Buddha Goraya

'Buddha' means 'old person' while 'Goraya' is a caste in Jatt clans. Originally, this word was formed when some elderly herders of the Goraya or Jat caste grazed their herds on this land at a time where it was full of meadows. Travelers took this as the milestone and an indicator of the right direction of their travel, further they started calling them Buddhay Gorayan De (oldmen of Goraya caste). Now, this is shortened to 'Buddha Goraya'. Erstwhile, it was also called 'Rammalli Gorayan Di' which is also a composite of 'Rah' (passage), 'Malli' (occupied), 'Gorayan Di' (by the Gorayas), that makes the etymological development more authentic.

Shrine of Pir Madha Shah Sultan

A 1955 U.S. Army Topographic Sheet Reference of the Buddha Goraya

According to stories, the Shrine of a Sufi sain 'Pir Madha Shah Sultan' built around 1700. There is also the Peer Salam's shrine. Some families have been living here for centuries.

There is Bhirr (mound of earth, remnants of settlement), that is said to be a village destroyed by the earthquake, about 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Buddha Goraya. Now, this is used as a PlayGround and also holds the graveyards of the villages of Dhair Virkan and Pipli Goraya. This destroyed village was the original village of the herders. After the destruction of the village, the survived evacuees settled in the surroundings of this village in their possessed lands. These settlements are now called after their names like 'Lonkay City, Dhair Virkan'(First Village of Virk Caste) 'Pipli Goraya', 'Saddu Goraya', 'Ratta Goraya', 'Chitti Goraya', 'Mahiya Goraya', 'Jajoki Goraya', 'Harchoki Goraya, Bupra Kalan Goraya, Bupra Khurd Goraya'. They were said to be brothers or cousins and were Hindus but when Sikhism flourished they converted to it. Sikhism was founded in the 15th century so it seems that this village has witnessed at least five centuries.

A village with the same name is also there in Sialkot district near Daska, which was also settled by one (perhaps who got married in Sialkot and decided to move there) of the same herders in memory of his kins in this very Buddha Goraya.

Its population is a blend of different religious sects and family clans. The majority is Muslim (Sunni 99.9% Shi'a 0.1%) whereas 5% of its total population is Christian; there is also a family of Ahmedis.

Other demographics include Rajput, mostly migrated from Talwandi Malak Patiala State (India), Jat local, Butt originally from Kashmir before partition, Dogar local, Kumhar or Rehmani local and some migrated, Shaikh or Qasab local, Mochi or Bhatti, Nai or Barber, Khokhar, Julaha and some others.

There is mostly harmony among all units but politically, there are some clashes and tussles.

A spring view of landscape of Buddha Goraya

Buddha Goraya is located at 32°2′26″N and 74°3′25″E (wikimapia). It is 228 m (748 ft) above sea level. It is 15 km (9.3 mi) from Gujranwala on recently built off-root of National Highway N-5 leading to Nowshera Virkan that is 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Buddha Goraya.

Buddha Goraya has all seasons of nature. It is on a plain with a smooth surface and beautiful landscape. Monsoon waters flourish its crops. Its climate changes quite drastically throughout the year. The summer periods last from May through to September where the temperature reaches 40–42 degree Celsius. The colder months are usually November to February. The temperature can drop to 5 degree Celsius on average. The highest precipitation months are usually July and August when the monsoon season hits the Punjab province. Whereas the other months the average rainfall is about 25 millimetres (0.98 in). The driest months are usually November through April where little rainfall is seen.

Being an agricultural area, most of its economy consists of seasonal crops. These include wheat, rice, potatoes, sunflower, watermelon, melon, pears, and some other vegetables and fruits are at the top.

In addition to farming, inhabitants of this area also work in the industry and in the public sector.

Some other sources include the cottage industry that includes carpet weaving which is exported to foreign by the local agents who usually purchase these from the local workers. There are also some factories for elastic (for multipurpose use, especially in garments) knitting.

Additionally, dairy farming is also one of the units of its economy. Although there is no dairy processing unit the dairy milk is sold in the local market and in Gujranwala as well.

Gurudwara Khara Sahib (Chhevin Patshahi) at Mattu Bhai Ke Near Buddha Goraya

Shrine of Pir Abdul Salaam Shah

This village has Punjabi culture although its population belongs to different areas. All the migrants have adopted local trends and lifestyles.

With changing trends in the region, there is also a change in lifestyle. Traditional Dhoti Kurta and Pagri is now being replaced with Shalwar Qameez and pant shirts. But yet the old Punjab can be seen in the old men and women.

Melas (fares) are now losing the audience.

The literacy rate of Buddha Goraya is 60%. Children are often sent to the city Gujranwala for education. People also think that there will be a college in their region so that their children can easily get an education. It will also help them to save money.

A secondary level school for boys was built in 1967 while a primary level school was already there in 1947, Seat of Principal of BPS.19 is still vacant since 2014. 10 Secondary School Teachers working here with 10 ESTs & 4 PSTs. Now the school is running under Incharge Principal (Senior SST 'Khalid Masood Chishti'). School also has a well-furnished Computer LAB working under 'Kamran Ali Virk' SST (IT). A primary level school for girls was built in the 1970s that was later promoted to secondary level in the later 1980s, It was further promoted to higher secondary level in 2009, but classes started after 7 years in 2016 due to lack of interest in education by local MPA and MNA.

Note: Number of ex-students of this school working on high government posts. A student of this institution named Shahid Yousaf studied here 2009–2011 and got the First Position in UET Lahore 2014.

'Buddha Goraya Public Library – BGPL' is recently established by the efforts of Mr. M. Ajmal Khan, Head of Library Services, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia—with a basic collection of over 2,000 books in the Urdu language. This will boost the literary environment given that locals are interested in visiting the library.

• Abdul Wakeel Khan (Late) and his son Shamshad Khan Ex-Members & Ministers of Provincial Assembly Punjab were residents of Buddha Goraya.
• (Retd.) Justice Lahore High Court Abdul Ghaffar Khan was also brought up in this village.
• 'Muhammad Aslam Khan' is a renowned mainstream international journalist, analyst and columnist writing for Nawa e Waqt نوائے وقت his Column Chopal چوپال published five days a week constantly. He has also served for Daily The News/Jang for twelve years as special investigative editor then he joined Express Group for six years. He started his career with Nawa e Waqt نوائے وقت. in the early 1990s he established a private news agency 'News wire Service Internews' in Islamabad during the late 90s. He is the recipient of 'Tamgha-e-Imtiaz' in recognition of his journalistic services for Pakistan on 23 March 2013. He articulates 'Chopal' (column) in ' The Daily نوائے وقت'
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• Baba-ji Muhammad Charagh Khan (late) ex-chairman union council and pioneer worker for the Govt. High School.
• Rana Muhammad Younas Khan (ex-Nazim)
• CH Zafar Ullah Goraya [ex-director of the family planning department in his region]
• CH Shoukat Hussain Goraya [chairman Zakat Department Nowshehra Virkan]
• Muhammad Ali Shaheed [Constable in Punjab police martyred in 2011, pride for his family and village. He was the son of Mr. Zia-ullah Goraya].
• Dr. Nasim Mansha Goraya [The first Dental doctor in this region He works in Rathore Hospital Chan-da-Qila]
• Chudary Gulbaz Goraya [candidate for MPA seat-101]
• Rana Iftkhar Ahmad [member of the chamber of commerce] international level businessman
• Dr. Nasir Mumtaz Goraya Dy Director Health
• Abdullah Naeem Goraya (Student Of Computer Science at University of Lahore)
• Rana Bilal Ghaffar Khan Advocate s/o Rana Abdul Ghaffar Khan Retired Judge he also belongs from budha goraya he has Lahore based brought up & continuing legacy of his father he is chairman Anti corruption & crime control Committee Lahore High court Bar Associations & also he is legal advisor for Evaquee Trust property board Pakistan, Federal board of revenue & Oil Gas Development Company Ltd Government of Pakistan.

• Wikimapia.org
• Lib.Utexas.edu