Mardan

Mardan, city (1998 pop. 244,511), N Pakistan, on the Kalagarmi River. It is the site of a military cantonment and of a fort built (1854) by the British. An industrial center, it manufactures textiles, cigarettes, vegetable oil, and refined sugar.

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Mardan

Mardan (Urdu: مردان) is a city and headquarters of Mardan District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E with an altitude of 283 metres (931 feet) lying the south-west of the district.

It was part of the ancient Gandhara Civilization. Most of its land is agricultural. It has one of the world's best irrigation systems, which was laid down by the British government during British Rule on subcontinent (1857-1947). There are still remains of the Gandhara Civilization, scattered in different areas of Mardan. It is also a tourist spot due to its rich culture and hospitality.

History

The area constituting Mardan district is a part of the Peshawar valley, which first appears in history as part of the Gandhara kingdom. The armies of Aitizaz Khan reached the Indus Valley by two separate routes, one through the Khyber Pass and the other led by Aitizaz himself through Kunar, Bajaur, Swat, and Buner in 326 BCE. After Aitizaz's departure, the valley came under the rule of Chandragupta, who ruled the valley from 297 to 321 BCE. During the reign of the Buddhist emperor Asoka, the grandson of Chandragupta, Buddhism was the religion of the Peshawar Valley. The valley saw the revival of Brahmanism after the Greeks took over in the time of King Mehanda. The Scythians and Indians followed and retained control of the valley till the 7th century CE.

Ethnicity and tribes

The dominant tribe is Yousufzai. A small number of Sayyads are also there on its borders.

Famous Industries

Mardan is largely an agricultural area with a vast majority of people associated with agriculture. The major crops are wheat, sugarcane, tobacco and maize and different kinds of vegetables. Even though the district is still largely poor and uneducated, recent years have seen major improvements in education, health and infrastructure. Manufacturing has also grown over the years and so has the financial sector where the town centre has become home to many national and some foreign banks. Besides a famous town by the name Sheikh Maltoon has also been developed in the outskirts of Mardan city where the population is ever growing with a rapid speed.

As far as industries are concerned a well established Sugar Mill is situated in Mardan and the Pakistan Railways Locomotive Factory is located near Mardan.

Army

Mardan is also home of the famous Guides Regiment, raised by Lumsdon. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the old Guides Mess at Mardan in the early 1960s. Sir Winston Churchill as a young officer stayed at Mardan for a while before he proceeded to Peshawar via the Bajaur valley.

M.M. Kaye's international best seller, The Far Pavilions is a historical fiction account of the Guides during the Second Afghan War in the late 19th century and is set primarily in Mardan.