Page 34 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

There has been nothing of importance in the later history of the district.
During the great war in 1914-15, there was unrest, and a series of dacoities
was committed which began in rumors that an invasion by the Germans was
about to take place. This was communal and economic though, rather than
political, as the Hindus were statedly looted by the Muslims who owed them
money. The Hindus, at that time, had an economic hold on the district. The
rest of the British period was of comparative calm. The population of the arid
and semi-arid tract of this district had little time for taking any active and
substantial part in the political struggle of the country.

The year 1947 was momentous as Pakistan came into being. Inflow of
refugees took place primarily from the districts of Rohtak, Karnal, Patiala,
Hisar, Ludhiana and, in lesser numbers, from other districts of East Punjab
and Uttar Pradesh. In 1949, the Thal Development Project was initiated in
the districts of Mianwali, Bhakkar, Muzaffargarh, Layyah and Khushab for
the speedy development of the area brought under irrigation by the Thal
canal, and for the re-settlement of refugees thereon. A somewhat similar
project was executed in 1953-58 whereby Taunsa Barrage was constructed
on Indus to provide weir-controlled irrigation to originally flood-fed areas on
both sides of the river as well as some new lands in the Thal desert.
In 1982, Layyah was severed from Muzaffargarh, and made into a separate
district comprising the tehsils of Layyah, Chaubara and Karor.
In 1996, Jatoi was separated from Alipur and made into an independent
tehsil. It is how the District Muzaffargarh, after passing through many
vicissitudes, finally came into being in its present form.
There have been calls from certain quarters in recent years to convert the
town of Chowk Sarwar Shaheed into a separate Tehsil, and Tehsil Kot Addu
into a separate and independent district. In this regard, opinion of the
District Administration Muzaffargarh was sought by the Commissioner Office
as well the Board of Revenue in early 2019. Whereas the proposal of
converting Chowk Sarwar Shaheed into a separate tehsil was fully supported,
the second proposal was not endorsed – was rather opposed – on following
grounds:
I. The Tehsil headquarters of Kot Addu is situated at around a distance
of merely 50 km from the district headquarters. In other words, it
only takes maximum 1 hour to ply between the two headquarters.
Similarly, boundary of the Tehsil Kot Addu starts at a drive of 20–30
minutes from the district headquarters. Furthermore, the Tehsil Kot
Addu is linked to the District Dera Ghazi Khan on western side and
the District Layyah on northern side. The Tehsil being close/adjacent
to district headquarters, and having good connection with Dera Ghazi
Khan and Layyah, does not qualify to become a district primarily on
geographical/spatial grounds.
II. As regards the population, as per the last census, the Tehsil Kot Addu
is inhabited by 1092775 individuals. This again is not a determining

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