Chitral
Chitral
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Area code | 0943 |
Vehicle registration | CL |
Website | lowerchitral |
Chitral (
History
Nothing definitive is recorded about the town’s first settlers. In the 3rd century AD, Kanishka, the Buddhist ruler of the Kushan empire, occupied Chitral. In the 4th century AD, the Chinese overran the valley. Raees rule over Chitral began in 1320 and came to an end in the 15th century. From 1571 onwards Chitral was the capital of the princely state of Chitral under the rule of the
Ancient era
The existence of the Gandharan Grave Culture in Chitral,[9] found in various grave sites scattered over its valleys gives an insightful knowledge of its inhabitants following the Indo-Aryan migrations, after the decline of Indus Valley civilization.[10][11] The Gankorineotek cemetery in Singoor is home to several ancient burial sites, dating back to the Vedic period.[12][13][14]
The area which now forms Chitral was reportedly conquered by the Persian Achaemenids and was a part of one of their easternmost satraps.[15] In the third century CE, Kanishka, the Buddhist ruler of the Kushan empire, occupied Chitral. Under the Kushans, many Buddhist monuments were built around the area, mainly Buddhist stupas and monasteries. The Kushans also patronised Buddhist art; some of the finest examples of the image of Buddha were produced in the region under the Kushan rule.[16]
Kator era
From 1571 to 1969, Chitral was the dominion of the
Accession to Pakistan
In 1947, following the division of the British colony of India, princely states were offered the choice to either remain independent or to choose one of the two new dominions. Initially, Chitral chose to remain independent Monarchy. Later, the Mehtar of Chitral, who was a friend of Quaid E Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, acceded to Pakistan and thus Chitral became one of the princely states of Pakistan. Through 1969 to 1972, it was fully integrated into Pakistan as the administrative district of Chitral.[19]
Role in the First Kashmir War
Chitral played an instrumental role in the 1947–1948
Geography
The city has an average elevation of 1,500 m (4,921 ft).
Climate
In contrast to more southerly valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chitral has a dry Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with almost no rainfall during the very hot summers. Precipitation occurs mainly from spring thunderstorms brought about by western frontal systems. In the winter the night time temperature occasionally drops to −10 C. Winter snowfall in the town can be quite heavy with an accumulation of up to two feet being quite common, at higher elevations snowfall can reach as high as 20 metres (70 ft)[citation needed].
Climate data for Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) |
21.0 (69.8) |
28.0 (82.4) |
34.3 (93.7) |
38.3 (100.9) |
42.5 (108.5) |
44.4 (111.9) |
42.2 (108.0) |
39.8 (103.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
27.0 (80.6) |
20.7 (69.3) |
44.4 (111.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.8 (47.8) |
9.9 (49.8) |
15.1 (59.2) |
22.5 (72.5) |
28.2 (82.8) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.9 (96.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
31.1 (88.0) |
25.1 (77.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) |
5.3 (41.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
15.5 (59.9) |
20.3 (68.5) |
26.1 (79.0) |
28.0 (82.4) |
26.5 (79.7) |
22.1 (71.8) |
16.2 (61.2) |
10.8 (51.4) |
5.9 (42.6) |
15.9 (60.6) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) |
0.6 (33.1) |
4.2 (39.6) |
8.5 (47.3) |
12.5 (54.5) |
17.8 (64.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
18.7 (65.7) |
13.1 (55.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
2.9 (37.2) |
0.2 (32.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −11.0 (12.2) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
4.4 (39.9) |
8.9 (48.0) |
11.1 (52.0) |
10.6 (51.1) |
5.6 (42.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38.4 (1.51) |
63.8 (2.51) |
97.3 (3.83) |
71.7 (2.82) |
43.9 (1.73) |
5.1 (0.20) |
4.9 (0.19) |
8.0 (0.31) |
7.3 (0.29) |
15.6 (0.61) |
20.4 (0.80) |
38.5 (1.52) |
414.9 (16.32) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 134.0 | 133.7 | 150.4 | 188.6 | 247.0 | 286.3 | 285.4 | 258.6 | 231.0 | 214.0 | 182.5 | 130.7 | 2,442.2 |
Source: NOAA (1971-1990) [21] |
Demographics
As per the 2017 census, Chitral has a population of 49,780.[4]
Historical demographics
Religion | Population (1901)[23] | Percentage (1901) |
---|---|---|
Islam | 3,452 | 42.47% |
Hinduism | 2,709 | 33.33% |
Sikhism | 1,826 | 22.47% |
Total | 8,128 | 100% |
Educational institutions
Notable people
- Falak Naz Chitrali (Member of Senate of Pakistan)
- Wazir Zada (Member of Provincial Assembly of KPK)
- Member of National Assembly of National Assembly of Pakistan)
See also
- Chitral Tehsil
References
- ^ "LG polls: PTI sweeps elections in upper & lower Chitral". The News International newspaper). 2 April 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ "District Chitral (Upper & Lower)". Department of Local Government, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- . Retrieved 29 August 2019 – via dergipark.org.tr.
- ^ a b c "Khyber Pakhtūnkhwā / North-West Frontier (Pakistan): Province, Major Cities, Municipalites & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Indo-Iranian Frontier Languages". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 15 November 2006. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Postal code
- ^ "List of Postal Codes of GPOs of Chitral Pakistan Post 2023".
- ^ "Chitral, a Study in Statecraft" (PDF). IUCN.
- S2CID 53462554. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via go.gale.com.
- ISBN 978-1-119-05547-1.
- ^ "Mera Chitral: History of chitral". Mera Chitral. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ "3 Child burial at Gankorineotek cemetery, Chitral, excavated in 2007-2008". Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ Hemphill, Brian E.; Zahir, Muhammad; Ali, Ihsan (29 December 2017). "Skeletal Analysis of Gandharan Graves at Shah Mirandeh, Singoor, Chitral".
- ^ "Scientists say discovery of 3,000-year-old burial site key to tracing origins of Pakistan's Chitral". Arab News PK. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ Notes on Chitral. L.D. Scott. 1903.
- ^ Gurdon's Report on Chitral. Gurdon. 1903.
- ^ "Chitral, a Study in Statecraft" (PDF). IUCN. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Holdich, Thomas Hungerford (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 251–252.
- ISBN 978-1-4443-2441-9.
- ^ "Full text of "An Illustrated History of Chitral Scouts 1900-2015"". archive.org. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Chitral Climate Normals 1971-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ "Population Demography". Kpktribune.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739.
Bibliography
- Decker, D. Kendall (1992). Languages of Chitral. Ishi Press International. ISBN 4871875202.
- Durand, Col. A. (1899). The Making of a frontier.
- Leitner, G. W. (1893). Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author's The Languages and Races of Dardistan (First reprint ed.). New Delhi: Manjusri Publishing House. ISBN 4871877787.
Further reading
- Allan, Nigel J. R.; Buddruss, Georg (1991). "CHITRAL". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. V, Fasc. 5. pp. 487–494.