Chattroh
Chattroh is a small village in the Dadyal tehsil (sub-division) of Mirpur District in Azad Kashmir (a self-governing administrative division of Pakistan). Lying on the banks of the River Jhelum, ancient Chattroh was founded by the Rajput rulers of the valley of Indherhill.
Like much of Mirpur, Chattroh has deep connections with the UK. Many people originally from Chattroh have settled in urban centres of the UK such as Birmingham and Manchester. The Cheetham Hill district of Manchester is often referred to as 'New Chattroh' (by Mirpuris), reflecting the fact that a large number of people from Chattroh live there. The town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester also has a large number of people from Chattroh residing in it. The link with the UK is immediately obvious upon entering Chattroh, where one is greeted by palatial, hacienda-style residences, eerily empty, which have been built with remitted UK incomes. In this regard, Chattroh is no different from the rest of the Mirpur District, where links with the UK have precipitated various property booms since the 1960s.
Demography
According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the population of Chattroh was 3,191.[1]
History
When the Mangla Dam was created in the 1960s, Chattroh escaped relatively unscathed, with only land on the periphery affected. However, plans to raise the Mangla reservoir further, if implemented, are certain to affect properties in Chattroh. These plans, as well as the general property boom, have contributed to demand for habitable land (as in much of the Mirpur District) This in turn has encouraged many unscrupulous people to take advantage of the archaic land laws and registers to make unmeritorious claims to premium land.
Politics
Chattroh also has a long history of involvement in politics. Ch Abbas Ali, Mirpur's representative to the assembly of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler of Kashmir, was from Chattroh. In recent years, two MPs for the Dadyal constituency of the state government have hailed from Chattroh, both of whom also served as State Ministers. Choudhry Ali Mohammad Chacha, the ex Minister of Law of Azad Kashmir who was assassinated in Mirpur in March 2008 was from Chattroh. A great writer of fiction, Khalid Mahmood is a further descendent of Chattroh.