Gilgit Baltistan History: A Journey Through Time
Gilgit Baltistan has been one of the most inaccessible and remote regions of the subcontinent for centuries. Since 1965, however, roads connecting the GB to the lowlands of Pakistan have been open all year round. The completion of the Karakoram Highway in 1978, which connects Pakistan and China opened the Gilgit Baltistan region to unprecedented social, economic, cultural, and environmental changes.
The first Karakoram explorers were the English, during their period of possession. It took until the early 20th century to discover a genuine interest that could be described as both “climbing touristic” and “exploratory”. The Duke of Abruzzi organized the first expedition towards the Baltoro Glacier in 1909 while the Duke of Spoleto and the famous scientist organized a second scientific expedition in 1929.
Climbers began a greater frequentation of the region up until the first expeditions in the postwar years. This paved the way for climbing Karakoram tourism. In 1954, the Italian expedition made the first ascent to K2, and a few years later, in 1957
The German expedition reached Broad Peak, which marked the beginning of CKNP’s touristic development. Since the 1960s, the number of tourists has increased. This is because the area offers a wide range of mountain activities and peaks, as well as unique scenery.
Historical Analysis of India’s Miscalculations in Gilgit Baltistan
Gilgit Baltistan, and the Succession in Rulers from Before 1947
It was not always a single political entity. Gilgit, also known as Dardistan or Baltistan and the land of Balti people and as ‘Little Tibet in medieval literature’, evolved as two distinct political entities. A succession of kingdoms have coveted the region. The region has been coveted by a succession of kingdoms.
The Mughals
The Mughals, under Akbar’s rule, conquered Kashmir in 1589. Salim, Akbar’s second son, married the princess from Baltistan and seized parts of Baltistan, Ladakh, and Baltistan. In 1634, Shahjahan the fifth Mughal Emperor of India took over the rest of Ladakh, and Baltistan, and included them in the Kashmir province.
Over the years, marriage alliances, and the appointment of local Viceroys by the Mughals brought Gilgit and its surrounding areas under Mughal rule.
As the Mughal Empire waned in power, Kashmir was ruled by a succession of Afghan kings from 1753. Afghan rule lasted for 60 years and was extremely oppressive. Baltistan’s rulers tried to free themselves from Kashmiri dominance.
The central authority of the state in the peripheral areas was gradually eroding during this period. Once control of Kashmir passed to the Sikhs, the power was restricted to Srinagar and the surrounding Kashmir Valley.
According to the agreement, “all the hilly mountainous country, with its dependencies, situated to the eastward of the Indus and westward of the river Ravi” was “forever, independent possession” to Gulab Singh and his heirs.
According to the agreement, Gulab Singh, his heirs, and “all of the hilly, mountainous country” located eastward of the Indus River and westward from the river Ravi were to be “forever independent possession”. The British supported the expansion of the Dogra Dynasty, which allowed them to “buy Jammu and Kashmir”.
The British
The British, prompted by the 1857 mutiny and the Tsarist Russian expansion in Central Asia began to worry about the impact a Russian presence could have on their influence in India. The ‘Great Game,’ a power rivalry between Britain and Russia on the subcontinent, led it to tighten its control over frontier regions including what are now the tribal areas of Pakistan, along with the Afghan border, and the Gilgit area.
The British created the Gilgit Agency in 1877. The Gilgit Agency consisted of three areas: the princely state of Hunza; the district of Gilgit, including the city and surrounding towns; the Dogra Wazir; and the unadministered Darel; Tangier; Jalkot. The British controlled the Gilgit Agency through a political agent who ran parallel to Gulab’s Kashmir administration.
After the Russian Revolution in 1917, British anxieties increased. Maharaja Gulab Sing was forced to rent the Gilgit Agency for 60 years in March 1935. Gilgit, and its surrounding areas, were administered by the British until the British left India in 1947, when they divided the subcontinent. Baltistan remained under Maharaja’s rule.
Partition, The Gilgit Scouts, and Betrayal
On 3 June 1947, the British government announced its plan to partition India. The Indian Independence Act, passed on 18 July 1947, stated that India would become a separate country from Pakistan by 15 August 1947. By the 15th of August 1947, the Act stipulated that none of the princely states could declare their independence.
Instead, they had to choose the state to which they would accede. The accession of Hyderabad, Junagarh, and other states to the Indian Union was imminent. However, the accession to Kashmir would be the most painful.
A Statement By an Australian Diplomat
A statement by an Australian diplomat, Sir Owen Dixon sums up the ethnic diversity in Jammu and Kashmir. Dixon wrote in 1950 that “the state Jammu-Kashmir is not a unit economically, demographically, or geographically.”
It is an agglomeration brought together under the political control of one Maharaja.] It is a federation of territories brought under the political power of one Maharaja.”
The problem was not Kashmir’s Hindu ruler while the majority were Muslim, but that the entire region has been under corrupt and unpleasant Dogra control for many years. Gilgit-Baltistan was a region that had been a collection of independent mountain kingdoms and states. Some had been conquered and leased by the British.
Others had been artificially grouped by the British for the sake of ease of administration and India’s security. The “return” to the Dogra ruler of the Gilgit Agency meant that the area was integrated into a princely state that had not only never claimed its full political authority before but also had no choice.
Maharaja Hari Singh
Maharaja Hari Singh was Gulab Singh’s eldest son. He was given a “Standstill Agreement” stating he needed more time to decide which country he wanted to join. The negotiations between India and Pakistan never ended, even though Pakistan signed the agreement.
At this time, Pakistan was planning its invasion while parleying with the Maharaja’s government to gain accession. According to a report, when Pakistani government officials visited Kashmir they met with Kashmiri leaders in Srinagar, “with a sword and whip in one hand, and a letter confirming their accession in another.”
Hari Singh
Hari Singh appointed Brigadier Ghansara Singh to the position of Governor for the Gilgit Agency as the British were preparing to leave India in July 1947. The British government decided to transfer administrative control over all areas of Gilgit Agency from 1 August 1947 to the Kashmir State Government.
Singh was to take over the administration of the British agent in Gilgit on 1 August 1947. The office work of the administration ceased immediately when Singh took control from him.
Civil administration workers in Gilgit refused to serve Singh until they were paid more. Singh repeatedly asked Srinagar to assist but was not offered any help, political advice, or military support. General H.L. General H.L. The Governor was subordinated by the Mirs from Hunza Nagar, the
Raja of Punial
Raja of Punial, and the Chieftains of Koh Gizer Yasin, and Askoman. However, he didn’t enjoy their support. Hunza and Nagar remained hostile to him and it did not help that 75 percent of the Gilgit Scouts paramilitary force in charge of Gilgit and its surroundings–belonged to these two principalities. In the months before the partition of the country, there was intense communal violence in various parts of the nation.
Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs
Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were all killed from Punjab to Peshawar. There are also numerous reports of rapes and massacres. Ambushes of refugee caravans and trainloads of migrants have been reported. There was a lot of speculation in Karachi, because the maharaja had a bad reputation for mistreating Muslims, and the state’s military was alleged to be involved in atrocities committed against Muslims in Jammu.
This suspicion was fuelled by the Maharaja’s refusal to accede to either India or Pakistan, as well as the fact that Sheikh Abdullah was against the idea of joining Pakistan. The Pakistani government planned an operation to seize control of the state in the belief that the people of Kashmir would join the uprising.
The governor of North West Frontier Province wrote in his diary in September 1947 that he had received offers “from practically every tribe along the Frontier to be allowed to go and kill Sikhs in Eastern Punjab.”
The governor of North West Frontier Province. He wrote in his diary that “practically every tribe along the Frontier” had offered him permission to kill Sikhs from Eastern Punjab.
He noted the Pakistani government’s complicity in allowing “small groups of Muslims to infiltrate Kashmir”, and how it supported the armed, Lashkarr, by providing In his diary, he details conversations with
Liaquat Khan
Liaquat Khan (Pakistan’s first Prime Minister) and Colonel Iskander Mirza (the Pakistani first President), as well as their involvement in the support of tribal infiltration in Kashmir. The Director of Weapons and Equipment of the Pakistan Army headquarters, Colonel Akbar Khan who was responsible for the operation, confirms this.
Khan’s book
Khan’s book, “Raiders in Kashmir – Story of the Kashmir War, 1947-1948”, confirms the role of Liaquat Khan, in whose offices he worked as a military advisor, and other important political figures, including the Premier of the NWFP Abdul Qayyum Khan. Akbar Khan’s account confirms the way Pakistan increased its infiltration and caused a change in the situation on the ground, leading to irregular warfare.
This was done with the aid of weapons, transportation, and general direction from Pakistan authorities. Jawaharlal agreed to send troops, but only if the Maharaja first acceded to India. On the evening of October 26, 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh ceded Kashmir to India. Indian troops then flew into Srinagar the next morning.
Indian Army
As the Indian Army grew by several hundred troops every day, the Pakistan insurgents began to retreat. The Pakistani insurgents started to retreat as the Indian army grew by hundreds of troops each day. Initially, they thought that the locals would fight alongside the Kashmiri forces.
It was not the case. This was far from the truth. The people of Kashmir volunteered to keep peace. This home-grown militia was recruited by Nehru and the National Conference to create a loyal “home guard”. However, it was a voluntary process.
Gilgit Scouts men
Over a hundred Gilgit Scouts men surrounded the Governor’s house during the night of October 31, 1947, and threatened him with surrender. The Governor surrendered, but the Scouts continued to massacre the troops he commanded, especially the Sikhs of the Kashmir Light Infantry Division.
the Pakistani hoisted flag at the Gilgit Scout Lines four days later. He described the Scout’s actions as a “coup” against the Maharaja. Hunza, Nagar, and their rulers declared their accession to Pakistan shortly after. An author and researcher, argues that it was convenient for both India and Pakistan to blame Major Brown for the fall of Gilgit.
It was important for Pakistan to show that Brown’s troops, who wanted to join Pakistan, were the ones who pushed him to act. For India, Brown’s actions showed British complicity. In his book The Gilgit Rebellion Major.
