Chak

Chak is a common toponym in the Punjab regions of Pakistan and India, referring to villages or settlements. The term is especially associated with canal-irrigation colonies established under British rule. In these areas, villages were laid out along irrigation canals and were designated as Chak, often followed by a number or alphanumeric code to indicate their location within a canal tract. The use of Chak as a village name continues in contemporary administrative records, with many villages bearing the name in whole or as part of a longer name.

In India and Pakistan, Chak villages form part of district and tehsil level geography. While the core idea is a settlement associated with a canal, the precise administrative arrangement varies by region and era. Some Chaks may be small agrarian communities, while others have grown into larger rural settlements with schools, markets, and local governance structures.

The term Chak appears across multiple languages of the region, including Punjabi and Sindhi, reflecting its historical and cultural roots in canal-based land distribution. It is not a single place but a category of localities that share a common origin in canal colonization.