a village on the railway, was named Montgomery and became the capital of the district. During the period of British rule, Sahiwal district increased in population and importance. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, there was a general rising of the Rajput clans, the district formed the scene of the only rising which took place north of the Sutlej. Before the end of May 1857, emissaries from Delhi crossed the river from Sirsa and Hissar, where open rebellion was already rife, and met with a ready reception from the Kharrals and other Rajput clans. The district authorities, however, kept down the threatened rising till 26 August 1857 when jail prisoners made a desperate attempt to break loose. At the same time Rai Ahmad Khan, a famous Kharral leader, who had been detained at Gugera, broke his arrest and, though apprehended, was released on security, together with several other suspected chieftains. On 16 September they fled to their homes, and the whole country rose in open rebellion. Kot Kamalia was sacked. Major Chamberlain, moving up with a small force from Multan, was besieged for some days at Chichawatni on the Ravi. The situation at the civil station remained critical till Colonel Paton arrived with substantial reinforcements from Lahore. An attack which took place immediately after their arrival was repulsed. Several minor actions followed in the open field, until finally the rebels, driven from the plain into the wildest jungles of the interior, were utterly defeated and dispersed. The British troops then inflicted severe punishment on the insurgent clans, destroying their villages, and seizing large numbers of cattle for sale. The region was traversed by the main line of the North Western Railway, from Lahore to Multan. It is irrigated by the Upper Sutlej inundation canal system and from the Ravi. The Rechna Doab was long home to the pastoral Jats, who had constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. The sites of Kot Kamalia and Harappa contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins left by the Indus Valley civilisation, while many other remains of ancient cities or villages lie scattered along the river bank, or dotted the then-barren stretches of the central waste. The district comprised three towns and 1371 villages. Its population was 360,445 (1868), 426,529 (1881), 499,521 (1891) and 497,706 (1901). In 1901, 72% of the population were Muslims, while Hindus and