About Quadian ( Qadian )

Qadian (Punjabi: (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi); Hindi: , IPA:[qadian]) is a small town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated 18 kilometres (11mi) north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India. Qadian is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. Qadian was established in 1530 by Mirza Hadi Baig, a religious scholar dedicated to Islam and the first Qazi within the area. Because of his religious beliefs, he named the new town 'Islam Pur Qazi'. Over time, the name of the town changed to 'QaziMaji' (the word "Maji" means Bull referring to the animal still found in abundance in Qadian). Later, it was named just 'Qadi' and eventually, it became known as Qadian. In 1834, during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the region consisting of Qadian and five other adjoining villages were given to Mirza Ghulam Murtaza Ahmad, father of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. A remote and...