Hazara, Pakistan

Hazara is a valley and region located in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Until the year 2000
the region was an administrative subdivision of the NWFP known as Hazara Division, headquartered at the
city of Abbottabad.[1] However, the divisions were abolished in 2000, as part of an administrative shake up.
Although the administrative division has been abolished by the government, the identity and name have
been retained and used for other purposes. The election commission of Pakistan also groups the districts of
Pakistan under the former divisions. Five districts make up Hazara; these are Abbottabad, Battagram,
Haripur, Kohistan and Mansehra[2].

History
According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 13, p. 76: "The origin of the name Hazāra is obscure. It has
been identified with Abisāra, the country of Abisares, the chief of the Indian mountaineers at the time of
Alexander's invasion. Dr. Stein regards it as derived from Urasā, the ancient name of Pakhli. Another
possible derivation is from Hazara-i-Karlugh, or the Karlugh legion, which was settled in this tract by
Timur after his invasion of India."[3]
In spite of Imperial Gazetteer's above-quoted views, modern historians and distinguished Indologists
including Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee, Dr B. C. Law, Dr J. C. Vidyalankar, Dr M. Witzel,
Dr M. R. Singh and Prof K. N. Dhar concur with Dr Stein's identification of modern Hazara with the
ancient Sanskrit name Urasa [4].
Evidence from 7th c Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang [5] combined with earlier evidence from Mahabharata [6]
attests that Hazara District of Kashmir had formed part of epic Kamboja and that the Kamboja rulers of this
region observed republican system of government [7].
Alexander the Great and Ashoka
Alexander the Great, after conquering parts of Punjab, established his rule over a large part of Hazara. In
327 B.C., Alexander handed this area over to Abisaras (Αβισαρης), the Raja of Poonch state.
Hazara remained a part of Taxila during the rule of the Maurya dynasty. Ashoka was the Governor of this
area when he was a prince. After the death of Ashoka’s father, Bindusara, Ashoka inherited the throne and
ruled this area as well as Gandhara. Today, the famous edicts of Ashoka, inscribed on three rocks near
Bareri Hill, serve as evidence of his rule. These edicts also show that this area was a famous religious centre
for pilgrims. The name Mansehra is a modified form of the name Maan Singh, who once ruled over this
area.
Hazara has several places of significance for the pagans related to the Pandavas.

“ 'There are the five Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharat favourite objects of worship in the east
and sometimes addressed as the Panj Pir. Many are the legends current about these heroes and
they are localised at quite a number of places. The Hill of Mokshpuri , just above Dunga Gali has
an elevation of 9232 feet. Its name means 'the hill of salvation' and on its summit is a Panduan da
Sthan, or place of the Pandavas, where it is said they were visited and tempted by Apsaras who
still frequent the place .[8] ”

In the 2nd century CE, a mythical king Raja Risalu, son of Raja Salbahan of Sialkot, brought the area under
his control. The local people consider him as their hero and, even today, parents tell their children the
stories of Raja Risalu and his wife Rani Konklan on winter nights. When a Chinese pilgrim, Hiun-Tsang,
visited this area, it was under the control of Durlabhavardhana, the ruler of Kashmir.
The Turkish Shahi Dynasties ruled Hazara one after another. Among the Hindu Shahi dynasty rulers, Raja
Jayapala is the best known. Mehmood of Ghazni defeated Raja Jayapala during his first campaign.
However, there is no historical evidence that Mehmood of Ghazni ever visited or passed through Mansehra.
After the fall of the Shahi dynasty, in the 11th century, the Kashmiris took control of this area under the
leadership of Kalashan (1063 to 1089). From 1112 to 1120, King Susala ruled this area. In the 12th century,
Asalat Khan captured this area but soon after Mohammad of Ghor's death the Kashmiris once again
regained control of Hazara.
Turkish rule
In 1399, the great Muslim warrior Timur, on his return to Kabul, stationed his Turk soldiers in Hazara to
protect the important route between Kabul and Kashmir. By 1472, Prince Shahab-ud-Din came from Kabul
and established his rule over the region. Prince Shahab-ud-Din, a Turk of central Asian origin, founded the
state and named it Pakhli Sarkar and chose Gulibagh as his capital. During the Mughal rule, these local
Turkish chiefs acknowledged Mughal authority. In fact, Hazara (Pakhli) provided the main route to
Kashmir and was the most commonly used route for Emperor Akbar to travel to Kashmir. During the last
days of Emperor Akbar's rule, the Turkish Chief Sultan Hussain Khan revolted against the Mughals. He
claimed that the Mughals were interfering with his internal affairs. After this complaint, he was exiled by
the Mughals, but later was pardoned and given back his land. Now, descendants of these Turkish rulers live
in village Behali and some other villages of Mansehra, Abbottabad, and Haripur districts.They are known as
Rajas as the local people called them even at that time when they called themselves Sultan.
Durrani rule
When Ahmad Shah Durrani expanded his kingdom to Punjab, Hazara also came under his control. Durrani
considered it wise to rule the area through local tribal chiefs, like Saadat Khan and Faqir Khan of Garhi
Habibullah. Saadat Khan was such an authoritative man amongst Swatis whereas Faqir Khan was the
khakan of his Mughal tribe and they were considered to be the fighting machines, even disputed matters of
Jadoons and Tanolis had been sent to them for rectification through jirgas. The Durranis' rule ended
abruptly in the beginning of the 18th century.
The first quarter of the 18th century was miserable for the Turks. Their rule came to an end due to the decay
of their vitality and the increasing aggression of the Pukhtoons. The most crucial attack was that of the
Swatis in 1703, under the command of Syed Jalal Baba who was a son-in-law of last Turk ruler, Sultan
Mehmud Khurd. During the absence of his father-in-law Syed Jalal Baba invited Swatis to invade Pakhli
Sarkar. Being an insider, he provided crucial information to invading forces and succeeded in overthrowing
his in-laws through his shrewd conspiracy. Turks had already became weak due to their internal feuds, as
well. Swatis thus ousted the Turks from upper Hazara (Mansehra and Batagram) and captured it. However,
the extremely hostile and powerful Tanolis, of the Tanawal Mountains, brave and hardy, who were deemed
the best swordsmen in Hazara, remained loyal to the Turks until the end of latter's rule in Hazara. By the
time Awans, Jadoons, Karlal and Tareens captured lower Hazara (Abbottabad and Haripur), the Tanolis,
who later on founded a state named Amb, had already established their authority over Tanawal. Upper
Tanawal and Lower Tanawal, covering the greater part of Hazara, have been ruled by Tanolis for centuries.
Descendants of the former Turkish rulers of Hazara now live in the village of Behali, district Mansehra, and
in some other villages of Abbottabad, Haripur and Mansehra.
Another famous martial tribe called the Gakhars settled in Khanpur (NWFP) in the early 18th Century. This
tribe once ruled areas from Attock to Jhelum.
Sikh rule
Durrani rule had weakened considerably at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1818 Ranjit Singh formally
annexed Hazara; however, in 1820 his generals were defeated. In 1821, during another attempt at conquest
by the Sikhs, Amar Singh was killed at Harroh. Sardar Hari Singh, the governor of Kashmir, then went to
Hazara to battle against the tribes, but it took him three years to subdue the warlike mountaineers of the
outer hills. It was not until 1836 that the Gakhars of Khanpur were finally defeated.[9]
However in 1845 the local populace, taking advantage of the problems in Lahore (the capital of the Sikh
Empire), rose up in rebellion. They drove the governor of Hazara, Diwan Mulraj, to Hasan Abdal in 1846.
However, with the conclusion of the first Sikh War, Hazara along with Kashmir was given to Raja Gulab
Singh. But in 1847 the Raja gave back Hazara to the Lahore Darbar in exchange for land near Jammu, and
Hazara passed into British control.[9]
British rule and Pashtun resistance
After the first Sikh War, the area was governed by Major James Abbott. Abbott managed to secure and
pacify the area within a year. During the Second Sikh War Abbott and his men were cut off by the Sikh
army from supplies and reinforcements from the rest of the British Army, but were able to maintain their
position.[9]
By 1849, the British had gained control of all of Mansehra. However, the western Pashtun tribes remained
rebellious. These tribes included the clans of Allai, Batagram in the Nandhiar valley, and the tribes
inhabiting both slopes of the Black Mountain of Hazara.
In 1852, after three years of relative peace, Zaman Shah of Kaghan turned against the British. James Abbot
sent an expedition to Kaghan which deprived Zaman Shah of his territory and he was exiled to Pakhli plain.
After four years the British forgave him and he was permitted to get back his lost territory.
The British sent many expeditions against the Pashtun tribes to crush the rebellion between 1852 and 1892,
especially against the Black Mountains. Along with some parts of Balakot which are located near to the
boundary of Azad Jammu & Kashmir including Neelum Valley to stop the resistance by Mughal tribes and
those tribes were command by Faqir Khan of Lambian Pattian.
To maintain peace in the area the British also took preventive measures by co-opting the local rulers.
The British divided Hazara District into three Tehsils (administrative subdivisions) : Mansehra, Abbottabad,
and Haripur; and decided to annex it to the Punjab. In 1901, when the North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP) was formed, Hazara was separated from Punjab and made a part of NWFP. Throughout their rule
in Mansehra, the British met fierce resistance from the local Pashtun tribes and declared martial law.
Meanwhile, the people of Mansehra's many villages largely governed themselves. Many of Mansehra's
citizens joined the Khilafat movement.
When the Muslim League in Pakistan started its movement for a separate land, the local people joined and
struggled for liberation under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam[citation needed]. Their eventual victory culminated
in the creation of Pakistan, an independent state for the Muslims of the sub-continent. During Bhutto's
regime, Mansehra was upgraded to a district, containing two subdivisions: Mansehra and Batagram. Later,
the Mansehra district had the Balakot subdivision added to it.
Swatis were given places by Turks in Hazara so that they can protect the valley from the foreign attacks.
There was no fight fought between Turks and Swatis; Punjabis remained popular.
Independence
During British rule, the region of Hazara had formed part of the Punjab province, until the western parts of
that province were separated to form the new North-West Frontier Province. The areas around Abbottabad
and Mansehra became the Hazara District of Peshawar Division, whilst areas to the north of this became the
Hazara Tribal Agency and the Kohistan Tribal Agency. Sandwiched between Hazara Tribal Agency and the
Hazara district were the small princely states of Amb and Phulra. This system of administration continued
until 1950, when these two small states were incorporated into the Hazara district.
From 1955 to 1970, the North-West Frontier Province became part of West Pakistan under the One Unit
policy, with the Hazara district forming part of the Peshawar division of West Pakistan. On the dissolution
of West Pakistan, the Hazara district and the two tribal agencies were merged to form the new Hazara
division with its capital at Abbottabad. The division was initially composed of three districts (Abbottabad,
Kohistan and Mansehra) but within a few years, Haripur district was spun off from Abbottabad District and
Batagram District was spun off from Mansehra District.
In 2000, administrative divisions were abolished and the fourth tier districts were raised to become the new
third tier of government in Pakistan.

Demographics
Only two districts in the division are Pashtun and Dardic in character, these being Kohistan and Batagram.
Dardic and Pashto speakers form the majority population in Kohistan District, and district Batagram is
overwhelmingly Pashtun. The remaining three districts of Manshera, Abbottabad and Haripur are
predominantly Hindko speaking and the people similar to those of Northern Punjab. Overall approximately
half of the population speaks Gujri and Hindko and most of the rest speak Pashto and Kohistani. Small
numbers of people speak other languages (Persian, Panjabi, Pohari etc) but there is considerable
bilingualism and multilingualism amongst the population. The districts of Haripur and Abbottabad have
higher literacy rates than most districts of the province.
Afghan refugees, although predominantly Pashtun (including the Ghilzai and Durrani tribes), and other
smaller groups are found throughout the Division.

References
1. ^ Hazara -Nordisk familjebok
2. ^ Divisions/Districts of Pakistan
3. ^ Hazāra District - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 13, p. 76.
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5. ^ Watters, Yuan Chawang, Vol I, p 284.
6. ^ MBH 7.4.5; 7/91/39-40.
7. ^ See refs: Mahabharata 7/91/39-40; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 133, 218/220, Dr
H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; History of India – 1944, P 94; Narendra Krishna Sinha,
Anil Chandra Banerjee; Chilas: The City of Nanga Parvat (Dyamar) – 1983, Page 120, Ahmad
Hasan Dani; Indological Studies – 1950, P 18, Dr B. C. Law; A Companion to Middle Indo-Aryan
Literature – 1977, P 168, Suresh Chandra Banerji; A Companion to Sanskrit Literature: spanning a
period of over three thousand years, containing... – 1971, P 486, Sures Chandra Banerji; Asoka - P
31, Dr R. G. Bhandarkar; J.N. Banerjea Volume: A Collection of Articles by His Friends and
Pupils, 1960, p 18, University of Calcutta. Dept. of Ancient Indian History and Culture. Alumni
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8. ^ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces , compiled by H A
Rose , v. I p. 120
9. ^ a b c Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 13, p. 77.