Chak 217 GB

Agriculture land was allotted among peasant families from 1898 to 1920. In the local Punjabi language, Pind is the word for village. This village was numbered 217 of GB (the abbreviation of Gugera Branch Canal, a part of the Punjab Irrigation Department system developed by the British during their occupation from 1862 to 1898). The word Chak derived from Chak, a Sanskrit word denoting a circular demarcated piece of land.[3] It may also relate to every village having a central well with a wooden circular lid (also called chak) on it.

Numberdars or Lambardars, or sub-administrators, who were appointed by the British Government during their rule, were awarded 12.5 or 25 acres of extra agricultural land called Lambar Dari Murruba. They used to bear official expenditures during officials' visits to the village on certain occasions or police officials during criminal investigations. Even today, these inactive posts are under their fourth generation with agricultural lands. In 1958, a grand mosque was built. The same year saw the first batch of four jawans recruited to the Pakistan army, as well as the imposition of martial law, by dictator Ayyub Khan. A substantial number of immigrants from the Indian Punjab migrated during the years 1947 to 1949, significantly increasing the population of the village. Relatives of immigrants who were present in the village provided shelter and food and shared their agricultural lands in a show of love and harmony during the hardship of this time.

There is a famous village fair, called (Urs), near Chak No. 217 GB, which takes place every year and starts on the ninth of February. For ancestors, this was the only recreational festival of the entire year. The Urs is a time to remember the teachings of a Sufi saint from almost a century ago.

Most of the population here are Gujjars. Some emigrated from Hoshyarpur in 1898, during Sandal Bar colonization,[4] and others mostly from 1947 to 1950, after the partition of India into India and Pakistan.

Some major sub-castes (or gotras) are Oddery, Lalwaan, Kissana, Khatana, Koli, and Chechi.

Earlier, during the settlement of agricultural lands, people lived with their livestock on their lands outside the village. Life was often strenuous for men and women alike. Women ordinarily woke early at dawn to grind the wheat for flour and were entirely responsible for the upkeep of the household and yard. Village women also churned yogurt to extract butter and buttermilk.

• Virdee, Pippa (2018). From the Ashes of 1947. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-42811-8.