Dargai

Coordinates: 34°30′28.5″N 71°53′55.2″E / 34.507917°N 71.898667°E / 34.507917; 71.898667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Dargai
درگئی
City and Tehsil
UTC+5 (PST
)

Dargai (

Dir and Chitral
.

The town of Dargai is experiencing an economic revival due to its well-known status as a hub for trade between the upper regions of Pakistan and the lower regions of Khyber Pakthunkhwa. It is also acknowledged economically as a major market for timber and historically as the last train station into Northern Pakistan.

Dargai was part of the

Dir, and Swat
were amalgamated into the Malakand Division, which was in turn divided into districts, one of which was the Malakand Protected Area, known as Malakand District. In 2000 the Malakand Division was abolished and despite constitutional changes since 1970, the expression "Malakand Agency" is sometimes still used as a name for the entire area of the former agency.

History

The British commenced their campaign against Malakand in 1852,

Buner Valley
, at that time ruled by Syed Akhbar Shah Badshah. The British felt threatened by Badshah and made an unsuccessful attempt to take the valley.

Swat ruler Akhund Sahib (Saidu baba) died in 1877, and the following year the British commander took a strong force and entered Ranizai territory via Palai and Sherkhana at the southern boundary of the Malakand Agency when the Ranizais once more resorted to arbitration.[clarification needed]

In 1895, British army major Sir Arlo along with Colonel Kelly started a war against

Umara Khan, a sardar and politician whom Winston Churchill called the Afghan Napoleon.[2]
The British camped at Dargai and Kharkai before a huge battle in the Malakand pass during which the Swat Ranizais displayed great valour. On September 12, 1895 an agreement was signed between the British and the Swat Ranizais.

The second battle of Malakand took place in 1897 during a period of Swat Ranizais resistance when even the

Pukhtoon
women came out to fight. History records the valour of a woman belonging to a respectable family of Dehri Alladand who fought day and night as well as provided food and water to the mujahideen and who died with her sword drawn. She is buried on the outskirts of Dehri Alladand village where the people refer to her as Shaheeda Abai (martyred grandmother).

Hazrat Sadullah Khan, alias Sar tor Faqir ("bear-headed Faqir"), also known as Mullah Mastan or the Mad Mullah by the British, was a tribesman of the Buner Swat. When the British seized Amandara, Sar tor Faqir marched from Landakay towards Thana the British proceeded to Dehri Alladand and the Batkhela. They by-passed the British troops at Amandara and decided to raid Malakand, where they defeated the British. Later, the

Sikhs
joined the British, but still they were still beaten by the mujadeen'. When the battle ended a large number of British and Sikhs had been killed or captured, and a large quantity of arms and ammunition seized. Nineteen mujahideen were killed, including Sar Tor Faqir. His tomb stands at the bottom of Elephant Pass (Hathi Darrah) to the south of the village of Zulamkot in Dehri Alladand in Malakand.

Later on, the British formed a new force known as the Malakand Field Force to deal with the tribes of Malakand, a force in which Winston Churchill was a second lieutenant. He was also the editor of the daily Civil and Military Gazette. The Malakand Field Force raided many villages in Malakand including Swat, Dir and Chitral. Thereafter British rule gradually enveloped the whole area.

In recent history, specifically November 2006, insurgents attacked a group of soldiers during their parade, many were killed and many more still were injured. The civilians in the surrounding area quickly drove the injured soldiers to the hospital thereby saving many lives. The people of Dargai are also known for providing water, refreshment, and even accommodation in their own homes to people fleeing the violence in the North from 2009-2012, and also to people escaping the floods in July 2010

Dargai Heights

An attack on Dargai Heights during the

The Dorsetshire Regiment were medal recipients. The action was commemorated in verse by William McGonagall,[4] the pipe march The Heights of Dargai by J. Wallace[5] and the fiddle tune Dargai by James Scott Skinner.[6] Richard Thompson later arranged and recorded a version of the Skinner tune for the guitar, released on the 1975 album Pour Down Like Silver.[7]

Local attractions and Malakand Hydropower Projects

Today, scenic locations in Dargai include the Jabban (Malakand-I), Dargai (Malakand-II) and Dargai (Malakand-III) hydro-electric projects where water passes through a 3 miles (4.8 km) tunnel before entering a natural drop of 350 feet (110 m). The two power houses at Dargai and Jabban have recently been supplemented by a third 81 MW facility Malakand-III hydropower station completed in 2008. The Punjab Regimental Centre is located near Dargai Railway Station.

Transport

Nowshera–Dargai Branch Line connected it with main railway system.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780750956857
    .
  2. ^ Janan Gull. "British Rule in Malakand". Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  3. ^ "War Office, May 20, 1898". London Gazette. London Gazette. May 20, 1898. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  4. ^ William McGonagall. "The Storming of the Dargai Heights". McGonagall Online. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  5. ^ J. Wallace. "The Heights of Dargai" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  6. ^ "Dargai". Good original. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  7. ^ "Dargai". Beesweb. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  8. ^ "Dargai train station needs little to earn millions". Dawn. 20 February 2011.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dargai&oldid=1194765590"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Dargai. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy