Nagar (princely state)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is part of the series:
Former subdivisions of Pakistan



Nagar
Image:Flag not available
Map of Pakistan with Nagar highlighted
Capital
Nagar
Area
5,000 km²
Language(s) Burushaski
Shina
Established 14th century
Abolished 25th September, 1974
Northern Areas Government Website

Nagar(Urdu.ریاست نگر) was a princely state in the northernmost part of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, which existed until 1974. The state bordered the Gilgit Agency to the south and west, and the former princely state of Hunza to the north and east. The state capital was the town of Nagar. The area of Nagar now forms two tehsils of Gilgit District. Nagar along with Gilgit and Baltistan is claimed by India as part of the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Contents

Nagar was an autonomous principality in close association with neighbouring Hunza. The British gained control of both states 1889 and 1892. The British retained Nagar's status as a 'principality' until 1947 but together with Hunza it was considered a vassal of Kashmir, although never ruled directly by it. The rulers of Nagar sent annual tributes to the Kashmir Durbar until 1947, and along with the ruler of Hunza, were considered amongst the most loyal vassals of the Maharaja of Kashmir.

In 1947, the state acceded to Pakistan, but continued as semi autonomous state. A freedom movement for democracy against the Mir's monarchy started in 1968 led by Syed Yaha Shah the first educated politician of Nagar studied from Adward College Peshawar.The movement demanded democracy and right of people to get education and to end the heavy taxation of the people. As a result dozens of people and the main leaders including Syed Yahya Shah were imprisoned for life with the help of Government of Pakistan prosecuting them as rebels of the State. Nine people were killed on demonstrating against imprisonment of their leaders. When Ayub Khan's dictatorship ended in Pakistan and the democratic government of the Pakistan Peoples Party under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto came into power through elections it realized the sentiments of the people against the Mir for democracy so the Government freed the prisoners of the movement and dissolved the Mirs of Hunza and Nagar and were merged into the Northern Areas in 1974.[1]

The Hunza valley looking across the river to Nagar
The Hunza valley looking across the river to Nagar
Mount Rakaposhi
Mount Rakaposhi

The state was governed by the hereditary rulers of the Maghlot dynasty who were styled as Mir and were assisted by a council of Wazirs or Ministers. Details for early rulers are uncertain with the first definite dates available from 1839 CE onwards. The son of the last ruler, Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan, was in 2005 Northern Areas deputy chief executive[2].

Reign Mirs of Nagar[3]
Unknown dates Fadl Khan
Unknown dates Daud Khan
Unknown dates Ali Dad Khan (1st time)
Unknown dates Hari Tham Khan
Unknown dates Ali Dad Khan (2nd time)
Unknown dates Kamal Khan
Unknown dates Rahim Khan I
Unknown date - 1839 Rahim Khan II
1839 - 1891 Jafar Zahid Khan (1st time)
1891 - 1892 Raja Azur Khan (acting)
1892 - 1904 Jafar Zahid Khan (2nd time)
1905 - 17th March 1940 Raja Mir Iskandar Khan
17th March 1940 - 25th September 1974 Shaukat Ali Khan (1930-1976)
25th September 1974 State of Nagar dissolved

The geography of Nagar was very mountainous difficult terrain which provided a certain degree of protection against invading forces. The highest mountain was the 7,788 m (25,551 ft) Mount Rakaposhi which lay to the south of the town of Nagar.

Today, the famous Karakoram Highway crosses Nagar, connecting Pakistan to China via the Khunjerab Pass. The road follows the Hunza river for some distance through Nagar and into the Hunza region.

The inhabitants of the Nagar valley is around 90,000 (AKRSP Census, 2000). Nagar is home of people of two main ethnicities - the Burushaski speakers and the Shina speakers. The older type of Broshuski is still spoken in this valley with mild modern accent.

Although the population was traditionally predominantly Ismaili, there are as well Ismaili and Sunni Muslims in the region. Following sectarian violences in January 2005, the Tanzim Ahle Sunnah wal Jama’at representing Sunnis, and the Central Anjuman-e-Imamia Northern Areas representing (Ismaili) Shias signed on February 18, 2005 a six-point peace agreement arranged by Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC) members to ensure peace in the city[4].

  1. ^ Buroshall Say Nagar Tak ka Safar, by Muhammad Ismail Tehseen, Brushal ke Qabail by Syed Yahya Shah,books written in Urdu available in Muncipal library Gilgit
  2. ^ Ibrahim Shahid, Sunni and Shia groups sign peace deal in Gilgit, Daily Times (Pakistan), Sunday February 20, 2005
  3. ^ Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org. Pakistan Princely States. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  4. ^ Ibrahim Shahid, Sunni and Shia groups sign peace deal in Gilgit, Daily Times (Pakistan), Sunday February 20, 2005

  • Buroshall say Nagar Tek Ka Safar by Mohammad Ismail Nashad.
  • Rasala Buroshall by Syed Mohammad Yahya Shah.
  • Where the three Empires meet by E.F.Knight /Zafar Hayat Paul

Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.