NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Kotli District

Kotli (Urdu: کوٹلی) is a district of Azad Kashmir, (also called Azad Jammu and Kashmir), which the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Kotli is the chief town of the district. The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, and Sanskrit influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ... The State of Azad Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir (Urdu: ), usually shortened to Azad Kashmir (literally free Kashmir), is part of the Pakistani-administered section of the Kashmir region, along with the Northern Areas; its official name is Azad Jammu and Kashmir. ... Kotli is a district of Azad Kashmir, (also called Azad Jammu and Kashmir), which the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. ...

There are two theories about the origin of the name "Kotli". One school of thought claims that in ancient times Prince Raja Shahswar Khan built a small residence here and called it "Kot", which became "Kotli". Another theory states that the name is derived from the Sanskrit word Kotli which means to reside or take up residence. (The two theories are not, of course, mutually exclusive.) At one stage the area was inhabited by the Mangran and Solhan peoples, and was called Kotli Solwhan. Kotli is well known for its mosques, and is often referred to as Madina-al-Masajed ("city of mosques"). Prince Raja Shahswar Khan was an Indian prince who invaded kashmir and set up residence at kotli. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Solhan is a district of BingÃ¶l Province of Turkey. ...

The area now comprising district Kotli was a sub-division of Mirpur district up to the year 1975. Prior to 1947, it was a part of the Jammu area. Kotli is a hilly area rising gradually towards the high mountains of Poonch district. Its climate is more moderate than that of Mirpur due to the sub-mountainous topography. The river Poonch passes through Kotli to be joined by a smaller river called the Baan at Brahli, a short distance from Kotli. The district headquarters is at a distance of 141 km from Islamabad (capital of Pakistan). It is linked with Mirpur by two metalled roads, one via Gulpur and Rajdhani, and the other via Dhungi and Charohi. It is also directly linked with Islamabad/Rawalpindi via Sehnsa and Holar. Kotli has basic facilities like a main bazaar, banks, hospitals, colleges, telephone and telegraph office and hotels. (Urdu: Ø§Ø³Ù„Ø§Ù… Ø¢Ø¨Ø§Ø¯) is the capital city of Pakistan, and is located in the Potohar Plateau in the northwest of the country. ... Rawalpindi (Urdu: Ø±Ø§ÙˆÙ„Ù¾Ù†ÚˆÛŒ) is a city in the Potwar Plateau near Pakistans capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. ...

There are two theories about the origins of the name of Kotli. One school of thought claims that in ancient times, Prince Raja Shahswar Khan built a small residency here and called it Kot later to be adopted as Kotli. An another theory states that the name is derived from the Sanskirit word Kotli which means to reside or take up residence. At one stage the area was inhabited by the Mangran and Solhan people and was called Kotli Solwhan, later to be called just Kotli.

Kotli is well known for its mosques and is often referred to as Madina-al-Masajed. Aghaar Sharif, consisting of a large mosque and a shrine (of the late Qazi Fateh Alam), under the guidance of Hazrat Sahib, is a large complex on the outskirts of the city. Hazrat Sahib (Sahbzada Mohammed Sadiq) is well known for building mosques, madrassas and providing Islamic education and spiritual guidance throughout the Kotli and Mirpur districts. Hazrat Sahib can only be seen at the Friday prayers as he is engaged in worship in seclusion at all other times. A Madrasah complex in Gambia Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand, ca. ...

At a distance of 26 km from Kotli via a metalled road lies Tattapani, a popular tourist and mythical destination. Thousands of people flock to the sulphur springs each year in the hope to find magical cures for illnesses.

Nakyal was part of Mehndar sub-division before 1947 and is now a sub-division of the Kotli district. Situated at 1524m above sea-level, it is 40 km from Kotli.

Going southeast, Khoi Ratta lies 78 km from Kotli. A vibrant town, at an elevation of 2570 meters above sea-level is most famous for the annual Basakhi (festival). Thousands of people from the Kotli and other adjoining districts flock to the festival in spring to watch sports, animal parades and horticultural displays. The nearby Banah is a beautiful area full of natural springs and waterfalls. At Bahees Naraha several springs emerge from the mountains. This was an important Hindu place of worship in ancient times. Close to Khoi Ratta are the Bagh Fatehpur and Bagh Sain Hazuri which are known for their natural beauty. Thousands of people flock to Mai-ka-Makam Shrine, a distance of 4 km from Khoi Ratta, to pay homage to Mai Toti Sahiba.

Khoi Ratta, lying close to the Cease-Fire-Line, has been the victim of aggressive firing and shelling by the Indian army in recent years, causing casualties in the military and civil sector.

Going on southwest, Gulpur is located on the junction of the Kotli-Mirpur and Kotli-Rawalpindi road. Gulpur is a small town providing for the local villages as well as the residents of a large refugee camp. Adjoining Gulpur is Throtchi famous for its castle built in 1460. It was here in 1947, that a contingent of local men headed by Col. Mahmood defeated and chased out the Dogra army. The Dogra soldier were besieged at the Throtchi Castle until they decided to make a run for Jammu. They were chased through Changpur and Khawas villages, and some through the Mhooli river. They were eventually caught up at a place called Dabrian, near Joona, where a final showdown took place. Many of the Dogra soldiers were killed in the encounter, whilst one or two who were heavily armed managed to retreat towards Jammu. Today, the late Col. Mahmood is regarded as a celebrated hero and Dabrian is place of national importance. The Dogras are a Northern Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. ...

Going west from Gulpur, on the Kotli-Rawalpindi road, Sehnsa lies just before Holar (the boundary point between Azad Kashmir and Pakistan). Sehnsa is a sub-divisional (Tehsil) headquarters of Kotli district in the center of Sehnsa valley. It is situated at a distance of 35 km from Kotli. Nearby is the scenic Bruhian surrounded by Chir forests and natural beauty. The equivalent terms tehsil, tahsil, tahasil, taluka, taluk, and taluq refer to a unit of government in some countries of the Indian subcontinent. ...

Geography

About 300 years ago, there was a thick forest at the present site of the Kotli along with the other parts of Jammu & Kashmir. A true and pious Muslim Raja Sawar Khan with the council inhabited a town with the name of “KET ” on the Halakari at Dakhari. In 1849 the British handed over the territory to Gulab Singh, a Hindu Dogra a sale deed for a small sum of Rs.705 million.

In the same year Gulab Singh sent a message to Raja Shah Sawar Khan to obey his supremacy, which he refused. After that the forces of Raja Gulab Singh attacked the town and destroyed it. Shah Sawar Khan again inhabited another town at bottom of mountain at the present place and gave the name “Kot Tali” which is now the headquarter of District Kotli.

The Kotli district was carved out of the Mirpur district in 1975. Prior to the present status, the district was a sub-division of the Mirpur district. The district is bounded by occupied Kashmir in the east, and by the Mirpur district in the south. Rawalakot lies to its north and it is bounded by Pakistan in the west. The district is divided into three sub-divisions/tehsils covering a total area of 1862 square kilometres. District Kotli is now the largest city by population (656,000) and tehsils (Kotli, Sehnsa, Nakyal & Charhoi).

The Kotli district is a hilly area rising gradually towards the high mountains of Poonch district. Its climate is more moderate than that of Mirpur due to the sub-mountainous topography. The River Poonch passes through Kotli to be joined by a smaller river called the Baan at Brahli, a short distance from Kotli. Kotli City serves as the headquarters of the district. The district is linked to Mirpur by two metalled roads, one via Gulpur and Rajdhani, and the other via Dhungi and Charohi. It is also directly linked with Islamabad/Rawalpindi via Sehnsa and Holar.

Tehsils of Kotli

Kotli is a district of Azad Kashmir, (also called Azad Jammu and Kashmir), which the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. ... Sensa is a trademark for a brand of pen, now owned by Sanford Corporation and founded by entrepreneur Boyd Willat in 1995. ...

Important places

Teenda Teenda is a place of viewpoint linked with metalled road, 6 kilometres from Kotli. One can have a wonderful view of Kotli City and surrounding areas from this place. To make it an attractive tourist spot, AJK Tourism Department has constructed a tourist rest house here to provide accommodation facilities.

Hajiabad Hajiabad, located on Holar-Kotli road, is a midway point for the travelers coming from Rawalpindi/Islamabad. A cafeteria for refreshments has been provided by the Tourism Department.

Sehnsa Sehnsa is a town in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is a place well known for its variety of shops and as a trading base, connecting the town to many other parts of Azad Kashmir as well as Pakistan. It is positioned at a lower level to that of the surrounding area. Positioned at a range of 35 kms from Kotli, it is a picturesque town, where nearby dwells forests and a landscape of natural beauty. It is on the Kotli-Rawalpindi main road. It has a mild climate, aided by the range of the area. The common language is Patwari, which differs to an extent with the language of Urdu spoken in Pakistan. Its modern day language roots can be said to be connected to Punjabi primarily and Romani (Gypsy). â€œPunjabiâ€ redirects here. ... Romani (or Romany) is the language of the Roma and Sinti, peoples often referred to in English as Gypsies. The Indo-Aryan Romani language should not be confused with either Romanian (spoken by Romanians), or Romansh (spoken in parts of southeastern Switzerland), both of which are Romance languages. ...

Khoiratta 38 kilometres from Kotli ahead, a road leads to Khoiratta. Khoiratta and nearby area provide remarkable attraction to tourists because of the remains of gardens and fountains of the older times. From 4 kilometres ahead of Khoiratta is famous shrine of "Mai Totti Sahiba" which is visited by hundreds of people daily. A rest house by Tourism Department at Khoiratta is available for tourist accommodation. khoiratta is also famous for its vasakhi mela. This mela has been for the last 50 years held in Dehari Bagh. Thousands of people gather from as far as Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala. The mela lasts for 3 days. Naiza Baazi, bull racing, wrestling, football, are just of the sports played over the 3 days. Fairground rides also provide great entertainment for youngsters, The "WELL of DEATH" is the most popular attraction. Khoiratta has a history of famous people,among them Ghazi Abdul Rahman marhoom, Major Jan marhoom, Headmaster Alf-uddin marhoom, Ch Mohammed Akbar marhoom, of Dehari Bagh. Khoiratta is approximately 4 miles from the border area. It has other small towns, Serri, Brottgala, Karjai are some of the familiar ones. Khoiratta has good educational facilities, it has degree colleges for both boys and girls. A good number of private kindergartens. English medium schools also exist, a good example is the "Holy Public" school and college. Khoiratta is also renowned for pirs and faqirs and the most revered is "Mai Totti Sahiba". Vaisakhi (Punjabi: , , also known as Baisakhi) marks the beginning of the new Spring year and the end of the harvest in India. ... For Mela Festivals today, see Mela Festival. ... (Urdu: Ù„Ø§ÛÙˆØ±, Punjabi: Ù„ÛÙˆØ±, pronounced ) is the capital of the province of Punjab, and is the second most densely populated city in Pakistan. ... Gujranwala (Urdu: Ú¯ÙˆØ¬Ø±Ø§Ù†ÙˆØ§Ù„Û) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan with a city population of 1,132,509 (1998 census). ... A Pir (Persian: Ù¾ÛŒØ±) meaning Old Man. ... Fakir is etymologically an Arabic term usually used to refer to either the spiritual recluse and fierce eremite or the common street beggar who chants holy names, scriptures or verses. ...

Nidi Sohana (Needi Sohana) 19 km from Khoiratta. Nidi Sohana is the union council of Tehsil Kotli LA Kotli 5 situated at LOC and the end of Tehsil Kotli Nidi Sohana is the part of District Rajori, "famous" late Mian Fazal Hussain is famous person, late Chahudhry Qutab din, Chaudhry Faiz Mohammad s/o ch.qutab din, Haji Mohammad Bashir chohan S/o Haji Alif Din member union council, Abdul Razzaq Tahir chohan" union concile have 2 high schools for boys 1, for girls, 3 middle schools for boys, 1 for girls 10 primary school, main village of union concile Nidi, Sohana, Rajdahni, Mithi Dara, Haripur, bala dara, zerein dara, Chanaga Gai, bera kothara, majority of gujjar tribe, and other tribe Rajput, Butt, bhatti, mughal are also lived in this union concel Highest Point of Kotli district is situated union concile nidi sohana namely "Muthrani post" highest from water level 4500 feet Fatehpur (Nakyyal) Fatehpur was a part of tehsil Mahnder before independence. It is located at a distance of 40 kilometres from Kotli and 181 kilometres from Islamabad. Due to high altitude (1524 meters) Fatehpur is comparatively a colder place than the rest of the district. A tourist rest house provides accommodation facilities to the tourists / visitors.

Karela Majhan From Fatehpur, 10 kilometres ahead is Karela Majhan. Its beauty and neat, clean and peaceful atmosphere inspires everyone visiting the area. A tourist rest house is available here

Dandli Dandli is a place located on Kotli Goi metalled road, 13 kilometres from Kotli. There are many mineral resources are held in Dandli like Koila, Gandhaik. A big hill Arri Gala is located near Dandli. Dandli comprising small villages their Gawan, Plung, Gojra Town, Nailan, Gunni.

Nailan This is a small and very beautiful village located on the bank of tiny river in the bottom of hills.The residents are good natured people. There is no school so children get their education in Govt.high school Dandli and Govt Girls Middle School Dandli. Temperature of Nailan is very low and is very cold place in whole district Kotli. Kotli has international links throughout Europe and the Americas. Like many southern Kashmiris living on the fringes of the Mangla Dam in Mirpur, emigration fever took hold of the surrounding country from the mid 1950s onwards. Kotli has ties with many European cities such as Amsterdam, Hamburg and the larger industrial cities of central England. Many Kotli city residents have ties to British nationals in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire. Historically Kotli started out as race ground to the Prince's of the declining Doghra reign of Northern Kashmir. With the decline of the Doghra dynasty and the swell of migrants crossing the border into the princely state came the birth of the first real town north of Mirpur and south of district Bagh. The original settlement of Kotli came in the 1850s through the alliance of the local landlords of Sohrotha "The Raja Baig's" and newly arrived migrants from District Poonch. Kotli was divided between the older established Raja Baig Clan that held lands from south of Pang Piran village to Sohrohta and the newly arrived "Syed's" of Poonch who held claims from Pang Piran in the north to the Bahhn river at the fringe of Modern Kotli city. The rival barons clung to the landlocked city and much in the vein of feudal landlords controlled the town until the depression of the 1930s toppled the economy and the reigning families. With the onset of the India Pakistan Partition (1947) Kotli city became the standing post to the flood of immigrants that crossed the borders at Koihrota (32 miles east of Kotli) Kotli steady growth came through the trickle of migrants from the eastern Hindu states and signalled the gradual fall of the reigning land barons that settled the town. Today Kotli is a summer boom town. The mass emigration that took over the country in the 1960s has now created a steady boom of summer holidaymakers from Britain and beyond who seek to reconnect their European born children to the old country. It has been suggested that Culture in Luton be merged into this article or section. ... Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a county in England that forms part of the East of England region. ... This article is under construction. ...

Barali This is a small village located between Kotli and Gulpur. It is usually never mentioned in articles about Kotli or Azad Kashmir. This village is scattered with rich and poor people. As more and more families go abroad, you see bigger and bigger houses being built in the fields. Most people in the village are farmers and that is how they make their money. Although, most people in Barali are poor, some do own their own land. The rich families in this area mostly belong to the Rajput clan. Many of them have relatives abroad, mostly in England, who send money. In recent years there has been a new road built that connects Kotli and Gulpur through Barali. Matters of law are usually settled out of court, with an older, respected person acting as a mediator. In Barali, at the present time this person is Raja Ayub Akram Khan. He is a man who is well respected throughout Barali and Kotli, he has connections in the government of AJK and has a connection with Musharraf. This is a very beautiful little town with vast fields and great views. It is the perfect getaway. This village is an example of why Kashmir is described as "heaven on earth."

Modern Kotli is a city in bloom The real estate value of a once bus stop town between Mirpur and Muzzafarabad has created a thriving summer economy. The town has become a vision of three storey mansions that have taken over the once barren roads between the outer ring villages and the ever expanding city sitting on the brim of the Poonch River.

People

Kotli now has a diverse mix of people. The major tribes residing in the district are Chibb, Rathore, Pakhtuns, Malik, Syed, Gujar, "Jat", "Araien" Rajput, Awan, Sudhan and Khawaja. The native languages spoken in this district are Gojri, Pahari and Punjabi. The major tribe "Malik" belongs to the first sub-continent victorious "Qotub-Ud-Din Aibak". The Chibb Rajput Or chibb Rajas(Hindi: à¤šà¤¿à¤¬, Urdu: Ú†Ø¨) are one of the most dominant warrior clans of Punjab in India and Pakistan. ... The Mehrangarh fort, Jodhpur The Rathore or Rathor or Rathod (Hindi: à¤°à¤¾à¤ à¥Œà¤¡, IAST: or , Urdu: Ø±Ø§Ù¹Ú¾ÙˆØ±) is a Rajput tribe of India. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, or ethnic Afghan; in referring to the period of the British Raj or earlier, sometimes Pathan) are an ethnic/religious group of people, living primarily in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India who follow Pashtunwali, their indigenous religion. ...

Images

Contents

History

Geography

Tehsils of Kotli

Important places

People

Images

See also

External links

Contents

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Geography

Tehsils of Kotli

Important places

People

Images

See also

External links

History