Inayatabad () is a village 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 ...

(an administrative subdivision) of

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 province of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the fourth largest province of Paki ...

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# ...

. It is located in Mansehra Tehsil and lies to the north of the district capital

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 lies in area affected by the

2005 Kashmir 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, ...

.EARTHQUAKE AFFECTED AREA OVERVIEW - United Nations Joint Logistics Centre

Villages

* Inayatabad (Main Village) * Bhanda Peeraan * Gandhian *

Chitti Gatti Chitti Gatti is a hamlet located in Gandhian (village) of Inayatabad union council, of Mansehra area, of Hazara, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Since early times, it is especially notable for two Hindu festivals which occur on 6th Phagan and on ...

* Chak * Tootkay * Nara

Gandhian

Gandhian is a village of Union Council Inayatabad in District Mansehra. It is located 34.39N 73.21 E Latitude and Longitude on main Karakoram Highway and is about 7 km away from District Capital Mansehra. Gandhian comprises small villages such as Jalalabad, Bela, Sheher, Narrah, Merra, Chak and Bandhian. A Siran River tributary flows through this village. Natural springs in Gandhian are source of fresh natural water. Gandhian is known for most important and unique Shiv Temple (dates back to Emperor Ashoka and Alexander the Great) of Hindu religion in Pakistan, where hundred and thousands of pilgrims come and pay tribute and homage to the same. Terrain of this area consists of Plain fields, Plateau and Hilly areas. Land used for agriculture purpose is very rich and fertile in nature. Main crops of village are wheat, Vegetables, Maize and Tobacco. Whereas fruits like Apricot, Plum, Almond, Apple and Peach are also found here. Literacy rate of this Village is quite encouraging. Private sector educational institutions are growing in number. Gandhian has produced highly educated people who reached high echelon in field of Education, Armed Forces, Civil Service and Other professions. 100% of the present day population of Gandhian is Muslim (Sunni Sect). While few families also believe of Shia sect also exist. 90% of the population of this village speaks Hindko as their mother tongue, while remaining speaks Gojari, Pashto and other languages. Main tribes of this area are

Tanoli The Tanoli (Hindko: تناولی; ) is a Hindkowan tribe living mainly in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They form the majority of the population of Lassan Nawab union council. The Tanoli describe themselves as of Barlas ...

, Gujjars, Ghakkar (Raja), Syed, Maliktanoli and Sulemani. It is also notable to mention that owing to the famous Shiva temple of

, there had always been a native Hindu presence in this region of Mansehra district. Indeed, the village name "Gandhian" being a testament to nature of the indigenous Khatri tribes, "Gandhi" itself being a

Khatri Khatri () is a caste system in India, caste originating from the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are war ...

Clan.

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

presence in this region was also pronounced during the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

era. In the ensuing violence of the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, tribes formerly native to this area including

Hindko Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...

-speaking

Khatris Khatri () is a caste originating from the Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are warriors who took to trade. In the Indian ...

and

Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

fled for the newly formed Republic of India where they settled in large numbers in Delhi, along with other non-muslim

Hindkowans Hindkowans, also known as the Hindki, is a contemporary designation for speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the neighbouring Pashtuns, particularly the speakers of various Hindko dialects of Western Punjabi (Lahnda). The origins ...

. Some, having converted to Islam, were subsumed into Islamic tribes and Biradris.

Education

Literacy rate of this U.C is quite encouraging. Private sector educational institutions are growing in number but Inayatabad Public School is the best educational institute of Inayatabad. U.C has produced highly educated people who reached high echelon in field of Education, Armed Forces, Civil Service and Other professions.

Languages

90% population of this village speaks Hindko as their mother tongue, while remaining speaks Gojari, Pashto and other languages.

Tribes

Main tribes of this area are Swati, Tanoli, Gujjars, Kashmiries, Awans and Parachas.

References