Misplaced Pages

#405594

101-554: North West Frontier may refer to: A border area of the British Indian Empire in the 19th century, see Military history of the North-West Frontier North-West Frontier Province (1901–2010), a province of British India and later of Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , the current province of Pakistan since 2010 North West Frontier (film) ,

202-636: A territorial dispute : Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People's Republic of China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen Glacier area, including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whilst Pakistan controls

303-425: A 1959 British adventure film starring Lauren Bacall See also [ edit ] All pages with titles containing North West Frontier North-West Frontier States Agency Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title North West Frontier . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

404-520: A British backed assault meant that the Sikhs could virtually walk into Peshawar. They managed to capture some Pashtun territory including Peshawar which was under direct British supervision and control. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the East India Company controlled southern India, Bengal , Bihar , and Orissa (modern Odisha). Dominance was gained at the expense of its French equivalent,

505-409: A boundary dispute that began in the late 19th century and continues into the 21st. Although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and China's official position has not changed following the communist revolution of 1949 that established the People's Republic of China. By the mid-1950s

606-642: A course through the entire Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan. Almost all the rivers originating in these region are part of the Indus river system. After reaching the end of the Great Himalayan range, the Indus turns a corner and flows southwest into the Punjab plains. The Jhelum and Chenab rivers also follow a course roughly parallel to this, and join the Indus river in southern Punjab plains in Pakistan. The geographical features of

707-535: A guerrilla onslaught meant to frighten its ruler into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to Mountbatten for assistance, and the governor-general agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India. Indian soldiers entered Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state. The United Nations was then invited to mediate the quarrel. The UN mission insisted that

808-503: A part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the entire region excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. The two countries have fought several declared wars over the territory. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 established the rough boundaries of today, with Pakistan holding roughly one-third of Kashmir, and India one-half, with a dividing line of control established by the United Nations. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 resulted in

909-547: A similar policy by different means. With India's Army de-mobilising, and its Government preoccupied with violent unrest in western India, Amanullah sent his troops across the Frontier in early May. At the end of the month he sought an armistice, which was granted on 3 June. By the Treaty of Rawalpindi signed in August, Afghanistan gained control of its foreign affairs, and in turn, recognised

1010-468: A stalemate and a UN-negotiated ceasefire. The Kashmir region lies between latitudes 32° and 36° N , and longitudes 74° and 80° E . It has an area of 68,000 sq mi (180,000 km ). It is bordered to the north and east by China (Xinjiang and Tibet), to the northwest by Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor), to the west by Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab) and to the south by India (Himachal Pradesh and Punjab). The topography of Kashmir

1111-528: Is 12,541,302; that of Pakistan-administered territory of Azad Kashmir is 4,045,366; and that of Gilgit-Baltistan is 1,492,924. Kashmir's economy is centred around agriculture . Traditionally the staple crop of the valley was rice, which formed the chief food of the people. In addition, Indian corn, wheat, barley and oats were also grown. Given its temperate climate , it is suited for crops like asparagus , artichoke, seakale, broad beans, scarletrunners, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Fruit trees are common in

SECTION 10

#1732836941406

1212-801: Is an archaic spelling of modern Kashmir, and in some countries it is still spelled this way. Kashmir is called Cachemire in French, Cachemira in Spanish, Caxemira in Portuguese, Caixmir in Catalan, Casmiria in Latin, Cașmir in Romanian, and Cashmir in Occitan . In the Kashmiri language , Kashmir itself is known as Kasheer . The Government of India and Indian sources refer to

1313-511: Is dominated by oaks ( Quercus spp.) and Rhododendron spp. The Blue Pine (Finns excelsa) Zone with Cedrus deodara , Abies pindrow and Picea smithiana occur at elevations between 2,800 and 3,500 m. The Birch (Betula utilis) Zone has Herbaceous genera of Anemone , Geranium , Iris , Lloydia , Potentilla and Primula interspersed with dry dwarf alpine scrubs of Berberis , Cotoneaster , Juniperus and Rhododendron are prevalent in alpine grasslands at 3,500 m and above. Kashmir

1414-602: Is home to rare species of animals, many of which are protected by sanctuaries and reserves. The Dachigam National Park in the Valley holds the last viable population of Kashmir stag (Hangul) and the largest population of black bear in Asia. In Gilgit-Baltistan the Deosai National Park is designated to protect the largest population of Himalayan brown bears in the western Himalayas. Snow leopards are found in high density In

1515-660: Is located in Lahore, Pakistan. He then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab, taking opportunity of the Afghans being embroiled in civil war. The deposed Afghan king Shah Shuja rallied a significant number of tribes and received British backing in the form of the Sikh army against the Barakzai king Dost Muhammad . The civil war in Afghanistan coupled with

1616-496: Is mentioned to have resided in the land of kashmira , or which might have been a reference to the Sharada Peeth . The Ancient Greeks called the region Kasperia , which has been identified with Kaspapyros of Hecataeus of Miletus ( apud Stephanus of Byzantium ) and Kaspatyros of Herodotus (3.102, 4.44). Kashmir is also believed to be the country meant by Ptolemy 's Kaspeiria . The earliest text which directly mentions

1717-536: Is mostly mountainous. It is traversed mainly by the Western Himalayas . The Himalayas terminate in the western boundary of Kashmir at Nanga Parbat . Kashmir is traversed by three rivers namely Indus , Jhelum and Chenab . These river basins divide the region into three valleys separated by high mountain ranges. The Indus valley forms the north and north-eastern portion of the region which include bare and desolate areas of Baltistan and Ladakh. The upper portion of

1818-521: Is referred as a beauty spot of the medicinal and herbaceous flora in the Himalayas. There are hundreds of different species of wild flowers recorded in the alpine meadows of the region. The botanical garden and the tulip gardens of Srinagar built in the Zabarwans grow 300 breeds of flora and 60 varieties of tulips respectively. The later is considered as the largest Tulip Garden of Asia. Kashmir region

1919-515: Is that it is land desiccated from water. An alternative etymology derives the name from the name of the Vedic sage Kashyapa who is believed to have settled people in this land. Accordingly, Kashmir would be derived from either kashyapa-mir (Kashyapa's Lake) or kashyapa-meru (Kashyapa's Mountain). The word has been referenced to in a Hindu scripture mantra worshipping the Hindu goddess Sharada and

2020-775: Is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent . Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range . The term has since come to encompass a larger area that includes the India-administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh , the Pakistan-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan , and

2121-823: The Compagnie des Indes . Britain and France were at war , and the Franco-Persian alliance of 1807, followed the same year by the Franco-Russian Treaty of Tilsit , alerted the HEIC to the external threat posed from the north-west. By 1819 only Sindh and the Sikh Empire remained outside the company's control. Napoleon was vanquished, but the Empire of the Tsars had begun to expand south and east. Russian influence grew likewise, and by

SECTION 20

#1732836941406

2222-671: The Second Afghan War in 1878, the Guides Infantry, together with the 1st Sikh Infantry, PFF, took part in forcing the Khyber , and were prominent in seizing the fortress of Ali Masjid . For this and subsequent efforts the Corps of Guides was awarded the battle honours A LI M ASJID , K ABUL 1879 , and A FGHANISTAN 1878–80. The last decade of the 19th century saw the Guides employed in

2323-569: The Chinese army had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh. By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through the Aksai Chin area to provide better communication between Xinjiang and western Tibet . India's belated discovery of this road led to border clashes between the two countries that culminated in the Sino-Indian War of October 1962. The region is divided amongst three countries in

2424-584: The Chitral campaign of 1895, and the Punjab Frontier Revolt of 1897–8. Thus was the corps awarded the battle honours 'C HITRAL ', 'M ALAKAND ' , and 'P UNJAB F RONTIER '. The reforms of 1903 gave to the Queen's Own Corps of Guides (Lumsden's) a subsidiary title in the form of its founders name, but left it numberless. In 1911 the corps took up Frontier Force as its first subsidiary title. During

2525-573: The Durand Line as its border with India. The short-lived war had long-term consequences in Waziristan , where tribesmen rallied to Amanullah's cause. The western militia posts were abandoned. Many of the militia deserted, taking their modern weapons and joining their fellow tribesmen in attacking the remaining posts. As a result, the Indian Army's Waziristan Force was fully engaged in re-establishing

2626-522: The Hemis National Park in Ladakh. The region is home to musk deer , markhor , leopard cat , jungle cat , red fox , jackal , Himalayan wolf , serow , Himalayan yellow-throated marten , long-tailed marmot , Indian porcupine , Himalayan mouse-hare , langur and Himalayan weasel . At least 711 bird species are recorded in the valley alone with 31 classified as globally threatened species. In

2727-559: The Kashmir Valley . He became a wealthy and influential noble in the Sikh court. In 1845, the First Anglo-Sikh War broke out. According to The Imperial Gazetteer of India : Gulab Singh contrived to hold himself aloof till the battle of Sobraon (1846), when he appeared as a useful mediator and the trusted advisor of Sir Henry Lawrence . Two treaties were concluded. By the first the State of Lahore (i.e. West Punjab) handed over to

2828-603: The Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. Capital towns of the region are Leh and Kargil . It is under Indian administration and was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir until 2019. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area and is mainly inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. Aksai Chin is a vast high-altitude desert of salt that reaches altitudes up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft). Geographically part of

2929-664: The Northern Areas , is a group of territories in the extreme north, bordered by the Karakoram , the western Himalayas , the Pamir , and the Hindu Kush ranges. With its administrative centre in the town of Gilgit , the Northern Areas cover an area of 72,971 square kilometres (28,174 sq mi) and have an estimated population approaching 1 million (10 lakhs ). Ladakh is between

3030-609: The Tibetan Plateau , Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plain. The region is almost uninhabited, and has no permanent settlements. Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, neither India nor Pakistan has formally recognised the accession of the areas claimed by the other. India claims those areas, including the area "ceded" to China by Pakistan in the Trans-Karakoram Tract in 1963, are

3131-620: The brahmin Kashmiri Pandits . To the northeast, sparsely populated Baltistan had a population ethnically related to that of Ladakh, but which practised Shia Islam . To the north, also sparsely populated, Gilgit Agency was an area of diverse, mostly Shia groups, and, to the west, Punch was populated mostly by Muslims of a different ethnicity than that of the Kashmir valley. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , in which Kashmir sided with

North West Frontier - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-592: The paramountcy (or tutelage ) of the British Crown , lasted until the Partition of India in 1947, when the former princely state of the British Indian Empire became a disputed territory , now administered by three countries: China , India , and Pakistan . The word Kashmir is thought to have been derived from Sanskrit and was referred to as káśmīra . A popular local etymology of Kashmira

3333-570: The 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire , the population of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu was 2,905,578. Of these, 2,154,695 (74.16%) were Muslims, 689,073 (23.72%) Hindus, 25,828 (0.89%) Sikhs, and 35,047 (1.21%) Buddhists (implying 935 (0.032%) others). The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 60% of the population. In the Kashmir Valley,

3434-763: The Afghan Durrani Empire . In 1819, the Kashmir Valley passed from the control of the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan to the conquering armies of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh of the Punjab , thus ending four centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals and the Afghan regime. As the Kashmiris had suffered under the Afghans, they initially welcomed the new Sikh rulers. However,

3535-501: The British after the first defeat of the Sikhs in 1846, as a reward to a former official who had sided with the British. The Himalayan kingdom was connected to India through a district of the Punjab, but its population was 77 per cent Muslim and it shared a boundary with Pakistan. Hence, it was anticipated that the maharaja would accede to Pakistan when the British paramountcy ended on 14–15 August. When he hesitated to do this, Pakistan launched

3636-538: The British officer John Masters , Pashtun women in the North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955) of British India during the Anglo-Afghan Wars would brutally castrate non-Muslim soldiers who were captured, especially British and Sikhs. Pashtun women urinated into prisoners' mouths. A method of execution by this is recorded: captured British soldiers were spread out and fastened with restraints to

3737-451: The British, and the subsequent assumption of direct rule by Great Britain, the princely state of Kashmir came under the suzerainty of the British Crown . In the British census of India of 1941, Kashmir registered a Muslim majority population of 77%, a Hindu population of 20% and a sparse population of Buddhists and Sikhs comprising the remaining 3%. That same year, Prem Nath Bazaz , a Kashmiri Pandit journalist wrote: "The poverty of

3838-419: The British, as equivalent for one crore indemnity, the hill countries between the rivers Beas and Indus; by the second the British made over to Gulab Singh for 75 lakhs all the hilly or mountainous country situated to the east of the Indus and the west of the Ravi i.e. the Vale of Kashmir. Drafted by a treaty and a bill of sale, and constituted between 1820 and 1858, the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu (as it

3939-409: The Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract . In 1820, the Sikh Empire , under Ranjit Singh , annexed Kashmir. In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War , and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar , the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh , became the new ruler of Kashmir. The rule of his descendants, under

4040-506: The First World War the cavalry branch of the Corps was deployed overseas to Mesopotamia , but not before winning a further honour in its own territory; 'N.W. F RONTIER I NDIA 1915'. In 1922 the separation became permanent, when the mounted branch was redesignated the 10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) , and the infantry was amalgamated as the 5th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment (Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides) . Formed in 1846 to guard

4141-399: The Guides were engaged in most frontier affairs, and from 1857 the corps was included in the Punjab Irregular Force , and subsequently in the Punjab Frontier Force . That same year the Corps of Guides was ordered to Delhi, covering the 930 km from Mardan in twenty-two days and famously going into action on arrival. They were duly honoured with D ELHI 1857 . At the beginning of

North West Frontier - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-440: The Hindu population of the princely state), the most important castes recorded in the census were " Brahmans (186,000), the Rajputs (167,000), the Khattris (48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000)." In the 1911 Census of the British Indian Empire, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu had increased to 3,158,126. Of these, 2,398,320 (75.94%) were Muslims, 696,830 (22.06%) Hindus, 31,658 (1%) Sikhs, and 36,512 (1.16%) Buddhists. In

4343-439: The Hindus represented "524 in every 10,000 of the population ( i.e. 5.24%), and in the frontier wazarats of Ladhakh and Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%)." In the same Census of 1901, in the Kashmir Valley, the total population was recorded to be 1,157,394, of which the Muslim population was 1,083,766, or 93.6% and the Hindu population 60,641. Among the Hindus of Jammu province, who numbered 626,177 (or 90.87% of

4444-425: The Indus and seized the old Mughal fort at Attock . In 1819 Kashmir was lost, and west of the Indus Derajat also. Four years later the winter capital at Peshawar came under attack. In 1826 Dost Mohammad Khan emerged as undisputed ruler in Kabul, and was there proclaimed Emir . He defeated a further attempt to oust him by his exiled rival Shuja Shah Durrani in 1833; however the Sikhs seized all of Peshawar

4545-502: The Jammu province and Muzaffarabad falls within the reach of Indian monsoon. The Pir Panjal Range acts as an effective barrier and blocks these monsoon tracts from reaching the main Kashmir Valley and the Himalayan slopes. These areas of the region receive much of their precipitation from the wind currents of the Arabian Sea. The Himalayan slope and the Pir Panjal witness greatest snow melting from March until June. These variations in snow melt and rainfall have led to destructive inundations of

4646-469: The Jhelum valley forms the proper Vale of Kashmir surrounded by high mountain ranges. The Chenab valley forms the southern portion of the Kashmir region with its denuded hills towards the south. It includes almost all of the Jammu region . High altitude lakes are frequent at high elevations. Lower down in the Vale of Kashmir there are many freshwater lakes and large areas of swamplands which include Wular Lake , Dal Lake and Hokersar near Srinagar . To

4747-429: The Kashmir Valley to the Punjab of British India. For almost a century, until the census, a small Hindu elite had ruled over a vast and impoverished Muslim peasantry. Driven into docility by chronic indebtedness to landlords and moneylenders, having no education besides, nor awareness of rights, the Muslim peasants had no political representation until the 1930s. Ranbir Singh's grandson Hari Singh , who had ascended

4848-504: The Kashmir region differ considerably from one part to another. The lowest part of the region consists of the plains of Jammu at the southwestern corner, which continue into the plains of Punjab at an elevation of below 1000 feet. Mountains begin at 2000 feet, then raising to 3000–4000 feet in the "Outer Hills", a rugged country with ridges and long narrow valleys. Next within the tract lie the Middle Mountains which are 8000–10,000 feet in height with ramifying valleys. Adjacent to these hills are

4949-606: The Manzai brigade relocated to Wana. From 1940 to 1947, Waziristan and indeed most of the Frontier remained relatively calm and the British were able to divert most of their military effort to more important theatres. There were, however, brief periods of trouble on the frontier, which required the British to continue to maintain a military presence in the region, although for the main they were able to employ mainly garrison or rear-area troops during this time, thus allowing them to free up front-line units for active service elsewhere. Trained regular troops were desperately needed for

5050-409: The Muslim masses is appalling. ... Most are landless laborers, working as serfs for absentee [Hindu] landlords ... Almost the whole brunt of official corruption is borne by the Muslim masses." Under Hindu rule, Muslims faced hefty taxation and discrimination in the legal system, and were forced into labor without any wages. Conditions in the princely state caused a significant migration of people from

5151-428: The North West Frontier are the Khyber and Bolan Passes . Since ancient times, the Indian subcontinent has been repeatedly invaded through these northwestern routes. With the expansion of the Russian Empire into Central Asia in the twentieth century, stability of the Frontier and control of Afghanistan became cornerstones of defensive strategy for British India. Much of the Frontier was occupied by Ranjit Singh in

SECTION 50

#1732836941406

5252-436: The North-West Frontier, which they called the Grim . In 1747 when Ahmad Khān Abdālī seized control of Kandahar , Kabul , and Peshawar , and, as Ahmad Shah Durrani , was proclaimed Shah of the Afghans . He went on to conquer Herat and Khorassan , and established an empire from the Oxus to the Indus . On his death in 1773, the Afghan domain included Baluchistan , Sindh , the Punjab , and Kashmir . Ahmad Shah

5353-409: The Phulai ( Acacia modesta ) and Olive (Olea cuspid ata) Zone. There occur semi-deciduous species of Shorea robusta , Acacia catechu , Dalbergia sissoo , Albizia lebbeck , Garuga pinnata , Terminalia bellirica and T. tomentosa and Pinus roxburghii are found at higher elevations. The temperate zone between (1,500–3,500 m) is referred as the Chir Pine (Finns longifolia). This zone

5454-502: The Sikh governors turned out to be hard taskmasters, and Sikh rule was generally considered oppressive, protected perhaps by the remoteness of Kashmir from the capital of the Sikh Empire in Lahore. The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim laws, which included handing out death sentences for cow slaughter, closing down the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, and banning the a dhan , the public Muslim call to prayer. Kashmir had also now begun to attract European visitors, several of whom wrote of

5555-400: The abject poverty of the vast Muslim peasantry and of the exorbitant taxes under the Sikhs. High taxes, according to some contemporary accounts, had depopulated large tracts of the countryside, allowing only one-sixteenth of the cultivable land to be cultivated. Many Kashmiri peasants migrated to the plains of the Punjab. However, after a famine in 1832, the Sikhs reduced the land tax to half

5656-452: The administrative border from where they could keep an eye on things. The unadministered districts would then once again become the responsibility of the local militias. In 1947, following the independence , the North-West Frontier region became a part of the newly formed nation of Dominion of Pakistan . Based upon the recommendations of the Tucker committee in 1944 (see above), the newly formed Pakistani government decided to move away from

5757-412: The area of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which comprises Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh , while Pakistan controls a third of the region, divided into two provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan . Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are administered by India as union territories . They formed a single state until 5 August 2019, when the state was bifurcated and its limited autonomy

5858-435: The cavalry component later expanded to 2½ squadrons , and the infantry to 4½ companies. Two further infantry battalions were raised in 1917. From its inception the corps was clothed in native style, with smock, baggy trousers and turban of home-spun cotton, and jerkin of sheepskin. The cotton was dyed grey with a derivative of a dwarf palm known as mazari , while the leather was dyed khaki with mulberry juice. Thus

5959-460: The climatic conditions and the altitude. Kashmir forests range from the tropical deciduous forests in the foothills of Jammu and Muzafarabad , to the temperate forests throughout the Vale of Kashmir and to the alpine grasslands and high altitude meadows in Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh. The Kashmir region has four well defined zones of vegetation in the tree growth, due to the difference in elevation. The tropical forests up to 1500 m, are known as

6060-411: The company could not help him without alienating its treaty ally Ranjit Singh. When Dost Mohammad redirected his appeal to Russia, the Governor-General Lord Auckland resolved to depose Dost Mohammad, and replace him with Shuja Shah Durrani. Restored to his throne in Kabul, the exiled former ruler would accept the Sikh gains west of the Indus, and the Company controlling his foreign policy. The agreement

6161-421: The early 1830s Qajar Irān was within the Tsar's sphere. Attempts by Irān to recover Herat in 1834, and again in 1837, raised the spectre of Russian armies on the road to Kandahar , whence direct access to India through the Khojak and Bolan passes. Meanwhile, the conflict between Afghanistan and the Punjab focused on the Khyber route . Dost Mohammad appealed to the HEIC for aid in recovering Peshawar, but

SECTION 60

#1732836941406

6262-433: The early 19th century, and then taken over by the East India Company when it annexed the Punjab in 1849. Between 1849 and 1947 the military history of the frontier was a succession of punitive expeditions against offending Pashtun (or Pathan ) tribes, punctuated by three wars against Afghanistan. Many British officers who went on to distinguished command in the First and Second World Wars learnt their soldiering on

6363-450: The exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150 thousand, to 190 thousand of a total Pandit population of 200 thousand (200,000), to a number as high as 300 thousand (300,000). People in Jammu speak Hindi, Punjabi and Dogri, the Kashmir Valley people speak Kashmiri, and people in the sparsely inhabited Ladakh speak Tibetan and Balti. The population of India-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh combined

6464-401: The face of internal opposition from factions keen to side with the Ottoman Sultan . Hostilities on the frontier remained local. Having upheld Afghan neutrality while India was engaged in the Great War , Habibulla sought full independence for Afghanistan in February 1919. Such a reward might have consolidated his rule, but later that month he was murdered. His successor Amanullah pursued

6565-400: The few tribal sections in South Waziristan remaining openly hostile were subdued by aircraft alone. For this operation the No. 2 (Indian) Wing of the RAF under Wing Commander Richard Pink was based at Tank and Miranshah . Aircraft comprising the Wana Patrol maintained regular weekly contact with the posts at Wana and Tanai until 1929, when the road from Sarwekai was completed, and

6666-441: The first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important centre of Hinduism and later of Buddhism . During the 7th-14th centuries, the region was ruled by a series of Hindu dynasties, and Kashmir Shaivism arose. In 1320, Rinchan Shah became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the Kashmir Sultanate . The region was part of the Mughal Empire from 1586 to 1751, and thereafter, until 1820, of

6767-419: The following year. In 1837 Dost Mohammad launched a counter-attack through the Khyber, but the Afghan force was halted at Jamrud Fort . Dost Mohammad had sought assistance from the East India Company against the resurgent Punjab, but was rebuffed. So Dost Mohammad turned to Imperial Russia for help. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi

6868-413: The frontier to deploy to Delhi and deal with the revolt centered there. In 1877, Amir Sher Ali received a Russian mission in Kabul, but refused to accept one from the British. The following year Sher Ali signed a treaty with Russia. The British sent a mission anyway, but the mission and its armed escort were denied passage through the Khyber Pass. The British threatened to invade, and when no apology

6969-486: The governor-general, Lord Dalhousie . Disgusted at being instructed to burn Pathan villages, first Napier and then Campbell resigned and returned to England. Campbell had already decided that the best method of dealing with the tribesmen on the frontier was through bribery. When the Sepoy Rebellion broke out Amir Dost Mohammad Khan came under internal pressure to seize the advantage and attack India. However he stood by his treaty obligations. This allowed Indian troops on

7070-564: The ground, then a stick, or a piece of wood was used to keep their mouth open to prevent swallowing. Pashtun women then squatted and urinated directly into the mouth of the man until he drowned in the urine, taking turns one at a time. This method of execution was reported to have been practiced specifically by the women of the Afridi tribe of the Pashtuns. Corps of cavalry and infantry , raised at Peshawar in 1846 by Lt. Harry Lumsden , and later based at Hoti Mardan . Originally one troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry,

7171-438: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=North_West_Frontier&oldid=1104363842 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Military history of the North-West Frontier The two main gateways on

7272-543: The intensity of the cold which keeps the perpetual snow on the mountains. Jammu Division, excluding the upper parts of the Chenab Valley, features a humid subtropical climate. The Vale of Kashmir has a moderate climate. The Astore Valley and some parts of Gilgit-Baltistan features a semi-Tibetan climate. While as the other parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh have Tibetan climate which is considered as almost rainless climate. The southwestern Kashmir which includes much of

7373-537: The last census of British India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu (which as a result of the Second World War, was estimated from the 1931 census) was 3,945,000. Of these, the total Muslim population was 2,997,000 (75.97%), the Hindu population was 808,000 (20.48%), and the Sikh 55,000 (1.39%). The Kashmiri Pandits , the only Hindus of the Kashmir valley, who had stably constituted approximately 4 to 5% of

7474-452: The lofty Great Himalayan ranges (14000–15000 feet) which divide the drainage of the Chenab and Jehlum from that of the Indus. Beyond this range lies a wide tract of mountainous country of 17000–22000 feet in Ladakh and Baltistan . Kashmir has a different climate for every region owing to the great variation in altitude. The temperatures ranges from the tropical heat of the Punjab summer to

7575-600: The lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls 101,338 km (39,127 sq mi) of the disputed territory, Pakistan controls 85,846 km (33,145 sq mi), and the People's Republic of China controls the remaining 37,555 km (14,500 sq mi). Jammu and Azad Kashmir lie south and west of the Pir Panjal range , and are under Indian and Pakistani control respectively. These are populous regions. Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as

7676-540: The main valley. One instance of such Kashmir flood of a larger proportion is recorded in the 12th-century book Rajatarangini . A single cloudburst in July 1935 caused the upper Jehlum river level to rise 11 feet. The 2014 Kashmir floods inundated the Kashmir city of Srinagar and submerged hundreds of other villages. Kashmir has a recorded forest area of 20,230 square kilometres (7,810 sq mi) along with some national parks and reserves . The forests vary according to

7777-843: The name Kashmir is in Ashtadhyayi written by the Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini during the 5th century BC. Pāṇini called the people of Kashmir Kashmirikas . Some other early references to Kashmir can also be found in Mahabharata in Sabha Parva and in puranas like Matsya Purana , Vayu Purana , Padma Purana and Vishnu Purana and Vishnudharmottara Purana . Huientsang , the Buddhist scholar and Chinese traveller, called Kashmir kia-shi-milo , while some other Chinese accounts referred to Kashmir as ki-pin (or Chipin or Jipin) and ache-pin . Cashmeer

7878-583: The north and northeast, beyond the Great Himalayas, the region is traversed by the Karakoram mountains. To the northwest lies the Hindu Kush mountain range. The upper Indus River separates the Himalayas from the Karakoram. The Karakoram is the most heavily glaciated part of the world outside the polar regions. The Siachen Glacier at 76 km (47 mi) and the Biafo Glacier at 63 km (39 mi) rank as

7979-493: The opinion of Kashmiris must be ascertained, while India insisted that no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars. In the last days of 1948, a ceasefire was agreed under UN auspices. However, since the plebiscite demanded by the UN was never conducted, relations between India and Pakistan soured, and eventually led to two more wars over Kashmir in 1965 and 1999 . India has control of about half

8080-462: The population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947), and 20% of whom had left the Kashmir valley to other parts of India in the 1950s, underwent a complete exodus in the 1990s due to the Kashmir insurgency . According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during that decade. Other authors have suggested a higher figure for

8181-500: The posts and restoring the lines of communication from November until May 1920. The western base at Wana was finally reoccupied in December 1920. The long-term plan for control of the district entailed building metalled roads along the lines of communication to a new central base to be established at Razmak . In 1921 work began on the southern road up the Tank Zam from Jandola , under

8282-473: The previous British policy of 'forward defence' in the North-West Frontier region and ordered the withdrawal of forces from Waziristan, as it was felt that the presence of a regular military force in the region was provoking tensions with the local tribesmen. This withdrawal began on December 6, 1947 and was successfully completed by the end of the month under the codename Operation Curzon. According to

8383-573: The produce of the land and also began to offer interest-free loans to farmers; Kashmir became the second highest revenue earner for the Sikh Empire. During this time Kashmir shawls became known worldwide, attracting many buyers, especially in the West. The state of Jammu , which had been on the ascendant after the decline of the Mughal Empire, came under the sway of the Sikhs in 1770. Further in 1808, it

8484-636: The protection of the Waziristan Force. The following year work on the northern road from the Tochi began at Idak , shielded by the Razmak Force advancing to its objective. The two roads met in 1924, linking North and South Waziristan , and enabling the Indian Army to reorganise both areas as one military district. The Waziristan and Razmak Field Forces then devolved into brigades based permanently at Manzai , Razmak, Gardai , and Bannu . The following year

8585-514: The rifles joined the Bombay line as the 30th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry . The regiment was honoured for its part in the Second Afghan War with A FGHANISTAN 1878-80 Kashmir 34°30′N 76°30′E  /  34.5°N 76.5°E  / 34.5; 76.5 Kashmir ( / ˈ k æ ʃ m ɪər / KASH -meer or / k æ ʃ ˈ m ɪər / kash- MEER )

8686-624: The southern part of the North-West Frontier. Initially consisting of just the Scinde Irregular Horse, the force under Capt. John Jacob was part of the Bombay Army . The Scinde Irregular Horse was raised at Hyderabad in 1839 by Capt. Ward. The regiment earned its first battle honour during the Operations in Scinde 1839-42 , when it was awarded the unique distinction 'C UTCHEE '. For

8787-505: The subsequent Scinde Campaign of 1843 it was awarded 'M EEANEE ' and 'H YDERABAD ' . A second regiment was raised at Hyderabad in 1846 by Capt. J. Jacob. During the Second Sikh War both the 1st and 2nd Irregular Horse earned further distinction with 'M OOLTAN ', 'G OOJERAT ', and 'P UNJAUB '. A third regiment was raised in 1857, and in 1860 the regiments were designated simply Scinde Horse . The 1st Scinde Horse

8888-431: The territory under Pakistan control as "Pakistan-occupied Kashmir" ("POK"). The Government of Pakistan and Pakistani sources refer to the portion of Kashmir administered by India as "Indian-occupied Kashmir" ("IOK") or "Indian-held Kashmir" (IHK); The terms "Pakistan-administered Kashmir" and "India-administered Kashmir" are often used by neutral sources for the parts of the Kashmir region controlled by each country. In

8989-480: The throne of Kashmir in 1925, was the reigning monarch in 1947 at the conclusion of British rule of the subcontinent and the subsequent partition of the British Indian Empire into the newly independent Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan . According to Burton Stein 's History of India , Kashmir was neither as large nor as old an independent state as Hyderabad ; it had been created rather off-handedly by

9090-541: The war against Germany and Japan. Razmak, Wana and Bannu were garrisoned with half-trained units which suffered serious reverses, losing men, rifles, and light machine-guns. In 1944, a British committee under Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Tuker was set up to review future policy for the region. As part of its findings, it recommended a return to the Curzon Plan , which advocated the withdrawal of all regular forces from tribal territory into outposts, or cantonments, along

9191-404: The world's second and third longest glaciers outside the polar regions. Karakoram has four eight-thousander mountain peaks with K2 , the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft). The Indus River system forms the drainage basin of the Kashmir region. The river enters the region in Ladakh at its southeastern corner from the Tibetan Plateau , and flows northwest to run

9292-980: Was defeated in September 1880, and his throne was offered to, and accepted by, Abdur Rahman , who agreed to surrender all claims on the Khyber, the Kurram , Sibi , and Pishin . In support of the British war effort, the Indian Army deployed expeditionary forces to the Western Front , East Africa , Gallipoli , Mesopotamia , Sinai and Palestine . India was thus vulnerable to hostile attention from Afghanistan. A Turco-German mission arrived in Kabul in October 1915 with obvious strategic purpose. However, Amir Habibulla abided by his treaty obligations and maintained Afghanistan's neutrality, in

9393-672: Was deployed to suppress the Sepoy Revolt of 1857–8, and was duly awarded C ENTRAL I NDIA . All three regiments were rewarded for their part in the Second Afghan War :- Its hard-won honours notwithstanding, the third regiment was disbanded in 1882. The 1st and 2nd Regiments joined the Bombay line in 1885 as the 5th and 6th Bombay Cavalry respectively. In the reformed Indian Army in 1903 they were likewise redesignated 35th Scinde Horse and 36th Jacob's Horse . Jacob's Rifles , raised in 1858 by Maj. John Jacob. In 1861

9494-421: Was first called) combined disparate regions, religions, and ethnicities: to the east, Ladakh was ethnically and culturally Tibetan and its inhabitants practised Buddhism ; to the south, Jammu had a mixed population of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. In the heavily populated central Kashmir valley, the population was overwhelmingly Muslim —mostly Sunni , however, there was also a small but influential Hindu minority,

9595-599: Was formalised with the Treaty of Simla signed in June 1838 between Shah Shuja, the HEIC, and Ranjit Singh. In the period following the annexation of the Punjab in 1849 until the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 , several expeditions were undertaken against almost every tribe along the whole of the North-West Frontier, most notably under Sir Charles Napier and Sir Colin Campbell , under orders from

9696-705: Was forthcoming, did so. Sher Ali died while fleeing to Russian territory, and his son Yakub succeeded him. On May 26, 1879, Amir Yakub signed the Treaty of Gandamak , whereby Afghanistan surrendered its foreign policy to the British Empire, which in turn promised protection from aggression. Afghanistan ceded some territory and accepted a British Resident in Kabul until 1894. In September 1879, some six weeks after establishing his residency, Sir Louis Cavagnari and his escort were murdered. Hostilities promptly resumed. Yakub's army

9797-569: Was fully conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Gulab Singh, then a youngster in the House of Jammu, enrolled in the Sikh troops and, by distinguishing himself in campaigns, gradually rose in power and influence. In 1822, he was anointed as the Raja of Jammu. Along with his able general Zorawar Singh Kahluria , he conquered and subdued Rajouri (1821), Kishtwar (1821), Suru valley and Kargil (1835), Ladakh (1834–1840), and Baltistan (1840), thereby surrounding

9898-444: Was military dress first coloured khaki for its camouflage effect, and the Guides were the first troops to wear it. The drab colour is well suited to the barren rocky terrain of the North-West Frontier, and all but one of the other Punjab frontier units soon followed the Guides example. In 1848 the Second Sikh War broke out and the corps won its first battle honours ; 'M OOLTAN ', 'G OOJERAT ' , and 'P UNJAUB '. Thereafter

9999-571: Was revoked. According to Encyclopædia Britannica : Although there was a clear Muslim majority in Kashmir before the 1947 partition and its economic, cultural, and geographic contiguity with the Muslim-majority area of the Punjab (in Pakistan) could be convincingly demonstrated, the political developments during and after the partition resulted in a division of the region. Pakistan was left with territory that, although basically Muslim in character,

10100-447: Was sparsely populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim group, situated in the Valley of Kashmir and estimated to number more than half the population of the entire region, lay in India-administered territory, with its former outlets via the Jhelum valley route blocked. The eastern region of the former princely state of Kashmir is also involved in

10201-465: Was succeeded by his son Timur Shah Durrani , whose rule of twenty years saw the Afghan tide begin to ebb. Timur left many sons but no heir, and the resultant internecine struggles for the throne lasted more than thirty years. During this period the Punjab was effectively ceded to its erstwhile governor Ranjit Singh , Iran recovered Khorassan, and Sindh broke away. In 1813 Sikh forces from the Punjab crossed

#405594