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Mansehra

Coordinates: 34°20′2″N 73°12′5″E / 34.33389°N 73.20139°E / 34.33389; 73.20139
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For the district, see Mansehra District. For other uses, see Mansehra (disambiguation).
Mansehra
  • مانسهره
  • مانسہرہ
City
Mansehra after winter snowfall
Mansehra after winter snowfall
Map
Coordinates: 34°20′2″N 73°12′5″E / 34.33389°N 73.20139°E / 34.33389; 73.20139
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DistrictMansehra
TehsilMansehra
Elevation
1,088 m (3,570 ft)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total
127,623
 • Density340/km2 (900/sq mi)
DemonymMansehri or Mansehrian
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Postal Code
21300

Mansehra (Urdu, Hindko: مانسہرہ) is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. By population, it is the 71st largest city in the country and the 7th largest in the province, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district.[2]

History

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Ancient period

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Main article: Mansehra Rock Edicts
Ashokan inscriptions: Major Rock Edicts 1 to 14.

The region around the present-day city of Mansehra was inhabited by the early Indo-Aryans since the 3rd millennium BC, and was later a part of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara and the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka governed this area as a prince on the imperial throne in c. 272 BCE. He made it one of the major seats of his government. The Edicts of Ashoka, inscribed on three large boulders near Mansehra record fourteen of Ashoka's edicts, presenting aspects of the emperor's dharma or righteous law. These represent some of the earliest evidence of deciphered writing in the subcontinent, dating to the middle of the third century BCE, and are written from right to left in the Kharosthi script.[3] Mauryans were followed by a variety of kingdoms, including Kushans, whose most notable ruler, Kanishka the Great, ruled from the nearby city of Puruṣapura. During this period Buddhist art and architecture flourished in the area.[4]

Medieval period

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The Uḍi Śāhis were the last great Gandharan dynasty before the Muslim conquest of Gandhara. They were notable for their impressive coinage and architecture, and built a series of temples in the region. They remained in control of the area until their defeat at Peshawar by the Ghaznavids in the year 1001.[4] The region was originally known as Pakhli; it came to be known as Hazara only after Timurid invasion in 1399, when Tamerlane assigned it to his local chieftains, namely the Hazara-i-Karlugh, after whom the name of Hazara Division is derived. Hazara region comprised Pakhli Sarkar of the Mughal province of Kashmir, and was administered so until the Durrani invasions by Ahmad Shah Durrani in the early 18th century, which resulted into anarchy and severe economic decline. The area was divided among several petty tribal chieftaincies in the following decades, and remained so until the conquest by the Sikhs in 1818.[5]

Modern period

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Hari Singh Nalwa, a Sikh commander of Ranjit Singh, conquered the Hazara region in 1818 by defeating the local chieftains. He governed Hazara from the newly-established city of Haripur, named after him. After his death in 1837, Hari Singh was succeeded by Mahan Singh Hazarawala as the Nazim of Hazara, who founded the modern city of Mansehra. There were popular uprisings against the Sikh rule, but these uprisings failed and the Sikhs remained in power until 1849, when the area came under British rule.[6]

The British East India Company conquered Mansehra after the defeat of the Sikhs in the first Anglo-Sikh War in 1846. The British divided Hazara region into three tehsils (administrative subdivisions): Mansehra, Abbottabad, and Haripur. Hazara formed part of Punjab province until 1901, when the British formed the buffer province of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Hazara was annexed into it. During the British rule, Mansehra was a small town. Its population according to the 1901 census was 5,087.[7]

After the independence, Hazara district was elevated to the divisional status in 1976. In the October of the same year Mansehra Tehsil was made district and Mansehra became its headquarters.[5]

Organisation

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Mansehra City is the administrative capital of District and Tehsil Mansehra. The City of Mansehra is administratively divided into four Union Councils:[8] Mansehra City Wards No. 1–4 and Mansehra (Rural)/suburban. Each union council is divided into Mohallas.

Demographics

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Religious groups in Mansehra City (1931−2017)[a]
Religious
group 		1931[10] 1941[9] 2017[11]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam 4,217 72.96% 8,141 79.68% 144,838 99.96%
Hinduism [b] 1,091 18.88% 1,699 16.63% 2 0%
Sikhism 469 8.11% 375 3.67% — —
Christianity 3 0.05% 2 0.02% 39 0.03%
Jainism 0 0% — — — —
Zoroastrianism 0 0% 0 0% — —
Judaism 0 0% 0 0% — —
Buddhism 0 0% — — — —
Ahmadiyya — — — — 0 0%
Others 0 0% 0 0% 19 0.01%
Total population 5,780 100% 10,217 100% 144,898 100%

Cultural festival

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The city hosts the Mansehra Shiva Temple, which is known for its annual Shivarathri festival.[12] During the festival of Durgashtami, held in the first month of the Hindu calendar and the seventh month of the Nanakshahi calendar,[13] about 400 local Hindus assembled on Bareri Hill to worship Devi (as Durga). Offerings were taken by a Brahmin of Mansehra.[13] The assembly on each occasion lasted only one day.[13] The site is ancient, as at the base of Bareri Hill are the boulders inscribed with the Edicts of Ashoka.[14]

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  • Northern parts of Mansehra city
    Northern parts of Mansehra city
  • Sunset in Mansehra City
    Sunset in Mansehra City

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mansehra (city).

Notes

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  1. ^ 1931-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Mansehra, which included Mansehra Municipality.[9]: 19 
  2. ^ 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis

References

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  1. ^ "DISTRICT AND TEHSIL LEVEL POPULATION SUMMARY WITH REGION BREAKUP (MANSEHRA DISTRICT)" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2018-01-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  2. ^ "Mansehra Demographics table" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  3. ^ Department of Archaeology and Museums (2004-01-30). "UNESCO world heritage Centre - Mansehra Rock Edicts". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  4. ^ a b Ancient Pakistan. Chairman, Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar. 1971.
  5. ^ a b Khan, Shakirullah; Zahoor, Muhammad (June 2023). "The Uraśa State and its capital: Some notes". Journal of Asian Civilizations. 46 (1). Islamabad: Quaid-i-Azam University: 49–61.
  6. ^ Weekes, Colonel H. E. (December 19, 2011). History of the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles: 1858 to 1928. Andrews UK Ltd. p. 5. ISBN 9781781493335.
  7. ^ "Mānsehra Village - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 203". Dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  8. ^ "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Mansehra". Nrb.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  9. ^ a b "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 10, North-West Frontier Province". 1941. p. 19. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215543. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Census of India, 1931, vol. XV. North-west frontier province. Part I-Report. Part II-Tables". 1931. p. 257. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793233. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Final Results (Census-2017)". Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Pakistan prepares to hold a major Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri". Asia. Gulf News. TNN. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Report of the land revenue settlement of the Hazara district of the Punjab By E. G. Wace. Central Jail Press. 1876. Retrieved 2007-11-03. In the nearby locality of Bareri, Hindus from the vicinity, to the number of about 400, used to assemble at the top of Bareri hill to worship Devi (Durga) and to present offerings, which were taken by a Brahmin of Mansehra. The assembly on each occasion lasted only one day.
  14. ^ "Around Abbottabad by S.A.J. Shirazi". Travelers Digest. Archived from the original on 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2007-11-03. Further north; go to the black mountain near Oghi or to see the Asokan inscriptions on boulders near base of Bareri Hill close to Mansehra.
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