Bhimber ( ur, ) is the capital of Bhimber District, 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 K ...

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

Mirpur Mirpur may refer to several places: In Bangladesh * Mirpur Model Thana, a locality in Dhaka ** Mirpur DOHS, a neighbourhood of Dhaka ** Mirpur College, a private college ** Mirpur Stadium or Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium * Mirpur Up ...

History

Bhimber was the capital of the Chibhal 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 ...

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. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range a ...

. 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 Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ea ...

discussed Bhimber in his book '' Tuzk-e-Jahangiri''.

Modern history

In the 19th century, Chibhal came under the Maharaja Gulab Singh. Around 1822, along with Poonch, it was granted as a

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

(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 death ...

of the Dogra dynasty,

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 i ...

'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 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 cal ...

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 post ...

, 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

and it came to be called the Mirpur district. Bhimber remained 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 ...

headquarters until 1947. It had a Hindu majority population, mostly consisting of Mahajans.

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. 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 Manzoor Hussain Mirza (13 August 1930 – 28 March 2016) was a Pakistani educationist who also was an Additional Secretary of Education, and Professor of Economics. He authored many books on English and economics, as well as writing severa ...

, economist * Ghulam Rasul Raja, Pakistan Army officer

References

Bibliography

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