Gilgit (;

Shina Shina may refer to: * Shina language, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan * Shina people, a Dardic ethnic group in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan People named Shina * Shina Matsudo (born 1973), Japanese freestyle swimmer * ...

: ; ur, ) is the capital city of

Gilgit–Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute be ...

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 ...

. The city is located in a broad

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

near the confluence of the

Gilgit River The Gilgit River () is a tributary of the Indus River, and flows through the Gupis-Yasin, Ghizer and Gilgit districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Gilgit River starts from Shandur Lake, and joins the Indus River at near towns of Juglot and Bunji, ...

and the

Hunza River Hunza River ( ur, ) is the principal river of Hunza in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan It is formed by the confluence of the Chapursan and Khunjerab ''nalas'' (gorges) which are fed by glaciers. It is joined by the Gilgit River and the Naltar R ...

. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a hub for

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back, while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey, and may involve camping outdoors. In North America tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain h ...

and

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

expeditions in the

Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...

mountain range. Gilgit was once a major centre for

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

; it was an important stop on the ancient

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

, and today serves as a major junction along the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

with road connections to China as well as the Pakistani cities of

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, and

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. Currently, it serves as a frontier station for the local tribal areas. The city's economic activity is mainly focused on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, with wheat, maize, and barley as the mainly-produced crops.

Etymology

The city's ancient name was ''Sargin'', later to be known as ''Gilit'', and it is still referred to as ''Gilit'' or ''Sargin-Gilit'' by the local people. The native

Khowar Khowar () or Chitrali, is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in Chitral and surrounding areas in Pakistan. Khowar is the lingua franca of Chitral, and it is also spoken in the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, as ...

and Wakhi-speaking people refer to the city as ''Gilt'', and in

Burushaski Burushaski (; ) is a language isolate spoken by Burusho people, who reside almost entirely in northern Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, with a few hundred speakers in northern Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Pakistan, Burushaski is spoken by people in ...

, it is called ''Geelt''.

History

Early history

Brogpas trace their settlement from Gilgit into the fertile villages of Ladakh through a rich corpus of hymns, songs, and folklore that have been passed down through generations. The

Dards The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca) or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. The term "Dardic" is stated to b ...

and Shinas appear in many of the old

Pauranic Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

lists of people who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

's accounts of the region.

Buddhist era

Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism spread from South Asia to the rest of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. It is considered a Buddhism corridor, along which many Chinese monks came to Kashmir, to learn and to preach Buddhism. Two famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrims,

Faxian Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, h ...

and

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

, traversed Gilgit, according to their accounts. According to Chinese records, in the 600s and 700s, the city was governed by a Buddhist dynasty referred to as ''Little Balur'' or ''Lesser Bolü'' (). They are believed to have been the

Patola Shahis The Patola Shahis, or Patola Shahis, also Gilgit Shahis, were a dynasty of Buddhist kings of the Kingdom of Gilgit ("Lesser Bolü"), located in the northern tip of the Indian subcontinent in the 6th-8th century CE. The Kingdom was located on a stra ...

dynasty mentioned in a Brahmi inscription, and are devout adherents of

Vajrayana Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

. In mid-600s, Gilgit came under Chinese suzerainty after the fall of the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after t ...

to the Tang military campaigns in the region. In the late 600s CE, the rising

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38 ...

wrested control of the region from the Chinese. However, faced with growing influence of the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

and then the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

to the west, the Tibetans were forced to ally themselves with the Islamic caliphates. The region was then contested by the Chinese and Tibetan forces, and their respective vassal states, until the mid-700s. Chinese records of the region continue until late the 700s, at which time the Tangs' western military campaign was weakened due to the

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...

. Control of the region was left to the Tibetan Empire. They referred to the region as Bruzha, a toponym that is consistent with the ethnonym " Burusho" used today. Tibetan control of the region lasted until the late 800s CE.

Gilgit manuscripts

This corpus of manuscripts was discovered in 1931 in Gilgit, containing many Buddhist texts such as four

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

s from the Buddhist canon, including the famous

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

. The manuscripts were written on

birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, crafti ...

in the Buddhist form of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

in the

Sharada script The Śāradā, Sarada or Sharada script is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. The script was widespread between the 8th and 12th centuries in the northwestern parts of Indian Subcontinent (in Kashmir and neighbouring ...

. They cover a wide range of themes such as

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

ometry, folk tales,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

and several related areas of life and general knowledge. The Gilgit manuscripts are included in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Memory of the World Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s in the world, and the oldest manuscript collection surviving in Pakistan, having major significance in

Buddhist studies Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. The term ''Buddhology'' was coined in the early 20th century by the Unitarianism, Unitarian minister Joseph Estlin Carpenter to mean the "study of Buddhahood, the natur ...

and the evolution of Asian and

Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as s ...

. The manuscripts are believed to have been written in the 5th to 6th centuries AD, though more manuscripts were discovered from the succeeding centuries, which were also classified as Gilgit manuscripts. Many of the original manuscripts from Gilgit can be found in the

National Archives of India The National Archives of India (NAI) is a repository of the non-current records of the Government of India and holds them in trust for the use of administrators and scholars. Originally established as the Imperial Record Department in 1891, in Cal ...

and the Pratap Singh Museum in

Srinigar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natur ...

. Two manuscripts collected by the orientalist

Sir Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

are in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

in London. They include a rare paper version of the

. As of 6 October 2014, one source claims that the part of the collection deposited at the Sri Pratap Singh Museum in

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

was irrecoverably destroyed during the

2014 India–Pakistan floods In September 2014, the Kashmir region suffered disastrous floods across many of its districts caused by torrential rainfall. The Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the Pakistani administered territories of Azad Kashmi ...

Pre-Trakhàn

Donor with Sanskrit name venerating a stupa, Thalpan-Ziyarat, northern Pakistan, circa 7th century CE

Trakhàn Dynasty

Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakhàn Dynasty, which ended about 1810 with the death of Raja Abas, the last Trakhàn Raja.

Frederick Drew Frederick Drew Fellow of the Geological Society, FGS, FRGS (11 August 1836 – 28 October 1891), was an English geologist, who is noted for his geographical study of Kashmir. He worked as a geologist for over a decade in Maharaja Ranbir Singh of ...

(1875) ''The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account'' E. Stanford, London
OCLC 1581591
/ref> The rulers of

Hunza Hunza may refer to: * Hunza, Iran * Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan ** Hunza (princely state), a former principality ** Hunza District, a recently established district ** Hunza River, a waterway ** Hunza Peak, a mou ...

and Nager also claim origin with the Trakhàn dynasty. They claim descent from a heroic Kayani Prince of Persia, ''

Azur Jamshid Azur may refer to: * Azur, Landes, France * Azur (satellite), Germany's first scientific satellite * Azur Air, a charter airline and former regional airline in Russia * MPM-10, the newest model of train to be used in the Montreal Metro * MS ''R ...

'' (also known as ''Shamsher''), who secretly married the daughter of the king ''Shri Badat''. She conspired with him to overthrow her

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

father. Sri Badat's faith is theorised as Hindu by some and Buddhist by others. However, considering the region's Buddhist heritage, with the most recent influence being

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, the most likely preceding influence of the region is Buddhism. Prince Azur Jamshid succeeded in overthrowing King Badat who was known as the ''Adam Khor'' (literally "man-eater"), often demanding a child a day from his subjects, his demise is still celebrated to this very day by locals in traditional annual celebrations. In the beginning of the new year, where a Juniper procession walks along the river, in memory of chasing the cannibal king ''Sri Badat'' away. Azur Jamshid abdicated after 16 years of rule in favour of his wife ''Nur Bakht Khatùn'' until their son and heir ''Garg'', grew of age and assumed the title of

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

and ruled, for 55 years. The dynasty flourished under the name of the Kayani dynasty until 1421 when Raja Torra Khan assumed rulership. He ruled as a memorable king until 1475. He distinguished his family line from his stepbrother ''Shah Rais Khan'' (who fled to the king of Badakshan, and with whose help he gained Chitral from ''Raja Torra Khan''), as the now-known dynastic name of Trakhàn. The descendants of ''Shah Rais Khan'' were known as the ''Ra'issiya Dynasty''.

1800s

The area had been a flourishing tract but prosperity was destroyed by warfare over the next fifty years, and by the great flood of 1841 in which the river

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

was blocked by a landslip below the Hatu Pir and the valley was turned into a lake. After the death of Abas, Sulaiman Shah, Raja of

Yasin Yasin, Yassin, Yassine, Yacine or Yaseen may refer to: People * Yasin (name), an Arabic-based name * Yassin (name), an Arabic-based name * Yassine (name), an Arabic-based name * Yacine (name), an Arabic-based name * Yaşın (name), a Turkish-based ...

, conquered Gilgit. Then, Azad Khan, Raja of

Punial The valley of Punial (Urdu: پونیال) is situated in Ghizer District in the Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, where hundreds of thousands of tourists visit annually. Punial is a mountainous valley situated at an elevation of about 5000–9000 fee ...

, killed Sulaiman Shah, taking Gilgit; then Tahir Shah, Raja of Buroshall (

Nagar Nagar (-nagar) can refer to: Places Bangladesh *Nagar, Rajshahi Division, a village * Nagar, Barisal Division, a settlement India * Nagar taluka, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra State * Nagar, Murshidabad, a village in West Bengal * Nagar, Rajasthan, a ...

), took Gilgit and killed Azad Khan. Tair Shah's son Shah Sakandar inherited, only to be killed by Gohar Aman, Raja of Yasin of the Khushwakhte Dynasty when he took Gilgit. Then in 1842, Shah Sakandar's brother, Karim Khan, expelled Yasin rulers with the support of a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

army from Kashmir. The Sikh general, Nathu Shah, left garrison troops and Karim Khan ruled until Gilgit was ceded to

Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the founder of Dogra dynasty and the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the largest princely state under the British Raj, which was created after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in t ...

in 1846 by the

Treaty of Amritsar A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

, and

Dogra The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himachal ...

troops replaced the

in Gilgit. Nathu Shah and Karim Khan both transferred their allegiance to Gulab Singh, continuing local administration. When

attacked in 1848, both of them were killed. Gilgit fell to the Hunza and their Yasin and Punial allies but was soon reconquered by Gulab Singh's Dogra troops. With the support of Raja Gohar Aman, Gilgit's inhabitants drove their new rulers out in an uprising in 1852. Raja Gohar Aman then ruled Gilgit until his death in 1860, just before new Dogra forces from Ranbir Singh, son of Gulab Singh, captured the fort and town. In the 1870s Chitral was threatened by Afghans, Maharaja Ranbir Singh was firm in protecting Chitral from Afghans, the Mehtar of Chitral asked for help. In 1876 Chitral accepted the authority of Jammu Clan and in reverse get the protection from the Dogras who have in the past took part in many victories over Afghans during the time of Gulab Singh Dogra.

British Raj

In 1877, in order to guard against the advance of Russia, the British India Government, acting as the

suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is calle ...

power of the princely state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

, established the

Gilgit Agency The Gilgit Agency ( ur, ) was an agency of the British Indian Empire consisting of the subsidiary states of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir at its northern periphery, mainly with the objective of strengthening these territories agains ...

. The Agency was re-established under control of the British Resident in Jammu and Kashmir. It comprised the Gilgit Wazarat; the State of Hunza and Nagar; the Punial Jagir; the Governorships of Yasin, Kuh-Ghizr and

Ishkoman The Ishkoman ( ur, ) valley lies in the north of Ghizer District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and the Pamir Wakhan Corridor. Its altitude ranges from 7,000 to 12,000 feet (2,100 to 3,700 m) above sea level. See also * ...

, and Chilas. The

Tajiks of Xinjiang The Tajiks of Xinjiang ( Sarikoli: , , ), also known as Chinese Tajiks () or Mountain Tajiks, are Pamiris that live in the Pamir mountains of Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, in Xinjiang, China. They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially ...

sometimes enslaved the Gilgiti and Kunjuti Hunza. 100 years of the RAF MOD 45163719

In 1935, the British India government demanded from the Jammu and Kashmir state to lease them Gilgit town plus most of the Gilgit Agency and the hill-states Hunza, Nagar, Yasin and Ishkoman for 60 years.

Abdullah Sahib Abdullah Sahib was the Governor of Gilgit Agency during Dogra rule and was one of the earliest graduates of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. He was the father of Pakistani writer Qudrat Ullah Shahab. Early life He was born in an Arain family o ...

was an

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi agricultural tribe with strong political identity and organisation, found mainly in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of Indian Punjab, Uttar Pradesh a ...

and belonged to Chimkor Sahib village of

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

district

Punjab, British India Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British co ...

. Abdullah Sahib was the first Muslim governor of the Gilgit in

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

time period and was close associate of Maharaja Partap Singh. Khan Bahadur Kalay Khan, a Mohammed Zai Pathan, was the Governor of Gilgit Hunza and Kashmir before partition.

1947 Kashmir war

On 26 October 1947,

Maharaja Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's death, Singh became t ...

of Jammu and Kashmir, faced with a tribal invasion by Pakistan due to Masscre of Muslims in Jammu by Hindus and Sikh mobs, signed the Instrument of Accession, joining India. Gilgit's military leaders did not favour the State's accession to India. The military leaders of the Frontier Districts Province (modern day Gilgit-Baltistan) wanted to join Pakistan. Sensing their discontent, Major William Brown, the Maharaja's commander of the

Gilgit Scouts The Gilgit Scouts constituted a paramilitary force of the Gilgit Agency in northern Jammu and Kashmir. They were raised by the government of British India in 1913, on behalf of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, to police the northern front ...

, mutinied on 1 November 1947, overthrowing the Governor Ghansara Singh. The bloodless ''coup d'etat'' was planned by Brown to the last detail under the code name "Datta Khel", which was also joined by a rebellious section of the Jammu and Kashmir 6th Infantry under

Mirza Hassan Khan Mirza Hassan Khan ( ur, ), of Nagar state, was a captain of the 6th Infantry of the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces. Placed at Bunji in the Gilgit ''wazarat'' (now Astore district, Gilgit-Baltistan), Khan rebelled against the Maharaja's regi ...

. Brown ensured that the treasury was secured and minorities were protected. A provisional government (''Aburi Hakoomat'') was established by the Gilgit locals with Raja Shah Rais Khan as the president and Mirza Hassan Khan as the commander-in-chief. However, Major Brown had already telegraphed

Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri ( ur, عبدالقیوم خان کشمیری) (16 July 1901 – 23 October 1981) was a major figure in British Indian and later Pakistan politics, in particular in the North-West Frontier Province, where served a ...

asking Pakistan to take over. The Pakistani political agent, Khan Mohammad Alam Khan, arrived on 16 November and took over the administration of Gilgit. Brown outmaneuvered the pro-Independence group and secured the approval of the mirs and rajas for accession to Pakistan. Browns's actions surprised the British Government. The provisional government lasted 16 days. The provisional government lacked sway over the population. The Gilgit rebellion did not have civilian involvement and was solely the work of military leaders, not all of whom had been in favor of joining Pakistan, at least in the short term. Historian

Ahmed Hasan Dani Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...

mentions that although there was lack of public participation in the rebellion, sentiments were intense in the civilian population and their anti-Kashmiri sentiments were also clear. According to various scholars, the people of Gilgit as well as those of Chilas, Koh Ghizr, Ishkoman, Yasin, Punial, Hunza and Nagar joined Pakistan by choice.

Geography

Gilgit is situated in a valley formed by the confluence of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

and

Climate

Gilgit experiences a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BWk''). Weather conditions for Gilgit are dominated by its geographical location, a valley in a mountainous area, southwest of

range. The prevalent season of Gilgit is winter, occupying the valley eight to nine months a year. Gilgit lacks significant rainfall, averaging in annually, as

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

breaks against the southern range of

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. Irrigation for land cultivation is obtained from the rivers, abundant with melting snow water from higher altitudes. The summer season is brief and hot, with daily high temperatures occasionally peaking at over . As a result of this extremity in the weather, landslides and avalanches are frequent in the area.

Climate Change Effects

Climate change has adversely effected this region with more rains every year. On 26 August 2022, most villages in Ghizer district and Hunza were severely effected by the ongoing flooding displacing many people.

Administration

The city of Gilgit constitutes a

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

within

Gilgit District The Gilgit District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The headquarters of the district is the town of Gilgit. According to the 1998 census, the Gilgit District had a population of 243,324 ...

Transportation

Air

Gilgit is served by the nearby

Gilgit Airport Gilgit Airport is a small domestic airport situated 1.25 nm (2.3 km) east of Gilgit, AIP PakistanOPGT – Gilgit a city in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The city of Gilgit is one of the two major hubs for mountaineering expediti ...

, with direct flights to Islamabad.

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

(PIA) is the only airline operating in Gilgit. The Government of Pakistan is planning to build a new international standard airport in Gilgit to meet the requirements of international tourists and demand from domestic investors.

Road

Gilgit is located approximately from the

(KKH). The roadway is being upgraded as part of the

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (; ur, چین پاکستان اقتصادی راہداری) is a collection of infrastructure projects that are under construction throughout Pakistan beginning in 2013. Originally valued at $47 billi ...

. The KKH connects Gilgit to

Chilas Chilas ( ur, ) is a city and is the divisional capital of Diamer District located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, on the Indus River. It is part of the Silk Road connected by the Karakoram Highway and N-90 National Highway, which link it to Islam ...

Dasu Dasu or Dassu (Abasin Kohistani, Urdu and ps, ) is the district headquarters of Upper Kohistan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It had 15 Union Councils before the separation of the Kandia valley. Since its being named as Tehsil, the Da ...

Besham Besham (Urdu, ps, بشام; also known as Besham Qila) is a city in the Shangla District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located on the right bank of the Indus River (locally known as ''Abasin''), Besham serves as a major junction on the Karak ...

Mansehra Mansehra is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Mansehra District. It is the 71st largest city of Pakistan and 7th largest city in the province. The name of the city (written in Hindko, Urdu and Goj ...

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth ...

and Islamabad in the south. Gilgit is connected to

Karimabad (Hunza) Karimabad ( ur, ), formerly known as Baltit, is the capital of Hunza District, in the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. An article on ''The Guardian'' ranked it as one of the five "Best Tourist Sites" in Pakistan. Etymology Karimabad was n ...

and

Sust Sost or Sust ( ur, ) is a village in Gojal, Upper Hunza, Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the last town inside Pakistan on the Karakoram Highway before the Chinese border. It is elevated 2,800 meters above sea level. The town is an importan ...

in the north, with further connections to the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

cities of

Tashkurgan Tashkurgan ( ug, تاشقورغان بازىرى; zh, s=塔什库尔干镇, p=Tǎshíkù'ěrgān Zhèn; ) is a town in the far northwest of China, close to the country's border with Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is the principal tow ...

Upal Upal ( zh, s=乌帕尔镇; ug, ئوپال) is a town in Shufu County in Western Xinjiang, China. Karakoram Highway Today Upal is on the Karakoram Highway, which follows the old Silk Road route from China to Pakistan. Travelling from China, it ...

and

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

. Gilgit is also linked to

in the west, and

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

to the east. The road to Skardu will be upgraded to a 4-lane road at a cost of $475 million. Transport companies such as the

Silk Route The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

Transport Pvt,

Masherbrum Masherbrum ( ur, ; formerly known as K1) is a mountain located in the Ghanche District, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. At , it is the 22nd highest mountain in the world and the 9th highest in Pakistan. It was the first mapped peak in the Kar ...

Transport Pvt and

Northern Areas Transport Corporation Northern Areas Transport Corporation or NATCO ( ur, ) is the largest transport company in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan and Karakoram Highway, throughout the Northern Areas. Natco is providing its service from Rawalpindi to Karachi daily for las ...

NATCO
, offer passenger road transport between Islamabad, Gilgit,

, and Kashgar and

in China. The Astore-

Burzil Pass The Burzil Pass (el. ) is an ancient mountain pass in northern Pakistan, and is part of the historic caravan route between the cities of Srinagar and Gilgit. The pass lies approximately north of the Administrative units of Pakistan, administrat ...

Road, linking Gilgit to

was closed in 1978.

Rail

Gilgit is not served by any rail connections. Long-term plans for the

call for construction of the long

Khunjerab Railway Khunjerab Railway ( ur, ), also known as China–Pakistan railway, is one of several proposed railway lines in Pakistan, to be operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The current active line begins from Taxila Junction station and ends at ...

, which is expected to be completed in 2030, that would also serve Gilgit. File:KKH.png, Route of the

File:Hunza Tunnel.jpg, Tunnels are common in Gilgit

Education

Karakoram International University Karakoram International University or Karakoram University (KIU; ur, قراقرم انٹرنیشنل یونیورسٹی) is an international level university in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It was established in 2002 with a charter from the Fe ...

Gilgit *

Public Schools and Colleges Jutial Gilgit In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Gilgit

Basic facilities

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited Plant in Gilgit

Gilgit has not received a gas pipeline infrastructure since Pakistan's independence, unlike other cities. Through the importation of gas cylinders from other provinces, many private gas contractors offer gas cylinders. The LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Air Mix Plant project by

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) ( ur, ) was incorporated as a private limited Company in 1963 and later converted into a public limited company in January 1964 under the Companies Act 1913 of British India, now The Companies Act 2017 ...

was unveiled in 2020, with the goal of bringing the gas facility to Gilgit. This will significantly reduce

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

, as the public now uses wood from trees for heating and lighting purpose. The first head office has been built in Gilgit.https://www.sngpl.com.pk/SNG_Megzines/112020/newsletter.pdf

Sister cities

* Skardu, Baltistan * Kashgar, China (since May 2009) File:Polo Statue Located near APSACS Gilgit.jpg, This statue is made to show the spirit of the Polo Sport. It is located at Jutial. Polo is played every year in the valley Shandoor. File:I Love Gilgit Sign.jpg, I Love Gilgit sign made to show patriotism towards the region File:Dumplings of Gilgit.jpg, Dumplingsm a.k.a. manto, are a widely eaten dish in the region

References

Citations

General sources

* * * *

External links

Official Website of the Gilgit Baltistan Tourism Department Official Website of the Government of Gilgit Baltistan Gilgit Nomination
UNESCO, the Memory of the World Register entry document
Britannica Gilgit
* {{Authority control Capitals of Pakistan History of Buddhism in Pakistan Populated places in Gilgit District Populated places along the Silk Road Karakoram Cities in Pakistan