About Gujranwala

City in Punjab province, Pakistan, 65 km/40 mi north of Lahore; population (1998) 1,124,800. It is a centre of trade in oilseed, oranges, rice, sugar, and wheat. Grain trading and pottery, and a ceramic institute has been established. There are tanneries and silk and textile processing, as well as electric fan production and rice milling. It is situated on the Grand Trunk Road which links Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) with Peshawar. It is a former Sikh capital and the birthplace of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh kingdom, which once extended from the Khyber Pass to the Himalayas. His ashes, and those of his father, Mahan Singh, lie in a tomb in the city.