Good Bye Maharaj!
By: Tahira Mir
Gilgit Baltistan, the Northern most part of Pakistan is one of the heavenly places on the planet earth. It shares its borders with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Azad Kashmir , Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan , China , and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
You certainly know what happened on November 1, 1947. But you might not know what made this day to be a milestone in history of Gilgit Baltistan. How meaningful independence is , should be asked by a state which is still tied by the chains of slavery.
It was before the independence of Pakistan when Maharaja Hari Singh, the Hindu Dogra was ruling in Jammu Kashmir. He widened his power by ruling on Gilgit Baltistan as well. Gansara Singh governed this region representing Dogras with British support. The people of Gilgit Baltistan revolted and a rebellious movement of Gilgit Scout was lead by the Major Brown. They fought bravely against the Dogra Raj and put an end to the government of Gansara Singh and succeeded to conquer on November 1, 1947..
At first a princely state was established that was lead by Raja Shah Rais Khan as President and Mirza Hassan Khan as chief officer. But it was soon dissolved within fortnight on demand of local people. On November 16, 1947 Gilgit Baltistan was amalgamated with Pakistan.
Today Gilgit Baltistan has status of Province and is a sovereign region. Under the Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009 it has Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly , Gilgit-Baltistan Council , Executive and Judiciary.
The journey from slavery to freedom might seem a short story but actually it have taken lives and a long time. Independence is a blissful blessing that our forefathers have gave. Lets promise to take care of its name and identity .
Happy Independence Day 🙂
The contributor is a student of the Punjab University.
Happy Independence Day.
[ “The people of Gilgit Baltistan revolted and a rebellious movement of Gilgit Scout was lead by the Major Brown” ]
I think i personally do not agree here with this that this movement was lead by BROWN. Though Brown and some other officers claim to have planned and controlled the matters in darkness but local people in that Gilgit Scout never asked him to make any decision that resulted into revolt absolutely not.
The biggest reason we see here is the oath (Secret Oath – In Qasm Hall) taken by M. Babar Khan the local head of Gilgit Scouts with his participant had been arranged secretly.
It obviously put an impression after an analogical analysis that Gilgit Scouts were hiding this moment from Brown and rest. So the credit for achieving this AZADI should be given to Gilgit Scouts who vouched to fight for the cause with faithfulness and devotion rather Brown.
Agreeing with Mr. Sohail. The history should be reconnected in right order so that the actual facts could reveal to new generation.
CC. Trench says “When Gilgit Agency became completely British ruled as a result of the lease. The Scouts thus became professional. After Trotter, Rosy Milanes got the command of the Gilgit-Scouts under him was Subedar Major (Later Captain) Babar Khan.
Trench further Adds “Babar Khan was Nagari but his sister married to the Mir of Hunza, which made him persona grata in both STATES (Nagar and Hunza). Pre-eminently a man whose power depended on prestige, not his prestige on power, He was very INFLUENTIAL.
The information clearly shows that Brown was not the leader of the independence movement in Gilgit but existence of an underground Liberation Moment of Gilgit Scouts lead by Raja Babar Khan and his companions.
Well marked and to the point…
Miss Tahira, I doubt your knowledge on this part of History the way you are hailing Mr Brown is awful. You have bypassed all our ancestors and their efforts,,,,,! Not having a constitutional status is a harsh truth for GBIANS…… @SOHAIL : I second you bro…
The article concedes a conceptual conflict, and a very significant one, about the nature of freedom that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan possess. Perhaps, freedom did show her face once during the very brief period of self-rule, before, the state of Gilgit-Baltistan betrayed its own idea and subjugated GB.
Maj Brown played a key role in independence of Gilgit. Had his advice been accepted, Kargil and Ladakh too would have been part if Gilgit Baltistan. He deserves all praise.