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Formerly a princely State-the first to join Pakistan in 1947 - the Division of Bahawalpur comprises the Districts of Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan and Bahawalnagar. At the mention of the name, the mind goes to the whole area as it has had a different cultural and historical background from that of the Punjab to which it now belongs. The ruler, under the suzerainty of the British and regulated by a Treaty signed in 1838, were more or less autonomous except in his relations with outside countries. The Amirs, as they were called, designated their State as Islamic. The Turkish Cap, representing the glory of Islam in Turkey, was adopted as the official headgear as it had been in the Aligarh Muslim University. Urdu was the State Language in which all the revenue and police records were kept. The Urdu press was patronized by the State and the number of Urdu Weeklies published in the State in 1956-57 was larger than in any other city of Pakistan.
The State of Bahawalpur is famous for its Islamic University and colleges. There is the Ouaid-e-Azam Medical College and the Sadiq Egerton College, the first seat of learning which completed its hundred years in 1986. The Jamia Masjid built by Amir Sadiq Mohammad Khan is in the heart of Bahawalpur Bazaar.
The palaces of the Amirs are located mainly in Dera Nawab Saheb at a distance of 22 miles from Bahawalpur. Derawar was the ancestral seat of the rulers of Bahawalqur. It is the gateway to Cholistan, which comprises 1,000 square miles. The Derawar mosque of marble is a thing of beauty, an exact replica of the Moti Masjid of the Red Fort of Delhi.
Bahawalqur has been a city of gardens and vegetables. Beyond its famous gates, there is a chain of gardens and vegetable farms catering to the needs of the people at an incredibly, cheap prices.
In Ahmadpur East is situated another Palace renowned as Sadiq Garh Palace which is in use by the decendants of the ex-royal family. This palace is the prettiest of the three palaces and is embellished with most delicate and intricate paintings, displays chandeliers, from all over the world, and big collection of carpets coming from all corners now stored lavishly in one of its halls' besides, armaments of European and Asian make and a number of other gifts that must have been showered on the ex-royal family of Bahawaipur from time to time.