bhera history
Bhera is a town in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located on the Jhelum river in Sargodha District, at latitude 32.48 N, longitude 72.92 E. Pop. (1901) 18,680. It is the terminus of a branch of the North-Western Railway. It is an important centre of trade, with manufactures of cotton goods, metal-work, carving. Bhera was founded about 1540 on its present site, but it took the place of a city on the opposite bank of the river, of far greater antiquity, which was destroyed at this period. Bhera is located on the mid of Lahore-Islamabad motorway (M2) at the left bank of river Jhelum near Southern Salt Range in Sargodha District. Before independence 1947, it was located in Shahpur District. Bhera is surrounded by green fields and its importance increased due to Motorway passes near Bhera. The most important Mohallas or localities of old Bhera are the Pirachagan Mohalla, the Sethian wala Mohalla, the Sahnian wala Mohalla.Mohallah Shah Naseebi Daryi Bhera,Mohallah Bohriwala ,Mohallah Ali Batta."Bhera" is a Sanskrit word which means: "a place where there is no fear".According to the "Ancient Geography of India" by Alexander Cunningham Bhera was once known as Jobnathnagar.The palace of Sopeithes which the Greek historian Arrian mentions as the place on the Hydaspes is supposed to be at Bhera. The Greeks refer to the Jhelum river as the Hydaspes River where Alexander fought Porus in Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326BC. It was at this battle that Alexander's famous horse Bucephalus was killed . The Kukhran Khatris are a group of eleven specific clans of Punjabi Khatris who originally hailed from the town of Bhera in Punjab. Till the time of the partition of India in 1947 Bhera had a mixed population consisting of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities. The refugees who came to India settled in Delhi , Punjab and other cities of Northern India . N.Delhi continues to have a colony called Bhera town where a section of these refugees were resettled . Bhera was also home to the Mohyal tribe who also claim Porus. Bhera is a historical city. Mahmud of Ghazni In his attack on Waihind (Peshawar) in 1001-3, is reported to have captured the Hindu Shahiya King Jayapala and fifteen of his principal chiefs and relations some of whom like Sukhpal, were made Musalmans. At Bhera a great many inhabitants, except those who embraced Islam, were put to the sword. Its markets and streets are narrow. There is a circular road around the city. Old Bhera was situated on the right bank of the River Jehlum, on the opposite side new Bhera is located. There are heaps of ruins of old Bhera and remains of its markets and streets can still be seen on the other bank of the River Jehlum. Old Bhera was destroyed in 1545 because of the disputes among the Pathan forces, and was rebuilt at the present location, that is the left bank of the River Jhelum. Sher Shah Suri was the founder of the new city. When he visited the old city, he was distressed upon seeing the destroyed areas. He camped at the left bank of river Jehlum, near Qaimnath's hut, and constructed the first building there. He also constructed the Shahi Jamia Mosque in the new city, which rivals the Shahi Jamia Mosques of Delhi, Agra and Lahore in beauty. Sher Shah Suri made a road, along which he built an "Eidgah" and water tanks for the passengers. 1300 years ago, many Muslim saints passed by Bhera which became famous in the whole of Asia. Businessmen and scholars arrived first and then many Afghan and Central Asian conquerors such as Mahmud Ghazni, Shahab ud Din Ghori, Mughal Babur and Ahmed Shah Abdali attacked or passed through the city in their campaigns. Along with other things, peacocks were also presented to Hazrat Suleman. The people of this area were well educated. The people of other cities and countries had been learning Tib, etc. from here. Alexander the great after conquering Iran and passing through the Hindu Kush, reached the Punjab and came to the River Biyas and then turned back from there. Bhera earned a great status during the Mughal rule. Mughal emperor Zaheer-ud-din Babur mentioned this town in his famous book, Tuzk-e-Babri. The town had to face destruction when Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) defeated Humayun and the Pathan forces took their revenge on the then pro-Mughal town of Bhera.
