My Village Bhaun in District Chakwal

Bhaun is a town in Chakwal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan, it is located at 32°52'0N 72°45'0E, 12 kilometres away from the District capital Chakwal, In 2007 Pakistan Railways announced the resumption of the Bhaun to Chakwal service. However, no progress has been made to this effect as of Feb 2009. The importance of resumption of this service and extending it to salt range in Kallar Kahar area will bring significant commercial advantages for the region as the cement factories in the area can use train transport for their merchandies. The population in 2006 was estimated to be over 35,000

History

It is believed that this town is named after Raja Bhawan Singh the grandson of Raja Dahir after the defeat by Muhammad Bin Qasim in Sindh.

During British Rule, Chakwal was a tehsile of Jhelum District, the population of Bhaun according to the 1901 census of India was 5,340. It was biggest town of the district, population as well as area wise. During British rule and prior to the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the majority of the population were Muslims but economic and social hold was in the hands of Hindus. There are still many Hindu temples in Bhaun. Pre-partition it was centre of economic activities and though not declared yet it was a Mandi. It was centre for Dhan, Vanhar and Soon. A special Judge with the powers of Magistrate used to hold his court in Bhaun

A Hindu Temple still standing in Bhaun

Location

Bhaun is situated between the two famous places, Chakwal and Kallar Kahar. The road connecting Chakwal and Kallar Kahar passes through it.Bhaun lies in the Tehsil Kallar Kahar and in the District Chakwal.It is amongst the most populated and developing Villages in District Chakwal. Chakwal district borders the districts of Rawalpindi and Attock in the north, Jhelum in the east, Khushab in the south and Mianwali in the west. The total area of Chakwal district is 6,609 square kilometres, which is equivalent to 1,652,443 acres.

Agriculture

The land of village is fertile and has mild weather and temperature conditions.The major crops which are grown there are Wheat , Jowar, Bajra, Gram and Mustard etc. There is a small Dam in Khai near Bhaun to irrigate agricultural land of Bhaun, Thoa, Khai. In Bhaun Land is irrigated by Tube Wells, Wells & from newly built Khai Dam Kanals

An old Well (which was property of a Hindu Guru Das)

Khai Dam some 1& 1/2 km Away from Bhaun

Khai Dam some 1& 1/2 km Away from Bhaun

Khai Dam some 1& 1/2 km Away from Bhaun

Tube Well for Irrigation

Tube Well for Irrigation

Marble Plate in Govt Primary School In Bhaun

Ticket Ghar in Old Railway Station of Bhaun

Mosque and Temple in Bhaun

Sports

There are many sports played in Bhaun, including Cricket, Foot Ball, Badminton. There is a badminton club headed by Syed Muhammad Usman Ali in Govt. Primary School Bhaun for boy. The name of club is "FIVE STAR CLUB". the name of club members is [Faisal,Fahad,Waqas,Shahid,Shaban,Ghori,Danish,Hamdan,Usman shah,Rizwan,Shazaib,Sheraz,Kashif]

The most prominent player of national repute from Bhaun was Salim Sherwani who was goal keeper of Pakistan National Hockey Team during 70s and won many international gold medals.

Being an agricultural area has led to development of some local cultural sports involving animals - one such very popular sport is Oxen race where the owners specially race their animals at special festivals and the winners are judged based on the animals health, walk and speed to pull a weight of earth in style. Prominent owners of such Oxes these days are Ch. Riasat Ali Khan(Grand Son of Baba Jhana), Ch. Tahir Jhala and Chaudry Ijaz Hussain. One Baba Jhana from this village is considered a legend in this sport all over Pakistan.

Health

Elementary health unit was established about 100 years ago by the British Govt. That building, now a days, is being used as Union Counsil Office and the dispensory (Primary health unit) is shifted to new building on railway road near Dak Banglo. This unit is headed by a male Medical Officer assisted by a lady Doctor. There is also a Fauji Foundation Day care centre Hospital which is contributing a lot in the field of HealthCare. It was established in Bhaun by the efforts of Brig(R) Muhammad Iqbal.Nazeeran BiBi Welfare Dispensory has recently been established by Maj (Rtd) Amin Minhas, Amir Tehreek Feham ul Quran.

Education

• Presently there are two Higher Secondary Schools, one for boys and other for girls. Pre-partition there were also two High Schools, Sanatum Dharum High School and Khalsa High School, both for boys. Govt. High School Bhaun was under controle of Disttrict Counsil Jhelum and was named "D.C High School" in early seventies it was taken over by Punjab Govt.Many old students of GHS Bhaun are in Pakistan Armed Forces, telecom and IT companies and a no. of other fields.
• Fauji Foundation School is also providing quality education and it has given very good results in SSC examination 2008, the Highest score of this session was 746 by Muhammad Ali Sibtain roll number 098731, Mohsin Ali Khan secured 718 marks in SSC examination 2008.
• Nexus School is one one of the most known school of Bhaun. And it aims to provide quality education to both boys and girls at bhaun.

Employment & Professions

Due to limited local opportunities , majority of the professionals and educated young people are employed in larger cities and range from professions in health care, law, IT, telecom, automotive, education, banking, pharmacuticals and other government and private sector indiustries. There is a significant number who continue to make a mark in serving the armed forces of Pakistan - both in ranks and as officers. There is a significant number who are employed overseas and make a significant contribution to the well being of their extended families back home.

Shopping & Markets

The village still operates the century old 'mandi' - this is a daily wholesale market where the fresh vegetable produce is auctioned to local retail shop keepers. There is a central 'bazaar' which runs almost a kilometer and established more than a century ago. Lately, there have been many other markets and most prominent amongst them are those located on the main road around the two bus stops. One such market is Gondal Market and is owned by Mohammad Sadiq Gondal and houses Bhaun's Utility Stores branch. The other market that has recently been renovated and expanded and also located on the main bus stop of the village is Haji market owned by the sons of late Haji Buland Khan (Haji Buland Khan was reputed to have the village's first car in mid fifties). Haji Buland Khan was also a soldier of the English Army and was held a prisnoer on French soils by the Germans. Four soldiers successfully escaped the German prisons; whereas, Late Buland Khan(may Allah bless him with the heaven's comforts) was the only one that survived the escape. Upon his return to his homeland, Buland Khan was awarded with several reputable medals, land, and money. Abdul Nadeem Khan is one of Haji Buland Khan's sons who is now successfully running his own business and a College which promotes women's education and success. Abdul Nadeem Khan is also a renowned chairman of Islamic Association in Chakwal.

Successful Professionals from Bhaun

People from Bhaun have made their mark on national and international level in various walks of life and professions. There a numerous role models who can inspire the youngsters of today to seek a better future for themselves and their familieis. The list below is by means exhaustive but provides a birds eye view of the achievements that people from this village are capable of:

Armed Forces

Bhaun has contributed many sons to the Armed Forces of both India and Pakistan. Lt Gen Ijaz Ahmed Bakhshi who is a Corp commander is the highest ranking army officer of this town. His younger brother Brigadier Sajjad Ahmed Bakhshi, a very promising officer of Pakistan Army also made his mark in the service. He served as Contingent Commander Pakistan Army under United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone from July 2003 to January 2005.Their father, Haji Maqbool Ahmed Bakhshi, also served in in one of the very illustrious units, 5 punjab ( Sherdils) Regiment from 1939 to 1963. He was one of those few soldiers who were sent on secondment to Oman by Pakistan Army in early 1960s. Indeed a splende achievement in those days. Their uncle Major Mushtaq Ahmed Bakhshi died in 1967. His son Colonel Manzoor Ahmed Bakhshi served as Station Commander Nowshera and Deputy Commandant Signals Centre Kohat. Other prominent names include Brig (R) Mohammad Iqbal Minhas,Brig (R) Muhammad Iqbal (FRCP) ,an eminent physician of Army medical corps, Brig Mohammad Khan, Brig (R) Tasadduq Hussain, Brig Asif Ali Khan, Col (Late) Anwer Khan, Major (R) Muhammad Aslam Raja ,Major (Shaheed) Hasnain Anwer, Col Syed Waqar Hussain, Major Hassan Akhtar, Major (R) Soba Khan and Major (R) Zafar Hussain. Malik Madad Hussain served Pakistan navy for a very long time and he was an integral part of Pakistan navy's submarine project and worked in collaboration with french engineers in France.These are just few names from hundreds of Bhaunvis who were recognized at the national level by their institutions and more and more officers of this village keep getting to higher military positions.

Education

Professor Moazzam Minhas, Professor Salim Awan, Professor (R) Anwar Baig and Professor (late) Zulfiqar Hussain are some of the names who made their mark at colleges and universities. Dr. Hussain Malik (late)(PhD) was Chairman of Economics Department, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Dr. Javed Humayun(PhD) is working in Economist Group of Planning & Development Division, Government of Pakistan. Another present day and prominent educationsit who served in district's edcuation management and now contributes to local schools in teaching and management is Asif Ali Khan. The village is also attributed to have many more male and female teachers who continue to make their contributions to improve the society both by serving within the village.

Journalism

Qazi Ghulam Hussain of Bhaun was Assistant Editor of Moulana Zafar Ali Khan's "Daily Zameendar" Shorish Malik was resident editor of Daily Jang and Malik Asad Hussain is a prominent journalist based in the Capital and worked for NawaiWaqt and Khabrain besides being the author of a book on Shaheeds of Pakistan army.

Multinational Companies

Late Meer sahib worked for Siemens, Waqar Hussain and Farhat Abbass are two prominent names in the pharma industry and Qasim Ali Khan is an international executive with General Motors Corporation (GM) and served in Middle East, Africa, Latin America, USA and Russia. Other automotive professionals include Mahmood Al Hasan and Khalid Hussain who are respected engineers working for Ford Motor Company in the USA.

Law

Chaudhry Zahoor Hussain ex special judge,Chaudary Mazhar Hussian Minhas and Chaudhary Ameer Muhammad Khan are respected members of Pakistan's judiciary. Mohammad Iqbal Minhas (late) retired as revenue commissioner of Rawalpindi. Lawyers include Chaudary Hasnain Shaukat and Chaudary Zulfiqar Ali Khan, chaudhry Imran amongst many others.

Engineering and IT

Engr. Malik Muhammad Nauman is serving in PAEC and is currently seeking higher education abroad. Rashid Mehmood is serving in Adamjee Insurance Company Ltd as Network Administrator for Punjab & N.W.F.P. regions. Robeel Shaukat is serving in Heavy Mechanical Complex Taxila and Malik Yasir Hussain is working in NUST HQ Karachi.

Finance and Banking

Some of the prominent names in this profession include Chaudary (Late) Mohammad Iqbal, Chaudary Kamal Khan, Malik Manzoor Hussain, Tassadaq Hussain Awan, Malik Jahan Khan, Malik Ghulam Haider, Ashraf Awan, Malik Naveed Haider, Malik Sumair Hassan (CA) and Adeel Akhtar who is a CIA and currently part of a World bank project. Khurram Shahzad Malik cSAP,CA is a Director of Finance with an Internatinal company in Canada and Mr. Sohail Ikram is the Financial Controller of Arabian Drilling Company in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Health Care

Chaudary Masood Safdar (DHQ Rawalpindi), Chaudary Masood Ali Khan (England), Dr Javed Hussain (although not originally from Bhaun but has now settled here and is part of the community)

Politics

Bhaun is a lively mix of varying points of view and everyone respects others political and religious views: The Major politician from Bhaun was former MPA Late Raja Nazar Hussein Kiyani, some of the other prominent names in politics Malik Mohammed Aslam, Farooq Cheema, Ch. Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Ch. Ashraf Malang, Ch. Sarfaraz Ali Khan, Ch. Tanveer, Zahid Hussain Gondal, etc.

Pakistan International Airline(PIA)

Bhaun is also in the lead for its contributions towards PIA. Imtiaz Ahmed Bakhshi, brother of Lieutenent Ijaz Ahmed Bakhshi, was one of the pioneers of Pakistan International Airlines. He mostly served at Rawalpindi where he became a legendary figure because of his helping attitude towards every one. As a token of respect and love he was known as BABA Bakhshi, right from his young days. Imtiaz Bakhshi died in December 2008. Nazar Kiani was another prominent figure of PIA. Besides holding important assignment in PIA he was also active member of the PIA politics.Raja Ameer was yet another prominent figure of PIA. He died at an early age in mid eightees

Pioneers of Cultural Change

Bhaun Got few people who contributed in many good works and helped the poor people by providing facilities like education and social sport. Bhaun was known for its contributions towards the Armed Forces and local business activities. People of Bhaun due to lesser education opportunities used to serve mostly in the ranks, barring a few , who during British Regime availed opportunity to become officers despite less education . However the young generation in early sixties gave a new dimension to the culture of the village. Young and dynamic students like Imtiaz Bakhshi, Manzoor Bakhshi (later Colonel), Iqbal Minhas(later Brigadier), Zaffar Cheema, Raja Ameer, Asif (ritered from PAF) and many others, brought a revolutionary change in the thinking of younger generation by attaining higher education and adopting promising careers. They were the people who introduced cricket and other sports in Bhaun.Rather than abandonong the education at an early stage and accepting the minimum they opted to persue higer education and venture into new jobs like banks, PIA, CSS and revenue department.