About Faisalabad

Encyclopedia
Faisalabad , formerly Lyallpur , city (1998 pop. 1,977,246), NE Pakistan, in a cotton- and wheat-growing area. It is an important transportation and commercial center, especially for grains, cloth, and ghee (clarified butter). Manufactures include textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemical fertilizer, bicycles, textile machinery, hosiery, flour, sugar, vegetable oil, and soap. The city was founded by Sir James Lyall c.1895 and named in his honor. Punjab Agricultural Univ., several colleges affiliated with the Univ. of Punjab, and numerous experimental farms and cattle-breeding stations are in Faisalabad.


History

The city was founded by the British in 1892 by Sir James Lyall for whom it was originally named Lyallpur. Prior to the British making the area into an urban center, it largely consisted of various villages. The city-center of Lyallpur (Faisalabad) was designed to model the British Flag, with a large clock tower in the center and eight bazaars around the clock tower. The construction of various canals allowed the area to be irrigated. After the founding of the city, people were invited to the city with promises of land if they were to work it. This allowed the city to grow rapidly.

In 1977 the name of the city was changed to Faisalabad in honor of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia who had been assassinated.