K. K. Aziz, Rahmat Ali: A Biography (Lahore: Vanguard Books, 1987). The book was first published in 1987; a later Sang-e-Meel edition is also available.
Sunday, 20 September 2026
Sunday, 6 September 2026
DG ISPR Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry addressed to students in The Islamia University Bahawalpur on 14 Jan 2026 (Ref #: 09)
DG ISPR Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry addressed to attendees from educational institutions at IUB.
PRO No. 16/26 dated 14.01.2026Directorate of Public Relations Islamia University of BahawalpurLt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations, visited Islamia University of Bahawalpur and addressed to the faculty, students and staff of Islamia University of Bahawalpur and other educational institutions of Bahawalpur Division in the main auditorium.
🏛️ Bahawalpur in 1839: What Was the Daily Wage of a Labourer? (Ref:08)
A contemporary historical report describing the economic conditions of Bahawalpur states:
“The daily wages of a labourer are from 1 ana to 5 anas.”
In other words:
A labourer earned between 1 and 5 annas per day.
Original Historical Report — Google Books
🪙 What Was One Anna Worth in Gold?
Under the Gold and Silver Coinage Act (Act XVII of 1835), a Gold Mohur was valued at 15 rupees and contained 165 grains of pure gold.
On this statutory basis:
1 rupee ≈ 0.7128 grams of pure gold
and:
1 anna = 1/16 rupee ≈ 0.04455 grams = 44.55 mg of pure gold
| Daily Wage in Bahawalpur (1839) | Gold Equivalent | Approx. Modern Value* |
|---|---|---|
| 1 anna | 44.55 mg | PKR 1,744 |
| 2 annas | 89.10 mg | PKR 3,488 |
| 3 annas | 133.65 mg | PKR 5,232 |
| 4 annas | 178.20 mg | PKR 6,976 |
| 5 annas | 222.75 mg | PKR 8,720 |
* Based on an approximate 24K gold price of PKR 39,138 per gram in Pakistan on 6 September 2026.
📜 Historical Significance
Using the 1835 statutory gold-to-rupee relationship, the reported daily wage of a Bahawalpur labourer can be expressed in today's gold prices as approximately:
🔹 Minimum: PKR 1,744 per day
🔹 Maximum: PKR 8,720 per day
It is important to clarify that PKR 1,744–8,720 was not the actual wage in 1839. These are modern Gold-Equivalent Values, calculated by converting the historical anna into its statutory gold equivalent and then valuing that gold at today's Pakistani gold price.
A small figure from history gives us a remarkable glimpse into the economic life of Bahawalpur in the nineteenth century.
📚 Reference
Sir Alexander Burnes, Reports and Papers, Political, Geographical, & Commercial Submitted to the Government of India
Bahawalpur report, page 73:
“The daily wages of a labourer are from 1 ana to 5 anas.”
#Bahawalpur #BahawalpurHistory #HistoryOfBahawalpur #BritishIndia #HistoricalWages #EconomicHistory #GoldValue #1839 #BahawalpurHeritage
Bahawalpur's ancient Textile industry and exports abroad (Ref:06 & 07) بہاولپور کی قدیم ٹیکسٹائل انڈسٹری اور بیرون ملک برآمدات
THIS BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN BRITISH LIBRARY.
Saturday, 5 September 2026
PUNJAB AEROPLANE FUND (Ref:05)
PUNJAB AEROPLANE FUND
What it actually was: During World War I (around 1917), the British Indian province of Punjab ran a public fundraising drive called the "Punjab Aeroplane Fund" — provinces, princely states, and wealthy individuals across British India were encouraged to donate money to purchase military aircraft for the British war effort. Punjab's campaign was remarkably successful: it raised enough to fund more than 50 aircraft. The British then formally recognized this by naming a squadron the "Punjab Squadron" — the Imperial War Museum holds photographs of these donor-funded fighter planes in action, captioned: "Fighter aircraft donated by the Province of the Punjab... A 'scramble' of some of the pilots of the Punjab Squadron."
So the Nawab's £5,000 donation — recorded in the same Imperial War Museum catalog entry — was a personal contribution to this province-wide campaign, made when he was around 13 years old (he was born in 1904; the donation is dated 1917).
NAMED AIRCRAFT WITH PUNJAB SQUADRON
Friday, 4 September 2026
بہاولپورریاست کی اپنی ریلوے Bahawalpur State Own Railway (REF# 04)












