Nagar ( ur, , ''Riyasat Nagar'') was a princely

salute state A salute state was a princely state under the British Raj that had been granted a gun salute by the British Crown (as paramount ruler); i.e., the protocolary privilege for its ruler to be greeted—originally by Royal Navy ships, later also ...

in the northern part 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 bet ...

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 ...

. Until August 1947, it was in a

subsidiary alliance A subsidiary alliance, in South Asian history, was a tributary alliance between a South Asian state and a European East India Company. Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed a treaty with the company in question would be provided wi ...

with

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. It bordered the states of 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 against ...

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

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 ...

s of the

Nagar District The Nagar District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Nagar District was established in 2015 by the division of the Hunza–Nagar District into two districts: the Hunza District and the ...

of Northern Pakistan.

History

Nagar, founded in the fourteenth century, was an autonomous principality until the

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, ...

gained control of the state following the

Hunza–Nagar Campaign __NOTOC__ The Hunza–Nagar Campaign was fought in 1891 by troops of the British Raj against the princely states of Hunza (princely state), Hunza and Nagar (princely state), Nagar in the Gilgit Agency (now part of the Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan ...

(1889-1893). It was a colonial

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

under the administration of the Gilgit Agency until 1947, but from 1868 it was a vassal of the Maharaja 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 ...

, 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

Durbar Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance ...

s until 1947. The British granted them a Hereditary

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

of 15-guns. In November 1947, the ruler,

Mir Shaukat Ali Khan Mir Shaukat Ali Khan (c. 1917 – 22 May 2003), ( Urdu میر شوکت علی خان ) was the last ruler of Nagar State, first as a princely state in the Indian Empire, then as a fully independent state, and finally as one of the princely sta ...

acceded Nagar 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 1973, when Ayub Khan's dictatorship ended in Pakistan and the Pakistan People's Party (under

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

) was elected, the government forced the Mir of Nagar to abdicate. The area was then merged with the Northern Areas.Muhammad Ismail Tehseen, ''Buroshall Say Nagar Tak ka Safar'', Syed Yahya Shah, ''Brushal ke Qabail'', both in Urdu, available in Municipal library at Gilgit Hunza valley

Government

The state was governed by the hereditary rulers of the Maglot dynasty, who were styled as ''

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

''. 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 The princely states of Pakistan ( ur, ; sd, پاڪستان جون نوابي رياستون) were princely states of the British Indian Empire which acceded to the new Dominion of Pakistan between 1947 and 1948, following the partition of ...

. Brigadier Mir Shaukat Ali Khan was the last ruler of the State before it was abolished by Pakistani PM

in 1972.

Population

Demographics

There are around 90,000 inhabitants of the Nagar valley ( AKRSP Census, 2000). Nagar is home to two main ethnic groups – the

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 ...

speakers and the Shina speakers. An older type of

is still spoken in the valley with a mild modern accent. A third language, Bedeski, is also still spoken in chalt

Religion

The population is traditionally predominantly Shia Isna'asheri (Jafaria).

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 (25,551 ft) Mount

Rakaposhi Rakaposhi ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range of the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. Geography Rakaposhi is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan, about north of the ...

, south of the town of Nagar. 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 ...

crosses Nagar, connecting Pakistan with China via the

Khunjerab Pass Khunjerab Pass (; ; ug, قونجىراپ ئېغىزى) is a mountain pass in the Karakoram Mountains, in a strategic position on the northern border of Pakistan (Gilgit–Baltistan's Hunza and Nagar Districts) and on the southwest border of Ch ...

. 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 (Shinaki/Sheenbar) * Chalat (Paaeen/baala) * Bar Valley * Chaprote Valley * Budalas valley * Jafarabad Valley * Nilt Valley * Thol Valley * Qasimabad Valley (Masoot) * Ghulmet Valley * Yal Valley * Pissan Valley * Minapin Valley Burushaski Speaking Villages in Nagar *

Nagarkhas Nagarkhas ( ur, نگرخاس), also known as Oyum-Nagar is the headquarters of the Nagar District of Gilgit–Baltistan and is one of the largest towns in that district. Situated on the bank of the Nagar River, it was also the capital of the f ...

* Sumayar Valley * Sikandar Abad * Miachar Valley * Dadimal Valley * Phakker Valley * Hakuchar Valley * Shayar Valley * Askurdas Valley * Hoper Valley * Hisper Valley Bilingual Valleys in Nagar * Chalt Paeen Valley * Akbarabad Valley * Jafarabad Valley * Qasimabad Valley (Mascoot) * Ghulmet Valley * Pissan Valley * Minapin Valley The Nagar villages are mainly populated by religious scholars, Educationists, Sportsmen, Craftsmen and Craftswomen, farmers, hunters and fishermen, handicrafts, miners, Shepherds, adventurers, mountaineers and so on.

References

Sources and external links

Government of Pakistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagar Princely states of Pakistan Muslim princely states of India History of Gilgit-Baltistan Regions of Gilgit-Baltistan States and territories established in the 14th century 1974 disestablishments