Nagar (princely state)


Nagar was a princely salute state in the northern part of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Until August 1947, it was in a subsidiary alliance with British India. It bordered the states of the Gilgit Agency to the south and west, and the princely state of District Hunza to the north and east. From November 1947 to 1974 it was a princely state of Pakistan. The state capital was the town of Nagar.
The territory previously covered by Nagar forms three tehsils of the Nagar District of Northern Pakistan.

History

Nagar, founded in the fourteenth century, was an autonomous principality until the British gained control of the state following the Hunza–Nagar Campaign. It was a colonial princely state under the administration of the Gilgit Agency until 1947, but from 1868 it was a vassal of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, despite never being directly ruled by Kashmir. The rulers of Nagar were considered to be among the most loyal vassals of the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir, sending annual tributes to their Durbars until 1947. The British granted them a Hereditary gun salute of 15-guns
In November 1947, Nagar acceded to Pakistan, which became responsible for its external affairs and defense, while Nagar maintained internal self-government. 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 was elected, the government forced the Mir of Nagar to abdicate. The area was then merged with the Northern Areas.

Government

The state was governed by the hereditary rulers of the Maglot dynasty, who were styled as Mir. The details of these early rulers are uncertain; the first definite dates available are from 1839. 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 Pakistani PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1972.
ReignMirs of Nagar
c.1660Fadl Khan
c.1660Daud Khan
~1750Ali Dad Khan
Unknown datesHari Tham Khan
~1761Ali Dad Khan
Unknown datesKamal Khan
c.1780 - 18..Rahim Khan I
18.. - death 1839Rahim Khan II
1839?45–1891Jafar Zahid Khan '
1891 - 1892regency: Raja Ozor Khan
1892 - death 1904Jafar Zahid Khan '
June 1905 - death 17 March 1940Raja Mir Iskandar Khan
17 March 1940 – 25 September 1974Showkat Ali Khan Mir Shaukat Ali Khan Shiekh Ghulam Haider
2000 Qurban Ali Shiekh Ghulam Haider
2005 Mirza Hussain Muhammad Ali Akhtar
2009 Mirza Hussain Muhammad Ali Akhtar
2015 Rizwan Ali Muhammad Ali Haider
2017Javed Hussain

Population

Demographics

There are around 90,000 inhabitants of the Nagar valley.
Nagar is home to two main ethnic groups – 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 Isna'asheri. 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, signed a six-point peace agreement arranged by the Northern Areas Legislative Council on 18 February 2005, to ensure peace in the area.

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 Mount Rakaposhi, south of the town of Nagar. The Karakoram Highway crosses 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. According to local languages Nagar Valley divided into two parts. Nagar Shinaki and Nagar Burosho.

Villages of Nagar

Shina Speaking Villages in Nagar
Burushaski Speaking Villages in Nagar
Bilingual Valleys in Nagar
The Nagar villages are mainly populated by religious scholars, Educationists, Sportsmen, Craftsmen and Craftswomen, farmers, hunters and fishermen, handicrafts, miners, Shepherds, adventurers, mountaineers ans so on.