{{Infobox settlement | name = Gandava | native_name = | native_name_lang = | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = | image_alt = | image_caption = | etymology = | elevation_m = | population_as_of = 2023 | population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2017"/> | population_note = | population_total = 24,130 | population_density_km2 = | population_urban = | population_density_urban_km2 = | coordinates ={{Coord|28|37|N|67|29|E|type:city_region:PK|display=inline,title}}<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> | pushpin_map = Balochistan Pakistan#Pakistan | pushpin_label_position = left<!-- left, right, top, bottom, none --> | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{PAK}} | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Balochistan}} | subdivision_type2 =Division | subdivision_name2 =Nasirabad | subdivision_type3 = District | subdivision_name3 = Jhal Magsi | timezone1 = PST | utc_offset1 = +5 | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> }} '''Gandavah''' is a town that serves as the headquarters of Jhal Magsi District of Pakistan's Balochistan province.<ref name="Sindhi 2019">{{cite news |last1=Sindhi |first1=Shaikh Javed Ali |title=Heritage: A Fort and Refuge for Ancient Armies |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1523546 |access-date=8 April 2022 |work=Dawn |date=2019}}</ref> Located on a small hill in the middle of the Kach Gandava plain, Gandava is inhabited by a mix of Sindhi, Baloch, Pathan, Brahui, and Hindu communities.<ref name="Sindhi 2019"/> The town has a long history and several old architectural monuments including the Moti Gohram tomb, locally known as "the Taj Mahal of Baluchistan".<ref name="Sindhi 2019"/> Gandava also faces significant difficulties with needs like water, electricity, gas, healthcare, and education.<ref name="Sindhi 2019"/> As of the 2017 Census of Pakistan, Gandava Municipal Corporation has a population of 7,825 people, in 1,256 households,<ref name="Census 2017">{{cite book |title=Population and household detail from block to tehsil level (Jhal Magsi District) |date=2017 |page=1 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/bwpsr/balochistan/JHAL%20MAGSI_BLOCKWISE.pdf |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref> rising to 24,130 in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gandawa (Jhal Magsi, Balochistan, Pakistan) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/balochistan/jhal_magsi/2080101__gandawa/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}</ref>
== Name == The oldest name associated with the city is Qandabil, which appears in medieval Arabic sources.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> Supposedly the name derives from the sweetness of its drinking water.<ref name="Sindhi 2019"/> The present name Gandava first appears in classical Balochi poetry of the 15th century and has been widely used since the 18th century.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> A third name, Ganjaba, first appears in sources from the 16th century.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> It refers to "an abundance of water".<ref name="Sindhi 2019"/>
== History == Bheel was one of the very oldest tribe In Pakistan, Sindh and Gandawa (in Balochistan) was one of the provincial headquarters of the ''Bhil dynasty''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCqFAAAAIAAJ&q=Bhil+Dynasty |title=1998 District Census Report of [name of District|date=1999 }}</ref> According to legend, pre-Islamic Qandabil was founded by Bahman Ardashir to mark the boundary between the Indians and the Turks.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> Muslim armies first reached Qandabil in 644, but soon withdrew after hearing of the caliph Umar's death that same year.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> Qandabil was then controlled by the Brahmin dynasty of Sindh and became a refuge for Arabs fleeing from the Umayyad government.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> In 688, the Kharijite rebel Atiyya ibn al-Aswad al-Hanafi fled to Qandabil pursued by a section of al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra's army and they killed him here.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> Six years later, members of the 'Ilafi tribe killed Sa'id ibn Aslam, the Muslim commander of Makran, at Qandabil.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf sent Mujja'a ibn Si'r to punish the 'Ilafis in 904; they fled before he could reach them but he was able to subjugate "the tribes of Qandabil" who had probably been aligned with the 'Ilafis.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> From 704 to 711, Qandabil was held by Raja Dahir, who appointed his nephew Dhol as governor of Budhiya.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/>
In 711, the Muslims under Muhammad ibn al-Qasim decisively gained control of Qandabil, which became part of Muslim-ruled Sindh.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> In 720, al-Muhallab's rebelling sons fled to Qandabil, expecting to be given refuge, but their ally Wada' shut the gates and refused them entry and they were killed fighting against their pursuer Hilal ibn Ahwaz al-Tamimi.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> In 754 Arab tribes occupied Qandabil but they were driven out by the governor of Sindh, Hisham ibn 'Amr.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> Later, in 837, Qandabil was taken by Muhammad ibn Khalil, but 'Imran, governor of Sindh, recaptured the city and restored order.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/>
{{anchor | Kikan}} Medieval Qandabil was the capital of the district called Budha or Budhiya (which was named not because its inhabitants were Buddhists but rather because they belonged to the Budh ethnic group) and had the town of Kizkanan or Kikan, possibly the same as present-day Kalat, as one of its dependencies.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/><ref name="Le Strange 1905"/> The 9th-century writer al-Baladhuri described Qandabil as being on an elevated site in the middle of the plain, which matches the present-day description of Gandava.<ref name="Gazetteer 1907">{{cite book |title=Baluchistan District Gazetteer Series, Volume VI: Sarawan Kachhi, and Jhalawan |date=1907 |publisher=The Times Press |location=Bombay |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22668}}</ref> A century later, Ibn Hawqal described Qandabil as a large city standing alone on a plain where no date palms grew.<ref name="Le Strange 1905">{{cite book |last1=Le Strange |first1=Guy |title=The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia, from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur |date=1905 |publisher=Barnes & Noble, Inc. |location=New York |pages=331–2 |url=https://archive.org/details/landsoftheeaster028596mbp/page/330/mode/2up?q=kandabil}}</ref> Also in the 10th century, al-Istakhri described Qandabil as "the central market-place of the Budha hinterland, where 'the Budh people' sold their produce and obtained their supplies".<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> By the late 10th century, palm trees had been planted in the area around Qandabil – the anonymous author of the ''Hudud al-'Alam'' wrote that it was "a big city, prosperous and pleasant, producing large quantities of dates."<ref name="Baloch 1978"/>
In the second half of the 15th century, Gandava (as it was now called) became the capital of the Lashari Baloch confederation under alliance with the Samma dynasty.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> In 1518, Shah Beg Arghun occupied Gandava while on his way to conquer Sindh.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> The city later came under Mughall rule in 1574 and formed part of the ''mahal'' of Fathpur and was administered from Bukkur.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/>
Gandava was later ruled by the Kalhora dynasty.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> The city walls were repaired in the early 1700s by a Kalhora officer named Murad and were still standing in the 19th century but are now in ruins.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> In 1740, Nader Shah conquered the Kalhoras and transferred Gandava to the Khans of Kalat.<ref name="Baloch 1978"/> It remained under their control until 1955 and served as their winter residence.<ref name="Baloch 1978">{{cite book |last1=Baloch |first1=N.A. |editor1-last=Van Donzel |editor1-first=E. |editor2-last=Lewis |editor2-first=B. |editor3-last=Pellat |editor3-first=Ch. |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume IV (IRAN-KHA) |date=1978 |publisher=E.J. Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=90-04-05745-5 |pages=534–5 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/volume-5/Volume%204/page/533/mode/2up |access-date=8 April 2022 |chapter=ḲANDĀBĪL}}</ref>
== Demographics ==
=== Population === {{Historical populations|1951|...|1961|1748|1972|3007|1981|...|1998|8097|2017|7,815|2023|24,130|title=|type=|align=center|direction=|width=|state=|shading=|pop_name=|percentages=pagr|source=<ref name="histpop">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population_census/Administrative%20Units.pdf|title=AREA & POPULATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS BY RURAL/URBAN: 1951-1998 CENSUSES|publisher=Pakistan Bureau of Statistics|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref>}} As of the 2023 census, Gandava had a population of 24,130.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/table_2_balochistan_districts.pdf}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:Populated places in Jhal Magsi District Category:Jhal Magsi District Category:Populated places in Balochistan, Pakistan