History of Pasroor
Akbar was the first Mughal emperor to recognise
and give a land grant which later came to be known
as Pasrur.
Akbar sought military and financial help from Raja
Maan Singh to conquer the land of Punjab to expand
his empire. Upon successful victory, he
distributed large parts of fertile land to Raja
Maan Singh. Raja Maan Singh did not want to go and
live in Punjab. He recognized that his importance
will be felt only if he is present in Akabar's
court all the time. Therefore he, in turn
distributed parts of the fertile Punjab valley to
many of his financial supporters.
A Jain merchant trader from the town of 'Oshowal'
(Oswal in Marwar in India, who had financially
supported Raja Maan Singh was granted a large part
of fertile land which is now Pasrur. The Jain
merchant had to move to and live in Pasrur in
order to avail of his grant. This was gladly
accepted and he became the 'Zamindar' of the area
of Pasrur.
The new owner of the land brought many farmers
from his home town and from neighbouring areas to
till the land. Slowly a small town developed in
the area. Despite his enormous wealth from tax
collections, the Zamindar re-established his old
trade as a Cloth merchant in and around Pasrur
villages. This came in handy during periods of
famine when the farmers of the area could not pay
taxes.
One of the descendants of the original Zamindar
was 'Baba Dharam Dass'. Baba Dharam Dass owned a
horse and used to travel from village to village
selling his clothes. Once on such a trip, he was
murdered. His tomb is located on the other side of
the creek named 'Deoka' (or is it Degh?) just
outside Pasrur boundary. Two different replicas of
'Baaba Dharam Dass's tomb have been made by his
descendants, one near the town of Meerut, 60
kilometres from New Delhi and other just on the
outskirts of the city of Ludhiana in Punjab,
India.
Most Jain descendants of Baba Dharam Dass, worship
him as their ancestor and invoke him during life
ceremonies.
Akbar was succeeded by his son, Jehangir. Jehangir
often used to travel to Kashmir during summer. On
one such visits, he took a stop over in what is
now called Pasrur. He enjoyed the wine and the
beauty of Pasrur for a few days and uttered the
word 'Pur Suroor' to appreciate his stay and
intoxication he had there. Since then, the place
was known as Pur Suroor and over a period of time,
the name was shortened to its present name 'Pasrur'.
In 1807, Maharaja Ranjit Singh attacked Quitbuddin
and after winning the battle, annexed Pasrur in
his state. According to Sikh history, between
1500-1506, their founder Guru Nanak had visited
the Mughal king Babur in Saidpur (modern Eminabad,
Pakistan), and after that Guru Nanak returned to
Sialkot via Pasrur. According to Punjabi Munch,
Guru Nanak revisited Pasrur again on his second
journey in 1517-1518.
In 1894, Maria White of Grover City, Mercer
County, Pennsylvania - USA founded a dispensary
near Pasrur where she worked and ended her medical
career.
Economy
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for
the people in Pasrur. Many people go to Sialkot,
the nearest big city, to work in leather, garments
and sports factories. Pasrur is also famous for
clay pots manufactured here though clay pottery
contributes relatively less to Pasrur's
economy.there a pharmceutical manufacturing
company "CANDID
PHARMACEUTICAL"www.candidpharma.com and a sugar
mills at sial kot road pasrur.
[edit] Baba Dharam Dass Tomb
Pasrur has a famous tomb of a Jain Baba, Baba
Dharam Dass who is the ancestor of most Jains
living in Pasrur. His tomb is now in ruins. Last
recorded visit to the tomb was made by some Jains
from Delhi in 1980's to retrieve a few bricks from
it to incorporate in the replica's of the Baba
Dharam Dass tomb made one in Meerut and another in
Ludhiana in India. It is the author's opinion that
this tomb is located in the vicinity of the
Gurdwara Manji Sahib in Pasrur in Deoka.
A Jain merchant trader from the town of 'Oshowal'
(Oswal in district Marwar in the state of
Rajasthan in India) who had financially supported
Raja Maan Singh was granted a large part of
fertile land which is now Pasrur. The Jain
merchant had to move to and live in Pasrur in
order to avail of his grant. This was gladly
accepted and he became the 'Zamindar' of the area
of Pasrur.
The new owner of the land brought many farmers
from his home town and from neighbouring areas to
till the land. Slowly a small town developed in
the area. Despite his enormous wealth from tax
collections, the Jaamindaar re-established his old
trade as a Cloth merchant in and around Pasrur
villages. This came in handy during periods of
famine when the farmers of the area could not pay
taxes. One of the descendants of the original
Jaamindaar was 'Baba Dharam Dass' whose tomb is
located on the other side of the creek named 'Deoka'
(or is it Degh?) just outside Pasrur boundary. Two
different replicas of 'Baaba Dharam Dass's tomb
have been made by his descendants, one near the
town of Meerut, 60 kilometres from New Delhi and
other just on the outskirts of the city of
Ludhiana in Punjab, India.
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