Gilgit Agency
Gilgit Agency گلگت ایجنسی ( Pakistani Political agent | 19 November 1947 | ||||||
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• Merged into Northern Areas | 1974 | ||||||
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"A collection of treaties, engagements, and sunnuds relating to India and neighbouring countries" |
The Gilgit Agency (
The administered area was bounded in the west by the
An
Under the Pakistani administration, the Gilgit, Astore, and Skardu (
India continues to claim the entire region of Gilgit-Baltistan as part of the union territory of Ladakh.[4][5][6]
Geography
The Gilgit Agency was a political agency for keeping control of the subsidiary states of Jammu and Kashmir at the northern frontier of India. The areas under the Agency consisted of
- the state of Chilas (present day Diamer District)
- the territories of Darel and Tangir (now their own districts)
- Gupis–Yasindistrict)
- Punial and Ishkoman regions (present day Ghizer district)
- the states of Nagar(now their own districts)
All these states had their own rulers or systems of administration; the Agency provided supervision under a British Political Agent.[7][8]
Until 1935, Gilgit and Astore tehsils (now districts) comprised the Gilgit wazarat of Jammu and Kashmir with its own governor (wazir-e-wazarat), who was also based at Gilgit. However, the Political Agent did exercise some control over the wazarat's affairs, leading to a system of dual rule and causing frictions.[7][8]
In 1935, the British leased the Gilgit tehsil as the "Gilgit Leased Area". It was administered directly by the Political Agent. The Astore tehsil became its own wazarat, which was administered as part of the Kashmir province of Jammu and Kashmir.[9]
In 1941, the Gilgit Agency had a population of 77,000 and the Gilgit leased area had 23,000. Both the areas together came to be loosely referred to as the 'Gilgit Agency'. The administration of the Agency was carried out "on behalf of His Highness' Government". The Political Agent communicated with the central government in New Delhi via Peshawar (the capital of the North-West Frontier Province) instead of the Resident in Kashmir, reportedly for "security" reasons.[10]
History
After 1700s
Princely state |
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Individual residencies |
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Agencies |
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During the
IV. The British Government having demanded from the Lahore State, as indemnification for the expenses of the war, in addition to the cession of territory described in Article 3, payment of one and half crore of Rupees, and the Lahore Government being unable to pay the whole of this sum at this time, or to give security satisfactory to the British Government for its eventual payment, the Maharajah cedes to the Honourable Company, in perpetual sovereignty, as equivalent for one crore of Rupees, all his forts, territories, rights and interests in the hill countries, which are situated between the Rivers Beas and Indus, including the Provinces of Cashmere and Hazarah.
In the north, these territories included
The Treaty of Amritsar did not constrain the Maharaja from establishing relationships with external powers, and he is said to have had dealings with Russia, Afghanistan, China and Turkestan. The British watched these developments with concern, especially in the light of Russian expansion in the north.[15]
Establishment
Ranbir Singh's successor
Soon afterwards, the states of Hunza and Nagar were brought under the direct purview of the Gilgit Agency. The Jammu and Kashmir State Forces were stationed in a garrison at Gilgit, which were used by the Agency to keep order. They were replaced by a British-officered Gilgit Scouts in 1913.[16]
Gradually, the princely states to the west of Gilgit (Punial,
Inside Pakistan (After 1947)
The local rulers of these territories continued to appear at the Jammu and Kashmir
Initially, the Gilgit Agency was not absorbed into any of the provinces of West Pakistan, but was ruled directly by political agents of the federal government of Pakistan. In 1963, Pakistan entered into a treaty with China to transfer part of the Gilgit Agency to China, (the Trans-Karakoram Tract), with the provision that the settlement was subject to the final solution of the Kashmir dispute.
The dissolution of the province of West Pakistan in 1970 was accompanied by change of the name of the Gilgit Agency to the
Pakistan and India continue to dispute the sovereignty of the territories that had comprised the Gilgit Agency.
See also
- Old British Cemetery (Gilgit)
- Baltistan
- Gilgit
- Northern Areas
- Kashmir
- Kashmir conflict
- Trans-Karakoram Tract
Notes
- ^ British agencies were generally based in British-ruled territories even though they controlled native-ruled states. In this instance, the Maharaja was persuaded to allow a base in his territory.
References
- ^ Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015).
- ^ Bangash, Three Forgotten Accesions (2010).
- ISBN 978-1-108-49744-2
- ^ "Political Map of India".
- ^ "Govt releases new political map of India showing UTs of J&K, Ladakh". The Times of India.
- ^ "J&K Reorganisation (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2019 -- [Territory of Leh district shall constitute, Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilas, Tribal territory & 'Leh & Ladakh' except present territory of Kargil]". 2 November 2019.
- ^ a b Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015), Appendix V.
- ^ a b Bangash, Three Forgotten Accesions (2010), p. 122.
- ^ Census of India, 1941, Volume XXII (1943), p. 3.
- ^ Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015), p. 118.
- ^ Christopher Snedden. Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. p. 67.
- ^ Bawa, Satinder Singh. The Jammu Fox: A Biography of Maharaja Gulab Singh of Kashmir, 1792-1857. p. 263.
- ^ Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), p. 20.
- ^ Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), p. 11.
- ^ Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), p. 12.
- ^ Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), pp. 12–13.
- ^ a b Chohan, Gilgit Agency (1997), p. 203.
- ^ Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015), p. 110.
Bibliography
- Census of India, 1941, Volume XXII – Jammu and Kashmir, Parts I & II, The Ranbir Government Press, 1943
- Bangash, Yaqoob Khan (2010), "Three Forgotten Accessions: Gilgit, Hunza and Nagar", The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 38 (1): 117–143, S2CID 159652497
- Chohan, Amar Singh (1997), Gilgit Agency 1877–1935, Second Reprint, Atlantic Publishers & Dist, ISBN 978-81-7156-146-9
- ISBN 1-86064-898-3
- ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7
External links