ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY

Hazara for administrative purpose during the British period was under the direct charge of a Deputy Commissioner who besides other duties was also responsible for the Government’s liaison with the border tribes. For his assistance a subordinate staff consisting of a District Judge a treasury officer an Assistant Commissioner.  E.A.Cs Land Revenue officer Forest conservators an S.P and DSP Police inspectors a Civil surgeon who was also incharge of Jails a Deputy Public instructor for education Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar, Patwaries etc, etc. were also appointed. Besides these officials some leading personalities had also been entrusted with the task of magistrates of different grades and jurisdiction over their respective areas.

The basic unit of administration was a police Thana with jurisdiction over several villages. Besides controlling crimes the police was also entrusted with the ob of processing applications for Hajj as well as for Government Services during the Worked War ll. For local duties in the rural areas the Government used to appoint villages headmen, with numerous duties which includes collection of land revenue on due dates collection of the rent and other dues of the common land reporting about crimes and to caring out any other order of the Government’s was important. To check their efficiency the Government also used to appoint chief headmen while Patwaries. Besides their official job i.e. keeping revenue records were also used for this purpose. In the urban areas headmen’s duties were those of an officer of the staff of the municipal committee and notified areas committees which in 1947 were 3 and 4 respectively in Hazara.

About the administration of the British one has to admit that it was efficient due to which every district especially Hazara with nesses a period of prosperity as well as development Indeed the later development and the sound administration in this Division is the outcome of infrastructure prepared by the British Government.

CHANGES OF AREA ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

In 1849 A.D when the area of  Hazara was brought under the British rule it comprised a vast area but in later days several changes with regards to its area tool place. For instance in 1850 a tract consisting of 270 villages along with 28 villages on or near the Harroh Stream were transferred to Rawalpindi District. In 1900 the whole of attack tehsil was added to Hazara as its fourth tehsil but in 1901 it was again restored to Rawalpindi District and the rest of Hazara under notification number 5780 - P issued by the Home Department was merged in N.W.F.P on 25^th October 1901.

BRITISH ADMINISTRATION

Soon after the annexation of the Punjab a Board of Administration for the entire province was appointed which further appointed D.Cs in each district as the Boards agent. Hazara was also given the statues of a district and Major James Abbott was appointed as is first Deputy Commissioner. For administrative purpose the District exclusive of feudal Tanawal was divided into two Tehsils namely Haripur and Mansehra While Abbott Abad area was given the status of a tehsil in 1847.

RESISTANCE BY THE BORDER PEOPLE

Unlike the settled area the people dwelling of the western border of Hazara remained in a state of bitter hostility towards the British. They refused to acknowledge the British ascendance by heart and remained in a state of open revolt and the Government finding no other alternative sent more than four punitive expeditions against them in a short period of forty years.

The first occasion on which the British came into collision with any of the Trans border people of Hazara was in 1851. In the autumn of that year two officers of the customs department named Mr. Corne and Mr. Topp entered Hassazi territory with a view to obtaining first hand information as to the routes by which trans Indus salt found its way into the Punjab. They paid the penalty with their lives. The tribesmen refused to surrender the murderers and according to Captain HL Nevill. No alternative remained therefore but to send a punitive expedition into the Hassazi territory.

Though Lord Dalhousi at first was reluctant to take active measures against a tribe which he could not control permanently but later though necessary to vindicate the British prestige So order were at last issued for the Punishment of the offenders. According on 19^th December 1852 a force consisting of detachment from Guides and Ist Sikh and Dogra regiments some mountain guns and a number of levies and police under the command Col: Mackeson was sent. Several skirmishes occurred and the British Government considering the demolition of the Hassanzai village with all their crops a sufficient punishment for the murder of the two British officers retreated to its camps in January 1853.

Though after this event the tribes remained quiet for some time but after a few days they again created troubles for the Government on a large scale. Due to those troubles the Government besides blocking several tribes and levying fines on several villages was constrained to sending three more expeditions against the people with in a limited span of thirty years.

Making the resistance spineless besides conferring titles on the leading persons such as Khan Bahadur, Khan Sahib Knight Commander of the Star of India. The Government also adopted several preventive measures construction of military posts on the borders different approaches roads to those posts giving allowances to the khans recruiting men for border police from the independent clans providing arms to the border villages and to some extent succeeded in lessening resistance of the border people though after the 4^th BM expedition in 1891 there did not occurred a necessity of sending any punitive expedition against the border people of Hazara from the British side but the people throughout the British tenure  remained discontented with their rulers. They openly sided with the Amir of Afghanistan as well as the well known freedom fighter Haji Sahib of Turangzai and provided a considerable manpower support for the noble cause of both those personalities.

In the later days of the British rule when the Pakistan Movement was in full swing besides direct resistance to the Government some indirect methods like communal disturbances were also adopted in this area. These feelings were further ignited by the tragic communal riots of Calcutta  UP Bombay Bihar etc  and in addition to the destruction of several Hindu Temples and Sikh Gurdwaras resulted in 28 causalities resulted in a single day in a single border village Ogahi. In fact this was the area like other frontier border of the northern India about those Sir Olaf Caroe was of the opinion that a foot placed wrong in this area might at any times attract the responsibility not only of the central Government in India but of London itself.

OPPOSITION OFFERED TO THE BRITISH

The advent of the British unlike that of the Duranies as well as the Sikh was welcomed in the settled area of Hazara The people after the repressive and harsh rule of the Sikhs considered their new rulers as their saviors. In the early days of the British hre little or no resistance was offered to them this good will of the people was reciprocated with equal catholicity of the British by exempting them from the general order of surrendering all arms and weapons which was enforced just six weeks after the annexation of the Punjab by the British in consequence of which some 100,200 weapons of all sizes and kinds were surrendered in the Punjab but none in Hazara.

During November 1852 due to some misunderstanding between Zamin Shah of Bela Kawai of Kaghan area and Major James Abbott an expedition consisting of six regiments six heavy guns and numerous tribal levies under the command of colonel Mackson was organized and sent but the misunderstanding was peacefully removed. As a matter of fact individual cases of resistances against the British were not uncommon among the people but collective as well as any kind of massive resistance was rare and Hazara settled areas remained peaceful.

During the days when different religion political movements in the Sub continent were starting the general behavior of the masses in this area could not remain unaffected by these movements. When the Khilafat movement was on the full swing as a mass movement the people of Hazara also joined ot enthusiastically. No effort was spared by the people in the movement and as a result Hazara especially Mansehra Tehsil became unruly. Diwan Chand oberal defines the situation in these words. “The Mansehra tehsil practically acknowledged no British rule. The villagers especially in Dhudial and Shinkiari had appointed their own officials, such as Tehsildar and Thanadars and even attempted to set up their own administration. Besides participation of the general masses in religious movements they also resisted the British Government in her every steps injurious to the people. Agitation against the notorious Rowlett Act and resistance to the emergency power ordinance 1932 are the instance of this kind of resistance.

Though the British government tools some drastic measures such as the imposition of Martial Law in the Mansehra tehsil but could not succeed fully to extirpate it. Anti Government resentment remained alive in the hearts of the people who were in need of capable and sincere leadership when the Muslim League started its struggle for the noble cause of Pakistan their enthusiasms burst out with full force.

HAZARA UNDER BRITISH RULE

The British came to sub continent in the garb of traders but because of their machination they assumed the role of its rulers. Up to 1843 to 1846 quite a few regions were captured by them but the imposition of the British Raj on the Punjab was yet to come. This opportunity was afforded to them with the outbreak of the first war between the Sikhs and the British which besides other consequences resulted in an agreement between the two. Due to this agreement a British Resident was deputed to Lahore while Kashmir and Hazara area sold to Raja Ghulab |Singh for 7500000 rupees in March 1846. But during the same month of the succeeding year on the request of the Raja management f Hazara was directly assumed by the Lahore Darbaar H Lawrence. The British Resident at Lahore deputed Captain James Abbott in this region entrusted with the task of demarcating the boundary between Kashmir and the Punjab. It was towards the end of May 1847 while engaged in this work near the border of Hazara that he James Abbott received order deputing him to Hazara with full power of control over the administration.

Of a sanguine enthusiastic temperament warm hearted and generous he had little difficulty in winning the hearts of the people who welcome him as their savior from the Sikh as well as from the Dogra oppression. He earned their gratitude with his many acts of generosity and kindliness. Due to his kind heartedness he came to be almost worshipped by the people.

He up to the latter half of 1848 worked very patiently for the British as well as for the people cause but soon after wards some disputes between him and Sardar Chattur Singh the Sikh Governor of Hazara took place. These differences became so ominous that Major James Abbott and his 16 British colleges were compelled to take refuge first in Gandgar and later in the Tanawal area. In these areas the British found hospitable friends who in their hard days were a source of satisfaction for them and the second Sikh war maintained them and thwarted all the efforts of the Sikhs and the Afghan who came in the area to dislodge the British. Major James Abbott with the help of the local people fought so bravely against his enemies during the March 1849 that on the conclusion of the war be was appointed the first Deputy Commissioner D.C of the District. As a matter of fact with arrival of Major James Abbott a new era dawned in the chequered history of this area.

THE SIKH PERIOD

With the death of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir in 1707  the inhabitants of the Sub continent witnesses some drastic changes in the country. During the closing days of the 18th century A.D. the escalation in the militant Sikh power in the areas now known as Punjab, K.P.K and Kashmir was also a visible change in this regard. It was about this time that the famous Sikh chief Ranjet Singh (1776-1838) son of Mahan Singh rose to the prominence, and proclaimed himself independent of the Kabul regime. He organises his Khalsa Army on modern lines and subjugated extensive areas. Upto 1818, a large territory of the so called now a days Punjab was captured by his army , but the Sikh rule was not extended to Hazara until the above mentioned date.

After consolidating his military strength Ranjit Singh wished to extend his sway over other area. In Hazara the opportunity for interference in the internal affairs of the region was provided to him by the Turk Chief Hashim Khan of Mankarai in 1818. About the event it is reported that in 1816 Hashim khan had murdered his fellow chief Kamal khan. The latter was a friend of Muhammad Khan, The Tareen chief. Kamal Khan,s cause was espoused  by the Tareen chief and he to-gather with Faith Khan son of Kamal Khan took revenge from Hashim Khan. The later, after a crushing defeat met Hukma Singh, the Sikh Governor of Attock and to save himself  betrayed his country to the Sikhs. 
  The latte was a friend of Muhammad Khan, The tareen chief Kamal khan’s cause was espoused by the tareen chief and he together with Faith Khan Son of Kamal khan took revenge from Hashim Khan. The latter after a crushing defeat met Hukma Singh the Sikh Governor of Attock and to save himself betrayed his country to the Sikhs. At his (Hashim khans) invitation Makhan Singh the Sikh governor of Rawalpindi, invaded lower Hazara with 500 horsemen in 1818, built a fort at Sarai Salah and collected taxes from the Haripur plain.
By 1820 Ranjit Singh reigned supreme from Sutlej to the Indus but his hold on Hazara was weak,  and within a short period his three prominent general Mahan Singh, Diwan Ramdial and Sardar Amar Singh Majethia were killed in this area.

At least Maharajah Ranjit Singh summoned his commander Hari Singh Nalwa (after whom the Haripur town  is named ) from Kashmir. At the same time the people of this area rose in open revolt against the shaky Singh Government. Hari Singh after his arrival took drastic measures in this area, besides construction of a fort at Nawashr erection of the Haripur fort (where tehsil offices and police station Haripur are housed now a days) which known as Hari Kishangar and was strongly constructed was a important step of the Sikh General and largely contributed to the establishment of Sikh power in this area.

hari singh nalwa

Besides being a man of unbounded energy and courage, the Sikh general was cruel man, and ruthless in his treatment of those who crossed his path. During his more than fourteen years rule with some intervals, he burnt as well as. Tamed several villages and tool many steps to intimidate the people of this area. Besides his other atrocious actions and measures levy of the land revenue amounting  to one half of the total value of the crops was absolutely an action of cruelty. He (Hari Singh) was so merciless in his actions that up to the beginning of the 20^th century he remained an ogre invoked by mothers to frighten their naughty children. Throughout the 31 years of Sikh rule over Hazara the people of the area harbored great hatred in their hearts for their rulers. They never accepted the Sikh rule by heart and missed no opportunity to over throw them. In a short period of three years after the advent of the Sikh in this area besides several hundred Sikh soldiers, three capable Sikh General were murdered. The opposition by some 20,000 Jadoons and Tawawalies against Hari Singh at Mangal in 1822, a battle between the Sikhs and the Mashwanies and the Utmanzaies at Nara in 1824 and a revolt against Diwan Molrah Dilwalia in 1846 are some of the instances of the hostility o the people against the Sikhs.

Haripur Fort

Establishing a viable system of administration over those people who were constantly in a state of bitter hostility against their rulers was a difficult task for the Sikhs, to some extent Hari Singh with an iron hand succeeded in this purpose but no one among the rest of 13 Sikhs Governors, during the 31 years Sikh rules was able to establish a firm control over Hazara.

Beside the fact the area was divided into several estates among them several were directly controlled by the Sikhs themselves while the others were leases to some powerful persons of the area.  People were administered by their respective chiefs among whom several were paid large allowances as well as Jagirs. Unlike the Duranies the Sikhs collections  of land revenue was of more systematic nature which was collected in the usual Sikh fashion viz either direct from the land lord, by appraisement of the crop value (the share of the government being one half the total crop value)  of through the farmers, to whom the land of the villages was leased. Though Diwan Molraj during his tenure i.e. from 1843 to 1846.  Made systematic revision but his rule was harsh and harassing to the people due to which many of them evacuated their villages to escape his extortions.

In the early days of 1837, Mahan Singh succeeded Hari Singh as Governor of Hazara, but was recalled in October 1837 and Sardar Teja Singh was sent from Lahore to replace him. During the latter’s period of governorship nothing happened worth mentioning except the great flood in the Indus of the 2^nd and 4^th of June 1841. This flood was caused by the bursting of Dam which a land slid has caused across the river in the higher reaches. At the time of the flood the Sikhs were busy fighting with the Army of Painda Khan the Tawawal chief in the hills to the east of river Indus. The water rushed down with a mighty roar sweeping away the Sikhs fort at Darband and Tarbela. Numerous villages on either side of the river and the whole of the Sikh encampment with baggage, magazine and several guns. At site the remaining forces stopped their fighting and on receipt of Painda Khan’s message to the Sikh leader saying that “GOD has judged them and made each side as helpless as the other. They disengaged themselves and marched back to their camps. Tanawal and Haripur respectively.  

In the winter if 1841 Ghulab Singh was appointed governor of this District by Kunwar Partab Singh, but after the murder of the latter in September 1843 Lahore Darbar took over charge of Punjab on behalf of the boy Dulip Singh and sent Diwan Molraj Deilwalia distinct from Diwan Molraj (Governor of Multan) as the governor of this area. Through like Hari Singh he also took some drastic measures in this District but was met with much resistance from the natives.

The disintegration of the Sikh government of Lahore, after the death of Ranjit Singh paved the way for the annexation of the Punjab by the British. Thus the weakened Sikh rule also gave the tribes of Hazara an opportunity of regaining their power of the Pre Sikh rule. Disturbances starts in the area during February 1846 and several tribes rose in open revolt. The Dhunds, headed by their religious leaders     pirs of Palasi were the first to rise. They stormed several areas and defeated two Sigh detachments sent against them. Mean while a remnant of the Mujahidin of Balakot, declaring that Khalifa Syed Ahmed was not dead and would soon reappear collected at Kawai in Kaghan area a large Mujahid force attack several forts and slew their garrisons.

The same was done by the Mashwanies the Tanawalies and other tribes in their respective area.

During the same time Molraj desire to put down these disturbances had been thwarted by the refusal of his spare troops to march into Northern Hazara. The Jadoons and the Tareens also assembled under their respective chiefs and on 7^th March 1846 attacked the Haripur town. Though after some times order was restores in the area especially in the lower Hazara but in reality Diwan Molraj had lost heart and evacuated the Haripur Fort on 16^th of April 1846.

At the time Diwan Molraj left Haripur an attempt was made throughout the District to restore its status as it had existed prior to the Sikh rule. For this purpose the chiefs of different tribes of the area assembled at Haripur and appointed Syed Akbar Shah of Sithana (a village situated in the left bank of driver Indus) as their ruler with Nawab khan Tanawli and Ghulam Khan Tareen as his minister. This period was popularly spoken if in Hazara as the Lundi Maslamani the term Lundi Signifies incomplete.

But the hopes of the people were doomed to almost immediate frustration when on 19^th Of March

1846 a peace was concluded between the Sikhs and the British government. A peace treaty was signed and according to its 12^th article all the hilly and mountainous country with its dependencies, situated East ward of the river Indus and West ward of River Ravi were ceded to Raja Ghulab Singh. Their transfer to Kashmir was intensely distasteful to the people of this area. Resistance started on a large scale to the nominee of Raja Ghulab Singh. Through over its lower part of the Sikh had some control but in the upper Hazara people collectively made things uncomfortable for their new ruler and the Sikh Army was defeated at many places.

Thus finding his newly acquired territory a veritable hornets he (Raja Ghulab Singh) was only too ready to get rid of it if a suitable exchange could be agreed upon.  Early in 1847 he induced the Lahore Darbar to take over from him all the hilly country west of river Jehlum in return for a tract near Jammu. This request of the Raja was accepted by the Lahore Darbar and a Tract near Jammun, in exchange for the hilly region of Hazara was awarded to him.