Sherwan is a

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

in the

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

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 ...

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# ...

, situated 35 km west of

Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...

. The area is composed of two adjacent villages: Sherwan Kalan to the north and Sherwan Khurd to the south. Positioned on a ridge of 5,000 feet in the heart of Lower

Tanawal Amb () or the State of Amb was a princely state in the present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. Together with Phulra, it was known as Feudal Tanawal ruled by Tanoli tribe. A Royal Tenure start from Timurid Empire and end on Last ...

Sherwan is surrounded by large, forested mountains on three sides, creating a scenic valley landscape. These forests are home to diverse wildlife, including

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

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

, wild boars,

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

fox 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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...

es, and occasionally

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

s. Sherwan Kalan covering a larger area, contrasts with the smaller Sherwan Khurd. To the northeast of Sherwan

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 ...

lies the village of Patheel, while to the west is the village of Bacha Kalan. A stream called Mangal flows to the south of the valley, providing habitat for various fish species such as

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

Eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s, and soles.

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 (, , ) 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 ...

; the local people also understand and speak

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. The

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: 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 ...

; other tribes include the

Gujjars The Gurjar (or Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara) are an agricultural ethnic community, residing mainly in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were traditionally involved in agriculture, pastoral and nomadic ...

, the

Awan Awan may refer to: * Awan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Awana, also known as Awan is a clan of Gujjars in South Asia * Awan (tribe), a social group of Pakistan * Awan dynasty, an Elamite dynasty of Iran * Awan languages, ...

s, the Syeds, and the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

Subdivisions

* Bammochi * Patheel * Kalar Khaitar * Kuhmar * Shaheed Abad * Sherwan Kalan * Sherwan Khurd * Thorey * Khanda Kahou

Education and literacy

The literacy rate of Sherwan is high compared to other villages in the area. 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 Model School (Girls + boys ) Sherwan also has a police station.

History

Under Turkish rule

Tanawal was a part of

Pakhli Pakhli or Pakhal (اردو: پکھلی) is a historical de-facto region consisting of Mansehra District and Battagram District located in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa Province, Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republ ...

, which was ruled by

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

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 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to ch ...

Under the rule of the Sikhs

After doing away with Sardar Muhammad Khan Tarin,

Bostan Khan Bostan Khan (died 1825), was a warrior of the Tareen (or Tarin) tribe settled in the Haripur, Hazara region of what was to later become the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan), who was executed for rebellion by the S ...

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 (; ) is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located near the bank of the Indus River. It is the 73rd largest city of Pakistan and eighth largest in the province in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Swabi is also a major city in ...

. The Sikhs also forcefully

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

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

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 ...

, the Sikh empire fell prey to disorder and their rule weakened.

Under British rule

Four months after the

Second 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 ...

began, Chatar Singh declared war on the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, it was at Sherwan that James Abbott rallied the Hazarawals to fight against the rebellious Sikhs. The Mashwani tribe were the first to rally, Abbott described them as a "rugged looking race, ugly and not gracefully built, whose clothing is of cotton cloth, dyed indigo black. But they are among the truest and staunchest defenders of a hillside that the world can boast, and are good shots with their clumsy smooth-bore matchlocks."Charles Allen, Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

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 also ...

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 sub ...

. 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

Union councils of Abbottabad District Populated places in Abbottabad District {{improve categories, date=October 2024