Schools

It could not have been a better day for a short excursion in the countryside of Punjab. The weather was excellent, and the natural beauty of this area was captivating. It had rained the previous evening, and everything was looking clean and fresh on this lovely spring day. My starting point was Sargodha, and the…

It was one of those rare, lucky days when everything goes according to plan, or even better. It was 25th March, 2026, and I was in Sargodha. I checked the map of my intended explorations and decided to visit Shahpur. It was the closest place, and all the sites were clearly marked. I had marked…

My quest for old historic schools continued, and after visiting the O’Brien Islamia High School in Shahpur Saddar on March 25, 2026, I visited the Bhai Ram Kishan Gurmat High School in Shahpur City on the same day. This school is only four kilometers away from the aforementioned school. I have already touched upon the…

Shahpur is an old town near the banks of the River Jhelum in District Sargodha. The area between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab is called the Jech Doab, one of the five Doabs of Punjab. This is the same Doab where the kingdom of Raja Porus existed at the time when Alexander the Great invaded…

Lately, I have developed an interest in old schools, particularly those established by persons with philanthropic motives. I have noted that, in this regard, the role of the Sikh community was very prominent. Due to this interest, I visited Farooka on 24 March 2026. This was my ninth visit to a school established by the…

The history of the modern education system in this region would not be complete without mentioning the story of Denny’s Higher Secondary School, Rawalpindi. Not that there were no educational institutions at all, there were madrassas and pathshalas, but this was one of the earliest educational institutions established in the city on modern lines. It…

During the last few months, I have visited many schools that were built during British rule by different communities for the promotion of education. These were privately funded and managed institutions. One such institute was Khalsa College, Lyallpur, a great educational institution whose foundation was laid in 1908, quite early in the history of the city…

Deep in rural western Punjab, in the district of Khushab, lies a town called Mitha Tiwana. Once, it was the stronghold of a small state ruled by the Tiwana clan,  a clan that played a considerable role in the history of Punjab during the last two centuries. But that is not the subject of this…