Renala Khurd Tehsil
تحصیل رینالہ خورد تحصیل رینالا خُرد | |
|---|---|
Tehsil | |
 | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Region | Punjab |
| District | Okara District |
| Capital | Renala Khurd |
| Union councils | 18 |
| Government | |
| • ishaq | Muhammad ishaq |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
Renala Khurd is an administrative subdivision (tehsil) of Okara District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is administratively subdivided into 18 Union Councils, two of which form the tehsil capital Renala Khurd.[1]
Renala Khurd city was established in 1914. Before that time, Mughal king Akbar along with his son Saleem and the royal entourage stayed in Dipalpur and passed through this region to pay homage to Farid Ganj Shakar in 1578. Akbar named the corridor as 'Bari Doab' by combining the syllables of the names of two rivers, Beas and Ravi, that bounded the belt.
Previously in this region there were acres of barren and unirrigated land with trees of malah, and it was formerly known as Malah Walah. A part of Renala Khurd is naturally deprived of the underground sweet water. People in this region rely on canals as the main source of irrigation, as tube-wells, unlike other parts of the district, only pour out salty water which spoils the land. Traces are also found of a long range of ruins, called Dhaya in local language, which, according to popular myth, are the remains of some unknown ancient city which may have been engulfed by the river Biyas. These ruins give a mysterious look – something like a blend of desert and tiny hills, and also serve as the hideout for thieves and robbers
In 1849, the British occupied this area. The British Indian Army built Canal Loar-Bari-Doo-Aab and colonies with the help of imported migrant labour employed to clear and develop the forest and scrub land. In the era of the British Raj, brilliant irrigation network of canals were established all over the Punjab and extending into Sindh.
After the 1947 partition, the Pakistan Army took control of the major portion of irrigated land left by the army of the British Raj on which it established its own farms and maintaining the tenants. One of the largest of these farms is that in Okara, spread over 17,000 acres (69 km2) of prime land.
The peasant migrants were promised ownership once it was rendered arable, but as it turned out to be the most fertile and rich of the provinces; the army reconsidered, retained ownership of the land and settled the migrants as tenants. In 1913, Renala Khurd Stud State Farm leased out 5,000 acres (20 km2) of land to the Punjab government to cater to the needs of the army for horses, fodder and dairy products, and the tenancy agreements continued. Renala Khurd is famous for its horses, and horses from Renala Khurd Stud State Farm have won international derby races many times.