Swat, Pakistan
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Swat District
سوات
— District —
Location of Swat District (highlighted in yellow) within the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan.
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
Capital Saidu Sharif
Established
Government
• District Nazim
• District Naib Nazim
Area
• Total 5,337 km2 (2,061 sq mi)
Population (1998)
• Total 1,257,602
• Density 236/km2 (610/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC+5)
Area code(s) Area code 946
District Council
Website "www.swatdirectory.com" "www.tourswat.com"
Swat (pronounced [ˈsʋaːt̪], Pashto: سوات) is a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, located close to the Afghan-Pakistan border. It is the upper valley of the Swat River, which rises in the Hindu Kush range. The capital of Swat is Saidu Sharif, but the main town in the Swat valley is Mingora.[1] It was a princely state (see Swat (princely state)) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until it was dissolved in 1969. The valley is almost entirely populated by ethnic Afghans/Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto. With high mountains, green meadows, and clear lakes, it is a place of great natural beauty and is popular with tourists as "the Switzerland of South Asia".
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 Buddhist heritage of Swat
o 1.2 Hindu Shahi Rulers and Sanskrit
o 1.3 Advent of Islam by Mahmud of Ghazni
o 1.4 Arrival Of Yousafzais
o 1.5 Geography
o 1.6 Mountainous Ranges
o 1.7 Plains
* 2 Demographics
* 3 Tourist attractions
o 3.1 Marghazar
o 3.2 Malam Jabba
o 3.3 Swat Museum
o 3.4 Miandam
o 3.5 Madyan
o 3.6 Behrain
o 3.7 Kalam
o 3.8 Usho
o 3.9 Utror
o 3.10 Ghabral
o 3.11 Mahudan
o 3.12 Pari (Khapiro) lake
o 3.13 Kundol Lake
o 3.14 Bashigram Lake
o 3.15 Spin Khwar (White Stream) Lake
o 3.16 Daral Lake
* 4 Administration
o 4.1 Provincial & national politics
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links
History
Swat has been inhabited for over two thousand years. The first inhabitants were settled in well-planned towns. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great fought his way to Udegram and Barikot and stormed their battlements. In Greek accounts these towns have been identified as Ora and Bazira. Around the 2nd century BC, the area was occupied by Buddhists, who were attracted by the peace and serenity of the land. There are many remains that testify to their skills as sculptors and architects. In the beginning of the 8th century AD, Gabari Royal Tajik tribe advanced through Laghmanat, ningarhar, Dir and invaded Swat, defeating the Buddhists and the Hindus. This war was headed by Sultan Pakhal Gabari and later on by Sultan Behram Gabari Rulers of Kuner Pich and cousin of Rulers of Balkh and Kashmir. Later some Dilazak encrouched tha area and settled among Gabaris, who in turn were ousted by the Yusufzais which was backed by Mughal Badshah Zahiruddin Muhammad Baber, considered the super power in 1519 and 1520. The historical paradox was that the Yusufzais were ousted from Kabul by Mirza Ullegh beg, the uncle of Baber, and killed 600 malak of Yusufzai; the Gabaris helped Yousofzais refugees with a warm welcome and settled them in Bajour Dir and Swat regions. The Yousofzais forgot the generosity of Gabaris and encrouched upon the Gabari state with the plotted help of Zahiruddin Muhammad babar. They Demolished the Gabar-Kot (fortress) in bajour in 1519 and further advanced to the swat and compelled the last Gabari King Sultan Awais Gabari to flee to Upper Dir where he established his rule in,Chitral wakhan,Badakhshan and other upper Oxus. The originator of the present family of Swat was the Muslim saint Abdul Ghafoor, the Akhund of Swat, a Safi Momand of Hazara district, from where he went to Buner territory. He was a pious man and the people respected him so greatly that they called him Akhund Sahib.[2]
During the mid-19th century, Muslim tribes were fighting against each other for the possession of Swat Valley. On the intervention of the honourable Akhund Sahib, the killing was stopped, and such was his influence that the chiefs of all tribes unanimously made him the ruler of the valley. Akhund Sahib administrated the valley according to Muslim laws. Peace and tranquility prevailed, and agriculture and trade flourished in the territory. Akhund Sahib had two sons by his wife, who belonged to Nikbi Khel.
After the death of Akhund Sahib, the tribal chiefs again started fighting and killing, which continued for years. Eventually the tribal chiefs agreed to give the control of the valley into the hands of the honourable Gul Shahzada Abdul Wadood, the son of Mian Gul Abdul Khaliq, son of Akhund Sahib. The wife of Mian Abdul Wadood was the daughter of Honorable Mirza Afzal-ul-Mulk, the ruler of Chitral. The British by trick put Chitral under the suzerainty of Kashmir. The Chitral ruler gave two horses every year to the Rajia of Kashmir, and the Raja provided Chitral with grain and sugar, etc. Swat thus went under protection of the British.
During the rule of Mian Gul Muhammad, Abdul Haq Jehanzeb, the son of Mian Abdul Wadood, the state acceded to Pakistan in 1947. The present prince, Muhammad Aurzngzeb Khan, son of Jahanzeb, married the daughter of Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan in 1955. Thus by intermarriages with the other castes, the family became a branch of the imperial Gujjars i-e the Royal family of swat wali is belong to the Gurjar Rajput family which laid down the foundation of swat kingdom. Jahznzeb started a Degree College at Saidu Sahrif, the capital of the State, and four High Schools at Mingora, Chakesar, Matta and Dagar. Fourteen middle schools, twenty-eight lower middle schools, and fifty-six primary schools were established. A girls high school and high class religious schools were established at Saidu Sharif. At all the schools, the poor students were granted scholarships. The state was an exemplary state during British rule. The Gujjars were very poor people in the Swat Valley, but nowadays they have diverted their attention towards education and are holding good posts in government services. They also have a firm stand in politics of Pakistan. The current Prince Aurangzeb Khan was also Governor of Baluchistan.
[edit] Buddhist heritage of Swat
An 1869 photo of a Buddha statue seated on a lotus throne in the Swat Valley.
Although it is generally accepted that Tantric Buddhism first developed in Swat under King Indrabhuti, there is an old and well-known scholarly dispute as to whether Uddiyana was in the Swat valley, Orissa or some other place. Padmasambhava (flourished eighth century AD), also called Guru Rimpoche, Tibetan Slob-dpon (teacher), or Padma ‘byung-gnas (lotus born) legendary Indian Buddhist mystic who introduced Tantric Buddhism to Tibet and is credited with establishing the first buddhist monastery there.According to tradition, Padmasambhava was native to Udyana (now Swat in Pakistan).[3] Padmasambhava was the son of Indrabhuti, king of Swat in the early eighth century AD. One of the original Siddhas, Indrabhuti flourished in the early eighth century AD and was the king of Uddiyana in the Kabul valley. His son Padmasambhava is revered as the second Buddha in Tibet. Indrabhuti's sister, Lakshminkaradevi, was also an accomplished siddha of the 9th century AD.[4] Ancient Gandhara, the valley of Pekhawar, with the adjacent hilly regions of Swat and Buner, Dir and Bajaur was one of the earliest centers of Buddhist religion and culture following the reign of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, in the third century BC. The name Gandhara first occurs in the Rigveda which is usually identified with the region[5]
Buddha heritage in the Swat Valley
The Swat museum has acquired footprints of the Buddha, which were originally placed for devotion in the sacred Swat valley. When the Buddha ascended, relics (personal items, body parts, ashes etc.) were distributed to seven kings, who built stupas over them for veneration.
The Harmarajika stupa (Taxila) and Butkarha (Swat) stupa at Jamal Garha were among the earliest Gandhara stupas. These were erected on the orders of King Ashoka and contained the genuine relics of the historic Buddha.[citation needed]
The Gandhara school is credited with the first representations of the Buddha in human form, rather symbolically as the wheel of the law, the tree, etc.[citation needed]
As Buddhist art developed and spread outside Gandhara, Gandharan styles were imitated. In China the Gandhara style was imitated in bronze images, with gradual changes in the features of these images over the passage of time. Swat, the land of romance and beauty, is celebrated throughout the Buddhist world as the holy land of Buddhist learning and piety. Swat was a popular destination for Buddhist pilgrims. Buddhist tradition holds that Buddha himself came to Swat during his incarnation as Gautama Buddha and preached to the people here.
It is said[by whom?] that the Swat valley was filled with fourteen hundred
US$ 11.7 billion (2010)
