Nowshera
Encyclopedia
Nowshera District
Nowshera is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan - the principal city is Nowshera. Nowshera District is divided into 47 Union Councils and 5 provincial seats....
in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province 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...
. It is also one of the largest cities of the province and lies on the Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
27 miles due east of Peshawar at 34°0'55N 71°58'29E.
Overview
Nowshera city is notable for its colonial era cantonmentCantonment
A cantonment is a temporary or semi-permanent military or police quarters. The word cantonment is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district, as is the name of the Cantons of Switzerland. In South Asia, the term cantonment also describes permanent military stations...
, which is located at 33°59'48N 72°0'47E and is home to the Pakistan Army School of Artillery, School of ASC, ASC centre, Armour centre and School of Armour. The area is the home of many Pakhtun tribes, including the Babars
Babar (tribe)
The Babar tribe is a Pakhtun tribe descending from Sarban, a son of Qais Abdur Rashid along with other tribes such as the Yusafzais, Tareens, Durranis and Mohmands....
, Yousafzais, Awan, Kaka Khels,Manki khel and Khattak. (It is a matter of debate whether Kaka Khels qualify as a Pashtun tribe as they are a family group with affiliation to one progenitor, Kaka Sahib – but it is not known if he was a Pashtun – Mian or Miah are the descendents of Kaka Sahib.) Khattak is the predominant tribe, making up 65% of the population of the District. The GT Road is the main road connecting villages and towns across the District. The town is also at the junction of Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
and Swat Road.
Nowshera is the only district of Pakistan with three cantonments, namely Nowshera Cantonment, Risalpur
Risalpur
Risalpur is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 15 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 1014 feet above sea level, it is bounded on the south and west by the Kabul and...
Cantonment and Cherat
Cherat
Cherat is a hill station, immediately above the village of Salehkhana or Saleh Khana in the Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan...
Cantonment.
History
During British ruleBritish 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...
, Nowshera was a town and cantonment as well as tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
of Peshawar District (later Peshawar Division
Peshawar Division
Peshawar Division was an administrative division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government. At independence in 1947, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was split into two divisions, Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar...
). The town was on the route of the North-Western Railway. The population according to the 1901 census of India was 9,518.
The Imperial Gazetteer of India describes the cantonment as follows:
Major Tribes
The major tribes in the district include the KhattakKhattak
Khattak or Khatak , is the name of an Afghan tribe. speaking a variant of the Kandahari Pashto. They are accorded the status of being one of the original and true Afghans. The tribe is settled along the western bank of the river Indus from as north upwards as Sammah; modern day Lund Khwar & Sher...
, especially their sub-tribe Akora Khattak, Babar
Babar (tribe)
The Babar tribe is a Pakhtun tribe descending from Sarban, a son of Qais Abdur Rashid along with other tribes such as the Yusafzais, Tareens, Durranis and Mohmands....
, Yousafzai
Yousafzai
The Yūsufzai is one of the largest Pashtun tribes...
, Awan
Awan (Pakistan)
Awan , is a South Asian Zamindar tribe, putatively of Arab origin, living predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Punjab, Pakistan...
, Kakakhel
Kakakhel (tribe)
The Kakakhels are a prominent Syed clan of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa. Their roots reach to Hazrat Ali bin Ismail bin Imame-Jafer Sadiq. Kakakhels are descendants of the Islamic Sufi Syed Kastir Gul , and Sheikh Rahamkar - a student of Sheikh Hazrat Akhun Adeen/Adyan Seljuki...
Akhunkhel Miangan (Syed) and Afridi
Afridi
Afridi of rough hilly area in the eastern Safed Koh range, west of the Peshawar Valley and east of Torkham, and Maidan in Tirah, which can be accessed by the Kajurhi plains and the valleys of Bara and Churah in Pakistan...
.
Akbarpura is being famous for the shrines of Sufis. Among these shrines are Akhund Panju Baba, Nanga Baba, Nadan Shaheed. Every day hundreds of people do visits these shrines to pay their respect to the Sufis. Syed Abdul Wahab alias Akhund Panju Baba aka Baba Sahib was a famous Sufi and preacher of Islam. Thousands of Hindus embrace Islam on his hand. Baba sahib was migrated from Kalu Khan Sawabi area to Akbarpura, he started his teachings and preaching from the Misri Pura area of Akbarpura, where today his tomb is present. Baba Sahib Family is Syed and locally being called as Akhun Khel Miangaan which still exists in the area. The Miangaan family is carrying on the Baba Sahib tasks of Preaching Islam till today, the present Gaddi Nasheen of the Akhund Panju Baba shrine is Syed Shamshad Ali Shah locally known as Pir Sb.
The Kakakhels are a prominent Syed clan of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa. Their roots reach to Hazrat Ali bin Ismail bin Imame-Jafer Sadiq. Kakakhels are descendants of the Islamic Sufi (wali) Syed Kastir Gul (also known as Kaka Sahib), and Sheikh Rahamkar - a student of Sheikh Hazrat Akhun Adeen/Adyan Seljuki. Kastir Gul was affectionately known as "Kakasahib", and his descendants are known as Kakakhels - meaning "the sons of Kakasahib". The clan originated in a small village known as "Kakasaib" in Nowshera
See also
- Nowshera CantonmentNowshera CantonmentNowshera Cantonment is a cantonment adjacent to Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan....
- Nowshera DistrictNowshera DistrictNowshera is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan - the principal city is Nowshera. Nowshera District is divided into 47 Union Councils and 5 provincial seats....