Gumbat
Encyclopedia
Gumbat, also known as Seni Gumbat, is one of the largest town
s in Kohat District
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
. It is situated in a valley
on both side of the Kohat
-Rawalpindi
Road and is 25 km the district capital - Kohat. The population of the town is about 30,000 most of whom are Pushtuns
and are Pashto speakers. They often refer to themselves as Afghan.
dialect). Khushal Khan Khattak
has mentioned Gumbat in his prose. Under the Teri Chiefs, Gumbat was the main village of the Cheeni Tappa; which changed to Tsini and finally to Seni, the name of the clan of Khattak
s who live here. The British
first called it Gambat. It is now called Seni Gumbat. Under the Nawab of Teri, Gumbat had the second
most important position in Teri State
.
Gumbat, Toolaanj, Ghorizai and other villages were under the Khani
of Gumbat (the Akorkhel Khans who are from Bazaar Tappa).
The current nazim
(mayor) of Gumbat is Shakeel Haider who is also the nephew of the (Late) Lt. Col Sikandar Khan and (Late) Taj Muhammad Khan (Assistant Director) Local Govt and Rural Development. Colonel Sikander started his career in the British Army (before independence) serving in India and pre-partition Pakistan. He went on to serve as the first Commandant in Murree
, as the Commandant in charge of famous Karnafuli Paper Mills in East Pakistan and then as the administrator of Paper Mills in Charsadda, Pakistan. In Gumbat Col. Sikandar became famous for his social work for the people of this city including striving for the first grid (power) station, first high school (where he also served as Head Master), post office, telephone exchange and the list goes on and on. He was one of the pioneers in the efforts for the now completed Kohat Tunnel which provides much required relief to commuters on Kohat Peshawar highway. Although Col. Sikandar died in 1997, his memory and the respect for his name still exists.
Bazaar and Khader Khel are the largest "mohallahs" in terms of area and population. The pioneers of Seni Gumbat are Hassan Khels currently limited to a little area (mohallah) within Dartapi Mohallah. The main bazaar
of Gumbat is called "Adda" (Station). Gumbat possess the largest police station in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Gumbat has a hospital, a Higher Secondary School for Boys, a Higher Secondary School for Girls, 5 Private Schools and also a Post Office. Pashto and Hindko are the major languages spoken in Seni Gumbat.
Gumbat is one of the important Seni Khattak villages along with Lachi and Teri. Gumbat includes Toolaanj and Ghorizai in its Union Council. It is the biggest village in the Patiala, (Khoshalgarh and Chorlakki), Zira, Nilab (Amir), Khwarra (Mandoori) tappas and in Nizampur area of the Khattak
region.
Gumbat is a large valley
situated on the northern side of the Gargalot range
. This mountain is locally called 'Beray Ghzoon'. It is the 'Swairay' Ghaar. The other mountain is the 'Pitaao' Ghaar. There is the Algaada (stream) which flows through the country. Most of the country is flat and vegetation is scarce.
Khaddar Khels live on the hill. This is a very large Tappa (Satrapy). Near them reside the Hassan Khels (the original inhabitants of Gumbat). There are settlement of Awans
clan. The Awans are also Pakhtuns but they also speak Hindko in some areas.
Then comes the Bazaar Tappa. It was called so, because of the presence of the old Bazaar. This was also called the 'Panj-mel' meaning 'The 5 millats/mohallas/neighbourhoods'. It is here in this Tappa, where the Akorkhel Khans reside. It is the most important Tappa of the country. The new market or famously called 'Adda'(literally meaning a bus-stop) is situated here. The Police Station, Hospital, High School, Railway Station and Telephone Exchange are few of the important places situated in the Bazaar Tappa.
the Khans had large pieces of land and property.
Khan is a traditional name of pashtoons,Khan is also used in Gumbat for a man who can take big responsibilities and make big decisions,and is used for a well-respected man.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
s in Kohat District
Kohat District
Kohat is a district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, Kohat city is the capital of the district. It is inhabited by various Pashtun tribes such as Afridi,Khattaks, Bangash and the Orakzaies. The main language of the district is Pashto....
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It is situated in a valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
on both side of the Kohat
Kohat
Kohat is a medium sized town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 33°35'13N 71°26'29E with an altitude of 489 metres and is the capital of Kohat District. The town centres around a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. A British-built narrow gauge...
-Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
Road and is 25 km the district capital - Kohat. The population of the town is about 30,000 most of whom are Pushtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
and are Pashto speakers. They often refer to themselves as Afghan.
History
Years ago, there was shrine of a pious saint here in this village which had a dome (Goombaad, Goombaat or Gunbat) on it. Due to this reason,the place was called Gumbat (Gumbaat, in the KhattakKhattak
Khattak or Khatak , is the name of an Afghan tribe. speaking a variant of the Kandahari Pashto. They are accorded the status of being one of the original and true Afghans. The tribe is settled along the western bank of the river Indus from as north upwards as Sammah; modern day Lund Khwar & Sher...
dialect). Khushal Khan Khattak
Khushal Khan Khattak
Khushal Khan Khattak was a prominent Pashtun malik, poet, warrior,A charismatic personality and tribal chief of the Khattak tribe. He wrote a huge collection of Pashto poems during the Mughal Empire in the 17th century, and admonished Pashtuns to forsake their divisive tendencies and unite...
has mentioned Gumbat in his prose. Under the Teri Chiefs, Gumbat was the main village of the Cheeni Tappa; which changed to Tsini and finally to Seni, the name of the clan of Khattak
Khattak
Khattak or Khatak , is the name of an Afghan tribe. speaking a variant of the Kandahari Pashto. They are accorded the status of being one of the original and true Afghans. The tribe is settled along the western bank of the river Indus from as north upwards as Sammah; modern day Lund Khwar & Sher...
s who live here. The British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
first called it Gambat. It is now called Seni Gumbat. Under the Nawab of Teri, Gumbat had the second
Naib
Naib is an Arabic term for a local leader in some parts of the Ottoman Empire and eastern Caucasus.Naib or NAIB may also refer to:*National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics...
most important position in Teri State
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
.
Gumbat, Toolaanj, Ghorizai and other villages were under the Khani
Khanate
Khanate, or Chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate...
of Gumbat (the Akorkhel Khans who are from Bazaar Tappa).
The current nazim
Nazim
A nazim is the coordinator of cities and towns in Pakistan. Nazim is the title in Urdu of the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council....
(mayor) of Gumbat is Shakeel Haider who is also the nephew of the (Late) Lt. Col Sikandar Khan and (Late) Taj Muhammad Khan (Assistant Director) Local Govt and Rural Development. Colonel Sikander started his career in the British Army (before independence) serving in India and pre-partition Pakistan. He went on to serve as the first Commandant in Murree
Murree
Murree city is a popular hill station and a summer resort, especially for the residents of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and for the cities of the province of Punjab, Pakistan...
, as the Commandant in charge of famous Karnafuli Paper Mills in East Pakistan and then as the administrator of Paper Mills in Charsadda, Pakistan. In Gumbat Col. Sikandar became famous for his social work for the people of this city including striving for the first grid (power) station, first high school (where he also served as Head Master), post office, telephone exchange and the list goes on and on. He was one of the pioneers in the efforts for the now completed Kohat Tunnel which provides much required relief to commuters on Kohat Peshawar highway. Although Col. Sikandar died in 1997, his memory and the respect for his name still exists.
Geography
There are four major areas of Seni Gumbat called Mohallahs these are:- Hassan khel
- Awan
- Bazaar
- Dartapi
- Khader Khel
Bazaar and Khader Khel are the largest "mohallahs" in terms of area and population. The pioneers of Seni Gumbat are Hassan Khels currently limited to a little area (mohallah) within Dartapi Mohallah. The main bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
of Gumbat is called "Adda" (Station). Gumbat possess the largest police station in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Gumbat has a hospital, a Higher Secondary School for Boys, a Higher Secondary School for Girls, 5 Private Schools and also a Post Office. Pashto and Hindko are the major languages spoken in Seni Gumbat.
Gumbat is one of the important Seni Khattak villages along with Lachi and Teri. Gumbat includes Toolaanj and Ghorizai in its Union Council. It is the biggest village in the Patiala, (Khoshalgarh and Chorlakki), Zira, Nilab (Amir), Khwarra (Mandoori) tappas and in Nizampur area of the Khattak
Khattak
Khattak or Khatak , is the name of an Afghan tribe. speaking a variant of the Kandahari Pashto. They are accorded the status of being one of the original and true Afghans. The tribe is settled along the western bank of the river Indus from as north upwards as Sammah; modern day Lund Khwar & Sher...
region.
Gumbat is a large valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
situated on the northern side of the Gargalot range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
. This mountain is locally called 'Beray Ghzoon'. It is the 'Swairay' Ghaar. The other mountain is the 'Pitaao' Ghaar. There is the Algaada (stream) which flows through the country. Most of the country is flat and vegetation is scarce.
Khaddar Khels live on the hill. This is a very large Tappa (Satrapy). Near them reside the Hassan Khels (the original inhabitants of Gumbat). There are settlement of Awans
Awan (Pakistan)
Awan , is a South Asian Zamindar tribe, putatively of Arab origin, living predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Punjab, Pakistan...
clan. The Awans are also Pakhtuns but they also speak Hindko in some areas.
Then comes the Bazaar Tappa. It was called so, because of the presence of the old Bazaar. This was also called the 'Panj-mel' meaning 'The 5 millats/mohallas/neighbourhoods'. It is here in this Tappa, where the Akorkhel Khans reside. It is the most important Tappa of the country. The new market or famously called 'Adda'(literally meaning a bus-stop) is situated here. The Police Station, Hospital, High School, Railway Station and Telephone Exchange are few of the important places situated in the Bazaar Tappa.
Khans of Gumbat
Khan is used for a man who is well respected, well known and who is capable of taking big decisions about the village and about the conflicts of the people. During British ruleBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
the Khans had large pieces of land and property.
See also
- KhanzadaKhanzadaThe Khanzada, or Khanzadah, is a subdivision of Rajputs, now found mainly in the Rajasthan, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh of India; and Sindh, Punjab provinces of Pakistan. Khanzadahs, the royal family of Muslim Jadon Rajputs, accepted Islam on their association with the Sufi Saints...
Khan is a traditional name of pashtoons,Khan is also used in Gumbat for a man who can take big responsibilities and make big decisions,and is used for a well-respected man.