Poonch District ضلع پونچھ | |
|---|---|
District of Azad Kashmir administered by Pakistan[1] | |
  top: Poonch Valley bottom:Tolipir | |
 Interactive map of Poonch district | |
 A map showing Poonch district shaded in Yellow along with Sudhanoti district | |
| Coordinates (Rawalakot):33°51′12″N73°45′5″E / 33.85333°N 73.75139°E /33.85333; 73.75139 | |
| Administering country | Pakistan |
| Territory | Azad Kashmir |
| Division | Poonch |
| Headquarters | Rawalakot |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | N/A |
| • District Police Officer | N/A |
| • District Health Officer | N/A |
| Area | |
• Total | 855 km2 (330 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[2] | |
• Total | 500,571 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Urdu[3] |
| • Spoken | Pahari-Pothwari |
| Number ofTehsils | 4 |
Poonch District (Urdu:ضلع پونچھ) is one of theten districts of thePakistan-administered territory ofAzad Kashmir in thedisputed Kashmir region.[1]
It falls in thePoonch Division and is bounded on the north byBagh District, on the north-east byHaveli District, on the south-east by thePoonch District of the Indian-administered territory ofJammu and Kashmir, on the south bySudhanoti andKotli districts, and on the west by theRawalpindi District ofPunjab, Pakistan.
The Poonch District is part of the greater Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. The district headquarters is the city ofRawalakot. It is the third most populous district of Azad Kashmir.[4][5] Historically, the area now constituting Poonch District was part of the Sudhanoti region, which later became a tehsil of the formerPoonch State.[6]
The main language isPahari, native to an estimated 95% of the population, but there are also speakers ofGujari,[7] whileUrdu has the status of the official language.
Around 850CE, Poonch became a sovereign state ruled by Raja Nar. According toRajatrangani, Raja Trilochanpal of Poonch resistedMahmood Ghaznavi who invaded Poonch 1020. Ghaznavi failed to enter Kashmir, as he could not capture the fort of Lohara (modern day Loran, in district of Poonch).[8]
Poonch came under theKashmir Sultanate during late 15th century through the military campaigns ofMalik Tazi Bhat, a general of the Sultanate. He led military campaigns that resulted in the conquest and administration of several regions, including Poonch, Jammu, Rajouri, Bhimber, Jhelum, Sialkot, and Gujrat, from 1475 to 1487. Following its incorporation, Poonch was administered as a vassal state under the Kashmir Sultanate. Local rulers retained a degree of autonomy but were required to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Sultan and provide tribute and military support when necessary. This arrangement persisted until the late 16th century, when the region came under Mughal influence. In 1596, Mughal EmperorJahangir granted Siraj-ud-Din Rathore rulership over Poonch, marking the end of its vassalage under Kashmir.[9]
In 1596,Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted Siraj-ud-Din Rathore rulership over Poonch Jagir. Earlier, during his second visit to Kashmir in 1592, EmperorAkbar, accompanied by Prince Salim (later Jahangir), had passed through theHaji Pir Pass, where Rathore's hospitality had greatly impressed them. As a result, the Mughals rewarded him with authority in the region. Siraj-Ud-Din and his descendants ruled the some parts of Poonch area up to 1792. The Rathore family and their descendants ruled substantial parts of Poonch until around 1792, administering their domains as separate jagirs underMughal suzerainty. However, their authority did not extend over the entire territory and areas such as Sudhanoti and nearby highlands were governed by localSudhan chieftains, who likewise maintained their own independent jagirs. Thus, the political structure of Poonch during this period was fragmented, with Rathore rulers and Sudhan chiefs each exercising autonomous control over their respective estates.[10]
Under the leadership ofAhmad Shah Abdali, theDurrani Afghans conqueredKashmir, taking advantage of the declining Mughal Empire. They thus obtained control of Poonch, and established their government in the region. They ruled the region until 1819, when theSikh Empire routed them from theKashmir Valley, and annexed parts ofPoonch (eastern half). They subsequently lost rule in any remaining territories inKashmir.[11]
In the western parts of Poonch (modern dayPoonch Division, AJK) the local tribes had entrenched themselves in the hills. The Muslim tribes of the region formed a defensive coalition against the Sikhs, at the head of which was theSudhan tribe.[12]
AfterGulab Singh received the chakla ofJammu as ajagir (autonomous territory), he made renewed attempts at conquering Poonch, but the armies he raised were not large enough to defeat the resistance, and consequently he would face defeats before being forced to withdraw.[13]
In 1832,Gulab Singh convincedRanjit Singh to attack the coalition. Ranjit marched with an army of 60,000 troops alongside an assortment of hill cannons. The coalition made the decision to surrender, accepting the suzerainty of theSikhs over Poonch.[14]
The Sikhs had conquered the eastern part of Poonch in 1819, but did not exert full control over it until the tribal coalition was defeated in 1832.[12]
In 1822, Ranjit Singh appointed Gulab Singh as the Raja ofJammu and, in 1827, appointed Dhyan Singh as the Raja of Bhimber, Chibbal and Poonch[15] (covering the Mirpur and Poonch districts as of 1947[16]).Dhyan Singh spent most of his time in Lahore, subsequently becoming thediwan (prime minister) in the Sikh court. Gulab Singh is said to have managed his jagirs on his behalf.
In 1837, the hill tribes of Poonch, led by theSudhans[17] launched arebellion. They captured Sikh garrisons and defeated the son ofGulab Singh, Ottam Singh, whom had been sent with a force of five thousand troops to crush the rebellion. Though the rebels captured the majority of Poonch, after Gulab Singh returned from his campaign against theYusufzai, he was able to incite treachery within the rebellion. Gulab Singh then attacked with an army of twenty-thousand which he had raised inKahuta, and after fierce fighting and aid of Sikh reinforcements, he captured key forts of the rebels and their leaders, flaying aliveSudhansardars Malli Khan and Sabz Ali Khan, executions of other commanders and notables from the rebellious tribes and killed the main leader of the rebellion, Shams Khan. Gulab Singh's forces caused devastation and massacres within captured rebel territory, due to which he faced controversy, particularly by the British, and obtained the reputation of a tyrant.[15][18][19][17]
After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Sikh court fell into anarchy and palace intrigues took over. Dhyan Singh, Suchet Singh as well as Dhyan Singh's son Hira Singh were murdered in these struggles.[20] Poonch was confiscated by the Sikh Durbar on the grounds that the Rajas had rebelled against the state and handed it over to Faiz Talib Khan ofRajouri.[21]
After theFirst Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846) and the subsequent Treaties ofLahore andAmritsar, the entire territory between theBeas and theIndus rivers was transferred to Gulab Singh, including Poonch. He was recognised an independent ruler, amaharaja, of the newly created state ofJammu and Kashmir.[22] Gulab Singh reinstated the jagir of Poonch to Jawahir Singh, the eldest remaining son of Dhyan Singh. Thus, theDogra dynasty became the rulers of the state.[21]
.svg)
After independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, there was arebellion in the western part of thePoonch District. The rebels led bySardar Ibrahim Khan, sought support from theDominion of Pakistan, which provided arms and then launched aninvasion of its own, usingPashtun tribals. In response, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir joined India, and the conflict turned into anIndo-Pakistani war. When a ceasefire was effected, the then Poonch District was divided into two parts. The former headquarters, the city ofPoonchin the eastern part, came under Indian control, and the western part of the district came under Pakistani control, a new capital was established atRawalakot.
The Pakistan-administered portion of the Poonch district was reorganised as thePoonch Division. Of the four tehsils of the original Poonch District, viz., Bagh, Sudhnoti, Haveli, and Mendhar, the Poonch Division included the first two and a portion of the third. Those three tehsils were eventually made separate districts, and a new Poonch District was created in the center of the Poonch Division by incorporating portions of theBagh andSudhnoti tehsils.
Poonch district was the main area of violent anti government revolt (led by theSudhan tribe) during the1955 Poonch uprising, which lasted from early 1955 to late 1956.[23]
The district is administratively subdivided into four tehsils:[24]
According to the Pakistan District Education Ranking 2017, a report released byAlif Ailaan, the Poonch District is ranked at number 8 nationally, with an education score of 73.52. Over the past five years, the Poonch District has shown the most improvement in the establishment of middle schools. The learning score for the Poonch District is 84.15.[25] The school infrastructure score for the Poonch District is 14.88, ranking the district at number 151, which places it in the bottom five districts relating to infrastructure in Pakistan and its two dependent territories. Schools in the Poonch District also have severe problems with regard to electricity, drinking water, and boundary walls, as reflected in their scores of 2.67, 12.1, and 6.23, respectively.[25] The state of some school buildings also presents a major safety risk for students.
ThePoonch-Rawalakot Bus, which crosses the LOC, has helped to re-establish ties across the border.[26]
The situation between the two nations was complicated by the 1957–1959 uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule. Refugees poured across the Indian border, and the Indian public was outraged. Any compromise with China on the border issue became impossible. Similarly, China was offended that India had given political asylum to the Dalai Lama when he fled across the border in March 1959. In late 1959, there were shots fired between border patrols operating along both the ill-defined McMahon Line and in the Aksai Chin.
Territorial Dispute: The situation along the Sino-Indian frontier continued to worsen. In late July (1959), an Indian reconnaissance patrol was blocked, "apprehended," and eventually expelled after three weeks in custody at the hands of a larger Chinese force near Khurnak Fort in Aksai Chin. ... Circumstances worsened further in October 1959, when a major class at Kongka Pass in eastern Ladakh led to nine dead and ten captured Indian border personnel, making it by far the most serious Sino-Indian class since India's independence.
official was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Although Sikhs were able, to a large extent, to subdue Muslims of Kashmir valley, they did not succeed in fully subjugating the people living in hilly areas, particularly those in Poonch
About the year 1832, Gulab Singh, who had already acquired the Chakla of Jammu as Jagir from Maharaja Ranjit Singh, made many attempts at the conquest of the district of Poonch, which was inhabited by martial tribes like the 'Sudhans'.
Gulab Singh prevailed upon Ranjit Singh, mainly through the influence of his brothers Dhian Singh and Suchet Singh, to attack Poonch. Consequently, Ranjit Singh marched at the head of a force as large as sixty thousand equipped with a hundred and fifty pieces of ordinances which boomed day and night in the hills surrounding the territory. Instead of putting up a fight, the local leadership thought it advisable to make peace and accept the Maharaja's sovereignty in order to save their territory from the destruction that such a huge army with its artillery could have inflicted. Shamas Khan, the outstanding local leader, was taken a hostage and entrusted to the care of Dhian Singh.
During our interview, the Maharaja volunteered an explanation of the grounds on which he had obtained the character of a cruel tyrant, saying that in the Suodan country, the people had not only put his garrisons to the sword but cut up many of the soldiers piece-meal and thrown their corpses to the dogs, that in punishment for such atrocities and prevention of them for the future, he had flayed three ring-leaders. He then said that he would request for the services of... ((I Vigne, p. 241. 2 Maulvl Mlr Alam p. 97)) an advisor, after arriving in Kashmir by whose counsel he would abide his conduct."
Azad Jammu and Kashmir travel guide from Wikivoyage