Zira Author : Dr. K.S. Kang

Zira

The neighbourhood of Zira, had been for many years a wasteland, when in 1508 Ahmad Shah came from Gugera and founded Zira Khas. He was driven out by Sher Shah Suri, during whose rule nearly all the villages of this ilaqa were located. Mohar Singh was, in turn driven out by Diwan Mohkam Chand, Ranjit Singh’s General, and the ilaqa was added to the Lahore Demense. It was afterwards divided into two portions, of which the eastern portion, which preserved the name, Zira, was made over to Sarbuland Khan, a servant of the Lahore Government, and the western portion, to which the name, ilaqa Ambarhar, was given was made an appanage of Kanwar Sher Singh, son of the Punjab sovereign. At a later date, Sher Singh obtained the possession of the whole ilaqa and abolished the subdivision of Ambarhar.

It is unclear when, exactly, the municipality was founded – one source indicates The Municipality Committee, Zira, was constituted in 1876 while another says 1867.

Zira was one of the two tehsils of Punjab, (the other one being Ferozepur), that was part of a controversy during the partition of India. Sir Cyril Radcliffe created the boundary between India and Pakistan just days before the partition. A draft of the Award was supposedly sent to Evan Jenkins, the provincial governor of Punjab by George Abell, Lord Mountbatten of Burma's private secretary, with a preliminary description of the Punjab boundary. This draft showed the Ferozepur and Zira tehsils being allotted to Pakistan. During partition Zira city had a Muslim majority by 51% Sikhs making up 35% and Hindus 14%. When violence erupted in most Ferozepur Zira area was very quiet because most of the residents treated each other like brothers. Many Sikh residents were really close to their Muslim friends and did not want them to leave, but due to so much problems in the Ferozepur area they had no choice to leave.

The final version of the boundary however awarded the areas to India. This led Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, to proclaim that the Award of the Boundary Commission was unjust, incomprehensible and perverse. He, however, agreed to abide by itThe dispute was settled in 1960 as part of an agreement between the governments of India and Pakistan.

In 1947, at the time of partition, almost all the Muslim community who were living in "Zira" migrated to Pakistan. They settled in "Khanewal" district of Western Punjab. They engaged in farming, business and government services. Most of them named themselves as "Zirvi" (which is a sign of love to their "dharti maa"). These people always praised the good behaviour of Sikhs and Hindus at the time of partition. They remember sweet memories of Zira with tears. It reflects that how a calm and prosperous town was that prior to partition where the people lived with harmony.^[8]

Zira Bomb Case, 1930 – The high-handedness of the British invaders in suppressing the rising tide of freedom movement in India with the worst type of governmental barbarity produced its reaction in the growth and spread of revolutionary activity to avenge the wrongs done to the people. One such incident in the Ferozepur District was the Zira Bomb Case of October 1930. The Zira Bar Association was formed in the same year.

Zira town is associated with my grandfather Sardar Khazan Singh who was a Lambardar and as a Lambardar it was his official duty to collect revenue from his part of his place Dharamkot and to deposit it in Government Treasury situated in Zira Tehsil of Firozepur district. In those days all the lambardars of the villages used to set out for Zira early in the morning with bags of coin from Dharmkot on foot as the distance of this place from Dharamkot was nearly 30 kms. And after depositing the money in the treasury and getting their due if 1 % of the total amount deposited my grandfather and his fellow Lambardars used to enjoy and refurbish their energy by taking a tumbler of milk or tea with bread or bun from a tea stall in front of Tehsil office which was considered as a delicacy and cherished greatly as bread and baker items were introduced mainly by britishers in India. This event repeated many times nearly 100 years ago so I visited this town this summers in the month of May to mark the Centenary of this event connected with my family symbolically and took a cup of tea in the front of Old Tehsil office,