Hazara District, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Contents |
Hazara District
Physical aspects
Northernmost District of the North - West Frontier Province, and the only portion of that Province east of the Indus. It lies between 33° 44^ and 35° 10' N. and 72° 33' and 74° 6' E., with an area of 2,858, or, including Tanawal, 3,062 square miles. The District consists of a long tongue of British territory running north and south for 120 miles. The southern base is 56 miles in width, and the centre 40, while the Kagan valley, in the north- east, is only about 15 miles broad. On the north the Kagan range separates the District from Chilas, a dependency of Kashmir ; and on the east the range which borders the left bank of the Kunhar river and the Jhelum separates it from Kashmir, Punch, and the Punjab District of Rawalpindi ; north-west lie the Black Mountain and the lofty ranges which overhang the eastern bank of the Indus ; and on the south is Attock District of the Punjab. Thus the District lies like a wedge of British territory driven in between Kashmir on the east and the independent hills on the west.
Hazara presents every gradation of scenery, altitude, and climate. The valley of the Harroh, only 1,500 feet above sea-level, merges into the Hazara plain, an area of 200 square miles, with a mean elevation of 2,500 feet. Higher again asoects is the Orash plain, where Abbottabad lies between 4,000 and 5,000 feet above the sea. Lastly the Kagan valley, com- prising one-third of the total area, is a sparsely populated mountain glen, shut in by parallel ranges of hills which rise to 17,000 feet above the sea. Never more than 15 miles apart, these ranges throw out spurs across the valley, leaving only a narrow central gorge through which the Kunhar river forces an outlet to the Jhelum.
The scenery is picturesque and ever-changing. Distant snowy ranges to the north ; the higher mountains of Hazara, clothed with pines, oaks, and other forest trees, the lower ranges covered with grass and brushwood ; cultivation appearing on every available spot, from the small terraces cut with great labour in the hill-sides to the rich irriga- tion of the Haripur and Pakhli plains ; water in every form, from the swift torrents of the Kunhar and Jhelum and the strong deep stream of the Indus, to the silent lakes of the Kagan valley — all these suggest Kashmir and offer a vivid contrast to the arid plains of Northern India.
Hazara may be described geologically as a section of the earth's crust coming well within the area of Himalayan disturbance, although the trend of the hill-ranges is altered from north-west — south-east to north-east — south-west. It is divisible into four distinct zones or belts of formations separated from one another by faults with over- thrust, and each zone exhibits more plication or metamorphism as the higher and more north-westerly regions are approached. The first, to the north-west, is composed of metamorphic schists and sills of gneissose granite, and includes most of the country north-west of Abbottabad and the Dor valley. The second zone is composed of a great and ancient slate series, with ouThers of younger rocks in the high, isolated hill-groups north-east of Abbottabad. The next in order, together with the ouThers of that just described, comprises a great series of marine deposits beginning with a marked unconformity and basal conglomerate, and extending from the infra-Trias (Devonian?) up to Nummulitic, the rocks being mostly limestones or dolomitic limestones with subordinate shales and sandstones. In this series the Trias and Nummulitic are well developed, while the Jura Cretaceous strata are comparatively thin. Last of all are the Upper Tertiary zone of Murree sandstone and the lower and upper Siwalik sandstones and conglomerates to the south, stretching away into the Rfnvaliiindi plateau.
A coaly layer is lound l)elow the Numnuilitic limestone in the Dor and neighbourhood. It is much crushed, uncertain in thickness, and mixed with much clay. Its value (if any) requires proving '.
The trees of the District are described below under Forests. Generally speaking the flora is extremely varied, in the south embracing most varieties commonly found in the plains of Northern India, and in the hills including every type of Alpine vegetation until the extreme limit of growth is reached.
Leopards and black bears are found in all the hill tracts ; hyenas are common in the lower hills, and wolves are occasionally seen. Foxes, hill martens, porcupines, hedgehogs, mongooses, and burrowing rats are common throughout the District. Ibex and musk deer are found in Kagan. Game-birds are not numerous. Various kinds of pheasant are found at elevations from 5,000 to 12,000 feet, and partridges and the commoner water-fowl abound lower down. Mahseer are plentiful in the Indus and Jhelum and in the lower reaches of the Harroh and Si ran.
The climate is as varied as the scenery. The hot season in the south vies with that in the adjoining Districts of Rawalpindi and Attock. In the central plateaux the heat of summer is materially less, and the winter proportionately severe. The line of perpetual snow is between 14,000 and 15,000 feet above sea-level. The climate is, however, healthy, and well suited to Europeans. Malarial fevers in the spring and autumn, and various affections of the lungs in winter, are the chief diseases.
The rainfldl is abundant, varying from 30 inches in the south to 50 inches or more in Abbottabad and the neighbouring hill stations. The heaviest fall in the last twenty years was 79 inches at Abbottabad in 1893-4, and the lightest 15 inches at Harlpur in 1891-2.
The origin of the name Hazara is obscure. It has been identified with Abisara, the country of Abisares, the chief of the Indian moun- taineers at the time of Alexander's invasion. Dr. Stein regards it as derived from Urasa, the ancient name of Pakhli ; but a possible derivation is from Hazara-i-Karlugh, or the Karlugh legion, which was settled in this tract by Timilr after his invasion of India. Little is known of the history of the tract before the Durranis. The name indeed occurs in the Ain-i-Akbari, and is mentioned by Firishta. From these writings we gather that the Hazara plain formed part of the Attock governorship, while other parts of the modern District were held by the same Gakhars who played so prominent a part in the history of Rawalpindi. When the Mughal dynasty declined and the Afghan peoples from across the Indus grew
• C. S. Middlemiss, Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, vol. xwi. more aggressive, they found Hazara an easy prey ; Gakliar rule had grown weak, and the old families of the Gujars, Kharrals, and Dhunds were losing their vitality.
In 1752 Hazara passed definitely under the sway of Ahmad Shah Durrani. The District formed the most convenient route to Kashmir and also a useful recruiting area. Hence the Durranis were at pains to repress disorder, but troubled themselves little about the internal administration or. even the revenue payments of the tract. By the beginning of the nineteenth century the Durranis had grown weak and Hazara proportionately unruly. Sikh rule, however, was not established without preliminary reverses. In 181 8 Ranjit Singh formally annexed Hazara; but in 1820 his generals were defeated, and again in 1821 Amar Singh was defeated and slain on the Harroh. Sardar Hari Singh, the governor of Kashmir, was now sent to Hazara ; but it took him three more years to subdue the warlike mountaineers of the outer hills, and it was not till 1836 that the Gakhars of Khanpur were finally subdued. The governorship of Hazara was at this time no sinecure. In 1845 the disorganization of the Sikh rule at Lahore tempted the people to rise once more, and so successful were they that Diwan Mulraj, governor of Hazara, retired to Hassan Abdal in 1846. The people assembled at Haripur and tried to restore former conditions. Meanwhile, the first Sikh AVar had come to an end, and Hazara was made over to Raja Gulab Singh, together with Kashmir. In 1847 the Raja gave back Hazara to the Lahore Darbar in exchange for land near Jammu, and Major James Abbott was sent to settle the country. By fair assessments, by liberality to the chiefs, and by a display of vigour and firmness when occasion required it, he completely pacified Hazara in less than a year. During the second Sikh War Major Abbott maintained his position single-handed in the hills, cut off by the Sikh army from all assistance. During the Mutiny the District was under another strong man, Major Becher, and no disturbances of importance took place. Since 1857, the Black Mountain has been the only focus of disturbance, but the expeditions of 1868, 1888, 1891, and 1892 seem to have effectually cjuietcd the country.
The archaeological remains so far discovered in Hazara are not numerous, but one is of great interest and importance. Thus is an inscriplicMi on three boulders near the base of the Bareri hill close to Mansehra, containing the first thirteen of the fourteen rock edicts of Asoka (third century \\. c). There are one or two traces of stfipas in other parts of the District. Coins of the Graeco-Bactrians, of Azes (first century i;. c), of Augustus, of the nameless king who called himself 'Soter Megas,' of the early Kushan kings, and of the Hindu Shahis have been discovered in Pakhli. Traces of ancient forts or villages, remains probably of the Hindu dynasties which governed
Population
Hazara under its former name Urasa (the modern Rash or Orash) before the Muhammadan occupation, are found here and there. Hazara District contains 4 towns and 914 villages. Its population at each of the last four enumerations was: (1868) 367,218, (1881) 407,075. (1891) 516,288, and (1901)
560,288. The principal statistics of population in 1901 are shown
below : —
Population has increased by 8-5 per cent, during the last decade, the increase being greatest in the Abbottabad Tahsil and least in that of Harlpur. It is divided into three tahsils: Abbottabad, Haripur, and Mansehra. The head-quarters of these fahs'ils are at the places from which each is named. The towns are the municipalities of Abbottabad (the head-quarters of the District), Haripur, Nawashahr, and Baffa. The District also contains the hill stations of Nathia Gali with DuNGA Gali (the former being the summer head-quarters of the Local Government), Changla Gali, and Thandiani ; and the hill cantonments of Bara Gali, Kala Bagh, Khaira Gali, and Ghora Dakka. Muhammadans number 533,000, or more than 95 per cent, of the total ; Hindus, 23,000 ; and Sikhs, 4,000. The language spoken is chiefly a dialect of Western Punjabi, known locally as Hindki. Pashtu is spoken on the Black Mountain border, and the Gujars have a dialect of their own called Gfijari.
In Hazara, Pathans are not the predominant race. They number only 55,000, while the Gujars, who profess to be aborigines, number 92,000, and the Awans 91,000. Tanaolis (59,000), though not Pathans, are closely allied to them by customs and tradition. Dhunds, another aboriginal tribe, number 25,000, Swatis 33,000, and Kharrals 16,000. The Saiyids (23,000) exercise great influence over the other Muham- madans. Of the trading classes, Khattris number 13,000 and Aroras only 4,000. Brahmans number 5,000. Of the arti.san classes, the Julahas (weavers, 16,000), Tarkhans (carpenters, 11,000), Mochls (shoemakers and leather-workers, 9,000), and Lohars (blacksmiths, 9,000) are the most important. The Kashmiris, who live mainly by woollen industries, number 15,000. The chief menial classes are the Nais (barbers, 7,000) and Musallis (sweepers, 3,000). About 2,000 persons returned themselves as Turks, descendants of the Turkomans who came with Tlmur in 1391. Agriculture supports 72 per cent, of the population.
Agriculture
The Church Missionary Society opened a branch at Abbottabad in 1899, and the Peshawar branch of the society has an outpost at Haripur. In 1901, the District contained 17 native Christians.
The level, portion of the District enjoys a seasonable and constant rainfall of about 30 inches; the soil is better than that of the hill tracts and more easily cultivated, and the spring har- vest is accordingly superior. The best irrigated and manured lands are equal to the most fertile in the Punjab, and the harvests are more certain than in the adjacent District of Rawalpindi. The low dry hills have a climate and rainfall similar to that of the plains, but the soil is much poorer. In the temperate hills and high land in the middle of the District the rainfall averages 47 inches, and snow falls occasionally ; the autumn crop is here the more valuable, but a fair proportion of spring crops are raised. The mountain tracts have an excessive rainfall and a severe winter ; so that there is but little spring harvest. The soil in the open portion of the District is deep and rich, the detritus of the surrounding hills being lodged in the basin-like depressions below ; the highlands have a shallow and stony covering, compensated for by the abundant manure obtained from the flocks of sheep and cattle among the mountain pastures. The spring harvest, which in 1903-4 formed 41 per cent, of the total crops harvested, is sown in the higher hills in October, and lower down in November and December ; the autumn crops are sown in the hills in June and July, while in the lower lands seed-time varies from April to August with the nature of the crop.
The District is held chiefly on the pattidari and hhaiyachard tenures,
zamlnddri lands covering about 339 square miles. The following
table shows the main statistics of cultivation in 1903-4, areas being in
square miles : —
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Maize covers the largest area, being grown on 273 square miles in
1903-4. Wheat (171) conies next in importance, followed by
barley (78).
The cultivated area has increased by ro per cent, since the settle- ment in 1874. The chief field for extension lies on the hill-sides, large areas of which can be brought under cultivation by terracing ; but until the pressure of the population on the soil becomes much heavier than it is at present, there is little prospect of any considerable progress in this direction. Nothing has been done to improve the quality of the crops grown. The potato was introduced shortly after annexation, and is now largely cultivated. A sum of Rs. 14,700 is outstanding up to date on account of loans to agriculturists, and Rs. 4,856 was advanced during 1903-4 for this purpose.
Cattle are most numerous in the hilly portions of the District. The breed is small, and the cows are poor milkers, but the introduction of bulls from Hissar has done a good deal to improve the quality of the stock. Sheep and goats are grazed in the District in large numbers, chiefly by Gujars ; the larger flocks migrate at different seasons of the year between Kagan and Lower Hazara or Rawalpindi. The sheep are of the ordinary thin-tailed breed, and attempts to cross them with English stock and to introduce merino sheep are being made. Sheep and goats are largely exported to the cantonments and towns in Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Jhelum. The local breed of horses is small ; the Civil Veterinary department maintains seven horse and twenty-one donkey stallions, and one horse and two pony stallions are kept by the District board. The Abbottabad and Mansehra Tahsils possess a large number of mules. A few camels are kept in Lower Hazara.
The area irrigated in 1903-4 was 52 square miles, or 8 per cent, of the cultivated area. Of this, only 1-4 square miles were supplied by wells, 377 in number, which are confined to the Indus bank and the plain round Haripur. They are built for the most part of boulder masonry, and are worked by bullocks with Persian wheels. The chief method of supply is by cuts from the Harroh, Dor, and Siran rivers and minor hill streams. The undulating formation of the valleys, and the ravines which intersect them, make any considerable extension of irrigation very difticult.
Forests
The two main classes of forests in Hazara District are : the ' reserved' forests, in which only few rights of user are admitted, although the villagers are entitled to a share in the price of the trees felled for sale ; and the village forests, in which Government retains a similar share, but which are otherwise practically left to the charge of the villagers, subject to the control of the Deputy- Commissioner.
The 'reserved' forests, which are situated mainly in the north and east, cover 235 square miles, and yield annually about 80,000 and 40,000 cubic feet oi deodar and other timber, respectively. The Jhelum and its tributaries convey the timber not used locally. The most important forests, which lie between altitudes of 5,000 and 10,000 feet, contain deodar, blue pine, silver fir, spruce, and Quercus incana, dilatata, and semecarpifolia. In the Gali range, where deodar is now scarce, trees of hardwood species are abundant, whereas in the drier Kagan range and in the Upper Siran valley pure deodar forests are not uncommon, but the variety of species is smaller. Between 10,000 feet and the limit of tree growth at about 12,500 feet, the spruce and silver fir are the most common. In the south some hardwood forests of poor quality are of importance for the supply of firewood, and at elevations between 3,000 and 6,000 feet there is a considerable extent of forest in which Finns longifolia predominates. Forest fires, which formerly did much damage, are now becoming less frequent. Working-plans have been prepared and will shortly come into force for all the ' reserved ' forests, which are controlled by the Forest officer in charge of the division. In 1903 4 the forests yielded a revenue of Rs. 83,000.
The village forests are not so strictly preserved. Those of the Harlpur tahsil and parts of Abbottabad, including Tanawal, produce only fuel ; but in the northern parts of the latter tahsil and in Mansehra the forests contain coniferous and deciduous trees, which increase in value as the forests become less accessible. These village forests are controlled, under the Hazara Forest Regulation of 1893, by the Deputy- Commissioner through the village headmen, on the principle that the villagers, while taking without restriction all that they require for their own needs, shall not be permitted to sell timber or firewood cut from them.
Of the 1,700 square miles of waste land in the District, only 200 are clad with timber-producing trees, 200 more forming fuel reserves. About 200 square miles have been demarcated as village forests, to check denudation and to prevent waste, while securing the produce to the villagers for the satisfaction of their needs.
As already mentioned, coal exists in the District, but has not been worked. Limestone, building stone, and gypsum are abundant, and coarse slate is found in places. Antimony and oxide of lead have been observed; and iron occurs in considerable (juantities, but is little worked.
Trade and Communication
The industries of Hazara are of only local importance. The principal manufacture consists of coarse cotton cloth and cotton strifjs for use as turbans. In the northern glens blankets are largely made from sheep's wool. The domestic art of communications embroidering silk on cotton cloth attains a higher degree of excellence than in any other part of the Province or the Punjab, and jewellery of silver and enamel is produced. Water-mills are used to a considerable extent for grinding flour and husking rice.
Cotton piece-goods, indigo, salt, tobacco, and iron are imported from Rawalpindi and the south, and a large proportion goes through to Kashmir and Bajaur, whence the chief imports are wood, fibres, and gh'i. Grain, chiefly maize, is exported to the dry tracts west of Rawalpindi, to the Khattak country across the Indus, and to Peshawar ; a large part is bought direct from the agriculturists by Khattak merchants who bring their own bullocks to carry it away. Ghl is exported chiefly to Peshawar, and sheep and goats are sent to Peshawar and Rawalpindi.
No railways pass through the District. It contains 90 miles of metalled roads under the Public Works department, and 1,157 miles of unmetalled roads, of which 406 are under the Public Works depart- ment and the rest are managed by the District board. The principal route is the metalled road from Hassan Abdal in Attock on the North- western Railway, which passes through Abbottabad and Mansehra to SrTnagar in Kashmir, crossing the Kunhar, Kishanganga, and Jhelum rivers by iron suspension bridges. Another route, not passable for wheeled traffic, connects Abbottabad with the hill station of Murree. Both routes run through mountainous country, but are kept in excellent repair, though the latter is in winter blocked by snow. A third road, from Hazro to Harlpur and Abbottabad, is chiefly used by Pathan traders from Peshawar. A tonga and bullock-train service connects Hassan Abdal on the North-Western Railway with Abbottabad. The Kunhar is crossed by several wooden bridges.
Famine
Hazara suffered great scarcity in the memorable and widespread famine of 1 783, which affected it with the same severity as the remainder . of Northern India. During the decade ending 1870,
which was a period of dearth in the plains Districts, the harvests of Hazara produced an excellent yield, and the high price of grain for exportation gave large profits to the peasantry, besides affording an incentive to increased cultivation. In 1877-8 Hazara again experienced scarcity ; but in 1879-80 the yield was abundant, and high prices ruled during the continuance of the Afghan War. The District was not seriously affected by the famines of 1896-7 and 1899-1900.
The District is divided for administrative purposes into three tahsils — Abbottabad, Haripur, and Mansehra — each under a iahstlddr and naih-tahsiIdar. The Deputy-Commissioner, besides holding executive charge of the District, is Political officer in charge of the tribes of the adjacent independent territory. He has under him a District Judge who is usually also Additional District Magistrate, an Assistant Commissioner who commands the border military police, and two Extra-Assistant Commissioners, one of whom is in charge of the District treasury. The Forest division is in charge of a Deputy-Conservator.
The Deputy-Commissioner as District Magistrate is responsible for criminal justice, and civil judicial work is under the District Judge. Both officers are supervised by the Divisional and Sessions Judge of the Peshawar Civil Division. The District Munsif sits at Abbottabad. Crime in Hazara is very light for a frontier District.
Sikh rule in Hazara began in 1818. As in the Punjab generally, the only limit to the rapacity of the karddrs was the fear of imperilling future realizations, but up to this limit they exacted the uttermost farthing. Some parts of Hazara were too barren or too inaccessible to be worth squeezing, and it may be doubted whether the Sikhs actually collected more than one-third of the total grain produce. When Major Abbott made the first summary settlement of Hazara in 1847-8, he took one-third as the fair share of Government. Records and measurements he neither found nor made, but he assessed each village after comparison of what it had paid with its degree of impover- ishnlent. The Sikh demand was reduced by 16 per cent. In 1852 Major Abbott made a second summary settlement, which was in effect a redistribution of the first, and was less by Rs. 3,000 than his original demand of Rs. 2,06,000. The fact that the first assessment was easily paid is evidence of its equity, while the fact that it was reimposed, after a fall in prices quite unprecedented in both suddenness and extent, points to the improvement which must have taken place in the cultiva- tion and the general circumstances of the District.
The assessment of 1852 remained in force for twenty years, and a regular settlement was carried out between 1868 and 1874. 'J'he prosperity of the District had advanced rapidly, and the demand was increased by 34 per cent, to 3 lakhs. The District again came under settlement in 1901, when a similar rise in prosperity had to be taken into account. The new demand shows an increase of Rs. 20,400, or 7 per cent, over the demand for 1903-4.
The collections of land revenue and of total revenue are shown below, in thousands of rupees : —
The District contains five municipalities, Harifuk, Aiir,OTiAB.\D, Baffa, Mansehra, and Nawashahr ; and a 'notified area,' Nathia GALi-r«w-DuNGA Gali. Outsidc these municipal areas, local affairs are managed by the District board, all the members of which are aijpointed.
Its income, derived mainly from a cess on the land revenue, amounted in 1903-4 t(j Rs. 29,500; and the expenditure was about the same, the principal item being education.
The regular police force consists of 487 of all ranks, of whom 42 are cantonment and municipal police. The force is controlled by a Superintendent. The village watchmen number 471. There are 16 police stations, one outpost, and 12 road-posts. The District jail at head-quarters has accommodation for 114 prisoners. The border military police, numbering 250, are under the control of the Deputy- Commissioner exercised through the commandant, an Assistant Com- missioner, and are distinct from the District police.
Only 2-4 of the District population could read and write in 1901, the proportion of males being 4-35, and of females i per cent. Education is most advanced among Hindus and Sikhs. The number of pupils under instruction was 872 (in public schools alone) in 1880-1, 8,006 in 1890-1, 5,264 in 1902-3, and 5,439 in 1903-4. In the last year there were 6 secondary and 2)2) priniary (public) schools, and 18 advanced and 165 elementary (private) schools, with 103 girls in the public and 161 in the private schools. The District is very backward in education. Only 6 per cent, of children of a school-going age are receiving instruction. Some progress, however, is being made, and there are two Anglo-vernacular high schools at Abbottabad. The total expenditure on education in 1903-4 was Rs. 24,000, of which the District fund contributed Rs. 8,000, municipalities Rs. 6,000, and fees Rs. 4,000.
The District possesses five dispensaries, at which 83,264 cases were treated in 1904, including 1,266 in-patients, and 2,698 operations were performed. The expenditure was Rs. 11,500, the greater part of which was contributed by Local funds.
In 1903-4 the number of persons successfully vaccinated was 10,574, or 19-5 per 1,000 of the population.
\^District Gazetteer. 1875 (under revision).]
