Where the cultivated fields of southern Punjab give way to the rolling dunes of the Cholistan Desert, the city of Bahawalpur rises with an air of faded royalty. For more than two centuries it was the seat of the Nawabs, a line of rulers who turned a frontier town into a capital of palaces, libraries, and gardens. Today it remains one of the most distinctive cities of Pakistani Punjab, a place where desert silence meets ornate domes and arches, and where the heritage of a princely court still shapes the streets and the imagination of its people.
A City Founded by Nawabs
Bahawalpur was founded in 1748 by Nawab Bahawal Khan I, after whom the city is named. He belonged to the Daudpotra family, which traced its lineage to the Abbasids and had migrated northward from Shikarpur in Sindh. Settling his kinsmen on lands fed by the canals of the region, Bahawal Khan established a dynasty that would rule for generations. The city he founded became the political and cultural heart of a state that, at its height, stretched across tens of thousands of square kilometres along the Sutlej and into the deep desert beyond.
The Princely State of Bahawalpur
For nearly two centuries Bahawalpur was the capital of an autonomous princely state, one of hundreds of such kingdoms that dotted the subcontinent under British paramountcy. The Nawabs of the Abbasi dynasty governed their territory with considerable independence and were honoured with a high gun salute. The state was distinctive in southern Punjab for its scale and its careful cultivation of canal-irrigated land, which brought prosperity to a region otherwise bordered by arid wastes. This long period of stable, dynastic rule allowed the Nawabs to invest in architecture, education, and the arts in ways that still define the city.
Accession to Pakistan
When British India was partitioned in 1947, the princely states faced the choice of joining India or Pakistan. The last ruling Nawab, Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V, moved swiftly, and Bahawalpur is often described as among the first states to accede to Pakistan, with the agreement signed in early October 1947. The Nawab was notably generous to the new nation, donating large sums and supporting its early institutions. The state retained a measure of autonomy until 1955, when it was merged into the wider province of West Pakistan, ending its separate existence but not its sense of identity.
Noor Mahal and the Palaces
The most enduring legacy of the Nawabs is their architecture. Chief among the city's monuments is the Noor Mahal, a graceful palace completed in 1875 that blends European and subcontinental styles into something unmistakably regal. Nearby stand the Darbar Mahal, built in the early twentieth century, and the Gulzar Mahal, each a study in arches, courtyards, and ornamented facades. Alongside these palaces the Nawabs endowed libraries, public buildings, and gardens, leaving Bahawalpur with a civic grandeur unusual for a city on the desert's edge.
The palaces of Bahawalpur stand as quiet witnesses to a court that prized learning and beauty as much as power.
Cholistan and Derawar Fort
Beyond the city lies the Cholistan Desert, a vast expanse of red and golden dunes known locally as Rohi. Rising from this sea of sand is the immense Derawar Fort, its great bastioned walls forming a near-perfect square visible for miles. The fort was a stronghold of the Nawabs and remains one of the most striking monuments in the region. Cholistan is also home to a vivid nomadic and pastoral culture, and each year the desert hosts a celebrated jeep rally that draws crowds across the dunes near Derawar, blending modern sport with an ancient landscape.
The Saraiki Heartland
Bahawalpur sits firmly within the Saraiki-speaking belt of southern Punjab, and Saraiki is the mother tongue of most of its people. This linguistic identity, distinct yet closely woven into the wider tapestry of Punjab and its Punjabi Dialects, gives the region its own music, poetry, and devotional traditions. The folk songs of Cholistan, the rhythms of the desert, and the spiritual verse associated with the area all carry a flavour particular to this corner of the land. For families now spread across the world through The Punjabi Diaspora, Bahawalpur and its desert remain a cherished homeland.
Crafts, Learning, and Living Heritage
The cultural life of Bahawalpur is also expressed through its crafts. Cholistani artisans are known for their handwoven textiles, embroidery, carpets, and distinctive pottery, skills passed down through generations of desert communities. The city's commitment to learning, rooted in the patronage of the Nawabs, endures most visibly in the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, which grew from an institution founded in the 1920s into a major centre of education in southern Pakistan. Together, its palaces, its desert fortress, its language, and its living crafts make Bahawalpur a city where royal heritage and folk tradition continue to share the same horizon.