Jehangira () is a town in the

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.

Overview and history

According to 1872 land management records from when the area was under the control of the

Khushal Khan Khattak Khushal Khan Khattak (Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; ; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba (), was a 17th-century Afghan Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pa ...

, Jehangir Khan founded Jehangira in 1681. Originally, the place was known as Jehangira Awan but over time came to be known by the current name of Jehangira. In 1818, during

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

's invasion of the

Peshawar Valley The Valley of Peshawar (; ) is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The valley is in area, and is traversed by the Kabul River. It has a mean elevation of . The valley takes its name from the c ...

, Jehangira was badly damaged by the

Sikhs 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 ''Sikh'' ...

. The Sikhs built an army post inside Jehangira in order to control the area and launched a boat service across the river to connect it with

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

. In the aftermath of the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

, the area came under

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

in March 1849 and the region became part of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Under

British colonialism The British Empire comprised 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 establish ...

, the residents built a checkpoint and a police station on the bank of

Kabul River The Kabul River (; ), the classical Cophen , is a river that emerges in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush mountains in the northeastern part of Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. It is separated from the watershed of the Helmand River by th ...

as well as a floating bridge over the river. After the independence 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# ...

from British rule in 1956, the local government has used the former British checkpoint as a police station. In 1970, a reinforced hollow-core concrete bridge was constructed over the river, now known as Jehangira bridge. During a period of flooding in July 2010, the bridge was submerged under water for several hours. As time passed, the village's population increased and it started to grow into adjacent populated areas. Many new markets and industries emerged in the area and some people started to refer to the entire municipal area as "Jehangira town". Jehangira was originally divided into two municipal governments under two different districts: Eastern Jehangira (under the Swabi district) and Western Jehangira (under the

Nowshera District Nowshera District (, ) is a district in the Peshawar Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital and district headquarter is Nowshera city. Overview and history Nowshera was previously a tehsil (subdivision) of Pesha ...

). However, on July 3, 2005, the government of the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...

announced the merger of these municipal governments.

Boundaries

The mountains of Khawri behind the Jehangira Railway station form the western boundary of Jehangira. The southern shore of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

is the border with

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

. To the east are Tordhair town and Ala Dher Village and on the northern border are the villages of Mian-Esa and Jalbai.

Climate

The climate of Jehangira is similar to that of

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, although sometimes more humid due to the Kabul and Indus Rivers. In the summer, the chain of mountains and desolate areas to the northwest can cause hot and dusty winds.

Demographics

Population

The population of city in 1972 was 3,564 but according to the

2023 Census of Pakistan The 2023 Census of Pakistan was the census, detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population and the census in Pakistan, seventh national census in the country. It was conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. It was also the first ever di ...

, the population has risen to 57,011.

People and cultures

Many inhabitants of Jehangira are members of various Pashtoon clans that migrated from different parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Some locations of note within Jehangira: * Jehangira village (Swabi district): This place is also known as Pushtoon's village because of the usage of the

Pushto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khybe ...

language - the majority of the population has been Pashtoon since 1681. The main tribes residing here are Yousafzai, Khattak, Dilzak, Khan khel, Chcha Khel, Syeds and Awan. Among the pashtun tribes, some people are having the title of Mian and Qazi, so they are called Miagan and Qazian. Some sources claim that Qazian are living in Jehangira village for the last 500 hundard years.The village has a population of 42 thousands and is led by Ch. Imdad Ullah. In the 2005 election, Muhammad Ismail Khan was elected as Nazim of the

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 ...

. Mufti Zar Wali Khan of Jaamia Arabia Ahsan Uloom

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

was born and raised here before moving to Karachi. *Qazi Hidayat ur rehman Is Member of Dispute Resolution Council (DRC) Tehsil And district. * Mardgan village (Swabi district): This area was settled by Sikh-Raj in 1818 for the purpose of providing boating services on the Kabul River - "Mardgan" is a

word that means "boatmen" or "sailors". The majority of the people of this village area speak

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 ...

but not all of them are sailors, and some Pushtoon families live here as well. * New hamlets (Swabi district): There are some recently populated areas such as Mera, Kodray, Hayatabad, New-Nehr, ismail abad, Marab, Budai-Kamar, Garha, Karkhana, Zorh Nehr, Shekh baba, and Mia-Esa road.

Mausoleums and cemeteries

About of the area consists of graveyards, mostly at the eastern part of town. Some graves of note: * The tomb of Badu Baba, in the north-east * The tomb of Lakai Bebyane, in the south * The tomb of Sheikh Baba, on the eastern bank of

Kabul river The Kabul River (; ), the classical Cophen , is a river that emerges in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush mountains in the northeastern part of Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. It is separated from the watershed of the Helmand River by th ...

* Ghara Qabristan * Adam Baba Muqbara An

urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or Urus (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. ...

is celebrated annually on the 12th of Rabi Alawal on his Mazzar under the supervision of Alaf din awan .

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Swabi District Union Councils of Swabi District Populated places in Nowshera District