Chitral (Urdu: چترال, Khowar: ݯھیترار, romanized: ćhitrār, lit. ‘field‘) is a town situated on the Chitral River in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Lower Chitral District, and was previously the capital of Chitral District, and before that, the capital of Chitral state, which was dissolved and made an administrative unit of West Pakistan between 1969 and 1972.
History
Ancient period
A definitive record of the earliest settlers of the region does not exist. The existence of the Gandharan Grave Culture in Chitral,[7] attested in various grave sites scattered over its valleys provides an insight into its early inhabitants following the Indo-Aryan migrations, after the decline of Indus Valley Civilisation.[8] The Gankorineotek cemetery in Singoor is home to several ancient burial sites, dating back to the Vedic period.[9][10] In the 2nd century CE, the Chitral Valley was a part of the Kushan Empire under Kanishka. Under the Kushans, many Buddhist monuments were built around the area, mainly Buddhist stupas and monasteries. The Kushans also patronised Buddhist art; some of the finest examples of the image of Buddha were produced in the region under the Kushan rule.[11]
Dynastic period
Raīs dynasty began to rule over Chitral in 1320, which came to an end in the 15th century. From 1571 onwards Chitral was the capital of the kingdom of Chitral under the rule of the Katūr dynasty.[12] The British garrison faced a month-long siege at Chitral Fort by the Chitralis in 1895 during the Chitral Expedition. The garrison was relieved after six weeks, and the British installed the young Shuja ul-Mulk as mehtar (ruler). He ruled for the next 41 years.[13]
Post-independence period
In 1947, following the partition of the British India, the princely states were given the choice to either remain independent or accede to one of the two new dominions. Initially, Chitral chose to remain an independent monarchy. Later, the mehtar of Chitral, acceded to Pakistan and thus Chitral became one of the princely states of Pakistan. Between 1969 to 1972, it was fully integrated into Pakistan as the administrative district of Chitral.[14]
Role in the First Kashmir War
Chitral played an instrumental role in the 1947–1948 first Kashmir war. Immediately after acceding to Pakistan, the mehtar Muzaffar ul-Mulk proclaimed jihad to liberate Kashmir from the Dogras. At this point, the Gilgit Scouts were forced to retreat and the Dogra forces had made gains in the Burzil Pass. Under these circumstances, the Chitral Scouts relieved the Gilgit Scouts in Domel and Kamri sectors whilst the Chitral Bodyguard force went towards Skardu. The Chitral Bodyguard under the leadership of Chitrali prince Mata ul-Mulk led a prolonged siege of Skardu, which saw the surrender of the Dogras and Baltistan becoming part of Northern Areas.[15]
Geography and climate
The city has an average elevation of 1,500 m (4,921 ft).
In contrast to more southerly valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chitral has a dry Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with almost no rainfall during the very hot summers. Precipitation occurs mainly from spring thunderstorms brought about by western frontal systems. In the winter the nighttime temperature occasionally drops to −10 °C. Winter snowfall in the town can be quite heavy with an accumulation of up to 60 cm being quite common, at higher elevations snowfall can reach as high as 20 metres (70 ft).[citation needed]
| Climate data for Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) |
21.0 (69.8) |
28.0 (82.4) |
34.3 (93.7) |
38.3 (100.9) |
42.5 (108.5) |
44.4 (111.9) |
42.2 (108.0) |
39.8 (103.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
27.0 (80.6) |
20.7 (69.3) |
44.4 (111.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.8 (47.8) |
9.9 (49.8) |
15.1 (59.2) |
22.5 (72.5) |
28.2 (82.8) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.9 (96.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
31.1 (88.0) |
25.1 (77.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) |
5.3 (41.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
15.5 (59.9) |
20.3 (68.5) |
26.1 (79.0) |
28.0 (82.4) |
26.5 (79.7) |
22.1 (71.8) |
16.2 (61.2) |
10.8 (51.4) |
5.9 (42.6) |
15.9 (60.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) |
0.6 (33.1) |
4.2 (39.6) |
8.5 (47.3) |
12.5 (54.5) |
17.8 (64.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
18.7 (65.7) |
13.1 (55.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
2.9 (37.2) |
0.2 (32.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11.0 (12.2) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
4.4 (39.9) |
8.9 (48.0) |
11.1 (52.0) |
10.6 (51.1) |
5.6 (42.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38.4 (1.51) |
63.8 (2.51) |
97.3 (3.83) |
71.7 (2.82) |
43.9 (1.73) |
5.1 (0.20) |
4.9 (0.19) |
8.0 (0.31) |
7.3 (0.29) |
15.6 (0.61) |
20.4 (0.80) |
38.5 (1.52) |
414.9 (16.32) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 134.0 | 133.7 | 150.4 | 188.6 | 247.0 | 286.3 | 285.4 | 258.6 | 231.0 | 214.0 | 182.5 | 130.7 | 2,442.2 |
| Source: NOAA (1971-1990) [16] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | … | — |
| 1961 | … | — |
| 1972 | 13,376 | — |
| 1981 | … | — |
| 1998 | 30,622 | — |
| 2017 | 49,794 | +2.59% |
| 2023 | 57,157 | +2.33% |
| Sources:[17][18] | ||
As of the 2023 census, Chitral has a population of 57,157.[19]
According to the 1981 census, Khowar is the main language and is spoken by 98% of the population. Kalasha is also spoken by a small population.[20] Urdu is the official language of the city.[4]
| Religion | Population (1901)[21] | Percentage (1901) |
|---|---|---|
Islam 
|
3,452 | 42.47% |
Hinduism 
|
2,709 | 33.33% |
Sikhism 
|
1,826 | 22.47% |
| Total | 8,128 | 100% |
Educational institutions
Notable people
See also
References
- ^ “LG polls: PTI sweeps elections in upper & lower Chitral”. The News International newspaper). 2 April 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ “District Chitral (Upper & Lower)”. Department of Local Government, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ Ahmada, Munir; Muhammadb, Dost; Mussaratb, Maria; Naseerc, Muhammad; Khand, Muhammad A.; Khanb, Abid A.; Shafi, Muhammad Izhar (2018). “Spatial variability pattern and mapping of selected soil properties in hilly areas of Hindukush range northern, Pakistan”. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science. 7 (4): 355. doi:10.18393/ejss.466424. Retrieved 29 August 2019 – via dergipark.org.tr.
- ^ a b “Indo-Iranian Frontier Languages”. Encyclopaedia Iranica. 15 November 2006. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Postal code
- ^ “List of Postal Codes of GPOs of Chitral Pakistan Post 2023”. Lo Result.
- ^ Ali, Ihsan; Batt, Cathy; Coningham, Robin; Young, Ruth (1 September 2002). “New exploration in the Chitral Valley, Pakistan: an extension of the Gandharan Grave culture”. Antiquity. 76 (293): 647–654. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00091055. S2CID 53462554. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via go.gale.com.
- ^ Schug, Gwen Robbins; Walimbe, Subhash R. (13 April 2016). A Companion to South Asia in the Past. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-05547-1.
- ^ Hemphill, Brian E.; Zahir, Muhammad; Ali, Ihsan (29 December 2017). “Skeletal Analysis of Gandharan Graves at Shah Mirandeh, Singoor, Chitral”.
- ^ “Scientists say discovery of 3,000-year-old burial site key to tracing origins of Pakistan’s Chitral”. Arab News PK. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ Gurdon’s Report on Chitral. Gurdon. 1903.
- ^ “Chitral, a Study in Statecraft” (PDF). IUCN.
- ^ Holdich, Thomas Hungerford (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 251–252.
- ^ Osella, Filippo; Soares, Benjamin (2010). Islam, Politics, Anthropology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4443-2441-9.
- ^ “Full text of “An Illustrated History of Chitral Scouts 1900-2015”“. archive.org. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ “Chitral Climate Normals 1971-1990”. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (FTP). Retrieved 16 January 2013.[dead ftp link] (To view documents see Help:FTP)
- ^ “Population by administrative units 1951-1998” (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ “Population by administrative units 1951-1998” (PDF). Lahore School.
- ^ “URBAN LOCALITIES BY POPULATION SIZE AND THEIR POPULATION BY SEX, ANNUAL GROWTH RATE AND HOUSEHOLD SIZE : CENSUS-2023, KPK” (PDF).
- ^ “Population Demography”. Kpktribune.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ “Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province” (PDF). 24 October 2023. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739.
Bibliography
- Decker, D. Kendall (1992). Languages of Chitral. Ishi Press International. ISBN 4871875202.
- Durand, Algernon (1899). The Making of a frontier.
- 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 ed.). New Delhi: Manjusri Publishing House. ISBN 4871877787.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Further reading
- Allan, Nigel J. R.; Buddruss, Georg (1991). “CHITRAL”. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. V, Fasc. 5. pp. 487–494.
External links
- Official website
- Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
- Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government website section on Lower Dir
- United Nations
Administrative divisions of Lower Chitral District | ||
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