Sargodha is the sixth-largest city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located along the Kirana Hills in central Punjab, it serves as the headquarters of its eponymous district and division. Sargodha is the 11th-most populous city in Pakistan, being one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. It is also known as the City of Eagles.
History
Sargodha was established by the British as a canal-colony in 1903 (originally spelled Sargoda) as a tehsil of Shahpur district. Sargodha was badly affected by an outbreak of the bubonic plague in 1903, and experienced a milder outbreak in 1904. Although it was a small town in the beginning, the British Royal Air Force built an airport there due to its strategic location. The term "Sargodha" has its origin in the words "Sar" (from "sarowar") meaning "pond" and "Godha" meaning "Sadhu", which means "Pond of Godha". The city was founded by Lady Trooper by the supervision of Sir Charles Montgomery Rivaz KCSI (1845 – 7 October 1926), a colonial administrator in British India and Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab from 1902 to 1907.
Geography
Location
Location and distance of Sargodha with respect to five major cities of Pakistan is as follow:
- north of Karachi
- west of Lahore
- south of Islamabad
- north-west of Faisalabad
- south of Rawalpindi
Sargodha is situated in Pakistani province of Punjab. It is located northwest of Lahore, in Sargodha District. The city is located 190 metres above sea level.
Climate
The city has a climate of extreme heat in the summers and moderate cold in the winters. The maximum temperature reaches in the summer while the minimum temperature recorded is as low as freezing point in the winter.
Demographics
The total population of the city was 458,440 according to the 1998 census. The majority of the people in the city speak Punjabi with Shahpuri dialect. The population of Sargodha Division was recorded as 8,181,499 by the 2017 Census of Pakistan.
{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+ Religious groups in Sargodha City (1911−2023)