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 People of Hazara Part 3

6.TANAWALIES OR TANOLIES.

Lower Tanawal

           The TANAWALIES or TANOLIES , a tribe of Hazara, claim descent from Amir Khan, a Barlas Mughal, whose two son, Hind khan and Pal khan crossed the Indus some four centuries ago and settles in the area now known as Tanawal. Historians write that in 1472 some 4000 TANAWALIES crossed the river Indus under the command of their leader Moulvi Ibrahim Lodhi and established themselves over the Tanawal over the Tanawal area.

View of Tarbela Lake near Tanawal Area

Now a days they are scattered through out the Division and occupy Khalabat Town ship and the lower and the upper Tanawal area including Garhian tracks of the Mansehra District, VHindwal and pallal are chief sections of this tribe which are further divided into a large  number of subsections whose name end in "al"

7. UTMANZAIES: 

Main Chowk Khalabat Town Ship

                               Utmanzai is a sub tribe of Yousafzai tribe. In Hazara they were incited by the Gujars, from whom the Utmanzaies acquired land and were dominant there during the Sikh and the British periods. They also helped the British Government with great zeal during its early days in this area and were considered by the British as their most reliable friends in  Hazara.

Utmanzai Tribe

Before the construction of Tarbela Dam, Kaya , Khabble, Tarbela, Khalabat , Morti , Mera etc etc and a narrow strip between the Indus River and the Gadun region were their chief areas of dwelling but after that project ( Tarbela Dam) they scattered through out the Division and the Punjab. However a sizeable section of a population of this tribe made Khalabat Town Ship their main place of living.

Spell way Tarbela Dam

Though itself a sub-section of the Yousafzai Tribe, the Utmanzai tribe is further divided into five main sections namely, Allazai, Akazai (distinct from the same tribe of the Black Mountains) Khanzai, Saddozai and Tahirkhali.

The People of Hazara

Peoples.

Hazara is peopled by an conglomeration of various races and tribes. Due to this fact some ignorant people have a misconception about the name of Division that Hazara owes it,s name to Hazar or a thousand tribes dwelling in this area.

About the people, historians, as well as,  these tribes are of the opinion that, among them several are the original inhabitants of this area, while the rest have migrated from other places. They migrated to this area under necessity. Some came for trade and commerce, because this area was an important trade route between Kabul and Kashmir, while a few entered this region as conquerors. Beside these two groups, the third group was of those people who sought shelter in this area after their expulsion from their native homes.

Though the majority of the population in this area (about 99.98%) are Muslims, but the religion of people before the advent of Islam was Hinduism, as well as, Buddhism. Islam in Hazara, like in other parts of the N.W.F.P now (KPK) spread very rapidly, but at the time of partition of the Sub-Continent, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadies were also part of the population of this area.

The following area the principal races and tribes in Hazara:-

1. JADOONS.

Of the genuine Pathan tribes in Hazara, the most numerous are the Jadoons. They Occupy Mangal, Rash and Rajoia plains with villages on their fringe. Bagra and its neighbouring villages are also the chief dwelling places of this tribe.

About their origin Olaf Cairo in his famous book " The Pathans " mentioned that the Jadoons are the Pathans of the family of Ghurghust, son of Qais Abdur-Rashid. While on the other hand Sir Denzil Ibbetson asserts that " the jadoons are of  Indian origin " but it is a fact that Ghurghust s/o Qais Abdur Rashid had three sons and the Jadoons or Gadoons are the descendants of one of his son Darni.

The Jadoons entered Hazara in the beginning of the 17th century and took possession of lands then belonging to Turks and Dilazaks. Some historians also believe that when Bhakko Khan attacked Hazara in the 17th century, Jadoons also accompanied him. About their establishment on firm footing in this area, historians write that," after expulsion of the Dilazaks by Emperor Jahangir, the Jadoons family established themselves and spread up to the Dor Valley, as far as Abbottabad".

They are divided into three main sections.  Emperor Jahangir  and Salar, and dwell in the areas mentioned above.

2. TAHIRKHALIES.

The Tahirkhalies, a sub-section of the Utmanzai Yousafzaies, dwell in Kharri and in the lower part of the Gandgar hills in the south-western Hazara. Though the Tahirkhalies are a sub-section of the Utmanzaies but have a different character and customs.

During the Sikh rule over Hazara they (the Tahirkhalies) created a lot of troubles for the neighbouring villages and for the time being they also remained a troublesome tribe for the British. It is an industrious tribe and dwells in , and Ghazi villages of the Haripur District.

3. TAREENS.
The Tareens are directs descendants of Sharkbun, the grandson of QaisAbdur-Rashid so in their origin they are connected with Jadoons. They came to Hazara in 18th century with the Utmanzaies and gradually supplanted the original inhabitants of this area, the Gujars. H.D. Watson writes that the first Tareen chief settled in this area was driven out by the Governor of that place. Sher Khan on his arrival in the sub-continent took service under the Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631. Shah Jahan also gave him 2,00,000 rupees in cash and permitted the Tareen chief to keep up a contingent of 1,000 horses.
The Tareens were very powerful during the Mughal and the Durani periods but with the advent of the Sikhs their power began to wane. Instead of it, they were a constant source of trouble for the British during the middle of the 19th century.
The Tareens are divided into two sections i.e the Tor (Black) and the Spin (White) Tareens, which are further divided into fourteen sub-sections, six of them from Tor and eight from the Spin Tareens. In Hazara they dwell mostly in Haripur District and Darwaish and Rehana are their main villages.

Physical Features of Hazara

2. Plain Tracks.

Hill Tracks

Though Hazara is a mountainous region (almost three quarters of the land surface of the Division is covered by the mountains) but the level tracks between the mountain system of east and the west are fertile farms of varying sizes and character. As for as these plains are concerned they are three main plain tracks, namely the Pakhli, the Orash or Rash and the Haripur plains. Beside these major plains a number of  other small patches of level land of similar character namely Mangal, Kharri, Chatter, Nara Khanpur-Panjkatha, Dhan and Lora are famous.



valley

 Though these  areas are part of the single administrative unit (HAZARA) but are different in almost every aspect from one another.  These per-acre yield rate , soil, capacity, elevation, types of crops reaping season, value of land etc., vary from one another. For instance the altitude of Haripur plains is between 1600 feet to 3000 feet while the elevation of Pakhli plain is about 4000 feet above the Sea level. Besides inter tracks intra-track differences in fertility of land is also a common features. 





                  Nathia Gali Road

As the central and upper portion of Haripur plains is fertile,  intensively cultivated,  while the lower or southern Portion of the same area consists of unirrigated land and deep ravines. due to these difficulties and shortage of level land as well as deficiency of proper irrigation Hazara Division is constrained to import  agricultural products.



Physical Features of Hazara

1. Mountains.

The distinctive physical feature of Hazara Division is its forest-rich mountains, full of trees of different kinds and snow (Great natural attraction for local as well as International visitors and tourists), especially in the winter. These mountains vary in height i.e, from 4,000 feet to 17,000 feet and are naturally divided into two i.e, the western and the eastern range. These run down either side of the Division with a trend generally from the north-east to the south-west and work like a dividing line between Hazara, Azad Kashmir, Murree, Rawalpindi, Swat and Malakand on their respective sides.

Besides other, Malka-Parbat (17000feet) Musa_ka_Mussala (13379 feet) Bhingra (8500 feet) Biliana (6192) Tanglai, Serri and Phambla are important peaks in this area, and these mountains, besides providing healthy environments,  are a constant source of income to the country. 

Musa-ka-Musalla

                                        

Mali-Ka-Parbat            

Mountain covered with snow in Naran Valley.

                     

Peak of Miran opposite of Nathia Gali

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