Bhimber ( ur, ) is the capital of

Bhimber District The Bhimber District ( ur, ) is the southernmost district of the 10 districts of Pakistan's dependent territory of Azad Kashmir. It has an area of 1516 km², and the district headquarter is the town of Bhimber. History The area is rich in ...

, in the

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

. The town is on the border between Jammu region and Punjab in Pakistan proper about by road southeast of Mirpur.

History

Bhimber was the capital of the

Chibhal Chibhal was a princely state founded by a cadet branch of the Katoch Rajputs of Kangra in 1400. History Chibhal's first ruler was Raja Partab chand Katoch, who was the youngest son of Raja Megh chand Katoch of Kangra. Chibhal was also known to ...

dynasty, which lasted from 1400 to 1856. Bhimber lies on the route that was followed by the

Mughal Emperors The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

for their frequent visits to the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian-union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the so ...

. It is also known as "Baab-e-Kashmir" (Door to Kashmir) because of its importance and geographical location, which was ideal for the Mughal Emperors to use to enter Kashmir. Therefore, the Mughals used Bhimber as a staging point for their journey to Srinagar. The Mughal Emperor Jahangir discussed Bhimber in his book ''

Tuzk-e-Jahangiri ''Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri'' or ''Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri'' ( fa, ) or Jahangir-nama ( fa, ) is the autobiography of Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1569–1627). Also referred to as ''Jahangirnama'', the ''Tuzk-e-Jahangiri'' is written in Persian, and follows th ...

''.

Modern history

In the 19th century, Chibhal came under the Maharaja Gulab Singh. Around 1822, along with Poonch, it was granted as a jagir (feudal land grant) to Raja

Dhian Singh Raja Dhian Singh (22 August 1796 – 15 September 1843) was the longest serving wazir of the Sikh Empire, during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and four of his successors. He held the office for twenty five years, from 1818 up till his dea ...

of the

Dogra dynasty The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820 ...

Gulab Singh 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 ...

's brother. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh court fell into disunity, and Dhian Singh was murdered in court intrigue. Subsequently, 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 ...

was formed under the suzerainty of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, and these territories were transferred to Jammu and Kashmir. The jagir given to Dhian Singh was respected, however, and Dhian Singh's sons Moti Singh and Jawahir Singh were retained as their Rajas. In 1852, the brothers Jawahir and Moti Singh quarrelled, and the Punjab Board of Revenue awarded a settlement. Moti Singh was awarded the Poonch district, and Jawahir Singh was awarded Bhimber, Mirpur and Kotli. In 1859, Jawahir Singh was accused of 'treacherous conspiracy' by Maharaja Ranbir Singh (r. 1857–1885), who succeeded Gulab Singh. The British agreed with the assessment and forced Jawahir Singh to exile in

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 ...

. Ranbir Singh paid Jawahir Singh an annual stipend of Rs. 100,000 until his death, and appropriated his territory afterwards because Jawahir Singh had no heirs. The appropriated territory was organised as the Bhimber district (''wazarat'') in 1860. In the decade preceding 1911, the district headquarters was shifted to Mirpur and it came to be called the Mirpur district. Bhimber remained a tehsil headquarters until 1947. It had a Hindu majority population, mostly consisting of

Mahajan Mahajan is an Indian surname.This is title for Vaishya Comunitiy. It signifies the profession of a moneylender or merchants,bankers and administrators. In the caste system, Mahajan is a trader who belongs to the Vaishya varna and the last name ma ...

Geography and climate

Bhimber is a valley. Its hot, subhumid climate and other geographical conditions closely resemble those of Gujrat, the adjoining district in Punjab. The climate in Bhimber is classified as warm and temperate. Summers have a good deal of rainfall; winters have much less. This location is classified as ''Cwa'' by

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

. The average annual temperature is with a yearly average rainfall of . July and August are the wettest months. Temperatures are highest in June.

Notable people

* Manzoor Mirza, economist * Ghulam Rasul Raja, Pakistan Army officer

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Tehsils of Azad Kashmir Populated places in Bhimber District Tehsils of Bhimber District