Nankana Sahib, a small and newly declared district in central Punjab, has had a revered history of more than 550 years. Established in the fourteenth century by a Bhatti raja, it was called Rai-Bhoi-di Talwandi till Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born here on April 15, 1469. He died on September 22, 1539, and the town was not only christened after the respected figure but also became a pilgrim spot for the last 500 years for the over 22 million Sikh diaspora spread around the world.

For over half a millennium, this sleepy town remained a lost part of district Sheikhupura — the largest district of Punjab — till three tehsils of it were taken away in May 2005 to create the new district. Most of the administrative pundits in Punjab were, and still are, of the opinion that it was more a political decision rather than an administrative one. Otherwise, a town that hardly had any economic, industrial or agricultural clout, never merited for secretarial services that were to follow the decision.

Till then, it lacked even basic road infrastructure. “Travelling to Nankana Sahib was more of an experience in off-roading,” says Kafeel Ahmad, an old resident of the town. One had to change a few local buses to get to the town even when huge road development took place in other parts of the district, like the building of the dual-track Lahore-Faisalabad road.

Lethargic farming may come under pressure owing to better road connectivity as farmers will be compelled to respond to new economic opportunities for survival

Being tucked deep in the district for centuries is reflected in its agricultural profile. Out of a total 456, 661 acres (Pakistan Economic Survey), wheat claims 322,000 acres and rice 270,000 acres, completing the agricultural picture of the entire district. Even if more than once sown acres are factored in, the total cropped area for the entire year is stuck at 773,887 acres. “It goes beyond comprehension why the district is producing two traditional crops when it is sitting between two biggest markets of the province, if not the country ie Lahore (62km) and Faisalabad (58km),” wonders Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, vice-chancellor of Agriculture University (Faisalabad). The entire district is fertile, canal and tubewell irrigated and had the biggest markets in the vicinity. Why has it not gone, or is going, for high-value crops like vegetables and fruits? It was among the first areas that were treated under the Salinity Control and Reclamation Programme in the middle of the last century. The district was reclaimed and freed of salinity. Even after that heroic effort, the cropping pattern stays fossilised, Mr Khan regrets.

“Most of the subsoil water in the district is saline, with pockets of better quality,” explains an official of the Irrigation Department. In irrigational terms, it is called “marginal to fit category.” Water is available at the depth of 25 to 30 feet in most areas, which means it does not cost much to pump it out. Tubewell density (19,161 in total) explains how people are utilising subsoil water. Some parts of it (Syed Wala, falling at the conjunction of Faisalabad, Sheikhupura and Okara districts) fall on the right bank of River Ravi and has good quality water.

A local official of the agriculture department explains the reason behind this laid back agriculture. “It is largely because of big landholdings and absentee farming, especially in Nankana tehsil. Many of the big landlords do live in cities like Lahore, now only a one-hour drive away, and have left farming to their tenets. However, things are much better in two of its tehsils (Shahkot and Sangla Hill), where farmers are more progressive and innovative. They even experimented in tunnel farming but lost steam when they suffered losses. People next door (Sharaqpur, a tehsil which is still a part of Sheikhupura) have done it though. They made a good name and money in guava, and of late in strawberry, production and its farmers are much better off. Farmers in Nankana are, however, still to take that route. With road connectivity improving and the availability of examples of successful crops next door, things may start looking up shortly, he hopes.

“In fact, agriculture in any area is a result of three factors; climate, market and technology. Nankana has always lagged behind technology and still does. Poor road connectivity never allowed it to look beyond its own borders. Without technology and market, climate hardly matters. Take the example of maize. When the silage industry started developing early last decade, the farmers went for maize. In 2014-15, the district had sown maize on 146,600 acres, which was down to 63,000 acres last year because the farmers suffered losses; the industry refused to collect the crop from here due to freight factors. With road network now improving, along with motorway connectivity, the district may abandon its old ways of agriculture, hopes Khalid Mahmood of Shahkot.

The district, however, has made a name in industrialisation, especially one of its tehsils called Shahkot. Falling right on the Lahore-Faisalabad road, the town has seen massive industrial growth in the past three decades. According to the data of the Punjab Industrial Department, twelve textile mills now adorn the area. They are in addition to 151 rice mills, one sugar mill, 12 marble factories, five flour mills and 92 brick kilns. All these industrial units provided much-needed employment and place the district a few notches above many districts on a provincial industrial scale.

However, they are also turning out to be a double-edged sword now and massive housing schemes are now altering the agricultural landscape. Small towns like Shahkot are turning into massive, messy and duty dwellings as they follow no town planning. These unplanned and unapproved housing schemes are de-shaping the historical towns to their core. A range of hilly areas near Shahkot has already disappeared as the government needed gravel for road building and investors for housing colonies.

Apart from industry, the district also makes money from religious tourism. Hundreds of thousands of Sikhs throng to the area every year for pilgrimage. “The cultural tone of the city is set by the Sikh presence in the area. On a daily basis, hundreds of them used to come to visit the residency of Baba Guru Nanak and Gurdwara Janam Asthan. This decrease owing to Covid-19 but it is now beginning to regain momentum,” says Tajamal Hussain, a shopkeeper near the Gurdwara. Most of the city monuments like colleges and, of late, a university are named after Guru Nanak and give the city its identity, he says. The annual pilgrimage on birthday celebration is a huge boost to local businesses when thousands of them converge in the city. Even in the worst days of tourism, Sikh tourism has survived, which can only be welcomed, he claims.

The livestock landscape is a bit better here with a large animal population that the provincial census says is 468,816. The smaller animals are 156,641 and backyard poultry number 165,396. The district has 66 poultry sheds. Some of them have already opted out of business as they suffered losses. “There is hardly any investment coming into the livestock sector anymore as,” says farmers whose losses are mounting.

“In the final analysis, this lethargic farming may come under pressure with better road connectivity and farmers are compelled to respond to new economic opportunities for survival and it remains the only hope,” Dr Iqrar concludes. Even the industrial development in the area is a pre-motorway phenomenon when Lahore-Faisalabad road changed the profile of the area. Otherwise, even this industry could not have been here. Let’s hope new pressures change old ways of living here.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, November 29th, 2021