Kohala, Pakistan
Encyclopedia
Kohala is a town in Pakistan
on the River Jhelum
, north of Murree
, south of Muzaffarabad
, and east of Circle Bakote. (Coordinates: 33.529344,72.97305)
across the Jhelum. Kohala is a gateway to the Muzaffarabad
and Bagh
districts of Azad Kashmir
. It lies where the Punjab
, Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa boundaries meet.
Another theory is that Kohala is derived from the Dhondi/Kareali language kohal, meaning "cattle room" or house that was partitioned in living room in ancient time or separate or beneath of living house in modern era, or gotrerhi, a place where livestock urinate and sit.
Kohala is a place where caravans from Kashmir stayed after crossing Jhelum River and their horses and donkeys were tied there in antiquity. There are two Kohalas in the region; one is on both banks of river Jhelum and a Kohala Bala at Lora, a union council of Abbottabad District
.
to Sharda Buddhist university in Sharda, Kashmir.
tribe in the mid eighteenth century and in 1200 when the Dhond Abbasi
tribe attacked, they vacated Bakot
and Kohala also. From this time Kohala was under the proprietorship of Birote
. When the Mojwal family of the Dhond Abbasi tribe migrated to Bakote by force, the Kohala proprietorship transferred to Mojwals of Bakote.
captured Kohala by force. In 1814 Malka Singh and the Dogra
government of Kashmir under Gulab Singh developed the area as a business centre for Hindu
merchants.
The British government transferred the administration of Kohala to Murree
on a one hundred year lease in 1873. The Punjab government renewed this lease in 1973 for 20 years and it was reunited with Bakote in 1993.
The government of British India built a rest house in the south of Kohala for high officials with seven drying rooms, two kitchens, one reading room, two toilets and horse and dog barns. The Indian olive, banana, apple and silkworm trees were in the guest house's eastern lawn. Guest house staff consisted of 30 people. A telegraph office (later a post office) was established there in 1880. Allama Iqbal (Poet of the East) staying in this rest house in 1930 and wrote his famous poem "Hammala", the 1st poem of his book Bang-e-Dra here. The bazaar of Kohala was most populated until 1947. Hindu merchants from Dewal, Murree
, Rawalpindi and Punch controlled trade between Punjab
and Kashmir.
the local people in Kohala started attacks and all Hindu merchants fled to Punjab and Kashmir. India bombarded Kohala twice. Many jihadis came to Kohala and entered Kashmir by crossing over the Kohala Bridge.
A girls college was proposed by the Punjab government in 1991, but it was not possible due to lease conditions. A primary school operates in Kohala, with Rawalpindi Education Department funding .
tribe is the principal tribe in the area.
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...
on the River Jhelum
Jhelum River
Jehlum River or Jhelum River , ) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
, north of 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...
, south of Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers...
, and east of Circle Bakote. (Coordinates: 33.529344,72.97305)
Location
Kohala is the site of the well-known Kohala BridgeKohala Bridge
The Kohala Bridge across the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus River, forms part of one of the land routes from the Azad Kashmir to the rest of Pakistan....
across the Jhelum. Kohala is a gateway to the Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad District
Muzaffarabad district of Azad Kashmir is located on the banks of the Jhelum and the Neelum rivers, and is very hilly. The district is bounded to Pakistan in the west and to Kupwara and Baramulla districts that comes under the Kashmir section which is part of the greater dispute between India and...
and Bagh
Bagh District
Bagh District is one of the eight districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. The district, which had been part of Poonch District, was created in 1988...
districts of Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
. It lies where the Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa boundaries meet.
Etymology
There are two theories regarding the etymology of Kohala. One is that it originates from the name of a Hindu goddess Kohala Dewi because Kohala was a place where Hindu deities were worshipped on the banks of the Watesta (Jhelum) River before the arrival of Islam. A temple called Dawal was there.Another theory is that Kohala is derived from the Dhondi/Kareali language kohal, meaning "cattle room" or house that was partitioned in living room in ancient time or separate or beneath of living house in modern era, or gotrerhi, a place where livestock urinate and sit.
Kohala is a place where caravans from Kashmir stayed after crossing Jhelum River and their horses and donkeys were tied there in antiquity. There are two Kohalas in the region; one is on both banks of river Jhelum and a Kohala Bala at Lora, a union council of Abbottabad District
Abbottabad District
Abbottabad is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The district covers an area of 1,969 km with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town...
.
Ancient era
In ancient times Kohala was a centre of Hindu pilgrimage who worshipped Kohala Dewi. By the middle of 500 BCE Kohala had become a centre of the Buddhist community and a temple was constructed between Kohala and Knair Pull. It was a route of Buddhist monks for travelling from TaxilaTaxila
Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
to Sharda Buddhist university in Sharda, Kashmir.
18th century
Kohala was possessed by the KarlalKarlal
The Karlal are a tribe found in the Abbottabad and Haripur districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan...
tribe in the mid eighteenth century and in 1200 when the Dhond Abbasi
Dhond Abbasi
The Dhund Abbasi are a tribe of northern Pakistan. The tribe claims descent from Dhond Khan and ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and hence are known as Dhund Abbasi. The tribe speak the Dhundi-Kairali dialect...
tribe attacked, they vacated Bakot
Bakot
Bakot is one of the 51 union councils of Abbottabad District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It has an average elevation of 645 metres...
and Kohala also. From this time Kohala was under the proprietorship of Birote
Birote
Birote is a town in the Circle Bakote area of Abbottabad District in Pakistan, between the borders of Punjab and Kashmir. It has two higher secondary schools for boys, five religious schools, 75 mosques, bank, a post office, Upper Dewal Kohala Road and New Kohala Bridge...
. When the Mojwal family of the Dhond Abbasi tribe migrated to Bakote by force, the Kohala proprietorship transferred to Mojwals of Bakote.
19th century
In the first decade of 1800, Malka Singh, administrator of RawalpindiRawalpindi
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...
captured Kohala by force. In 1814 Malka Singh and the Dogra
Dogra
The Dogras are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. Being a diversified group, the Dogras include both Savarnas such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Non-savarnas. The Dogras also incluide merchant castes such as Mahajans...
government of Kashmir under Gulab Singh developed the area as a business centre for Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
merchants.
British era
In 1863 Sir James Abbott, the first commissioner of Hazara, changed the name of the area from Patan (the old name) to Kohala.The British government transferred the administration of Kohala to 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...
on a one hundred year lease in 1873. The Punjab government renewed this lease in 1973 for 20 years and it was reunited with Bakote in 1993.
The government of British India built a rest house in the south of Kohala for high officials with seven drying rooms, two kitchens, one reading room, two toilets and horse and dog barns. The Indian olive, banana, apple and silkworm trees were in the guest house's eastern lawn. Guest house staff consisted of 30 people. A telegraph office (later a post office) was established there in 1880. Allama Iqbal (Poet of the East) staying in this rest house in 1930 and wrote his famous poem "Hammala", the 1st poem of his book Bang-e-Dra here. The bazaar of Kohala was most populated until 1947. Hindu merchants from Dewal, 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...
, Rawalpindi and Punch controlled trade between Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
and Kashmir.
After independence
In 1947 during the Partition of IndiaPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
the local people in Kohala started attacks and all Hindu merchants fled to Punjab and Kashmir. India bombarded Kohala twice. Many jihadis came to Kohala and entered Kashmir by crossing over the Kohala Bridge.
A girls college was proposed by the Punjab government in 1991, but it was not possible due to lease conditions. A primary school operates in Kohala, with Rawalpindi Education Department funding .
Tribes
Dhond AbbasiDhond Abbasi
The Dhund Abbasi are a tribe of northern Pakistan. The tribe claims descent from Dhond Khan and ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and hence are known as Dhund Abbasi. The tribe speak the Dhundi-Kairali dialect...
tribe is the principal tribe in the area.