The historical and political importance of Gilgit Baltistan
We all know Gilgit-Baltistan with reference to its wonderful mountains and tourism. But Gilgit-Baltistan is much more than that. I have visited almost all parts of GB and had interaction with local population. They are wonderful.
But today I will not talk about tourism or beautiful terrain. I will focus on the history and political scenarios.
Gilgit-Baltistan borders KPK to the west, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the northwest, the Xinjiang Region of China to the north, and the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the south and south-east. Gilgit-Baltistan has a population of nearly 2 million.
Ancient History
This area has human presence since 2000 BC. In distant past it has been ruled by the Kushan, Tibetan, and Chinese empires. In the 14th century, Sufi Muslim preachers (from Persia and Central Asia) esp. Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani introduced Islam in Baltistan. In the Gilgit region Islam entered in the same century through Turkic Tarkhan rulers.
Famous among Muslim rulers were Maqpon dynasty of Skardu and the Rajas of Hunza. Ali Sher Khan Anchan, a Maqpon ruler had friendly relations with Mughal rulers. He introduced polo and Mughal architecture to the Gilgit region. The last Maqpon Raja, Ahmed Shah, ruled all of Baltistan between 1811 AD and 1840 AD.
Dogra Annexation:
During the first Anglo-Sikh war (1845-1846 AD), Gulab Singh, the ruler of Jammu in the Sikh empire, chose to side with the British East India Company by remaining neutral. Acknowledging Singh’s loyalty during the war, in 1846, the East India Company sold Kashmir to him for 7.5 million rupees of that time and accepted him as the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
The British government created Gilgit Agency in 1889 AD to secure the region as a buffer from the Russians. A local paramilitary force — trained, equipped and led by the British — was formed and given the name of Gilgit Scouts.
In 1935 the Gilgit Agency was leased by Maharajah Hari Singh to the Government of India for a period of 60 years and for an amount of Rs 75,000. This gave the British the control of defence and foreign affairs while the Kashmiri state retained civil administration.
However, the Baltistan region remained under the direct rule of the Dogras.
British Administration:
The population in Gilgit perceived itself as ethnically different from Kashmiris and disliked being ruled by the Kashmir state. The people of Gilgit thought themselves to be ethnically different from the Kashmiris and resented being under Kashmir state rule.
After World War II British gave two options to the states in British Raj under their rule to join any of the two emerging states, India and Pakistan.
In 1947, Mountbatten decided to terminate the lease of Gilgit by Kashmir to the British. But, two weeks before the independence of India and Pakistan, Mountbatten abruptly cancelled the lease. As a result, Brigadier Ghansara Singh took charge of the Gilgit Agency from the British Administration.
Before and during Dogra rule, the regions of Gilgit and Baltistan were divided between small kingdoms which were ruled by rajas and mirs (local rulers). The rajas and mirs enjoyed considerable autonomy in their own territories. In the Scouts, officers’ ranks were awarded to the ruling elites of these kingdoms, which made the Scouts a strong voice and an actor in the future settlement of this region.
Accession of Kashmir to India:
With the end of British rule in sight, uprisings began against the Maharaja in different parts of Kashmir. As a consequence, Maharaja Hari Singh declared the accession of Kashmir to India on October 27, 1947.
The Gilgit Scouts, who had already formed a Revolutionary Council, initiated a revolt against Dogra rule on October 31, 1947. Sensing the discontent of his troops, Major William Brown, the Maharaja’s commander of the Gilgit Scouts, mutinied on 1 November 1947, overthrowing the governor Ghansara Singh who surrendered to Sub Maj Babar after some resistance.
The Muslim soldiers of the army led by Mirza Hasan Khan attacked the Sikh companies at Bunji near Gilgit, who then fled from the mountains towards Rondu in Baltistan. As a result of this revolt, the areas surrounding Gilgit were liberated from Dogra rule.
Liberation of Gilgit Baltistan:
An independent state, the ‘Islamic Republic of Gilgit’, was declared on November 1, 1947, and a provisional government was formed in Gilgit with Raja Shah Rais Khan as the president and Mirza Hassan Khan as the commander-in-chief.
After 15 days of independence, Gilgit acceded to Pakistan unconditionally. Pro-Pakistan sentiments were intense in the civilian population and their anti-Kashmiri sentiments were also clear.
Meanwhile, the Raja of Rondu, Mohammad Ali Khan, organised the populace with meager resources to fight against the Sikh troops who had reached there. Numerous troops were killed in the battle, and many were arrested and sent to Gilgit.
The Raja of Rondu later wrote a letter and invited the Gilgit Scouts to liberate Baltistan from Dogra Raj, as there was no organised local force in the area. In Baltistan, the local people fought alongside the Scouts, for nearly a year, against the Kashmir army and paid a heavy toll in casualties. They captured Skardu in May 1948.
United Nations Security Council resolution:
On 1 January 1948, India took the issue of Jammu and Kashmir to the United Nations Security Council. In April 1948, the Council passed a resolution calling for Pakistan to withdraw from all of Jammu and Kashmir and for India to reduce its forces to the minimum level, following which a plebiscite would be held to ascertain the people’s wishes. However, no withdrawal was ever carried out. India insisted that Pakistan had to withdraw first and Pakistan contended there was no guarantee that India would withdraw afterwards. Gilgit-Baltistan, along with the western districts that came to be called Azad Kashmir, have remained under the control of Pakistan ever since.
GB’s scholars and political analysts take a contrary position. As per historical accounts, Kashmir’s Dogras captured Baltistan through military aggression; there was no legal or constitutional rationale for their rule. The people never accepted their rule, either. Hence, the occupation of the region through military invasion cannot justify associating the region with Kashmir.
Inside Pakistan:
After India’s partition in 1947, the region became part of Pakistan. The region was named the Federally Administered Northern Areas in 1972 and granted greater autonomy in 2009 under the name Gilgit-Baltistan, which included electing a Chief Minister and Governor in 2018.
While the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan expressed a desire to join Pakistan after gaining independence from Maharaja Hari Singh, Pakistan declined to merge the region into itself because of the territory’s link to Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1949, the Government of Azad Kashmir handed over the administration of Gilgit-Baltistan to the federal government under the Karachi Agreement.
Northern Areas:
In 1970 the two parts of the territory, viz., the Gilgit Agency and Baltistan, were merged into a single administrative unit, and given the name “Northern Areas”. In 1974, the former State Subject law was abolished in Gilgit Baltistan, and Pakistanis from other areas could buy land and settle.
In 1984 the territory’s importance shot up within Pakistan with the opening of the Karakoram Highway and the region’s population became more connected to mainland Pakistan. The improved connectivity facilitated the local population to avail itself of educational opportunities in the rest of Pakistan.
Present structure:
In the late 1990s, the President of Al-Jihad Trust filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan to determine the legal status of Gilgit-Baltistan. In its judgement of 28 May 1999, the Court directed the Government of Pakistan to ensure the provision of equal rights to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, and gave it six months to do so.
In 2016, for the first time in the country’s constitution, Gilgit-Baltistan was mentioned by name. In 2020, the then Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan announced that Gilgit-Baltistan would attain provisional provincial status after the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election. In September 2020, it was reported that Pakistan decided to elevate Gilgit-Baltistan’s status to that of a full-fledged province.
Self-governing status and present-day Gilgit Baltistan:
On 29 August 2009, the Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, 2009, was passed by the Pakistani cabinet and later signed by the President of Pakistan. The order granted self-rule to the people of the former Northern Areas, now renamed Gilgit Baltistan, by creating, among other things, an elected legislative assembly.
Gilgit-Baltistan thus gained a de facto province-like status without constitutionally becoming part of Pakistan. People of Gilgit-Baltistan have Pakistani passports and identity cards, yet are not represented in the Parliament of Pakistan.
References:
- Bose, Sumantra (2009), Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Harvard University Press, pp. 294, 291, 293, ISBN 978-0-674-02855-5
- Dani, Ahmad Hasan (1991) [1989]. History of Northern Areas of Pakistan (2nd ed.). Islamabad: National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Quaid-i-Azam University. pp. 6, 419, 420. ISBN 978-969-415-016-1.
- https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Gilgit-Baltistan
- Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, archived from the original on 13 August 2019, retrieved 15 August 2019
- Syed Shams Uddin 77th liberation day of Gilgit-Baltistan – A synoptic view. Information Department Gilgit-Baltistan November 1 2024