Dhodial (also known as Dhudial) is an important town and

union council Union council may refer to: *Union Council of Ministers The Union Council of Ministers is the Cabinet (government), principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of t ...

located near

Baffa Baffa ( Pashto :بفه ) is a town, a union council and capital of Tehsil Baffa Pakhal of Mansehra District in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It lies about 15 km north of the district capital, Mansehra. History B ...

between

Mansehra Mansehra (Urdu, ) is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. By population, it is the List of largest cities in Pakistan, 71st largest city in the country and the List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, ...

and Shinkiari in

Mansehra District Mansehra District (Urdu, ) is a district in the Hazara Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. Mansehra city serves as the headquarters of the district. The district has a Hindkowan majority, with a significant Pashtun and Kohista ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Dhodial is a fertile region known for its vegetables and tobacco crop. Dhodial is also well known for its

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

conservation project. The town was badly affected by the

2005 Pakistan earthquake An earthquake occurred at on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a territory under Pakistan. Its epicenter was 19 km northeast of the city of Muzaffarabad, and 90 km north north-east of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, ...

Location

Dhodial is north of Mansehra in Hazara area at an altitude of 3,267 feet. The river Siren flows alongside the town.

Health care

This area is known for the treatment of mentally ill patients.

Khan Khudadad Khan Swati Khan Khudadad Khan Swati was a prominent Pakistan independence movement activist, politician and member of All India Muslim league. He had been member of East Pakistan Provincial Assembly from Mansehra District. He also served as Minister of He ...

established a National Psychiatric Health unit, called the "Government Mental & General Hospital" in Dhodial in the early 1960s. Its purpose was to treat patients with

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and to function as a general hospital. It had facilities for the treatment of mentally disabled patients, including physical and mental grooming. Mohammad Irfan was the initial medical superintendent and

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

. The government's other plans included the

SOS Children's Villages SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to families facing difficultie ...

and National Peasantry. This hospital became tuberculosis

sanitorium A sanatorium (from Latin ''wikt:sanare, sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a Hospital#Specialized, specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sa ...

Dadar when in 2002

Hazara University The Hazara University (HU) is a public university located in Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Recognized university Hazara University is recognized as a higher education institution by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Overv ...

was formed in it.

Education

The University of Hazara is situated in Dhodial and provides education to students throughout

and the

Hazara Region Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, ...

. Abdul Hanan Khan Malkal Swati of VC Malkal donated land for mental hospital which later converted into Hazara University.

Politics

The prominent political group is the

Pakistan tehreek insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023 ...

which was led by

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

. The Swatis that are in the majority are also politically strong and influential. As people are getting educated, political situation is improving and parties like PTI are emerging. Other political parties are the PML N Jamiat Ullamay e Islam, Jammat Islami Pakistan. Dhodial has three village councils: Village Council Malkal, Village Council Arghoshal and Girwal. Zakir Hussain Khan Arghushal Swati is the elected Chairman of VC Arghushal while Rizwan Ul Haq Khan Malkal Swati is the Chairman of VC Malkal. VC Girwal was merged into UC Dhodial after the creation of Pakistan as it was a separate area before.

Conservation

The people of Dhodial practice conservation and captive breeding of various species of pheasants.

Dhodial Pheasantry Dhodial Pheasantry (or Dhodial Pheasant Center) is a pheasantry and breeding center for several species of pheasants situated in Mansehra District, Pakistan. It has been set up for the purposes of research, conservation, tourism, and education. Th ...

, Asia's largest peasantry, is located near the village.

People

Dhodial is part of Upper Pakhli which is homeland to Gabri Swatis. Dhodial is inhabited by two out of 7 subsections of Gabris i.e Arghushal Swatis and Malkal Swatis. Some other tribes also live in minority here but the 95% lands of Dhodial belongs to Swatis. According to Hazara Gazetteer 1883, Dhodial was given to Arghushal family and Malkal family in Nemkai division of Pakhli-1703. Sharifullah Khan Swati was the most prominent Jageerdar of Dhodial during British rule.

References

Union councils of Mansehra District Populated places in Mansehra District {{Mansehra-geo-stub