Dina (town)
Dina (Punjabi and Urdu: دِینہ) is a city in Jhelum District of Punjab the province of Pakistan. Dina is one of the oldest towns in Punjab.
According to 2023 census, 50,737 people live in Dina, of which 34.12% were urban. Dina provided many soldiers to the British and later the Pakistan armed forces and is known as city of soldiers or land of martyrs and warriors.
Location
Dina is located near the Pothohar Plateau, in the north of the Punjab province. It is the heart of Jhelum district. It is bordered by Jhelum and Sohawa to its south, Rohtas City to its south west, Garh Mahal to its south and east, Mirpur to its east, Chakwal to its west, Mangla Cantt to its north east, and Domeli to its north. The district of Jhelum stretches from the River Jhelum almost to the Indus. Nearby villages include Mota Gharbi, Khukha, Gaggar Kalan, Gaggar Khurd, Natain, Khojki, Dhok Padhal and Dhok Gujral.
Dina is about 17 kilometres (10 mi) far from Jhelum and about 27 kilometres (20 mi) far from Sohawa 190 kilometres (120 mi) northwest of Lahore,70 kilometres (40 mi) southeast of Rawalpindi and around 103 kilometres (60 mi) southeast of Islamabad, at the junction of roads, one leading to the Mangla Dam and Mirpur, and another to Rohtas Fort and Tilla Jogian mountain. The historic Grand Trunk Road passes through the centre of the city.
Economy
There is limited industrial activity including woodworking, ironworking and marble processing. The main source of income for residents is remittances from relatives working in the UK and the Persian Gulf region. Many residents join the Pakistan Army. There is some small-scale agriculture with wheat and pulses as the main crops.
Salt is quarried at the Mayo mine in the Salt Range hills. The chief centre of the salt trade is Pind Dadan Khan. Two coal mines in the district supply the North-Western Railway. They are the only working coal mines in Punjab province.
History
Dina is the nearest town to the Pothohar Plateau, Mirpur which is rich in archaeological sites of the ancient Soanian culture.
Culture
The main languages spoken in Dina are Punjabi and Urdu. English is not understood by majority of the population.
Several poets and famous personalities were born in Dina, the popular Pakistani poet Zamir Jafri and the Indian poet Gulzar. Gulzar wrote the following lines for his birthplace:
Zikr Jhelum ka, baat ho Dine ki.
Chand Pukhraj ka, raat Pashmine ki
Transport
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The district is crossed by the main line of the North-Western railway of Pakistan Railways, and traversed along the south by a branch line. The district us also crossed by main road N5.
Education
- Farabi Foundation school
- Punjab College
- Reformer School System
- NLC
- Fauji Foundation School
- Bukhari College
- Govt. Higher Secondary School
- Govt. College
- Govt. Fatima Jinnah Degree College For Women
- Govt. High School Mian Mohalla
- Saracens Foundation High School
- The Educators
- Dar e Arqam
- Aspire Collage Gt road Dina
Notable people
- Gulzar, Indian film director, lyricist and poet
- Fawad Chaudhry, Former Minister of Information and Broadcasting (Pakistan)
- Chaudhry Altaf Hussain, former Governor of Punjab and member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
- Zamir Jafri, Kamran Pirzada Journalist,
References
- ^ "Jhelum District – Population of Cities, Towns and Villages 2017-2018". Politic. 15 November 2017. pp. 33–35. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Urban Resource Centre". urckarachi.org. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - South Asia - Rise of Pakistan's 'quiet man'". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Dina on map". Google Maps. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
- ^ Shahid, Jamal (22 February 2016). "Three million-year-old fossilised tusks found in Jhelum". Dawn. Retrieved 26 August 2018.