History of Qila Sobha Singh (Ahmadabad): The Sikh Fort and Historical Railway Hub. Important historical and research points: Fort Sobha Singh was founded in the late 18th century by Sardar Sobha Singh of the Sikh Bhangi community. The mud and solid brick fort of the town was for a long time the headquarters of defense and financial administration. During the British rule, the grain market of Qila Sobha Singh was considered to be the largest commercial market in the region. After the creation of Pakistan, its official name "Ahmedabad" was suggested after the local public movement and prominent personality Ahmed Din. Sardar Sobha Singh and the construction of the fort Located just a few kilometers away from the main town of Tehsil Pasrur, the town of Qila Sobha Singh has a unique historical position. In the mid-eighteenth century, when the centralization of the Mughal Empire weakened and the Sikhs came to dominate the Punjab, the influence of the Bhangi Muslim was established in the region of Lahore and Sialkot. Sardar Sobha Singh, son of the powerful Sardar Bhag Singh, built a strong fort at this place. According to Kanhaiya Lal's well-known book Tarikh-e-Punjab (1877), Sardar Sobha Singh used this fort as a military cantonment and administrative stronghold to consolidate his control over the surrounding villages and collect revenue. The strong wall and guard towers of the fort were a reflection of the defense needs of the era. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's occupation and expansion of the grain market In 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore and founded the United Sikh Empire, later the forts of Sialkot and Pasrur were also subordinated to the Lahore Darbar. By the end of the Sikh period, the town of Qila Sobha Singh had become a major trading town with extensive trade in pottery, cloth weaving and grains. Railway line 1915 and economic revolution When the North Western Railway completed the Sialkot, Pasrur and Narowal broad gauge railway section, Qila Sobha Singh railway station became an important stop. Due to this, the grain market of Qila Sobha Singh became one of the leading markets of Punjab, from where rice and cotton goods were exported to Karachi port through vehicles. History of the establishment of Pakistan and the name Ahmedabad During the bloody partition of August 1947, the non-Muslim population moved to India from Fort Sobha Singh, while the oppressed refugees from East Punjab settled here. In later years, recommendations were made to change the name of the town to Ahmedabad, however, both names are still known and spoken interchangeably in railway schedules and public parlance. 📚 Historical sources and official records: History of Punjab: Rai Bahadur Kanhaiyalal, published in Lahore 1877. The Punjab Chiefs: Sir Lepel H. Griffin (1865), Biographical Historical Notices of the Principal Families. Sialkot District Gazetteer (1920 Edition): Statistical Tables and History of Municipalities. North Western Railway Chronology: Historic Stations & Route Opening Records (1915-1916).