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Poonch District (or Poonch Jagir) was a district of the
princely state of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir, officially known as the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu, was a princely state during the Company rule in India from 1757 to 1858 as well as the British Raj in India from 1846 to 1952. The princely state was created afte ...
, which is currently divided between
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. The Pakistani part of the erstwhile district is now the
Poonch Division The Poonch Division ( ur, ) is a first-order administrative division of the Pakistani dependent territory of Azad Kashmir. It comprises the portion of the former Poonch District of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir that came under Pakista ...
in the Azad Kashmir territory, whilst the Indian part of the district is the Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. The capital of the Pakistan-controlled side is Rawalakot; while the capital of the Indian side is Poonch. In ancient times, Poonch was part of the ''Abhisara'' region and formed part of Alexander the Great's conquests. In later sources, the region is called ''Paranotsa'', but also known by its capital city, Lohara, which gave rise to the
Lohara dynasty The Lohara dynasty were Hindu rulers of Kashmir in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, between 1003 and approximately 1320 CE. The early history of the dynasty was described in the ''Rajatarangini'' (''Chronicle of Kings''), a work wri ...
of Kashmir ( 1003–1320 CE). Afterwards Poonch came under the control of the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, then the Durrani Empire and finally the
Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
. The Sikh monarch,
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...
gave Poonch to the
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, Himacha ...
noble, Raja Dhyan Singh, as a fief. After the death of Ranjit Singh, Dhyan Singh was murdered in Sikh intrigues, and the region was transferred to
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 ...
as part of the Jammu and Kashmir state under British suzerainty. After the departure of the British in August 1947, the tribesmen of Poonch
rebelled Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
, inviting Pakistani assistance and giving rise to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war ended a year later with the region being divided between India and Pakistan.


Early history


Ancient History

When
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
invaded the lower Jhelum belt to fight Porus, the Jhelum valley region was known as ''Abhisara''. It is likely that the Kashmir Valley was under the control of this region. The Abhisaras submitted to the invader, along with
Ambhi Taxiles (in Greek Tαξίλης or Ταξίλας; lived 4th century BC) was the Greek chroniclers' name for the ruler who reigned over the tract between the Indus and the Jhelum (Hydaspes) Rivers in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander t ...
of
Takshashila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area ...
(Taxila), and the region was consolidated into the Alexander's empire. The ''
Rajatarangini ''Rajatarangini'' ("The River of Kings") is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of India, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. Th ...
'' mentions Poonch under the name ''Paranotsa''.
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 ...
in the 7th century transliterated it as ''Pun-nu-tso''. Based on the
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
evidence, and evidence from 7th century Chinese traveler
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 ...
, the districts of Rajouri, Poonch and Abhisara had been under the sway of the Republican
Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...
during epic times. At the time of Xuanzang's visit, the Kashmir Valley controlled all the territories adjacent to it in the south and the west, including Taxila, which is said to have been subjugated at a recent date.


Sovereign State

Around 850CE, Poonch became a sovereign state ruled by Raja Nar, who was basically a horse trader. According to ''Rajatrangani'', Raja Trilochanpal of Poonch gave a tough fight to Mahmood Ghaznavi who invaded this area in 1020. Ghaznavi failed to enter Kashmir, as he could not capture the fort of Lohara (modern day Loran, in district of Poonch).


Mughal Era

In 1596, Mughal emperor Jahangir made Siraj-Ud-Din the ruler of Poonch. Siraj-Ud-Din and his descendants Raja Shahbaz Khan, Raja Abdul Razak, Raja Rustam Khan and Raja Khan Bahadur Khan ruled this area up to 1792.


Sikh Empire (1819–1846)

In 1819 this area was captured by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Brothers
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 ...
, Dhyan Singh and Suchet Singh, belonging to the House of Jammu, enrolled in the Maharaja's army and rose to high positions. In 1822, Ranjit Singh appointed Gulab Singh as the Raja of
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
and, in 1827, appointed Dhyan Singh as the Raja of Bhimber, Chibbal and Poonch (covering the Mirpur and Poonch districts as of 1947A peep into Bhimber
Daily Excelsior, 6 November 2016.
). Dhyan Singh spent most of his time in Lahore, subsequently becoming the ''diwan'' (prime minister) in the Sikh court. Gulab Singh is said to have managed his jagirs on his behalf. In 1837, the hill tribes of Poonch launched a rebellion, which Gulab Singh suppressed with some cruelty. After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Sikh court fell into anarchy and palace intrigues took over. Dhyan Singh, Suchet Singh as well as Dhyan Singh's son Hira Singh were murdered in these struggles. Poonch was confiscated by the Sikh Durbar on the grounds that the Rajas had rebelled against the state and handed it over to Faiz Talib Khan of
Rajouri Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the ...
.


Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (1846–1947)

After the
First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...
(1845–1846) and the subsequent Treaties of
Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
and Amritsar, the entire territory between the
Beas Beas is a riverfront town in the Amritsar district of the Indian state of Punjab. Beas lies on the banks of the Beas River. Beas town is mostly located in revenue boundary of Budha Theh with parts in villages Dholo Nangal and Wazir Bhullar. ...
and the Indus rivers was transferred to Gulab Singh, including Poonch. He was recognised an independent ruler, a ''maharaja'', of the newly created state of Jammu and Kashmir. Gulab Singh reinstated the jagir of Poonch to Jawahir Singh, the eldest remaining son of Dhyan Singh. The brothers Jawahir Singh and Moti Singh were not satisfied. They put forward a claim to being independent rulers of Poonch, maintaining that they were entitled to a share in the 'family property' of all the territories controlled by Gulab Singh. The matter was adjudicated by Sir Frederick Currie, the British Resident in Lahore, in 1852, who confirmed that Gulab Singh was indeed their suzerain. The brothers were to give the Maharaja Gulab Singh a horse with gold trappings every year and consult him on all matters of importance. The House of Poonch however continued to contest this arrangement right up to 1940. In 1852, the brothers Jawahir Singh and Moti Singh quarrelled and the Punjab Board of Revenue awarded a settlement. Moti Singh was awarded the territory of the Poonch district, and Jawahir Singh that of the Mirpur district. Christopher Snedden remarks that Moti Singh's territory amounted to two-thirds of Dhyan Singh's estate. 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 into 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-are ...
. Ranbir Singh paid Jawahir Singh an annual stipend of Rs. 100,000 until his death, and confiscated his territory (the Mirpur district) afterwards because Jawahir Singh had no heirs. Moti Singh's son, Baldev Singh contested this action claiming that the territory should return to him as the sole surviving descendant of Dhyan Singh. The British did not accept the claim saying that Jawahir Singh forfeited his territory when he agreed to the annual stipend.


Autonomy disputes

After Maharaja Ranbir Singh was succeeded by Pratap Singh (r. 1885–1925), a 'Council of Administration' was imposed on Jammu and Kashmir by the British. The Council is said to have started encroaching on Poonch, egged on by Pratap Singh's brother Amar Singh. Complaints were made to the British, who continued the original line that Poonch was a feudatory of Jammu and Kashmir and so it was an internal affair of Jammu and Kashmir. Raja Baldev Singh (r. 1892–1918), who succeeded Moti Singh, complained in 1895 that Jammu and Kashmir started referring to Poonch as a ''jagir'', whereas he maintained that it was a 'state'. This was apparently a very emotive issue for Baldev Singh and, subsequently, to the residents of Poonch. Baldev Singh's successor Sukhdev Singh (r. 1918–1927) and Jagatdev Singh (r. 1928–1940) continued the complaints. In 1927, the British resident in Kashmir Evelyn Howell got involved and he advised 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 ...
that, while Poonch was clearly subsidiary to Jammu and Kashmir, it was only referred to as an ''illaqa'' in the original grant, not as a ''jagir''. Jagatdev Singh ascended as the Raja in 1928 at a young age, and the reigning 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 ...
(r. 1925–1949), son of Amar Singh, imposed a ''sanad'' (instruction) on him. The ''sanad'' mentioned, among others, that Poonch was a ''jagir'' and implemented several encroachments on the administration of Poonch. Frictions continued. In 1936, Jagatdev Singh sent a 'memorial' to the
Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
, seeking a review of the relationship between Poonch and Jammu and Kashmir. The Government of India responded that, since Poonch was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, all submissions should be made through the British Resident of Jammu and Kashmir government. The Resident stated that the order of 1928, eventually based on Currie's original award, definitely settled the status of Poonch as a 'subordinate Jagirdar of Kashmir'. Jagatdev Singh's claims were dismissed without further comment. With the death of Jagatdev Singh in 1940, his son Shiv Ratandev Singh became the new Raja while being a minor. Maharaja Hari Singh appointed a guardian, who was his military secretary, to look after the Raja's 'property'. The Raja's mother was prohibited from participating in the minority administration. In July 1940, a gathering of Poonch public passed a resolution expressing 'profound sorrow and deep indignation and resentment' at the Maharaja's proclamation and his description of Poonch as a ''jagir''. By 1945, the Maharaja's administration was deeply unpopular in Poonch, especially among the families of military servicemen, who contrasted it with that of their counterparts in
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
.


Administration

Until Jagatdev Singh's accession in 1928, the Poonch jagir was autonomous, except for the payment of a token tribute of Rs. 231 to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The jagir had its own officials, including a bureaucracy, police and a standing army of one company. It is said that the local officials, most of whom were Hindus, were disgruntled because their salaries were lower than in the rest of state. This led to inefficiency and corruption. The Raja of Poonch owned all the land in the jagir. The actual 'holders of land' were referred to as ''assamis'' (agents) of the Raja. In the 1930s, 40 percent of the earnings were collected as tax, amounting to Rs. 1 million. Whereas proprietary rights were granted to landholders elsewhere in Kashmir following the Glancy Commission recommendations in 1933, the Poonchis did not benefit from the reforms due to the jagir's autonomy. For some unknown reason, the residents of the Mendhar tehsil were granted ownership rights, which caused further resentment in the other tehsils. After 1928, Maharaja Hari Singh started encroaching on the administration of Poonch and, a dual system of rule was established. A resident administrator of the Maharaja was appointed in the Poonch jagir and further officials were loaned from the state. The Raja's courts had jurisdiction only in petty cases. All serious crimes were referred to the courts in Srinagar. The Raja of Poonch lost his prestige and power. The Maharaja also imposed additional taxes to generate his own revenue from the jagir. They included taxes on cattle and sheep, export/import taxes on items like soap and silk, and imaginative taxes on wives and widows. A 'horse tax' required a payment of 50 percent of the purchase price of a horse. Evidently, these taxes generated considerable resentment.


Economy

Scholar
Christopher Snedden Christopher Snedden is an Australian political scientist and author. He has studied and published on the long-running Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan. In his book, ''The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir'' (2012), he proposed ...
states that, being a mountainous area, Poonch accorded small farms with poor soil, but had high costs of living. The Kashmiri tax burden made the situation worse. Many Poonchi men worked outside the jagir to alleviate the situation. They worked in Punjab, the railways, British Indian army and the British merchant navy in Bombay. The army was an especially important employer. It was said that every male Muslim in the jagir was, had been or would be a soldier in the British Indian army. During the
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, 31,000 men from Jammu and Kashmir served in the army, a great majority of them from Poonch. During the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, over 60,000 men from Poonch served in the army, while the rest of the state contributed only about 10,000 men. The physical proximity of Poonch to the military recruiting grounds in Punjab, such as
Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...
and Rawalpindi, facilitated their enrolment. Poonchis enlisted as 'Punjabi Musalmans' and served in the Punjab Regiment.


Division of Poonch

After independence in 1947, there was a rebellion in the western part of the-then Poonch district. The rebels led by Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, sought support from the
Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...
, which provided arms, and then launched an
invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...
of its own using Pashtun tribals. In response, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir joined India, and the conflict turned into an Indo-Pakistani War. When a ceasefire was effected, the Poonch district was split across the two countries. The former capital city, Poonch, came under the Indian Poonch district. A new capital at Rawalakot was established by Pakistan in the Pakistani Poonch district. The district itself was eventually converted into a 'Poonch Division' and divided into four separate districts: Poonch,
Sudhanoti The Sudhanoti District (also spelled Sudhanuti District) ( ur, ), meaning the "heartland of Sudhans" or "Sudhan heartland"), is one of the 10 districts of Pakistan's dependent territory of Azad Kashmir. The Sudhanoti District is bounded on the ...
, Bagh and
Haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', mean ...
.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{citation , last=Snedden , first=Christopher , title=Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ , year=2015 , publisher=Oxford University Press , isbn=978-1-84904-342-7 , ref={{sfnref, Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, 2015


External links

* Present day districts on OpenStreetMap
BaghHaveliPoonch (Pakistan)Sudhanoti

Poonch (India)
Poonch District Poonch District Poonch district, India Poonch District, Pakistan Poonch District hi:पुंछ जिला nl:Poonch (district in India)