2nd Border Regiment, Multan 1890 (forum archive)

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Posted by plbramham » 25 Feb 2012, 17:34

plbramham General Global moderator Posts: 1369

Where is Multan, posting of 2nd Btn 1890? Multan (or Mooltan) was a well-known military cantonment of British India, (now in the Punjab province of Pakistan.) The cantonment is a mile east of the city. It was usually occupied by a British infantry plus a battery of artillery, and two regiments of native infantry. Inside the fort is a 70 feet obelisk in memory of two British officers, Mr. Vans Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson, who were murdered in April 1848 at the outbreak of Mulraj's rebellion. In 1881 the population in the city and suburbs was 57,471, or including cantonments 68,674. Multan’s Fort, which was destroyed by British forces remains only as a ruin. It was on a high mound of earth in the middle of the city. There is a park called the Fort Qasim Park. It has some memorials from the Raj era The colour "khaki" was also known as "Multani Mitti", meaning “mud of Multan” From Encyclopedia Brittanica 1911: “MULTAN, or Mooltan, a city, district and division of British India, in the Punjab. The city is 4 m. from the left bank of the Chenab. It has a station on the North-Western railway. Pop. (1901), 87,394. The city is enclosed on three sides by a wall, but open towards the south, where the dry bed of the old Ravi intervenes between the houses and citadel. Large suburbs have grown up outside the wall since annexation in 1849. The cantonments form the headquarters of a brigade in the 3rd division of the northern army. Multan manufactures carpets, silk and cotton goods, shoes, glazed pottery and enamel work, and an annual horse fair. It is moreover one of the most important trade-centres in the Punjab. It is a station of the Church Missionary Society. After the establishment of the council of regency of Lahore, difficulties arose between Mulraj, son and successor of Sawan Mal, and the British officials, which led to his rebellion, and culminated in the annexation of the whole of the Punjab. The city of Multan, after a stubborn defence, was carried by storm in January 1849. The district at once passed under direct British rule, and order was not disturbed even during the Mutiny. The Division Of Multan is the south-western division of the Punjab. It was abolished in 1884, but reconstituted in 1901. Its area is 29,516 sq. m. and its population in 1901 was 3,014,675. It includes the six districts of Mianwali, Jhang, Lyallpur, Multan, Muzaffargarh, and Dera Ghazi Khan.”

Posted by plbramham » 31 Oct 2012, 17:49	plbramham General Global moderator Posts: 1369
Images from Multan postcards c.1910 The Old Fort The Club Eed-Gah Mosque Blue and White Tile Mosque

Posted by kerchi » 04 Feb 2013, 18:02

Kerchi Field-Marshal Administrator Posts: 2160 In memory of John Bardgett (15309 L/Cpl.) 11th Border Regiment Who died 1st July 1916.

Great images of Mooltan (that's how I prefer to say it). Do you ever find that you prefer to pronounce and/or spell place names etc. as they were at the time before Governments changed or modernised their names? Or is it just me? Bombay will always be Bombay to me even though I know it is now Mumbai. Maybe our reading and researching of subject matters during certain periods provides a way of making us feel more comfortable with the way names were spelt and pronounced at the time.