Choa Khalsa

Choa Khalsa
چوآ خالصا
Town
Interactive map of Choa Khalsa
Coordinates: 33°24′39″N 73°28′47″E / 33.41083°N 73.47972°E / 33.41083; 73.47972
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab, Pakistan Punjab
DistrictRawalpindi
TehsilKallar Syedan
UCChoa Khalsa
Population
 (2017 Pakistani census)
 • Total
97,623
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+6 (PDT)
Area code051

Choa Khalsa is a town and union council of Kallar Syedan Tehsil, Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan. Before 2004, this town or village was part of Kahuta Tehsil. The town consists of 800 houses. On 1 July 2004, Choa Khalsa became a union council. This region is also generally called the Pothohar Plateau.

History

The word "choa" means water spring, and Khalsa is related to Sikhism. Khalsa is a strict Sikh religious order founded in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh. The term "Khalsa" is an Arabic word. There are various interpretations of the term "Khalsa. One general meaning of the term is "free from impurities" or "pure". This term is also defined as the land or estate that belongs directly to the king, without any intermediary claims of lords, nobles, or farmers to the same in the Rawalpindi District. Some villages go by the name of Dera Khalsa, Thoha Khalsa, or Choha Khalsa. They were so named because they were state-owned villages during Sikh rule in the Potohar region of northwestern Punjab.

Choa Khalsa village is located about 60 km from Rawalpindi city.

It was one of the villages affected by the Rawalpindi Massacres of March 1947, where the local paramilitary force of the Muslim League National Guards attacked this village, looted, raped, and forced local Sikh women to convert to Islam. A total of 150 Sikhs were killed This barbaric attack set in motion a mass killing spree throughout the Punjab region. Many Sikh women chose to drown themselves in a well in an act of mass suicide.

Villages

Choa Khalsa Circle Union Councils

Choa Khalsa is center of six union councils.

UC numberUnion councilPopulation
(2017)
UC24 Nala Musalmana 00,00
UC25 Manyanda 00,00
UC26 Samote 30000 approximately
UC27 Choa Khalsa 00,00
UC28 Kanoha 14000 approximately
UC 29 Doberan Kallan 00,00

After Delimitation 2018, the Choa Khalsa Circle, which includes 6 Union Councils of Kallar Syedan Tehsil comes under NA-58 (Rawalpindi-II), National Assembly.and in PP-7 (Rawalpindi-II) for the Punjab Assembly.

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Rawalpindi District population blockwise including Choa Khalsa (scroll down to page 41 of 143)" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "RAWALPINDI: Kallar Syedan starts functioning as tehsil". Dawn newspaper. 2 July 2004. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Singh, Ajmer (23 October 2022). "The March Massacre in Pothohar (including in Choha Khalsa village)". The Tribune (Chandigarh) newspaper. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2025.