Nagar (princely state)

Nagar, Pakistan
Princely state of Pakistan
14th century–25 September 1979
Map of Pakistan with Nagar highlighted
Capital Nagar, Pakistan
History
 • Established 14th century
 • Disestablished 25 September 1979
Area 5,000 km2 (1,931 sq mi)
Today part of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
This article is part of the series
Former administrative units of Pakistan

Nagar (Urdu: الله أكبر‎, riyasat nagar) was a princely state in the northernmost part of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Until August 1947, it was in a subsidiary alliance with British India and bordered the states of the Gilgit Agency to the south and west and the princely state of Hunza to the north and east. From November 1947 to 1974, like Hunza, it was a princely state of Pakistan. The state capital was the town of Nagar.

The territory, once covered by Nagar, is now in the far north of Pakistan. The area of Nagar now forms three tehsils of the Nagar District.

History

Nagar and the neighboring state of Hunza were autonomous principalities until the British gained control of both states between 1889 and 1893. Afterwards, they held the status of princely states until 1947 but were considered to be vassals of Jammu and Kashmir, despite never being ruled directly by either. The rulers of Nagar sent annual tributes to the states of Jammu and Kashmir Durbar until 1947. Along with the ruler of Hunza, they were considered amongst the most loyal vassals of the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir.

In November 1947, Nagar acceded to Pakistan, which became responsible for its external affairs and defense, while Nagar continued to self-govern internally. In 1968, Syed Yahya Shah, the first educated politician of the valley, demanded civil rights from the Mir of Nagar. In 1974, when Ayub Khan's dictatorship ended in Pakistan and the Pakistan People's Party, under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto came into power through elections, the government forced the Mirs of Hunza and Nagar to abdicate. The areas were then merged with the Northern Areas.[1]

The Hunza valley looking across the river to Nagar
Mount Rakaposhi

Government

The state was governed by the hereditary rulers of the Maglot dynasty who were styled as Mir and were assisted by a council of Wazirs or Ministers, and they were selected from the family of khutayating. Wazir Taifor Shah and his son Wazir Malik Shah were the powerful ministers of that time. At the time of Wazir Malik Shah's death, his son was too small to take his father's duty of ministry. Therefore, the responsibility was divided among three men, Wazir Enayat Ali from Potikuz, Wazir Behlol from Khutayating, and Wazir Sarwar from Chalt Chaprote. The details of these early rulers are uncertain, the first definite dates available are from 1839 CE onward. Over a century later in November 1947, the state became one of the princely states of Pakistan. Brigadier Mir Shaukat Ali Khan was the last ruler of the State before it was abolished by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1972.

Reign Mirs of Nagar[2]
Unknown datesFadl Khan
Unknown datesDaud Khan
~1750Ali Dad Khan (1st time)
Unknown datesHari Tham Khan
~1761Ali Dad Khan (2nd time)
Unknown datesKamal Khan
Unknown datesRahim Khan I
Unknown date - 1839Rahim Khan II
1839–1891Jafar Zahid Khan (I)
1892-1899Wair Houlo (Khutayting)
1899–1904Jafar Zahid Khan (2nd time)
1905 - 17 March 1940Raja Mir Iskandar Khan
17 March 1940 - 25 September 1974Shaukat Ali Khan (1930–1976)
25 September 1974 State of Nagar dissolved
After the dissolution of Nagar State in 1974 Elected Representatives of Nagar in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Council
1975 Syed Yahya Shah
1980 Mir Shaukat Ali Khan
1985- Qurban Ali
1997- Mir Shaukat Ali Khan-Nagar-1 Shiekh Ghulam Haider-Nagar-2,
2000 -Qurban Ali-Nagar-1, Shiekh Ghulam Haider-Nagar-2
2005 Mirza Hussain-Nagar-1,Muhammad Ali Akhtar-Nagar-2
2009 Mirza Hussain-Nagar-1 Muhammad Ali Akhtar-Nagar-2

History of Wazir Zadas of Nagar state

Wazir Sha Murad F/o ,Wazir Taifoor Shah F/o ,Wazir Malik Shah F/o ,Wazir Jaffaq F/o ,Wazir Malik Shah F/o ,Wazir Naqeeb Hassan.

Geography

The terrain of Nagar is extremely mountainous, which provided a certain degree of protection against invading forces. The highest mountain is the 7,788 m (25,551 ft) Mount Rakaposhi south of the town of Nagar. As of 2009, the Karakoram Highway crossed Nagar, connecting Pakistan with China via the Khunjerab Pass. The road follows the Hunza river for some distance through Nagar and into the Hunza region.

Demographics

There are around 90,000 inhabitants of the Nagar valley (AKRSP Census, 2000). Nagar is home to two main ethnicities – the Burushaski speakers and the Shina speakers. An older type of Burushaski is still spoken in the valley with a mild modern accent. A third language, Bedeski, is also still spoken in Chalt Nagar.

Religion

The population is traditionally predominantly Shia (Jafria). Following sectarian violence in January 2005, the Tanzim Ahle Sunnah wal Jama’at representing Sunnis, and the Central Anjuman-e-Imamia Northern Areas representing Shias (Jafria), signed a six-point peace agreement arranged by the Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC) on 18 February 2005, to ensure peace in the area.[3]

Villages of Nagar

The Nagar villages are mainly populated by farmers, hunters, and fishers.

References

  1. ↑ Muhammad Ismail Tehseen, Buroshall Say Nagar Tak ka Safar, Syed Yahya Shah, Brushal ke Qabail, both in Urdu, available in Municipal library at Gilgit
  2. ↑ Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org. "Pakistan Princely States". Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  3. ↑ Ibrahim Shahid, Sunni and Shia groups sign peace deal in Gilgit, Daily Times (Pakistan), Sunday February 20, 2005

Further reading

External links

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