Murree Tehsil
Encyclopedia
Murree Tehsil is one of the seven Tehsils (i.e sub-divisions) of Rawalpindi District
in the Punjab
province
of Pakistan
.
Murree Tehsil is located in the northernmost part of Punjab province where it borders the North West Frontier Province. The hill resort city of Murree
is the capital city of this area.
Murree Tehsil is divided into 15 Union Councils
these are:.
Note: The UC prefix is used for administration purposes as Rawalpindi District has a total of 90 Union Councils.
According to the 1901 census of India, Murree Tehsil contained 1 town (Murree) and 258 villages, the total population was recorded as 52,303 which was an increase of 14.3% from 1891 - of this 1,463 were literate. The population density was 202.7 per square mile, (total area=258 square miles).
, 40% of houses in Murree tehsil were damaged or destroyed
are the main tribe of the area. The Kethwal Rajputs are the second largest tribe in the area. Their origins lie in Kerman
Persia; they travelled eastwards and settled in the hills. The Kethwals are well established in the Charhan, Ghel and Ban areas of Murree (Tehsil). The Dhanyal is the third largest tribe in area. The Jasgam
are the fourth largest tribe.
Before the creation of Kotli Sattian as a separate Tehsil
from Murree, the Satti tribe was the second largest. Now they form a much smaller proportion of the population of Murree Tehsil, limited mainly to the 'Gehl Sattian' areas and a few groups living in Circle Bakote. Notable Sattis in Murree are: Subedar Aalim Sher Khan Satti and Dafidar Khan Muhammad Satti from Murree's village of Ghel Sattian, who were politically active both pre- and post-independence in their village.
See Also Demography of Rawalpindi District
, also known as Dhoond Khan (from whom the Dhond Abbasi
tribe descended), came to Murree in the middle of the 12th century, while Mohazzam Shah, alias Dhanni Pir (from whom the Dhanyal tribe descended), arrived around 1190 from Dhanni, Chakwal
. Shah's parents had ruled Multan State for about 190 years and were descended from Alvis
, who migrated from Iraq
early in the 8th century. Mohazzam Shah supported Shahabuddin Ghouri intermittently to curb the activities of Dogra
Rajputs, who were against his leadership. In the 13th century, Mohazzam Shah died fighting against the Hindu Dogra Rajputs, and a separate tribe, Dhanyal, was established. The followers of Mohazzam Shah have made a shrine in his memory on Lehtrar Road, a rural area of Islamabad
. All Dhanyals are Alvis and are the descendants of Mohazzam Shah. As he had control over Kashmir
, Murree and the surrounding area, the tribe is often called Raja
, a king tribe in the locality. Between Dhanyals, they have seven or eight offshoots of the tribe living in Hazara, Islamabad
, Rawalpindi
, Murree, Bagh
Azad Kashmir
, Sialkot
, Chakwal
, Multan
and other parts of Pakistan
. All are Sunni Muslims. Although they have never participated in the national politics of Pakistan, they are well represented in the Pakistani Armed Forces. Hundreds of Dhanyals sacrificed their lives in World War II
and the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947
, 1965
and 1971
.
Raja Afzal Khan was famous politician of Satti Tribe he contested lagislative assembly election and was second Chairman of Union Council Chahrian who belongs to Village Dhal his family is head of Dhal valley.
, as the climate and irrigation do not give high yields. The average farmer has a holding of four or 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) land, the small size making farming even more difficult. Cattle breeding is another popular occupation but is not done for profit. Cows are kept to supply milk for household consumption, and bullocks are used to work the plough. Hill cows are hardy but small. An indigenous cow would give a maximum of one seer
of milk.
When the Murree Sanatorium developed, a great demand for milk was created. It stimulated the local Zamindars to import milch-kine from other districts. Buffaloes would give two to twelve seers of milk. The profit in milk sales was considerable as milk was sold at the fixed price of one anna
per seer. But these windfall profits lasted only until the end of the season. As for large flocks of sheep and goats, they were valued more for providing manure than for milk, meat or skin. In those days, it was a common custom to get the Gujjar
herdsmen to assemble their flocks on unsown fields at night. In return, the farmers provided food to the herdsmen. The droppings of sheep and goats fertilised their fields with the best manure available in the hills. Profits from the two main occupations of the hillmen were adequate only if the Zamindars had additional income, but the majority did not. In the absence of an industrial base, local potential was unrealized.
In the past, traditional flour mills (jandar
) on waterfalls were used to crush grains. Donkeys are used to carry water from the Choha spring, and the people of Pothawar also use donkeys to carry military equipment and food from Rawalpindi Railway Station
to the Murree Hills.
, the favoured construction pattern changed to the European style.
the sunny bank where the old hoyses which is the property of sheikhs as known as the mohallah sheikhwalla the shees mahal are also the property of sheikhs
, Sikh
and Muslim
populations in the Murree Hills was a significant feature. The great bulk of population in the rural areas was of Sunni Muslims. In a rural population of around 10,000, there were 9,000 Muslims, more than 500 Hindus and nearly 450 Sikhs. When the urban and rural populations are taken together, for every 10,000 people, there were a little more than 1,000 Hindus, nearly 500 Sikhs and approximately 8,500 Muslims. Despite their predominance, the Muslims were not overbearing. They were tolerant of other religions and lived with them in harmony. However, there was a little animosity towards the Sikhs. This was due to the sufferings undergone by the Muslims due to the inaccurate assessment of land revenue under the Sikh rule.
The atmosphere was of mutual tolerance among the three groups. In those days, the Hindu population was more concentrated in Potah Kotli Sattian, Phapprial, Angoori, Kallan Bassan and Deval. This last mentioned village had derived its name from the fact that it had a small temple. In the Hindi language, deval means the abode of gods or a temple. Other Hindu sites were concentrated in Murree Station. At the far end of Lower Bazar, the Hindus had their own locality called Mohallah Shiwala."
The sheikh are also the part of the sunny bank is the other home of the sheikhs the sheikhs of dheri spent the vocation of summer there the big names of sheikhs are the sheikh abdul ghani the kani sarkar the famous name the quaid e azam also spent voccation with sheikhs sych as sheikh ;s jalil sheikh haji abdul qadir
Rawalpindi District
Rawalpindi is a district of Pakistan in the north of the Punjab province which contains the city of Rawalpindi. The district has an area of . It was part of Rawalpindi Division, until the year 2000 when the division was abolished...
in the Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
province
Subdivisions of Pakistan
The administrative units of Pakistan consist of four provinces, one federal capital territory, and a group of federally-administered tribal areas...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Murree Tehsil is located in the northernmost part of Punjab province where it borders the North West Frontier Province. The hill resort city of Murree
Murree
Murree city is a popular hill station and a summer resort, especially for the residents of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and for the cities of the province of Punjab, Pakistan...
is the capital city of this area.
Administration
Union Councils of Pakistan
A sherwan or village council in Pakistan is an elected local government body consisting of 21 councillors, and headed by a nazim and a naib nazim...
these are:.
| UC | Name of Union |
|---|---|
| Uc-49 | Murree Urban |
| Uc-51 | Dewal |
| Uc-52 | Phagwari |
| Uc-53 | Potha Sharif |
| Uc-54 | Ghel |
| Uc-55 | Rawat |
| Uc-56 | Sehr Bagla Sehr Bagla Sehr Bagla is a Village and Union Council of Murree Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the north-east of the Tehsil and is bounded to the north by Potha Sharif, to the south by Ghel, to the west by Rawat and to the east by KashmirAccording to the 1998 census of... |
| Uc-57 | Darya Gali |
| Uc-58 | Gora Gali |
| Uc-59 | Numble |
| Uc-60 | Mussiari |
| Uc-61 | Angoori |
| Uc-62 | Tret |
| Uc-63 | Charhan |
| Uc-64 | Ban |
Note: The UC prefix is used for administration purposes as Rawalpindi District has a total of 90 Union Councils.
History
The British Raj quickened the pulse of the district when it took control of the Murree Hills, but the quiet routine of the ordinary hillman was never seriously interrupted or changed. During the Raj, the hills and valleys of Murree had denser forests than today. It even had a variety of wildlife. It is difficult to say when, where and how the first human dwelling started on Murree hills. From the layman’s point of view, it happened roughly a thousand years back. This assumption is based upon the study of old graves and centuries-old plants found growing in the vicinity. The construction and style of graves and the direction in which they are made also help in determining their age.According to the 1901 census of India, Murree Tehsil contained 1 town (Murree) and 258 villages, the total population was recorded as 52,303 which was an increase of 14.3% from 1891 - of this 1,463 were literate. The population density was 202.7 per square mile, (total area=258 square miles).
2005 earthquake
During the earthquake of 20052005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005...
, 40% of houses in Murree tehsil were damaged or destroyed
Tribes
The Dhond AbbasiDhond Abbasi
The Dhund Abbasi are a tribe of northern Pakistan. The tribe claims descent from Dhond Khan and ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and hence are known as Dhund Abbasi. The tribe speak the Dhundi-Kairali dialect...
are the main tribe of the area. The Kethwal Rajputs are the second largest tribe in the area. Their origins lie in Kerman
Kerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
Persia; they travelled eastwards and settled in the hills. The Kethwals are well established in the Charhan, Ghel and Ban areas of Murree (Tehsil). The Dhanyal is the third largest tribe in area. The Jasgam
Jasgam
The Jasgam or sometime pronounced Jaskham are a tribe found in the Punjab province of Pakistan.-History and origin:The Jasgam claim decent from the Abbasi family, the former Caliphs of Baghdad. According to their traditions, they are descended from Jasgam, who belonged to the Dhund Abbasi tribe, a...
are the fourth largest tribe.
Before the creation of Kotli Sattian as a separate Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
from Murree, the Satti tribe was the second largest. Now they form a much smaller proportion of the population of Murree Tehsil, limited mainly to the 'Gehl Sattian' areas and a few groups living in Circle Bakote. Notable Sattis in Murree are: Subedar Aalim Sher Khan Satti and Dafidar Khan Muhammad Satti from Murree's village of Ghel Sattian, who were politically active both pre- and post-independence in their village.
See Also Demography of Rawalpindi District
Demography of Rawalpindi District
The Demography of Rawalpindi District, a district of Punjab in Pakistan, has undergone significant changes over the years. It has been affected by turmoil in the surrounding countries....
Tribal histories
Shah WaliShah Wali
Ustad Shah Wali is a renowned musician from Afghanistan. He was born in 1952, in Tagab, Kapisa Province of Afghanistan....
, also known as Dhoond Khan (from whom the Dhond Abbasi
Dhond Abbasi
The Dhund Abbasi are a tribe of northern Pakistan. The tribe claims descent from Dhond Khan and ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and hence are known as Dhund Abbasi. The tribe speak the Dhundi-Kairali dialect...
tribe descended), came to Murree in the middle of the 12th century, while Mohazzam Shah, alias Dhanni Pir (from whom the Dhanyal tribe descended), arrived around 1190 from Dhanni, Chakwal
Chakwal
Chakwal is the capital of Chakwal District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located 90 km south-east of the federal capital, Islamabad and is named after Chaudhry Chaku Khan, chief of the Mair Minhas tribe from Jammu, who founded it in 1525 CE during the era of the Mughal Emperor, Zaheerudun Babur...
. Shah's parents had ruled Multan State for about 190 years and were descended from Alvis
Alvis
Alvis may refer to:*Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd, British luxury car and military vehicle manufacturer which later became Alvis plc*Alvis plc , a Defence contractor which acquired Alvis Cars and became the UK's largest armoured vehicle manufacturer*Alvis, a family surname in the United...
, who migrated from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
early in the 8th century. Mohazzam Shah supported Shahabuddin Ghouri intermittently to curb the activities of Dogra
Dogra
The Dogras are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. Being a diversified group, the Dogras include both Savarnas such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Non-savarnas. The Dogras also incluide merchant castes such as Mahajans...
Rajputs, who were against his leadership. In the 13th century, Mohazzam Shah died fighting against the Hindu Dogra Rajputs, and a separate tribe, Dhanyal, was established. The followers of Mohazzam Shah have made a shrine in his memory on Lehtrar Road, a rural area of Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
. All Dhanyals are Alvis and are the descendants of Mohazzam Shah. As he had control over Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, Murree and the surrounding area, the tribe is often called Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
, a king tribe in the locality. Between Dhanyals, they have seven or eight offshoots of the tribe living in Hazara, Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, Murree, Bagh
Bagh
Bagh is the chief town of Bagh District in Azad KashmirBagh, the district headquarters of district Bagh is 100 Kilometers from Muzaffarabad via Kohallah & 80 Kilometers via Suddhen Gali, 205 Kilometers from Islamabad and 48 kilometers from Rawalakot. This town is situated on the confluence of two...
Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
, Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
, Chakwal
Chakwal
Chakwal is the capital of Chakwal District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located 90 km south-east of the federal capital, Islamabad and is named after Chaudhry Chaku Khan, chief of the Mair Minhas tribe from Jammu, who founded it in 1525 CE during the era of the Mughal Emperor, Zaheerudun Babur...
, Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
and other parts of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. All are Sunni Muslims. Although they have never participated in the national politics of Pakistan, they are well represented in the Pakistani Armed Forces. Hundreds of Dhanyals sacrificed their lives in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
The India-Pakistan War of 1947-48, sometimes known as the First Kashmir War, was fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four wars fought between the two newly independent nations...
, 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
and 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
.
Raja Afzal Khan was famous politician of Satti Tribe he contested lagislative assembly election and was second Chairman of Union Council Chahrian who belongs to Village Dhal his family is head of Dhal valley.
Occupation
Historically, hunger and starvation pushed many people towards the plains or into the army, police and other services. Farming and cattle breeding, the two main occupations of the hill people, have not improved in recent times. Despite the poor returns, farming is the main occupation of the hill people. Farmers in the hilly tracts cannot double-cropMultiple cropping
In agriculture, multiple cropping is the practice of growing two or more crops in the same space during a single growing season. It is a form of polyculture. It can take the form of double-cropping, in which a second crop is planted after the first has been harvested, or relay cropping, in which...
, as the climate and irrigation do not give high yields. The average farmer has a holding of four or 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) land, the small size making farming even more difficult. Cattle breeding is another popular occupation but is not done for profit. Cows are kept to supply milk for household consumption, and bullocks are used to work the plough. Hill cows are hardy but small. An indigenous cow would give a maximum of one seer
Seer (unit)
A Seer is an obsolete unit of mass and volume that was used in parts of Asia.-India:In India, the seer was defined by the Standards of Weights and Measures Act as being exactly equal to 0.93310 kg...
of milk.
When the Murree Sanatorium developed, a great demand for milk was created. It stimulated the local Zamindars to import milch-kine from other districts. Buffaloes would give two to twelve seers of milk. The profit in milk sales was considerable as milk was sold at the fixed price of one anna
Indian anna
An Anna was a currency unit formerly used in India, equal to 1/16 rupee. It was subdivided into 4 Paise or 12 Pies . The term belonged to the Muslim monetary system...
per seer. But these windfall profits lasted only until the end of the season. As for large flocks of sheep and goats, they were valued more for providing manure than for milk, meat or skin. In those days, it was a common custom to get the Gujjar
Gujjar
The Gurjar are an ethnic group in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Alternative spellings include Gurjara, Gujar, Gurjjara and Gūrjara. The spelling Gurjara or Gurjar is preferable to the rest....
herdsmen to assemble their flocks on unsown fields at night. In return, the farmers provided food to the herdsmen. The droppings of sheep and goats fertilised their fields with the best manure available in the hills. Profits from the two main occupations of the hillmen were adequate only if the Zamindars had additional income, but the majority did not. In the absence of an industrial base, local potential was unrealized.
In the past, traditional flour mills (jandar
Jandar
The Jander or Jandar is a water driven mill that was commonly used in the mountain areas of the Murree Hills where water is abundant...
) on waterfalls were used to crush grains. Donkeys are used to carry water from the Choha spring, and the people of Pothawar also use donkeys to carry military equipment and food from Rawalpindi Railway Station
Rawalpindi Railway Station
The Rawalpindi Railway Station is located in the city of Rawalpindi in Punjab Province, Pakistan.-History:The Railway Station was built in the 1880s by the government of British India...
to the Murree Hills.
Housing
The rural population of Murree lived in far-flung, small hamlets called dhoks and Grann. Each dhok consisted of at least one to fifty houses. A hamlet comprised fewer than a dozen houses. Each family had its own house and cattle sheds constructed in the middle of its own fields. This isolation was self-desired and voluntary and inspired by their elders. The need for mutual protection often forced the rural population of the countryside to congregate and live in large villages, but the hill people felt no such compulsion. Their priorities lay in two entirely different directions. In the winter, the hill people stayed in their mud houses with fires to stay warm, but during the British RajBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, the favoured construction pattern changed to the European style.
the sunny bank where the old hoyses which is the property of sheikhs as known as the mohallah sheikhwalla the shees mahal are also the property of sheikhs
Population density
The quality of soil in the hills varies from place to place. The Zamindars therefore may not get the best piece of land in one village alone. The land may be in patches that are scattered at great distances from each other. Hence, the difference between manured and unmanured soil determines their choice of residence. They have distributed their dwellings with the view of readily obtaining manure for a land that appears potentially fertile. Actually, the soil of Murree and Patriata and Karore spurs was considered the best in the tehsil. It was deep and earthy. High-return crops could be grown in it with the help of ample rainfall and a lot of hill manure. When compared with the rich soil of the Punjab plains, it was not as good, but by the hill standards it was satisfactory. For this reason, the Murree, Patriata and Karore spurs are densely populated compared to the other spurs.Religion
Until 1947, the coexistence of HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
, Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
populations in the Murree Hills was a significant feature. The great bulk of population in the rural areas was of Sunni Muslims. In a rural population of around 10,000, there were 9,000 Muslims, more than 500 Hindus and nearly 450 Sikhs. When the urban and rural populations are taken together, for every 10,000 people, there were a little more than 1,000 Hindus, nearly 500 Sikhs and approximately 8,500 Muslims. Despite their predominance, the Muslims were not overbearing. They were tolerant of other religions and lived with them in harmony. However, there was a little animosity towards the Sikhs. This was due to the sufferings undergone by the Muslims due to the inaccurate assessment of land revenue under the Sikh rule.
The atmosphere was of mutual tolerance among the three groups. In those days, the Hindu population was more concentrated in Potah Kotli Sattian, Phapprial, Angoori, Kallan Bassan and Deval. This last mentioned village had derived its name from the fact that it had a small temple. In the Hindi language, deval means the abode of gods or a temple. Other Hindu sites were concentrated in Murree Station. At the far end of Lower Bazar, the Hindus had their own locality called Mohallah Shiwala."
The sheikh are also the part of the sunny bank is the other home of the sheikhs the sheikhs of dheri spent the vocation of summer there the big names of sheikhs are the sheikh abdul ghani the kani sarkar the famous name the quaid e azam also spent voccation with sheikhs sych as sheikh ;s jalil sheikh haji abdul qadir