Haripur District ( ps, هریپور ولسوالۍ, ur, "The Town of

Hari Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progre ...

") is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

in Hazara Division of

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

province in Pakistan. The town of Haripur (meaning 'Hari's town') was founded in 1822 by Hari Singh Nalwa, the Commander-in-Chief of Ranjit Singh's army. Before becoming a district in 1991, Haripur had the status of 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 adminis ...

in Abbottabad District. Its headquarters is the city of Haripur.

History

Early history

The region came under the influence of the

Nanda Empire The Nanda dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE, and possibly during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty in the Magadha region of eastern India, and expanded ...

of ancient India from 300 BCE, and with the rise of

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an emp ...

, the region came under the complete control of the

Mauryan Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...

. Afterward, the region was briefly and nominally controlled by the

Shunga Empire The Shunga Empire (IAST: ') was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled areas of the most of the northern Indian subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pushyamitra, after taking the throne of the ...

. However, with the decline of the Shungas, the region passed to local Hindu and Buddhist rulers, and interrupted by foreign rulers. Many of these foreign rulers, like the Indo-Parthians, Sakas, and Kushans converted to Hinduism and Buddhism, and promoted these

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

throughout Central and South Asia. The region reached its height under the Buddhist ruler Kanishka the Great. After the fall of the Kushans, the region came under the control of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

of ancient India. During the period, Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture flourished in the area. With the decline of the imperial Guptas, the

Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details ...

s came to rule the area. The Hindu Shahis massive forts and Hindu and Buddhist temples and monasteries around the area. The Hindu Shahi forts were known for their high towers and steep defensive walls. The Hindus also built many Hindu temples around the area, however, much of them are now in rubble. The Hindu Shahis remained in control of the area until their defeat by the Turkic Muslim army of Ghaznavids.

Turk Rule

In 1399, the Muslim warrior Timur, on his return to Kabul, stationed his Turk soldiers in Hazara to protect the important route between Kabul and Kashmir. By 1472, Prince Shahab-ud-Din came from Kabul and established his rule over the region. Prince Shahab-ud-Din, a Turk of central Asian origin and a descendant of Amir Taimur, founded the state and named it Pakhli Sarkar and chose the Gulibagh as his capital. Their territory at that time was up to Attock as per Raja Irshad's Tarikh e Hazara. Haripur was a part of Pakhli Sarkar at that time. In the 18th century, Turkish rule came to an end due to the increased aggression of the Swathis and their allied forces. At that time it was not called Haripur. The area was part of Lower Tanawal area of Pakhli Sarkar and ruled by Turks of Pakhli Sarkar. The last Wali of the Lower Tanawal (headquarter Sherwan) was Sultan Qiyasuddin, the younger brother of Sultan Mehmood Khurd, who was the last Turk ruler in Hazara (Pakhli Sarkar). Pakhli Sarkar got a last blow when Syed Jalal Shah commonly known as Jalal Baba conspired against his own father in Law i.e. Sultan Mehmood Khurd. Sultan was away to Delhi, when called by Aurangzeb Alamgir for some central Asian expeditions. Syed Jalal Shah took advantage of the situation and invited Swathies to attack Pakhli Sarkar to overthrow the Turks. Turks fought bravely, however, ultimately, Turks were overthrown and Turk Rule came to an end in 1703. The descendants of Turk ruler Mehmood Khurd still live in various parts of Haripur Hazara, such as Nartopa, Bayan Ahmed Ali Khan, Pharari, Behali, Manakrai, etc.

Durrani rule

When Ahmad Shah Durrani expanded his kingdom to Punjab, Hazara came under his control. Durrani considered it wise to rule the area through local tribal chiefs, especially the

Tareen The Tareen (or Tarin) ( ps, ترین) is a Pashtun tribe inhabiting southern Afghanistan, and western region of Pakistan.Caroe O. ''The Pathans 550 B.C.- A.D. 1957'' Oxford University Press . Page 521.Muhammad Hyat Khan, "Hayat i Afghan" (Orig. i ...

chiefs who remained the main administrators from around the 1760s to 1818/1819. The Durranis' rule ended abruptly in the beginning of the 19th century, circa 1819 or 1820, with the advent of the Sikhs.

Sikh rule

The Sikhs annexed Hazara in two stages: first, Lower Hazara was annexed when the Sikhs under Makhan Singh took over the plains, on the invitation of a Turk chieftain. Upper Hazara suffered a similar fate when the Sikhs took Kashmir from the Barakzai Afghans in 1819. The town of Haripur (meaning 'Hari's town') was founded in 1822 by Hari Singh Nalwa, the Commander-in-Chief of Ranjit Singh's army. On the successful completion of his tenure as governor of Kashmir in 1821,

Pakhli Pakhli Sultanate was an ancient sarkar (district) of the Mughal Subah of Punjab, now part of Hazara, Pakistan. It roughly corresponds to the ancient Urasa, the Aρσa or Οΰaρσa which Ptolemy placed between the Bidaspes (Jhelum) and the Indu ...

and Damtaur were bestowed upon Nalwa as a ''jagir''.

Tanolis The Tanoli ( Hindko/ ur, تنولی ,تناولی ,تنولي) are a tribe living mostly in the Hazara area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They form the majority of the population of Lassan Nawab union council. The Tanoli describe themselves ...

were the greater threat to Sikhs. Nawab Painda Khan Tanoli of Amb State defeated Ranjit Singh near Tarbeela. As soon as Nalwa received this grant, he built the walled town of Haripur in the heart of the Haripur plain, centered on the fort of Harkishan Garh, which he encircled with a deep trench. The site selected had seen some of the fiercest fighting between Sikhs and Afghans. Despite the presence of the fort and a strong Sikh garrison, the Lahore government wasn't finally able to get full control of the Lower Hazara until they had defeated and captured and executed the Tareen chief

Bostan Khan Bostan Khan (died 1825), was a warrior of the Tareen (or Tarin) tribe settled in the Haripur, Hazara region of what was to later become the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), who was executed for rebellion by the Sikh adminis ...

, and some others.

British India

The presence of the fort at

Harkishangarh Haripur ( ps, هریپور; Hindko and ur, ) is the main city of the Haripur District in Hazara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, with Swabi and Buner to the west, some north of Islamabad and 35 km Khanpur Road Tofkian Valley Tax ...

, with its four-yard thick and 16-yard high wall, eventually brought a feeling of security to the region. In 1835, Baron Heugel, a German traveler found only remnants of that wall remaining. Haripur was the sole example of a planned town in this region until the British built

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 fourt ...

many years later. It continued to grow, eventually becoming a city and later a district. Haripur once bore the official name of Haripur Hazara and was the capital of Hazara until 1853, when the new capital Abbottabad was built. In March 1849, the Punjab was annexed by the British Indian Empire. Abbott later painted a noted picture of the town of Haripur and its commanding fort of Harkishangarh.

Administration

The district of Haripur was a

(sub-division) of Abbottabad District, until 1992 when it became a district. The district was (2010–2011) represented in the provincial assembly by four elected MPAs. One of those MPAs is elected to the National/Federal Assembly. Currently, Haripur District is divided into three

Tehsils 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 administ ...

, Haripur Tehsil, Khanpur Tehsil, Ghazi Tehsil further subdivided into 45 Union Councils of which 15 are urban Union Councils: *Ali Khan *Bagra *Baitgali *Bakka *Bandi Sher Khan *Barkot *Beer *Breela *Dheendah *Dingi *Ghazi *Haripur Central *Haripur North *Haripur South *Hattar *Jabri *Jatti Pind *Kalinjar *Khalabat Township *Khanpur (On 15 October 2016 the chief minister of KP announced status of tehsil to Khanpur.) *Kholian Bala *

Kot Najeebullah Kot Najeebullah (Hindko language, Hindko: (Shahmukhi)), Also Spelt Kot Najibullah, Is One Of The 44 union councils of Pakistan, union councils, Administrative Subdivisions, Of Haripur District. Kot Najibullah In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Is Located I ...

*Kotehrra *Kundi *Lalogali *Landarmang *Mankrai *Maqsood *Najafpur *Nara Amaz *Pandak *Panian *Pind Hasham Khan *Pind Kamal Khan *Pharhari *Qazipur *Rehana *Sarai Saleh *Serai Niamat Khan *Sikandarpur *

Sirikot Sirikot is a village in Haripur District and Ghazi Tehsil, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province at 34°10'60N 73°43'50E. It is the principal settlement of the Union Council.Tarbela Dam and Khanpur Dam. Geographically, it is the gateway to Hazara, the Hazara Division, and the Pakistani capital

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 ...

Boundary

Geographically, the district borders Abbottabad District to the northeast, Mansehra District in the northeast, the Punjab to the southeast, the Buner to the northwest and

Swabi Swabi ( ps, صوابۍ; ur, ) is a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, At the time of the 2017 census, 80.84% of the population spoke

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punj ...

, 11.84%

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

, 1.83%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

as their first language. The literacy rate in the Haripur district is 72.21%, substantially higher than the literacy rate in the region of Hazara, which is 35.2%. The female literacy rate is only 61.08% compared to male literacy of 83.07%, and urban literacy rate of 82.34% is higher than the rural rate of 70.59%.

Education

Haripur District has two government-funded postgraduate colleges, providing higher-level education, as well as four-degree colleges for women. Haripur University was established in 2012 by the efforts of Higher Education Minister Qazi Muhammad Asad.. In addition to that, the project of Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology has also been continuing since 2017 in Mang at Khanpur road. In 2000–2001, Haripur had 907

government primary schools A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, Executive (government), e ...

, including 656 for boys and 251 for girls. In addition to government primary schools, 166 mosque schools were in the district. The primary school

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

(5–9 years) consisted of 101,670 students, of which 52,240 (51.38%) were boys and 49,430 (48.61%) were girls. The

had 83 middle schools (56 for boys and 27 for girls), during 2001.