Kuza Bandai (Lower Meadows) Bara Bandai (برہ بانڈئ) is a village in Swat,

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, known as an area crossed by

Alexander The Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

during his invasion of the subcontinent. The people of village Bara Bandai belong to subsection Naikpikhel of Yusufzai the biggest and largest tribe of

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

Pakhtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

tribes. It is one of the

Provincially Administered Tribal Areas The Provincially Administered Tribal Area (PATA) was the former administrative subdivision of Pakistan designated in the Article 246(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan. No Act of Provincial Assembly can be applied to PATA whereas the Governor of th ...

(PATA) of Pakistan. The village contains a small series of mountains and a forest, residential area starting from meadows of mountainsand merge with river swat on right bank, a village market, vast land for crops, number of canals, and a part of the Swat river. Mountains of the village include Usmani Sar, Kafar Ghat and Najia Top.

Etymology

The village was re-named by Yusufzai Pakhtuns after capturing it. The name Bara means "Upper" and Bandai means "

Meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

", hence was named Bara Bandai due to its locality. On the West side of Bara Bandai is the neighbouring village

Kuza Bandai Kuza Bandai is a well developed village in Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is known for its natural environment and also known as an area crossed by Alexander the Great. Later, after the Lal Masjid battle, Kuza Bandai and Bara Ban ...

which means The Lower

. The names were basically given by their greenery, comparing the distances of both villages from

Mingora Mingora ( ps, مینګورہ, ur, ) is a city in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located on the Swat River, it is the 3rd largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the 26th largest in Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city and t ...

the main city of Swat Valley, and by comparing their distances from the upper hilly areas of Swat such as Kalam and Bahrain. The ancient names of these villages are not known as they are just mentioned by locations in old times books and scripts.

Location

Bara Bandai is about 8 Kilometers away from Mingawara or Mingoara, the main city of Swat Valley and 10 Kilometers from

Saidu Sharif Saidū Sharīf (Pashto/Urdu: ) is the capital of Swat District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The city also serves as the capital city of Malakand Division. It was named after Saidu Baba, a prominent leader of the former Yusufza ...

the Capital of the Yousufzai State of

Swat (Princely State) State of Swat (Urdu, ps, ; locally called as Dera Swat) was a kingdom established in 1849 that was ruled by chiefs known as Akhunds. It was then recognized as a princely state in alliance with the British Indian Empire between 1926 and 19 ...

. Situated on the left bank (North side) of

Suvastu The Swat River ( ur, , ps, سوات سیند) is a perennial river in the northern region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, where it then flows into the sc ...

or The River Swat and is important and one of the large village of Nikpikhel. Nikpikhel is a sub tribe of Akozai and Khudizai

Yousufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Suliman mountains du ...

and their area stretches in North to Godamanai bordering directly with

Dir district Dir is a region in northwestern Pakistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Before Pakistan was created, Dir was a princely state, and it remained so until 1969 when it was abolished by a presidential declaration, and ...

Ningolai Ningolai ( ur, ننگو لئ; ps, ننګولئ) is a village in swat(Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa) Pakistan. Old name was Ningula which was named by a person name Ningula. Later it was named Ningolai by the Rular of Swat State. The people of village Ningo ...

is on the East, Dadahara and

Shamozai Barikot is an administrative subdivision (tehsil) of Swat District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Swat District has seven tehsils i.e. Tehsil Barikot, Tehsil Babuzai, Tehsil Matta, Tehsil Khwaza Khela, Tehsil Kabal, Tehsil ...

on the West. On the South side of Nikpikhel is The River Swat ( uvastu. Bara Bandai is about 80 Kilometers from

Kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...

, the famous tourist spot of North

. Bara Bandai comes under the PK-8 constituency of

Provincial Assembly and NA-4 constituency of

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

. postal code 19201

Division

The village residential areas are divided into sub units called as Chams (Pashto: چم) or Mohallah. Some of the major sub units are. * Hafiz baba * Ali khan khel * Morragai (Miangano Cham) * Kotkay. * Sarkhana * Shado khel. * Haider khel (Originally this clans belong to shamozo area. they have migrated from maloch village in 1960.people know them as maloch wal here.) * Malik Amir khan khel (Ghaznavids) and other Malik's residing near to chapolo Cham. * Awdal Khel * Mandanr khel * Nasar Khel * Adam Khel * Bocha Khel * Chapolo (related to chapolo masjid which names after the tribe lived there named as "chapolo miagan") * Saidu Bibi (named after the aunt of Wali Swat lived there. She was from

and belongs to Royal family of swat). * Matra. * Sarhad Colony. * Warsaky (Inhabited by Amir khan kheil (descendant of Muhammad Amir swad khan and Muhammad Ameen Shaheed) Mandanr khel, Miagan and shadokheil * khamoosh colony. * Bazar * khona mohalla(territory of khona masjid)

Administration

The village is in uc bara bandai, tehsil kabal, district swat. It is further divided into two subunits (neighbourhood council) Bara Bandai(1) & Bara Bandai (2). Under local body election 2015 the administration came into power is Falak naz khan & Riaz Ahmed.

Photos

Image:Bandai wiki peach trees 1.jpg, Peach Trees, Bara Bandai Image:Bandai wiki peach trees 2.jpg, Peach Trees, Bara Bandai Image:Bandai wiki peach trees 3.jpg, Greenery, Bara Bandai

Population

Total population of village Bara Bandai is 19374 (2009).Which makes it one of the largest villages in the Swat valley. There are number of sub-tribes (clans) Yusufzais and Malik of yusazfzais living in the village. Some names of the tribes are, Malik Amir khan khel Awdal Khel, Shado khel, Nasar Khel, Mandanr khel, Bucha Khel, Ajo khel, Haider khel(maloch wal), bara khan khel, alikhan khel, adam khel, and some of occupational and religious tribes.

Education

The village consist of 1 high, 3 govt boys primary schools and 1 middle govt school for girls along with a number of schools in private sector.

Health

Bara Bandai has its own Basic Health Unit(BHU), many clinical laboratories and number of clinics in private sector which provide health facilities to the residents.

Climate

The weather of the village is cold in the winter season and moderate during summer. Snowfall in winter intensify its beauty.

Agriculture

The village climate made it favorable for many crops and fruits. The village not only fulfill their own need but also supply its product to other areas. Among these onion and peach are commonly produce.

Notable figures

Aimal khan (captain Pakistan volley ball team) Shaykh Abu Eesa Niamatullah (UK based Islamic scholar)

References

{{reflist

External links

Click here to visit-The Beauty of Bara Bandai Swat
Populated places in Swat District All articles lacking reliable references