His brother Ch Hanif Jutt also lost the Election. There are 3 provincial assembly constituencies in the city:
PP202
PP203
PP204
There is only one National assembly seat named NA-143 in Chichawatni.
Other renowned Chichawatni politicians are X-MNA Ch Munir Azhar, Ch Zahid Iqbal, Ch Saeed Ahmad Gujjar (Late), Malik Nauman Ahmad Langrial, Ch Arshad Jutt, Ali Javed, Rana Riaz Ahmad, Ch Waheed Asghar Dogar and Major Ghulam Serwar.
In Chichawatni Rahmani, Rajput, Jatt , Arain , Butt, Sheikh , Malik , Ansari , Khokhar and other castes live with religious and social harmony.
Educational institutions in Chichawatni
Government Degree College Chichawatni was established in 1967 with the efforts of Sheikh Zaman, the father of X-MNA Begum Shahnaz Javed.
Government M.C Model High School Chichawatni was established in 1916. DPS Chichawatni is the best private educational institure in Chichawatni. There are several other old institutions i.e. Punjab Group of Colleges, The Educators, Mission High School, Allama Iqbal College and the Dawn High School.
Many Sikh temples are now working as primary and secondary schools in Chichawatni. Government Crescent Girls College Chichawatni was also established with the efforts of Sheikh Zaman family and they paid for its land.
Halqa Arbab e Zauq Chichawatni is a famous literary society of Chichawatni which holds its meeting on every sunday at Government M.C Model High School Chichawatni.
Historical Buildings in Chichawatni
Chichawatni railway station was established in 1918. It was expanded with the passage of time. Especially in 2007 when its new building was built.
There are some interesting historical references about Chichawatni. Its major colony Gaoshala was a grassland for the cows before the division of India. Gao means “the cow”. Shala is called to any place. So the Gaoshala means the place where the cows graze.
There are a lot of historical buildings in Chichawatni. One of them is ‘Marri Building” which was the home of a Sikh family.
Chichawatni local singers have a great talent but devoid of National level media attention.
Taj Mahal Chichawatni, greenland hotel chichawatni, Fresco Hotel Chichawatni and Gujjar hotel are its famous food points.
Chichawatni Buffalo Mandi
Chichawatni Buffalo Mandi (also known as Chichawatni Cattle mandi or Chichawatni cow mandi) is the second largest cattle market in Pakistan.
Since 2014 it is given to the chichawatni cattle market management company. It is now become model mandi in gaushala chichawatni at chichawatni bypass.
For the latest chichawatni news you can visit our website Sahwial Updates in which you are reading this article. There is a documentary program in this website named Chichawatni Zero Km in which the history of chichawatni and its problems are covered.
THQ Hospital Chichawatni
Tehsil Head Quarters Hospital Chichawatni is located near 45 Adda, Okanawala Road, Chichawatni. It’s old building is now TMA Chichawatni. It is upgraded yet lack of facilities and the staff is a common complain.
A strange fact is that there used to be a brothel in the midst of the city chichawatni punjab. Hindu and Sikh culture in chichawatni pakistan was replaced by the Muslims after the division of the sub-continent. Keep visiting this article as we’ll keep updating it with more and more information about Chichawatni.
Rai Hospital Chichawatni
Rai Hospital is a private healthcare facility located in Chichawatni, a city in the Sahiwal District of Punjab, Pakistan.
The hospital is known for providing a range of medical services to the local population. It offers outpatient and inpatient care, and its services may include general medicine, surgery, pediatrics, gynecology, and diagnostic facilities.
The hospital aims to serve the medical needs of Chichawatni and surrounding areas with experienced doctors and healthcare professionals.