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Mardan

For other articles with the same name, see Mardan (disambiguation).

Mardān (Pashto and Urdu: مردان; Urdu pronunciationⓘ; Pashto: pronunciationⓘ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan.[6] Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar).[7][8] It is a fast-growing city that experienced a population boom in the latter half of the 20th century.

Mardan
مردان
City
Mardan's Guides Memorial was built in 1892 to honour fallen soldiers who fought during the 1879 Siege of the British Residency in Kabul
Mardan's Guides Memorial was built in 1892 to honour fallen soldiers who fought during the 1879 Siege of the British Residency in Kabul
Mardan is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Mardan
Mardan
Location within Pakistan
Mardan is located in Pakistan
Mardan
Mardan
Mardan (Pakistan)
Coordinates: 34°12′4.4″N 72°01′33″E / 34.201222°N 72.02583°E / 34.201222; 72.02583
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DistrictMardan
TehsilMardan
Government
[4]
 • TypeMayor-council
 • BodyDistrict Government
 • MayorHamayatullah Mayar[1] (ANP)
 • CommissionerSyed Abdul Jabar Shah[2]
 • Deputy CommissionerHabibullah Arif[3]
 • Deputy Inspector General of PoliceYaseen Khalil[2]
Elevation
310 m (1,020 ft)
Population
 (2017)[5]
 • City
368,302
 • Rank25th, Pakistan
2nd, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
 Mardan Municipal Committee: 363,788
Mardan Cantonment: 4,514
Time zoneUTC 5 (PST)
Calling code 92 937
Websitemardan.kp.gov.pk

Around 1800 BCE, the area around Mardan was part of the homeland of the Gandhara grave culture. Rock edicts of the ancient Indian King Ashoka in the nearby Shahbaz Garhi, written in the right-to-left Kharosthi script, date from the Mauryan period (mid-200s BCE) and represent the earliest irrefutable evidence of writing in South Asia.[9] The nearby Takht-i-Bahi which has remains of an ancient Buddhist monastery was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.[10]

History

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Historical Population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 48,827—    
1961 77,932 4.79%
1972 115,194 3.62%
1981 147,977 2.82%
1998 245,926 3.03%
2017 358,604 2.01%
2023368,302 0.45%
Source: [11][5]

Mardan is located in a region rich in archaeological sites. In 1962, the Sanghao Caves were discovered outside of Mardan, which yielded artefacts from the Middle Paleolithic period,[12] over 30,000 years ago. Other sites in the immediate area have yielded evidence of human activity from the Upper Paleolithic period.[12] Further excavations from the area around Jamal Garhi near Mardan recovered artefacts from the Mesolithic period.[12]

 
The Edicts of Ashoka were carved on a massive boulder near Mardan around 250 BCE.
 
The Takht-i-Bahi complex near Mardan dates from the first century CE.

The area around Mardan then formed part of the homeland of the Gandhara grave culture around 1800 BCE. The Gandharan grave culture appears to have been a Central Asian group that may represent part of the Indo-Aryan invasion into the subcontinent.[13] Mardan then formed part of the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Gandhara. Rock edicts of Ashoka in nearby Shahbaz Garhi date from the Mauryan period in the mid-200s BCE, and are written in the ancient Kharosthi script.[9]

 
The Seated Buddha, dating from 300 to 500 CE, was found near Mardan, and is now on display at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

The nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Takht-i-Bahi was established as a monastery around 46 CE. The Bakhshali manuscript, which contains the earliest record of the use of the number 0 in the Indian subcontinent,[14] was found near Mardan in 1891, and dates from the third or fourth century CE. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Indian mathematics. The nearby Kashmir Smast caves served Buddhist hermit monks, and dates from the fourth to ninth century CE.

 
Guides Memorial

During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Mardan was not a scene of heavy fighting as many of the native troops had been disarmed by British forces.[15] Mardan's famous Guides' Memorial was established in 1892 to honour fallen soldiers who fought during the 1879 Siege of the British Residency in Kabul. The city's Women's Hospital was established in 1906.[16] In 1920, Mardan was visited by Sir Charles Monro, head of British armed forces in British India.[17] Until 1937, Mardan District was a part of Peshawar District, when it was elevated to the status of its own independent district.[18] During the Viceroy's visit in 1946, large numbers of Mardan residents travelled to Peshawar to participate in a Muslim League rally in favour of Pakistan's establishment.[19] The Mardan Museum was established in 1991 to showcase the region's rich ancient history.

In July 2020, life size statues of the Buddha was found during construction activity in the Mardan area. However, local Muslim civilians from the area took it on their own hands to destroy these findings. The culprits also posted their vandalism on social media, which resulted on their arrest by the Pakistani authorities. The findings are part of the ancient Indian Buddhist past of the area and related to the Gandhara Mahajanapada.[20]

Demographics

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Gulbahar Village Mardan

Mardan is the de facto headquarters of the Yousafzai tribe of Pashtuns with a significant number of Mohmand, Utmankhel, Tareen, and Khalil tribe members have settled in the city over the years.[21][22][23] The population of Mardan city over the years is shown in the table below.[5]

According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, the city of Mardan had 368,302 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These inhabitants were spread out among 51,429 households, making the average household size in Mardan 7.89.[5] Mardan experienced explosive growth throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, as the population of Mardan grew fivefold in just 50 years. The city's growth has, though, over time, slowed down by quite a bit, and between the years of 1998 and 2017, its population only grew at about 2% every year.

Religious groups in Mardan City (1881−2017)[a]
Religious
group 		1881[25][26][27] 1901[28][29] 1911[30][31] 1921[32][33] 1931[34] 1941[24] 2017[35]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam   1,616 58.42% 1,569 43.92% 5,477 61.34% 5,890 53.89% 19,579 74.5% 30,301 71.31% 356,580 99.32%
Hinduism  [b] 829 29.97% 1,283 35.92% 1,892 21.19% 3,220 29.46% 3,605 13.72% 5,851 13.77% 288 0.08%
Sikhism   295 10.67% 683 19.12% 1,465 16.41% 1,679 15.36% 2,927 11.14% 6,014 14.15% — —
Jainism   0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% — — — —
Christianity   — — 37 1.04% 95 1.06% 141 1.29% 168 0.64% 282 0.66% 1,863 0.52%
Zoroastrianism   — — 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% — —
Judaism   — — 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% — —
Buddhism   — — 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% — — — —
Ahmadiyya   — — — — — — — — — — — — 141 0.04%
Others 26 0.94% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 46 0.11% 152 0.04%
Total population 2,766 100% 3,572 100% 8,929 100% 10,930 100% 26,279 100% 42,494 100% 359,024 100%

Education

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There was no public or private sector university in Mardan until 2009. The first public sector university, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan was established in 2009.[36] In 2016, a public sector women university Women University Mardan[37][38] started functioning while in 2017, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar Mardan campus was upgraded to full-fledge university and named University of Engineering and Technology Madan.[39][40][41]

Bacha Khan Medical College, Mardan, which was established in 2010, is the city only medical college.[42] There is also a campus of University of Agriculture, Peshawar, which is named as Agriculture university Ameer Mohammad Khan Campus Mardan.[43]

There are also two Postgraduate colleges in Mardan, one each for boys and girls. Government Post Graduate College Mardan, which was established in 1952[44] while Government Post Graduate College for women Mardan was established in 1963.[45]

There are numerous public and private Schools and colleges for Boys and Girls in Mardan. Among them, the most renowned and famous is Fazal e Haq Mardan.[46]

Geography

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Mardan is located in the south west of the district at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E and an altitude of 283 metres (928 ft).[47] Mardan is a district headquarter of Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Risalpur is located to the south, Charsadda is located to the west, Yar Hussain to the east and Takht Bahi & Katlang to the north. It is the second largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[48][49][6] while 19th largest city of Pakistan.[50]

Climate

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With an influence from the local steppe climate, Mardan features a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The average temperature in Mardan is 22.2 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 559 mm. October is the driest month with an average rainfall of 12 mm, while the wettest month is August, with an average 122 mm of precipitation.

June is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 33.2 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 10.0 °C.

Climate data for Mardan
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 17.7
(63.9) 		19.0
(66.2) 		24.0
(75.2) 		30.1
(86.2) 		36.3
(97.3) 		41.4
(106.5) 		38.5
(101.3) 		36.5
(97.7) 		35.3
(95.5) 		31.6
(88.9) 		25.1
(77.2) 		19.4
(66.9) 		29.6
(85.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 10.0
(50.0) 		12.2
(54.0) 		17.2
(63.0) 		22.7
(72.9) 		28.2
(82.8) 		33.2
(91.8) 		32.3
(90.1) 		31.0
(87.8) 		28.8
(83.8) 		23.2
(73.8) 		16.2
(61.2) 		11.0
(51.8) 		22.2
(71.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.3
(36.1) 		5.5
(41.9) 		10.4
(50.7) 		15.3
(59.5) 		20.2
(68.4) 		25.1
(77.2) 		26.2
(79.2) 		25.5
(77.9) 		22.3
(72.1) 		14.9
(58.8) 		7.4
(45.3) 		2.7
(36.9) 		14.8
(58.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 47
(1.9) 		53
(2.1) 		67
(2.6) 		44
(1.7) 		20
(0.8) 		17
(0.7) 		88
(3.5) 		122
(4.8) 		45
(1.8) 		12
(0.5) 		14
(0.6) 		30
(1.2) 		559
(22.2)
Source: Climate-Data.org[51]

Economy

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Mardan is part of a growing industrial centre,[52] and is home to textile and edible oil mills, as well as one of the largest sugar mills in South Asia.[52] An economic zone is planned as a part of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) near Rashakai. Although Rashakai is part of Nowshera District, its proximity with Mardan is expected to directly benefit the city[53][54]

Sports

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In 2006, Mardan District government with the help of Government of Pakistan created a sports complex in Mardan city.[55] The complex, Mardan Sports Complex, has facilities for all major sports such as cricket, football, field hockey, swimming, and basketball. The swimming pool facility was built in 2011[56] while an international standard hockey turf was constructed at the sports complex at the cost Rs. 67.69 million in 2016.[57][58] Pakistan international football player Mansoor Khan is from Mardan. Prominent international cricketers born in Mardan include Younis Khan and Fakhar Zaman Naseem shah.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 1881-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Mardan, which included Mardan Municipality and Mardan Cantonment.[24]: 19 
  2. ^ 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis

References

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  2. ^ a b "Chief secy reviews progress on Mardan uplift projects". Dawn (newspaper). 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Spurious drugs seized in Mardan". The News International (newspaper). 15 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  4. ^ "District Mardan". Department of Local Government, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
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  6. ^ a b Tehsils & Unions in the District of Mardan – Government of Pakistan
  7. ^ "Pakistan City & Town Population List". Tageo.com website. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  8. ^ Rammohan, E. N. (8 February 2010). The Implacable Taliban, Repeating History in Afghanistan. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789380177182.
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  13. ^ P., Mallory, J. (1991). In search of the Indo-Europeans : language, archaeology and myth. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500276161. OCLC 24710469.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  16. ^ "Zanana Hospital". Mardan. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  17. ^ Weekes, Colonel H. E. (19 December 2011). History of the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles: 1858 to 1928. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781781493335.
  18. ^ General Description Of The District Mardan Archived 14 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Pakistan Journal of History and Culture. National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. 2007.
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  24. ^ a b India Census Commissioner (1941). "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 10, North-West Frontier Province". p. 19. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215543. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881, vol. I." 1881. JSTOR saoa.crl.25057656. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
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  28. ^ "Census of India 1901. Vol. 1A, India. Pt. 2, Tables". 1901. p. 44. JSTOR saoa.crl.25352838. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
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  30. ^ Edward Albert Gait, Sir; India Census Commissioner (1911). "Census of India, 1911. Vol. 1., Pt. 2, Tables". Calcutta, Supt. Govt. Print., India, 1913. p. 23. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393779. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
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  33. ^ "Census of India 1921. Vol. 14, North-west Frontier Province : part I, Report; part II, Tables". 1921. p. 340. JSTOR saoa.crl.25430163. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  34. ^ Mallam, G. L.; Dundas, A. D. F. (1931). "Census of India, 1931, vol. XV. North-west frontier province. Part I-Report. Part II-Tables". Peshawar, Printed by the manager, Government stationery and printing, 1933. p. 257. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793233. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
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  38. ^ waqar (21 January 2015). "CM Pervez Khattak announces Women University in Mardan". Pakhtunkwa – Find News, Books, Poetry and Places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  39. ^ "UET Mardan campus upgraded to a university – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
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  41. ^ "UET Mardan campus to be upgraded into full fledge varsity, Atif". radiotnn.com. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
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  43. ^ "NEWS IN BRIEF". Dawn. Pakistan. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  44. ^ "Government Post-Graduate College Mardan – Online College Admission System, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa". admission.hed.gkp.pk. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  45. ^ "GOVT. Post Graduate College for women Mardan – Online College Admission System, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa". admission.hed.gkp.pk. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  46. ^ "Khattak says will revive lost fame of Fazal e Haq College Mardan". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  47. ^ Location of Mardan – Falling Rain Genomics Archived 2007-10-25 at archive.today
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  51. ^ "Climate: Mardan - Climate-Data.org". Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  52. ^ a b "Mardan | Pakistan". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
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  54. ^ "Rashakai Economic Zone – Technology City". Archived from the original on 9 August 2017.
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  58. ^ "Imran inaugurates Hayatabad Sports Complex". The Nation. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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