میرپوری | |
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Languages | |
Pahari-Pothwari, Urdu | |
Religion | |
Predominately: ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Mirpuri diaspora constitutes individuals with an origin in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, now living outside that district. [1] Migration from Mirpur started occurring in the 1920s, when many Mirpuris left for Bombay to work on merchant ships. [2] During the partition of British India in 1947, many Mirpuri Hindus and Mirpuri Sikhs were forced to flee to cities in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. [3] The construction of the Mangla Dam by the Pakistani Government in the 1960s caused many of Mirpuri Muslims to migrate to the United Kingdom to work as labourers. [2] [4]
In the 1920s, some Mirpuris left the area for Bombay, to work on the merchant ships of British India. [2]
Just before the partition of India, there were over 114,000 Mirpuri Hindus and Mirpuri Sikhs living in the districts which later became Azad Kashmir. [3] Many of them were engaged in business. [5] After the partition of India, in what is known as the 1947 Mirpur massacre, females belonging to the Hindu and Sikh communities of Mirpur were abducted and raped by Pakistani tribals, with many Hindu Mirpuris and Sikh Mirpuris being forced to flee to Jammu and other parts of India. In total, approximately 20,000 Hindu Mirpuris and Sikh Mirpuris were massacred by Pakistani tribals as they were fleeing, while the remaining number found refuge in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, where they settled in the cities of Jammu, Kathua, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur. By 1951, only 790 Hindu and Sikh Mirpuris remained in their hometown. [3]
In the 1880s colonial India , some Mirpuris migrated to the city of Karachi to work on merchant ships. [6]
Within Pakistan, Azad Kashmiris have migrated towards many provinces outside of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, chiefly Punjab, Sindh (particularly Karachi) and the capital territory of Islamabad. [7] [8] [9]
While no accurate statistics are available, an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of British Pakistanis in England trace their origins to the administrative territory of Azad Kashmir in northeastern Pakistan, mainly from the Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber districts. [10] [11] [12] Many of these individuals migrated to the United Kingdom in the 1960s to work as labourers after the construction of the Mangla Dam by the Pakistani government flooded agricultural fields. [2] [13] The majority of them adhere to the Barelvi movement of Sunni Islam. [4] Large Mirpuri communities can be found in Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Leeds, Luton and the surrounding towns. [14] [11] [15]
Azad Jammu and Kashmir abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km2 (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census.
Mirpur, officially known as New Mirpur City, is the capital of Mirpur district located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan which has been subject of the larger Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India since 1947. It is the second largest city of Azad Kashmir and the 74th largest city in Pakistan.
Kotli District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the Azad Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of Pakistan's dependent territory of Azad Kashmir. It is bounded on the north by the Sudhanoti District and the Poonch District, on the north-east by the Poonch District of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, on the south by the Mirpur and Bhimber districts, and on the west by the Rawalpindi District on Pakistan's Punjab Province. Kotli is the biggest district of Azad Kashmir by population and the second biggest by land area, after the Neelum District. The district headquarters is the city of Kotli. The main native languages are Pahari, and Gujari.
Mirpur District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of Pakistan's territory of Azad Kashmir. The Mirpur District is bounded on the north by the Kotli District, on the east by the Bhimber District, on the south by the Gujrat District of Punjab, Pakistan, on the south-west by the Jhelum District of Punjab, Pakistan, and on the west by its Rawalpindi District. The district is named after its main city, Mirpur. The Mirpur District has a population of 456,200 and covers an area of 1,010 km2 (390 sq mi). The district is mainly mountainous with some plains. The Mirpur District has a humid subtropical climate which closely resembles that of the Gujrat District and the Jhelum District, the adjoining districts of Pakistan's Punjab Province.
The British Mirpuri community comprises people in the United Kingdom who originate from the Mirpur District and surrounding areas in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir, thus being a part of the Mirpuri diaspora. While no accurate statistics are available, an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of British Pakistanis in England trace their origins to the administrative territory of Azad Kashmir in northeastern Pakistan, mainly from the Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber districts.
Poonch or Punch is a district of the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. With headquarters in the town of Poonch, it is bounded by the Line of Control on three sides. The 1947–48 war between India and Pakistan divided the earlier district into two parts. One went to Pakistan and the other became part of the then-Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rajouri is a district in the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The Line of Control, between the Indian- and Pakistani-administered Jammu and Kashmir, lies to its west, Poonch to its north, the Reasi district to the east and the Jammu district to its south. Rajouri is famous for its "Kalari". Representing an ancient principality, Rajouri was a joint district, along with Reasi, at the time of princely state's accession to India in 1947. The two tehsils were separated and Rajouri was merged with the Poonch district. Rajouri again became a separate district along with Reasi in 1968 till 2006 when both were separated again. The Rajouri district comprises 13 tehsils (boroughs). The land is mostly fertile and mountainous. Maize, wheat and rice are the main crops of the area and the main source of the irrigation is the river Tawi that originates from the mountains of Pir Panjal.
Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan was a Kashmiri revolutionary leader and politician, who led the 1947 Poonch Rebellion against absolute rule of the Maharaja in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and played a key role in the First Kashmir War, supporting Pakistan. He served as the President of Azad Kashmir for 13 years across four non-consecutive terms and still remains the longest-serving president of the state, since its establishment.
Bhimber is a town and the headquarters of the eponymous district in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir. The town and district are between the Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir and Pakistan proper, about 47 km (29 mi) by road southeast of Mirpur.
The Sudhanoti District, meaning the "heartland of Sudhans" or "Sudhan heartland"),
Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan was an Azad Kashmiri politician who served as the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir for two non-consecutives terms. He also served as the President of Azad Kashmir twice. He was the longest-serving prime minister of Azad Kashmir, having served a total of more than 10 years across two tenures.
Islamgarh, known previously as Akalgarh is a tehsil and Municipal Committee of Mirpur District near Mangla Dam of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It is located on the southern part of the Pir Panjal Range, about 28 Kilometer in North-East of Mirpur. It had a population of 175,651 in 2023.
Jatlan is a village located on the northern bank of the Upper Jhelum Canal in the administrative region of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. As of the most recent data available, Jatlan has a population of approximately 2,214 residents.
The Kashmiri diaspora refers to Kashmiris who have migrated out of the Kashmir into other areas and countries, and their descendants.
The history of Azad Kashmir, a disputed part of the Kashmir region currently administered by Pakistan, is related to the history of the Kashmir region during the Dogra rule. Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west respectively, Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, and the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the east. The region is claimed by India and has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.
Jammu is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an Indian-administered union territory. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of 240 km2 (93 sq mi), is surrounded by the Himalayas in the north and the northern plains in the south. Jammu is the second-most populous city of the union territory. Jammu is known as "City of Temples" for its ancient temples and Hindu shrines.
After the Partition of India, during October–November 1947 in the Jammu region of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, many Muslims were massacred and others driven away to West Punjab. The killings were carried out by extremist Hindus and Sikhs, aided and abetted by the forces of Maharaja Hari Singh. The activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) played a key role in planning and executing the riots. An estimated 20,000–100,000 Muslims were massacred. Subsequently, many non-Muslims were massacred by Pakistani tribesmen, in the Mirpur region of today's Pakistani administered Kashmir, and also in the Rajouri area of Jammu division.
In spring 1947, an uprising against the Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir broke out in the Poonch jagir, an area bordering the Rawalpindi district of West Punjab and the Hazara district of the North-West Frontier Province in the future Pakistan. It was driven by grievances such as high taxes, the Maharaja's neglect of World War veterans, and above all, Muslim nationalism with a desire to join Pakistan. The leader of the rebellion, Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, escaped to Lahore by the end of August 1947 and persuaded the Pakistani authorities to back the rebellion. In addition to the backing, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan authorised an invasion of the state, by the ex-Indian National Army personnel in the south and a force led by Major Khurshid Anwar in the north. These invasions eventually led to the First Kashmir War fought between India and Pakistan, and the formation of Azad Kashmir provisional government. The Poonch jagir has since been divided across Azad Kashmir, administered by Pakistan and the state of Jammu and Kashmir, administered by India.
Under Dogra rule, people in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir launched several political movements. Despite ideological differences and varying goals they aimed to improve the status of Muslims in a state ruled by a Hindu dynasty.
Today, the majority of individuals with roots to erstwhile Mirpur Division actually live in the Diaspora. Britain has the largest Mirpuri community anywhere in the world, and there is also a sizeable Mirpuri community in 'Jammu' originally comprised mostly of Hindu and Sikh refugees. The Mirpuri Mahajan community of Jammu is a particularly affluent community that has contributed massively to all sectors of society; Mirpuris comprise an important professional tier in Jammu which includes prominent Judges and politicians.
Migration from AJK in search of greener pastures dates back to the early 1920s when many people shifted to Bombay for jobs on merchant ships. The second wave of migration was induced by the Mangla dam construction in the 1960s. The difference between the two waves of migration is that while the first one was voluntary, the second one was forced. The construction of the Mangla dam had led to the submergence of vast chunk of fertile land and triggered migration as agro-based activities had collapsed. ... Since the construction work of the dam was with a British company, as per an understanding between the company and the government of Pakistan, 300 displaced persons from Mirpur were given work permits in Britain. After settling in the UK, these people sponsored their relatives living in AJK to immigrate.
In Mirpur District and Poonch Jagir, Muslims killed large numbers of Hindus and Sikhs, raped and/or abducted females, or forced non-Muslims to flee either to Hindu-dominant parts of Jammu Province or to India. By 1951, of the former approximately 114,000 non-Muslims who in 1941 had lived in areas that later came to compromise Azad Kashmir--that is, 89 per cent of Mirpur District, 87 percent of Muzaffarabad District and 60 per cent of Poonch Jagir--only a paltry 790 non-Muslims remained.
Wealthy Hindu merchants known as mahajans who lent money to the community at high interest rates served as a bridge between local citizens and state authorities. In our interview, Justice Abdul Majeed Malik explained that the Mirpuri Hindus still called themselves Mirpuris. He also pointed out that a huge chunk of land in AJK originally belonged to the Hindu families who left AJK in 1947-1948.
Individual migration from what later became AJK started already before the Subcontinent's partition and independence. From the 1950s, chain migration developed, transferring large portions of the population of southern AJK (today's districts of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber), resulting in quite concentrated settlements of Kashmiris in Britain, especially in Birmingham, Bradford, different towns in Lancashire and around London.
Kashmiris from Azad Kashmir (the Mirpur and Kotli districts) relocated to Britain in the 1950s, especially to the towns of Bradford, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Luton, on account of the availability of unskilled work.
The same chain migration channels the Mirpuris of Azad Kashmir to places like Bradford or Birmingham's Ward End or Beeston.