Gilgit
—  City  —
Gilgit
Coordinates: 35°55′18.71″N 74°17′21.15″E / 35.9218639°N 74.2892083°E / 35.9218639; 74.2892083
Country	Pakistan
Region	Gilgit–Baltistan
Division	Gilgit Division
District	Gilgit District
Established
Government
• Mayor	Faqeer Muhammad
Elevation	1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Population (1998)	216,760[citation needed]
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Postal code	15100
Area code(s)	+92 5811
%257Cblank_info =

Buddha's Picture at Kargah

Gilgit (Urdu, Shina: گلگت) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt and in Wakhi and Khowar it is called Gilt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit City is one of the two major hubs in Gilgit Baltistan for mountaineering expeditions to the Karakoram and other the peaks in the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia.^{[citation needed]}

The Dards and Chinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in Ptolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous travellers, Faxian and Xuanzang, traversed Gilgit according to their accounts.^{[citation needed]}

Early history[link]

^{[unreliable source?]}

Trakhàn Dynasty[link]

Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakhàn Dynasty, which ended about 1810 with the death of Raja Abas, the last Trakhàn Raja.^[2]

The rulers of Hunza and Nager also claim origin with the Trakhàn dynasty. They claim descent from a heroic Kayani Prince of Persia, Azur Jamshid (also known as Shamsher), who secretly married the daughter of the king Shri Badat. She conspired with him to overthrow her cannibal father.^[3] Sri Badat's faith is theorised as Hindu by some^[3][4] and Buddhist by others.^[5][6] However, considering the region's Buddhist heritage, with the most recent influence being Islam, the most likely preceding influence of the region is Buddhism. Though the titular Sri and the name Badat denotes a Hindu origin of this ruler.

Prince Azur Jamshid succeeded in overthrowing King Badat who was known as Adam Khor (literally man-eater),^[7][8] often demanding a child a day from his subjects, his demise is still celebrated to this very day by locals in traditional annual celebrations.^[9] In the beginning of the new year, where a Juniper procession walks along the river, in memory of chasing the cannibal king Sri Badat away.^[10]

Azur Jamshid abdicated after 16 years of rule in favour of his wife Nur Bakht Khatùn until their son and heir Garg, grew of age and assumed the title of Raja and ruled, for 55 years. The dynasty flourished under the name of the Kayani dynasty until 1421 when Raja Torra Khan assumed rulership. He ruled as a memorable king until 1475. He distinguished his family line from his step brother Shah Rais Khan (who fled to the king of Badakshan and with who's help he gained Chitral from Raja Torra Khan), as the now-known dynastic name of Trakhàn. The descendants of Shah Rais Khan were known as the Ra'issiya Dynasty.^[11]

1800s[link]

The area had been a flourishing tract but prosperity was destroyed by warfare over the next fifty years, and by the great flood of 1841 in which the river Indus was blocked by a landslip below the Hatu Pir and the valley was turned into a lake.^[13] After the death of Abas, Sulaiman Shah, raja of Yasin, conquered Gilgit. Then, Azad Khan, raja of Punial, killed Sulaiman Shah, taking Gilgit; then Tair Shah, raja of Buroshall (Nagar), took Gilgit and killed Azad Khan. Tair Shah's son Shah Sakandar inherited, only to be killed by Gaur Rahman, raja of Yasin of the Khushwakhte Dynasty, when he took Gilgit. Then in 1842, Shah Sakandar's brother, Karim Khan, expelled Gaur Rahman with the support of a Sikh army from Kashmir. The Sikh general, Nathu Shah, left garrison troops and Karim Khan ruled until Gilgit was ceded to Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir in 1846 by the Treaty of Amritsar,^[2] and Dogra troops replaced the Sikh in Gilgit.

Nathu Shah and Karim Khan both transferred their allegiance to Gulab Singh, continuing local administration. When Hunza attacked in 1848, both of them were killed. Gilgit fell to the Hunza and their Yasin and Punial allies, but was soon reconquered by Gulab Singh's Dogra troops. With the support of Gaur Rahman, Gilgit's inhabitants drove their new rulers out in an uprising in 1852. Gaur Rahman then ruled Gilgit until his death in 1860, just before new Dogra forces from Ranbir Singh, son of Gulab Singh, captured the fort and town.^[2] In 1870s Chitral was threatened by Afghans Maharaja Ranbir Singh was firm in protecting Chitral from Afghans the Mehtar of Chitral ask for help, In 1876 Chitral accepted the authority of Jammu Clan and in reverse get the protection from the Dogras who have in the past took part in many victories over Afghans during the time of Gulab Singh Dogra.^[14]

British era[link]

In 1877, in order to guard against the advance of Russia, the British Government, acting as the suzerain power of Kashmir, established the Gilgit Agency. The Agency was re-established under control of the British Resident in Jammu and Kashmir. It comprised the Gilgit Wazarat; the State of Hunza and Nagar; the Punial Jagir; the Governorships of Yasin, Kuh-Ghizr and Ishkoman, and Chilas.

The Tajiks of Xinjiang sometimes enslaved the Gilgiti and Kunjuti Hunza.^[15]

In 1935, the British demanded Jammu and Kashmir to lease them Gilgit town plus most of the Gilgit Agency and the hill-states Hunza, Nagar, Yasin and Ishkoman for 60 years. Maharaja Hari Singh had no choice but to acquiesce. The leased region was then treated as part of British India, administered by a Political Agent at Gilgit responsible to Delhi, first through the Resident in Jammu and Kashmir and later a British Agent in Peshawar.^{[citation needed]}

Jammu and Kashmir State no longer kept troops in Gilgit and a mercenary force, the Gilgit Scouts, was recruited with British officers and paid for by Delhi. In April 1947, Delhi decided to formally retrocede the leased areas to Hari Singh’s Jammu and Kashmir State as of August 15, 1947. The transfer was to formally take place on August 1.^{[citation needed]}

1900s[link]

Gilgit Scouts progressed with Pakistani troops from north through High Himalayas and contributed in attacking of Skardu in summer 1948, pushing further towards Ladakh area.^{[citation needed]}

After Pakistani advances of early 1948, Indian troops gathered momentum in late 1948. Finally, India asked for UN intervention, and a ceasefire was agreed on December 31, 1948. This conflict left Pakistan with roughly two-fifths of Kashmir along with Gilgit and Baltistan, leaving three-fifths of Kashmir along with Jammu and Leh to India.^{[citation needed]}

Climate[link]

Gilgit experiences a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk). Weather conditions for Gilgit are dominated by its geographical location, a valley in a mountainous area, southwest of Karakoram range. The prevalent season of Gilgit is winter, occupying the valley eight to nine months a year.

Gilgit lacks significant rainfall, averaging in 120 to 240 millimetres (4.7 to 9.4 in) annually, as monsoon breaks against the southern range of Himalayas. Irrigation for land cultivation is obtained from the rivers, abundant with melting snow water from higher altitudes.

The summer season is brief and hot. The piercing sunrays may raise the temperature up to 40 °C (104 °F), yet it is always cool in the shade. As a result of this extremity in the weather, landslides and avalanches are frequent in the area.^[16]

Gilgit manuscripts[link]

The Gilgit manuscripts^[18] were nominated^[19] in 2006 to be included on the UNESCO Memory of the World register, but without success. The Gilgit manuscripts are among the oldest manuscripts in the world, and the oldest manuscript collection surviving in Pakistan and India,^[18][20] having major significance in the areas of Buddhist studies and the evolution of Asian and Sanskrit literature. The manuscripts are believed to have been written in the 5th to 6th Century AD, though some more manuscripts were discovered in the succeeding centuries, which were also classified as Gilgit manuscripts.

This corpus of manuscripts was discovered in 1931 in Gilgit, containing many Buddhist texts such as four sutras from the Buddhist canon, including the famous Lotus Sutra. The manuscripts were written on birch bark in the Buddhist form of Sanskrit in the Sharada script. The Gilgit manuscripts cover a wide range of themes such as iconometry, folk tales, philosophy, medicine and several related areas of life and general knowledge.

• Rare Gilgit Buddhist manuscript Lotus Sutra to be released

Tourism and transport[link]

Jeeps' are the best way to travel up in the North West Frontier^{[citation needed]}

Gilgit city is one of the two major hubs for all mountaineering expeditions in Gilgit–Baltistan. Almost all tourists headed for treks in Karakoram or Himalaya Ranges arrive at Gilgit first. Many tourists choose to travel to Gilgit by air, since the road travel between Islamabad and Gilgit, by the Karakoram Highway, takes nearly 14–24 hours, whereas the air travel takes a mere 45–50 minutes.^{[citation needed]}

Places to visit[link]

There are several tourist attractions relatively close to Gilgit: Naltar Valley with Naltar Peak, Hunza Valley, Nagar Valley, Ferry Meadows in Raikot, Shigar town, Skardu city, Haramosh Peak in Karakoram Range, Bagrot-Haramosh Valley, Deosai National Park, Astore Valley, Rama Lake, Juglot town, Phunder village, Yasin Valley and Kargah Valley.

Road transport[link]

Overview of the Karakoram Highway

Gilgit lies about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) off the Karakoram Highway (KKH). The KKH connects it to Chilas, Dasu, Besham, Mansehra, Abbottabad and Islamabad in the south. In the North it is connected to Karimabad (Hunza) and Sust in the Northern Areas and to the Chinese cities of Tashkurgan, Upal and Kashgar in Xinjiang.

There are various transports companies i.e. Silk Route Transport Pvt, Masherbrum Transport Pvt and Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO), from these NATCO offers most coverage. It offers passenger road service between Islamabad, Gilgit, Sust and Tashkurgan, and road service between Kashgar and Gilgit (via Tashkurgan and Sust) started in the summer of 2006. However, the border crossing between China and Pakistan at Khunjerab Pass—the highest border of the world—is open only between May 1 and October 15 of every year. During winter, the roads are blocked by snow. Even during the monsoon season in summer, the roads are often blocked due to landslides. The best time to travel on Karakoram Highway is spring or early summer.^{[citation needed]}

Health care[link]

Tuberculosis, endocrinal disorders with mainly iodine deficiency disorders, iron deficiency, and diarrheal diseases are more common. Sewage system has yet to be fully established, electricity and water supply are still faulty. These factors make a hindrance in developing a strong health care system.^{[citation needed]}

Sister cities[link]

• Kashgar, China (since May 2009)

Gallery[link]

• Danyor.jpg

  Danyor Tunnel Gilgit

• 

  Danyor Tunnel

• Danyor Bridge.jpg

  Danyor Bridge Gilgit

• 

  Manuscript of the Buddhist Jyotiṣkāvadāna text written in the early Sharada script, from Gilgit.

See also[link]

• Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
• Astore
• Hunza
• Skardu
• Karakoram
• Northern Areas
• National Highways of Pakistan
• Xinjiang
• Karakoram Highway
• Kashghar
• Kashmir
• Parri Bangla
• Shina language
• Shin of Hindukush
• Nagar (princely state)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• The Gilgit Game by John Keay (1985) ISBN 0-19-577466-3
• Drew, Frederic. Date unknown. The Northern Barrier of India: a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations. Reprint: Light & Life Publishers, Jammu. 1971.
• Jettmar, Karl, 1980. Bolor & Dardistan. National Institute of Folk Heritage, Islamabad.
• Knight, E. F. 1893. Where Three Empires Meet: A Narrative of Recent Travel in: Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the adjoining countries. Longmans, Green, and Co., London. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, Taipei. 1971.
• Leitner, G. W. 1893. Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author's The Languages and Races of Dardistan. First Reprint 1978. Manjusri Publishing House, New Delhi.
• Muhammad, Gulam. 1980. Festivals and Folklore of Gilgit. National Institute of Folk Heritage, Islamabad.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Imperial Gazetteer of India. Provincial Series: Kashmir and Jammu
• Shri Badat The Cannibal King A Buddhist Jataka from Gilgit
• Among Muslims: Meetings at the frontiers of Pakistan by Kathleen Jamie (2002) ISBN 978-0-9535227-7-4
• From Colonialism to Postcolonial Colonialism: Changing Modes of Domination in the Northern Areas of Pakistan by Martin Sokefield. The Journal of Asian Studies 64 no 4. (November 2005):939-973. 2005 by the Association of Asian Studies, Inc.

External links[link]

Media related to Gilgit at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Website of the Gilgit Baltistan Tourism Department
• Official Website of the Government of Gilgit Baltistan
• Gilgit Nomination, UNESCO, the Memory of the World Register entry document
• Britannica Gilgit
• Gilgit travel guide from Wikitravel

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Coordinates: 35°55′19″N 74°17′21″E / 35.92194°N 74.28917°E / 35.92194; 74.28917

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Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav celebrating his birthday
Born	(1971-03-16) 16 March 1971 (age 41) Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Radha Yadav
Website
www.rajpalyadav.in

Rajpal Yadav (born 16 March 1971) is an Indian film actor, known for his comic roles in Hindi Movies.

Early life and education[link]

Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Kundra, Shahjahanpur, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his primary education. He was associated with Shahjahanpur theatre and performed in lots of plays before going to Lucknow for theatre training in the Bhartendu Natya Academy during 1992-94. After completing two years course there, he went to the National School of Drama during 1994-97 in Delhi. Thereafter, he came to Mumbai in 1997 to fulfil his career aspirations in the Indian Film Industry.

Career[link]

Yadav went to Mumbai in 1996 to try his luck as an actor. He was a part of many rural theatrical plays in the North East belt.

He acted in the Doordarshan's television serial Mungeri ke bhai Naurangilal as the main protagonist who daydreams and as a result lands up in a comic situation. This was sequel to a similar television program on Doordarshan: Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne.

He went to a number of auditions but, despite having an agent, he did not achieve much. Ram Gopal Varma spotted Yadav in the audience of Mast and also in a small role as a server in a cafe. RGV who was impressed asked Rajpal to audition and gave him a very challenging role in Jungle.

Although Yadav found success in negative roles, he has preferred comic roles such as in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya and went on to become a prolific comedian in Hindi films. His films include Hungama, Waqt: The Race Against Time, Chup Chup Ke, Garam Masala, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol to name a few.

Despite comedy being his main orientation, Rajpal has had leading character roles in films like Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon, Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh,Ladies Tailor,Rama Rama Kya Hai Drama and Hello! Hum Lallan Bol Rahe Hain.

Personal Life[link]

On June 10, 2003, he married Radha, who was born and brought up in Calgary, Canada.

Filmography[link]

External links[link]

• Rajpal Yadav at the Internet Movie Database

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