Sherwan is 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 ...

from the

Abbottabad District Abbottabad District () is a district of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is part of Hazara Division and covers an area of 1,969 km2, with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town. Neighbouring districts are Mansehra ...

in the

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, located 35 km west of

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth ...

. Sherwan consists of two adjacent villages. The northern part is referred to as Sherwan Kalan, and the southern as Sherwan Khurd. Sherwan is on a ridge 5,000 feet high in the centre of Lower Tanawal. Sherwan is located in a valley which is surrounded by large, forested mountains on three sides. These forests host various wild animals, such as

jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backe ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus ''Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...

foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

, and occasionally

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia ...

s. Sherwan is divided into two parts: Sherwan Khurd (small) and Sherwan Kalan (wide). Sherwan Kalan covers a much larger area than Sherwan Khurd. A village called Patheel is on the northeast of Sherwan Union Council. To the west of Sherwan Union Council is another village called Bacha Kalan. A stream called Mangal lies south of the valley; it is home to several

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

such as

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-sa ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s, soles, and others.

Location and demographics

Sherwan is 5,000 ft high in the centre of Tanawal. The population of the main Sherwan village, or villages complex, is over 25,000. The local language is

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and P ...

; the local people also understand and speak

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

. The

Tanawal Amb or Kingdom of Amb also Feudal Tanawal (Urdu/ Persian: ''ریاست امب,'' romanized: ''Riyasat-e-Amb'') was a princely state in the present day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. It was a monarchy ruled by the Tanolis, a tribe of t ...

was divided into two parts, Upper Tanawal and Lower Tanawal. Sherwan is located in Lower Tanawal. The main tribe of Sherwan is the

Tanoli The Tanoli (Hindko/ ur, تنولی ,تناولی ,تنولي) are a tribe living mostly in the Hazara area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They form the majority of the population of Lassan Nawab union council. The Tanoli describe themselves as ...

; other tribes include the

Gujjars Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...

, the Awans, the Syeds, and the

Mughals 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 ...

Subdivisions

* Bammochi * Patheel *

Kalar Khaitar Kalar can refer to: * Kalar, Iraq * Kalar, Ardabil, Iran * Kalar, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Kalwar (caste), Indian caste * Kalar, a Burmese term for Burmese Indians *Kalar Range, Transbaikalia, Russia *Kalar (river), Transbaikalia, Russia S ...

* Kuhmar *

Shaheed Abad ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

* Sherwan Kalan * Sherwan Khurd *

Thorey Thorey () is a commune in the Yonne department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geogr ...

* Khanda Kahou

Education and literacy

The literacy rate of Sherwan is high compared to other villages in the area. In 2019, the best teacher of Pakistan award winner, Ejaz Ahmed Tanoli, was from Sherwan (Patheel). His so
Osama Muneem Khan
(founder o
Umeed e Sahar
is also from Sherwan and is known for helping orphans to receive a quality education. There are many government schools and colleges in Sherwan: *Sherwan Government College for Boys *Sherwan Government College for Girls *Sherwan Government High School (Boys) *Sherwan Government High School (Girls) *Sherwan Government Primary School (Boys) *Sherwan Government Primary School (Girls) Sherwan also has a police station.

History

Under Turkish rule

Tanawal was a part of

Pakhli Pakhli Sultanate was an ancient sarkar (district) of the Mughal Subah of Punjab, now part of Hazara, Pakistan. It roughly corresponds to the ancient Urasa, the Aρσa or Οΰaρσa which Ptolemy placed between the Bidaspes (Jhelum) and the Indus. ...

, which was ruled by

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

for centuries. Sherwan was the capital of Lower Tanawal under the Turks. The last Turkish Wali (governor) of the area was Qias-ud-din during the third quarter of

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradin ...

Under the rule of the Sikhs

After doing away with Sardar Muhammad Khan Tarin, Bostan Khan Tarin, and others in lower Hazara, the Sikhs tormented and persecuted the population. The Mashwanis of Srikot were forced to migrate from their homelands, and because of this, they were refugees in nearby localities for six to seven years. Many of them crossed the Indus and moved to

Swabi Swabi ( ps, صوابۍ; ur, ) is a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan,conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

several Mashwani youths in their army. After the death of 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 ...

, the Sikh empire fell prey to disorder and their rule weakened. In 1849, the Sikhs were finally defeated by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

and the area came under the British jurisdiction in the Hazara district.

Under British rule

The

ruled the region mostly through the local chiefs. Nawab Khan Tanaoli and his allies conquered Sherwan Fort, Sherwan and nearby villages and continued ruling Sherwan.

Fort of Sherwan

Sherwan Fort was built by the Sikhs in 1822 A.D. It was stormed and conquered by Nawab Khan Tanoli. Later, Major James Abbott constructed the interior in a Victorian style. It was auctioned on May 24, 2007. The fort was mentioned by Sir General James Abbott, one of the builders of the British Empire, in his diaries.

Economy

Locals grow seasonal grain crops such as maize and wheat. The area of Sherwan has plenty of water and soil rich with nutrients, allowing producers to grow

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

s, and

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus '' Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are al ...

s. The mountains of Sherwan are full of minerals like

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

. The largest soapstone deposits of the country are located near Sherwan in Hazara. A huge deposit of

is found in the mountains of a nearby village. A large number of people are also engaged in soapstone mining. The most extensive steatite deposits in Pakistan are found in the Sherwan area of the Hazara District.''Pakistan Journal of Science'', Volume 43 Pakistan Association for the Advancement of Science., 1991 - Scienc

/ref> Iron ore, lead, and magnesite ore are also found in these mountains.

External links

Sherwan
on

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

References

{{reflist Union councils of Abbottabad District