Hunza-Nagar
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Hunza-Nagar
Two small chiefships lying to the extreme north- west of Kashmir, on the banks of the Hunza river. Towards the north they extend into the mountainous region which adjoins the junction of the Hindu Kush and Muztagh ranges ; in the south they border on Gilgit ; on the west Hunza is separated from Ashkuman and Yasin by a range of mountains ; while the Muztagh range divides Nagar from Baltistan on the east. The inhabitants of both chiefships come from the same stock and speak the same language, but are not usually on good terms with each other. In Hunza the people are Maulais or Ismailis, followers of the Aga Khan, while in Nagar they are ordinarily Shiahs.
Lying between these States and Gilgit are Chaprot and Chalt fort with some attached villages, which were long a source of contention between the rival chiefs. In 1877 the ruler of Nagar, with the assistance of the Kashmir Darbar, successfully occupied the disputed tract; but in 1886 he was persuaded to withdraw his troops, which were replaced by a garrison from Kashmir. In the same year Ghazan Khan, the Tham or chief of Hunza, was murdered by his son Safdar All, who succeeded him and professed submission to the Maharilja of Kashmir. The two chiefs combined in 1888, and ejected the Kashmir troops from Chaprot and Chalt, even threatening Gilgit ; but both strongholds were reoccupicd by the Kashmir forces after a few months.
A British Agency was re-established at Gilgit in 1889; and the chiefs agreed to respect the control of the Agent, to allow free passage through their territory, and to stop raiding on the Varkand road and elsewhere, yearly subsidies being granted to them, besides the amount paid by the Kashmir State. These engagements were not respected ; and in May, 1891, a combined force from Hunza and Nagar threatened Chalt, but dispersed on the arrival of reinforcements. T.ator in the year they refused to allow roads to be made to Chalt, extending to their own country, and it ])ecame necessary to dispatch troops against them. Nagar and Hunza were occupied, and the Tham of the former place submitted, while Safdar All, the Tham of Hunza, fled to Chinese Turkistan. The subsidies were withdrawn, and a Political officer and military force remained at Hunza till 1897; but in 1892 Muhammad Nazim Khan was installed as Tham in place of his half-brother Safdar Ah, while the Tham of Nagar was reinstated. In 1895 subsidies were again granted by the Government of India and the Kashmir .State, and in the same year both chiefs assisted in the relief of Chitral. Zafar Zahid Khan, Tham of Nagar, died in 1904 and was succeeded by his son Sikandar Khan.
The chief of Hunza, who claims Roskam and the Taghdumbash Pamir north of the Hindu Kush watershed, is permitted to exchange presents with the Chinese authorities in Kashgar, but these relations are under consideration. Both States are autonomous as regards internal affairs, and acknowledge the suzerainty of the Maharaja of Kashmir, to whom they pay a tribute of nominal value. They furnish levies for the defence of the frontier, who receive pay from the Kashmir State, and are armed with Snider carbines, presented by the Government of India.
