Chiniot, the youngest of the districts in Punjab, belongs to the oldest of civilizations. Given the status of a district only in February 2009, it has many tales about its longevity in human inhabitation. Its foggy history tells that Alexander the Great travelled through the area on his way back to Greece. History books also claim that the area was inhibited when Mohammad bin Qasim invaded Sindh and then travelled up to Multan. Some graves of the companions (sahaba) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) only lend credibility to the claim of people living here since Islam started spreading to the subcontinent.

Situated on the left bank of River Chenab, Chiniot’s historical and cultural diversity include traces of a Buddhist school on the rocky hills here, dating back to the Taxila era. The existence of many Hindu temples shows that a significant number of Hindus lived here. Some Sufi shrines on the bank of the river reflect the presence of Muslims. This historical and social diversity, perhaps, gives it its current tolerant culture despite being situated in the hotspot of sectarian and religious pressures.

According to archival claims, Chiniot was established by Nawab Asadullah Thaheem _ a resident of the area and finance minister of Mughal king Jahangir.

The area has always been agricultural-centric. A small district of half a million acres, historically, has been a twin-crop tale: wheat for food security and sugarcane for feeding three sugar mills. Small areas also went to cotton, but it has lost the battle to maize and, of late, rice. Still, more than half of the area goes to wheat.

According to the Punjab Crop Reporting Service records, 253,000 acres went to wheat in 2019-20. Sugarcane consumed 112,000 acres, rice hogged 101,000 acres and maize was spread over 55,000 acres till last year. Cotton was completely wiped-out last year when its acreage hit zero.

Centuries of history and cropping experience, however, has pushed farmers into a comfort zone and they have refused to innovate

The centuries of history and cropping experience, however, has pushed farmers into a comfort zone where they have refused to innovate, at least as much as they did in other areas, says Babar Hassan Bharwana, former secretary forest Punjab. The district has all that it takes to produce all kinds of crops. It remained with wheat and cotton till the latter failed all over the country and became a national pariah; only then Chinioti farmers started experimenting with rice and maize. One hopes that situation would change, but only if these big companies also start investing in the crop sector and bring in the machinery required. There are few big landlords in the area, but generally, it is small farm holdings, which makes it unqualified for bigger investments and machines. That is where businesses or government has to step in, he concludes.

Since the entire district is situated along the riverbank, it has harvested many ecological benefits: fertile lands, sweet subsoil water, an elaborate canal system and centuries of experience in nurturing crops. The combination of all these factors ensures that the average yield in crops like wheat, maize and sugarcane is better than many other districts in the province.

Though Chiniot has leaned towards agriculture and livestock because of its proximity to the river, the abundance of water and thick forests along the river and alluvial plains, in the last 150 years it has turned out to be exceptional in business as well.

The words “Chinioti Sheikh” have assumed meaning of their own in the business community, which is synonymous with innovation, expansion and success _ phenomenal in some cases. The long list is led by none other than the Nishat Group of Companies, which now has a presence in almost all major sectors including textiles, banking, cement, hospitality, insurance, power generation, agriculture, dairy and paper products. With eight listed and 31 unlisted companies, it is owned by Mian Mansha, who hails from the area.

The Sapphire Group, with three dozen industrial units spanning textile, power generation and dairy products, falls next in line and influence in the industrial world of Pakistan. The Crescent Group of Industries and Din Group also belongs to the area. These are a few examples sitting on the top of dozens more big groups that add to the export sector, national income and respect.

At the more social and local level, over 5,000 woodworks units give the district, and its headquarter Chiniot, a unique place in Pakistan. The success of the furniture industry has not been any less daunting even when compared to these big groups. For the last century and a half, Chiniot made a name for itself, and later Pakistan, with the finest woodworks that gave it reputation and clientele around the world.

Both Buckingham Palace and Taj Mahal have contributions by artisans from Chiniot and are prime examples among many more. The harbingers of industry came from India but soon developed skills to beat their rivals in Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar — and never looked back. Since woodwork was a symbol of power and richness in Mughal architecture, Chiniot had ample opportunities to expand its industry and refine its labour force.

Rajas from Kashmir provided the next inspiration when they started floating timber downstream River Chenab to be caught by the locals, turn it into gates of palaces, carvings for windows and pillars and furniture for their luxurious life and send it back. Italian wood carving and training further refined the business and artisans. Almost a 100-year-old tradition of making Tazia (a replica of the tomb of Imam Hussain) was the result of local artisanship.

“Woodwork has been our way of living and a lifelong passion for over 100 years,” says Sheraz Ahmad — a local businessman, who deals in furniture. It is true that early artisans came from India and later got inspired by the Italian carving skills, but the local industry has now started innovating as well.

Along with crops, the district has also excelled in livestock. According to Pakistan Economic Survey, this small district has close to one million large animals. It is also one of those districts in the province, which still has almost doubled the buffalo population (626,230) than cattle (360,589). Smaller animals also number around 222,221.

Its venture into commercial dairy farming is also picking up the pace by the day, largely because big industrial houses like Nishat and Sapphire groups of industries have led the way in this sector as well, setting examples for others. In order to feed these groups, big farms (like Sharif Farms, with over 2,500 animals) have started coming up. The sheer size bespeaks of potential that area offers. There are a number of farms with more than 100 animals and smaller ones even more.

“The area, being connected to the entire country with an elaborate road network and falling in the middle of the province with forests and culturable waste number around 10,000 acres, along with district-wide riverine area, offers huge potential for animal raising, claims Mohammad Nawaz, who is involved both in livestock and crop sector. Though the district is late in livestock venture but with money to buy modern technology, it can certainly make up and leapfrog many generations.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, November 8th, 2021