Ghalegay
Encyclopedia
Mingora
Mingora is the largest city in Swat District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of and lies on the banks of River Swat about from Saidu Sharif, the present capital of Swat. As of 1998, the population of Mingora was about 175,000...
, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, situated on the eastern side of Swat River
Swat River
The Swat River is a river in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Its source is in the Hindukush Mountains, from where it flows through the Kalam Valley and Swat District...
. It is one of the main villages lying between the two cities, Mingora and Barikot.
During the recent Pashtun era in 1849, when the first legal government was formed, Ghalegay was chosen as the first capital of Swat because of its suitable geographical location. Syed Akbar Shah, who belonged to the family of Hazrat Pir baba
Pir Baba
Pir Baba Village is a mountainous village in Buner District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pir Baba Village is named after the sufi saint Hazrat Syed Ali Shah Termezi Gaus-e-Bunair Pir-e-Khurasan, alias Hazarat Pir Baba R.A. ....
and was a close friend of Syed Ahmed Shaheed, was nominated as the head of the government. In 1915, when Swat State came into being after a long period of civil war, Miangul Abdul Wadood (also known as Bacha Sahib) was announced as the head of the state. The Jirga
Jirga
A jirga is a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus, particularly among the Pashtun people but also in other ethnic groups near them; they are most common in Afghanistan and among the Pashtuns in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan...
of the village crowned him at Ghalagay.
Ghalegay houses the largest stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
of the Pakistani sub-content at Mohallah Shingardar. This stupa is a remnant of Buddhist era, and is one of the thousands ancient monuments in Swat Valley. It was built by Uttarasena, an ancient king of Swat, to enshrine his share of the relics of Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
. The building of stupa is made of large stones and layers of thin slate.
While heading toward Mingora you will find a statue of Buddha sculptured in a rock on the right side of G.T. road. There are also some remnants in a cave beside this statue.
The populace of Ghalegay depends mostly on the agricultural land and River Swat for their living. The town is among the top on educational level, from primary to PhD. A vast majority of the peoples are working abroad in Arab countries, europe and US. They are now the main source of income for most of the families. The life standard and social structure of the town is much better than any town in the Swat. Ghalegay is hometown of Dr. Badshah Khan (University of Peshawar) and Dr. Alam Zeb (Top 100 Scientist 2011 (IBC), University of Malakand) and many more notable peoples.
A Human Welfare Association is an active society in the town. The society build excellent streets and sewage system with the help of World bank . Vocational training for females are among the widely admired work of the society. The society is currently running a computer courses in their computer lab for females of the town.