Pitorial View of Gilgit-Baltistan

Shahid Akhtar Qalandar, also known as Shahid Qalandari, is a Burushaski singer and poet from the Hunza. Up till now he has released his five music albums and the last but not least album called "Mehr-e-Minas" His 3rd album "thala thala" is the most famous album in the Burushaski language till now. Shahid Akhter Qalandar is known all over Gilgit-Baltistan for his voice and music compositions. 
He gained recognition all over the country, where he was presented the brand ambassador of Hunza's Music Society.

His albums released to date are Shama, Qalandari 2002, Thala thala, Jajee and in 2011 his fifth album Mehr-e-Minas was released. He is an interior designer by profession and currently resides in kuwait with his wife.

The ruby-bearing host rocks in Pakistan are part of the Baltit group sequence and are contained in the Karakorum metamorphic belt north of the main Karakorum thrust. This meta-sedimentary unit can be traced from the Afghanistan border to the Indian border.
We visited six sites in five days in the Hunza Valley area that produce or have produced ruby. These workings are located right on the Karakoram highway on the east side of the Hunza river.
One recent discovery near the village of Bisil in the Basha Valley has the same mineral assemblage as the deposits in Hunza valley more than 100 kilometers to the west. Based on the geology and mineral assemblage at each locality the Bisil discovery is probably an eastern section of the same carbonate shelf that formed during the Eocene in the Tethys basin.
Ganesh was the northernmost spot we visited, with workings on the east side of the Hunza river. Just across the river from Ganesh, Global Mining Corp. is beginning to mine ruby-bearing marble at Gupa Nala. Another deposit is located just above the village of Aliabad. The Dhorkan workings, south of the Aliabad and Hachinder workings, are the southernmost that we visited.
Many of these deposits have the same general kinds of minerals: phlogopite, margarite and muscovite micas, zircon, spinel, magnesium tourmaline, pyrite, rutile and graphite, all of which are hosted in marbles.
Other than Global Mining Corp., we did not meet any other miners working these ruby deposits. But we could see and smell signs that explosives had been used recently, probably illegally. This is an extensive, continuous regional mineral deposit that a corporation might well be interested in working, as the presence of Global Mining Corp. indicates.
Most of the workings we visited were excavated by the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation in the early to mid-1970s. A report on the project from 1978 states that the producing marble deposit is 2,100–3,000 meters thick and extends 25 km on strike. The average carats per ton of ruby, sapphire and red spinel from eight samples is given as 16.68 carats/long ton, with a net reserve of 161,227.97 long tons, or approximately 537.8 kg of gem material. However, there were too few samples in too few areas to come up with reliable statistics on reserves.
By Jim Clanin, geologist and gem mining expertThe ruby-bearing host rocks in Pakistan are part of the Baltit group sequence and are contained in the Karakorum metamorphic belt north of the main Karakorum thrust. This meta-sedimentary unit can be traced from the Afghanistan Border to the Indian Border.

We visited six sites in five days in the Hunza Valley area that produce or have produced ruby. These workings are located right on the Karakoram highway on the east side of the Hunza river.
One recent discovery near the village of Bisil in the Basha Valley has the same mineral assemblage as the deposits in Hunza valley more than 100 kilometers to the west. Based on the geology and mineral assemblage at each locality the Bisil discovery is probably an eastern section of the same carbonate shelf that formed during the Eocene in the Tethys basin.
Ganesh was the northernmost spot we visited, with workings on the east side of the Hunza river. Just across the river from Ganesh, Global Mining Corp. is beginning to mine ruby-bearing marble at Gupa Nala. Another deposit is located just above the village of Aliabad. The Dhorkan workings, south of the Aliabad and Hachinder workings, are the southernmost that we visited.

Many of these deposits have the same general kinds of minerals: phlogopite, margarite and muscovite micas, zircon, spinel, magnesium tourmaline, pyrite, rutile and graphite, all of which are hosted in marbles.

Other than Global Mining Corp., we did not meet any other miners working these ruby deposits. But we could see and smell signs that explosives had been used recently, probably illegally. This is an extensive, continuous regional mineral deposit that a corporation might well be interested in working, as the presence of Global Mining Corp. indicates.
Most of the workings we visited were excavated by the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation in the early to mid-1970s. A report on the project from 1978 states that the producing marble deposit is 2,100–3,000 meters thick and extends 25 km on strike. The average carats per ton of ruby, sapphire and red spinel from eight samples is given as 16.68 carats/long ton, with a net reserve of 161,227.97 long tons, or approximately 537.8 kg of gem material. However, there were too few samples in too few areas to come up with reliable statistics on reserves.
By Jim Clanin, geologist and gem mining expert.

RETROSPECTIVE GLIMPSES OF HUNZA: THE HUNZAS INDEED HAD NEVER YET KNOWN DEFEAT (E.F.KNIGHT)

The princely state of Hunza was a cause of great trouble and nuisance in the end of the 19th  century for the Political Agent of Gilgit Coloel. Aiglernon Durand ,who was a representative of the British Empire. The Hunza state possessed of the important mountain passes Mintak pass and Kilik pass, from where Captain Gromechevsky of the Russian Empire entered Hunza in 1888 with six Cossack escorts who were received cordially by the ruler of Hunza  Mir Safdar Ali. Before his return, he also promised with Mir Safdar Ali to come back with important proposals from his empire. This act of temerity by the Captain Gromechvsky and his host Mir Safdar Ali was considered by the Political Agent of Gilgit as an open  threat  to the British Empire. He informed the Foreign Secretary of British Government of India about the alarming situation  in Hunza. The Political Agent  was so deeply obsessed about the Russian political  penetration in the region, that he seized  three foreigners,  taking them for Russians,  from Chitral,  and sent them to India as prisoners.  But later on the foreigners were turn out to be the famous French explorers who entered  to Chitral  from the Central Asia.

With great alacrity the Foreign Secretary of the British Government of India, who was Sir Mortimes Durand, the brother of the Political Agent of Giglit dispatched Captain Francis Younghusband,with six Gurkhas and  Kashmiri soldiers to monitor the frontier of Hunza, and to convey the warning message to  Mir Safdar Ali , who was already doubtful about of keeping up the secret relation with Russians. He was also instructed to explore other mysterious passes from where Hunzas launch  raids on the Caravans of the Kashmir traders, Captain Younghusband also learned at Ladak-Leh that the appeals tha were made previously to the Chinese authorities for the protection against the Hunza raiders had fallen on deaf ears  or shown lukewarm as it was not their trade interest to encourage the trade between Sikiang and India since it was threaten Chinese  own interest of the tea trade. The raiding Caravans became the main source of the Mir of Hunza, one occasion  a Caravan of 50 laden camels and 500 laden ponies was captured by the Hunzas, who acquired a great prestige and were considered invincible. (The Hunzas  indeed never known defeat, by E.F.Knight)

Captain  Francis Younghusband entered to Hunza by the Shimshal Pass in 1889 and also met with  Captain Gromchevsky, who was roaming in the region  due to the  political motivation of the Russain Empire,  at ceremonial camp fire with toast of vodka and brandy, each expressed the rights and interests  of their respective empire in the region. Francis Younghusband noticed the map of his counterpart was marked in red  the land « where the three empires meet,” China, Afghanistan, and British Empire, with the immediate effect of vodka, Captain Gomechesky boasted haughtily about the Russian Empire military power: That will not less than 400,000  professional soldiers  to seize  the British India, moreover the Indian population  will be in revolt as they were oppressed by the British Empire.

Francis Younghusband after bidding farewell to his Russian counterpart, he made his way to accomplish his second official mission to meet Mir Safdar Ali  ruler of Hunza in his seasonal residence in Gulmit village. The Mir of Hunza  arranged  to receive his guest with 13 guns salute  and with great fanfare of the local music, which was impressive for his host but deafening. A court man was sent in advance to inform him about the 13 guns salute  in his honor as the emissary of the British Empire, so he should not be afraid  or think any ill-motivation of his host, but when he reached in the court of Mir.Safdar Ali to the extreme astonishment  of  Francis Younghusband,  there was no chair for him in the audience of the court , where the  all his  court men  were squatted in front of his throne, and he himself  was seated in a proud, conceited posture.

Captain Francis Younghusband was in the British army uniform, he was an envoy of the greatest sovereign on earth, where sun never set on the British Empire in the world, he expected that the Mir should treat him properly. Anyway, he managed to get a chair by sending one of his soldier from his camp and set down near the throne of the Mir. But  soon he realized that Mir Safdar Ali have misconception and very high opinion of his own authority, he proposed an invitation to the Mir to visit India, the Mir curtly replied that, it is not the custom for a great king like himself, to leave his kingdom.

Francis Younghusband decided to demonstrate the modern fire power of the British trained infantry,  ordered to one of his Gurkha soldier to open  fire on a target of rock across the valley, the six bullets struck the targeted rock simultaneously and impressively close together, which caused a deep sensation in the Mir,s  court. But the Mir himself did not take it very serious and told to his guest that shooting the rock was tame,  he spotted a man who was descending from a cliff and asked  Younghusband  to order his Gurkha to fire at him, if his man is really courageous , Younghusband retorted , certainly he will be killed, Mir replied with indifference, « than so what  the man  belongs  to me,” than Younghusand  thought, perhaps the Mir is unworthy of ruling so fine race as the people of Hunza

In 1847, Nathu Shah a commandant of the Sikhs of the Punjab, with the help of his ally Karim Khan of Gilgit, attacked   Hunza as reprisal for the raids on Gilgit territory: Despite the fact that the two allies were well prepared, the Hunzas triumphed and Nathu Shah and his allied were   killed in battle.

In 1866 again the Dogras of  Kashmir  invaded in  reprisal for raids, with the help of people from Nagir  the new allies deserted in the large numbers with the result  that the Dogras ran for their lives in panic..

In 1889, Hunza and Nagir Mirs entered into a treaty with Colonel Duran. Both Mirs agreed according to the British proposed treaty to put end the raiding on the Yarkand  routes. It was also included in the British treaty to allow  the accredited British officers to travel through Hunza and Nagir. According to the agreement the British Government of India will grant a yearly allowance to the both Mirs .

After some time Mir Safdar Ali declared  the treaty  null and void, and restarted the raiding on the Caravan on the old Silk route,  pretending that it was the only source of income for his state, and he also blocked the passage of the   Diplomatic Bag of the British Empire   for the British Council in Kashghar. The attitude of the Mir of Hunza made Colonel Durand  furious and decided to  attack Hunza and Nagir without wasting  time, with two thousands  Gurkhas, Kashmiris, pathan soldiers.

 Mir Safdar Ali made many correspondence with Colonel. Durand using the pugnacious and hubris language  which further provoked and made him rancorous. In a letter he expressed that British roam in his country like a camel without nose string, in another letter he told that «  he cared nothing for womanly English as he hung upon (grabbed) the skirt of the many Russians”. He further warned  Colonel Durand  that  he had instructed his men to bring Gilgit Political  Agent’s head on a platter. In his last letter to Colonel Durand he warned on the diplomatic background, mentioning his relation with his neighboring countries, “ I have been tributary to China for hundred of years, Trespass into China if you dare, he further exaggerated “I will withstand  you if I have to use the bullets of gold. If you venture here, be prepared to fight three nations, Hunzas, Chinese, Russians.”

When he received  the news of falling the Nilt Fort of Nagir in the hands of British,  . He decided without losing time with his cohorts and cronies to fled away to Sikiang and seek political asylum. A new chapter commenced in  Hunza  by replacing  Mir Safdar Ali by his step brother Nazim Khan and  Uzr Khan by his brother Sikander Khan in Nagir by the king maker British Political Agent.

According to Colonel Schomberg a British  traveler of beginning of 20th century  to Hunza and central asia, who gave a different   opinion about Mir Safdar Ali that he never received justice from British authorities, his kingdom  was taken from him without allowing him to speak in his own defense. The British Empire did not even propose a small allowance as compensation ,as he was not British subject. He was moreover encouraged  by the Chinese to go to war against the British Empire.

Colonel  Schomber  portrayed him as a polite and well learned gentleman, he never disparaged his step brother who replaced  him in Hunza,  forgot his mother tongue Brushaski, spoke flawless Persian, and died in Kashgar in 1930, as  political refugee..   ..

Source:

The Great game written by PETTER  HOPKIRK.

Where three empires meet by  E.F KNIGHT.

Article Sent by :

Karim Imamdad  Hunzai.

Paris, France

Team HunzaHistory

A Pictorial Tour to Ancient Hunza

Team HunzaHistory

Altit Fort and its Restoration

Introduction :

The majestic historical Altit fort is center of attraction due to its architectural design and strategic location. Altit is one of the oldest settlements of Hunza valley. During the time when Hunza was under the central government of Gilgit principality, Altit served as the capital and sitting place of Hunza. Altit is the birth place of the HunzaKingdom and Altit fort is the first fort of the region. During early period of former Hunza state Altit was the capital. The artisans from Baltistan who accompanied the wife of Mir Ayasho II constructed this fort during 1540s A.D.The fort has been constructed in six different stages by using various natural levels of the rock. The construction has been made right on the edge of a sheer rock cliff that drops 1000 feet straight down to the Hunza River.


Restoration :
In the beginning it was built as a palace, soon after the addition of the watch tower a defensive architectural element it transformed to a fort. There is great possibility that different stages of the fort have been constructed during different times because the actual age of the fort is said to be more than 800 years. However, the date of construction on the fort tower is written as 955 A.H/1548 A.D thus the age is calculated as 458 years. This fort is said to be around 50-100 years older than the Baltit Fort. When the state capital transferred to Altit it remained vacant and occasionally used as a guest house.  The fort was in disposal of Raja Amin Khan who donated it to Aga Khan Cultural Services, Pakistan (AKCSP) in 2001. AKCSP after some emergency repairs is now working to preserve this historical heritage.


Architecture View :

"The fort is sited on a two rocks; the eastern rock is higher as compared to the western rock. The fort has been constructed in six different stages by using the various natural levels of the rock. The first level is located before the western side edge of the rock, which is containing a two floor building built in the first stage of the construction.The second level, contains a single floor building which was also constructed in the first stage of construction. These were built over 800 years ago. A three floor watch tower was constructed during the second and third stages of construction while the storage space was constructed during the third stage of construction. The mosque was constructed during the fourth stage of construction. A grain storage was constructed during the fifth stage of construction. In the sixth stage of construction the guest rooms were constructed after removing the grain storage located on the eastern side of the rock. Narrow corridors are used for accessing the construction at lower levels, while the mosque the storage area and the guest rooms can be easily accessed from the watch tower.

The Main entrance faces Ulter and opens into the ground floor narrow dark corridor which leads to a space with two small storage spaces inside it located on the east and western side. The main space contains a rectangular structure which physically seems a supporting structure made of rubble stone and cribbage frames has a story related to it. The story is of a prince who has been buried in standing position inside the structure; he was killed by his father after believing of his son's involvement in a plan against his kingdom. The ground floor corridor further leads westward to a stair made of rubble stone masonry which connects it to the first floor. The first floor contains the royal kitchen which has the richest carving patterns on the column and the capitals. This kitchen used to be full of activities during the cooking of food for the agricultural festivals.

On the eastern side of the Royal Kitchen there is a lobby with a skylight containing the main door of the corridor which is laid out north south. The space located at the northern edge of the corridor is the royal room which is a traditional house with the spaces for sleeping, sitting, cooking, and two small storage spaces, a toilet and storage space on the south side of the room. The space at the south edge is the Royal Rani's (Queen) Room, this has a fire place in the north wall and it has the traditional roof structure with the rotated square. From the north edge of the corridor further is the corridor which is laid out east west ward leads to stairs made of rubble stone masonry.

After climbing these stairs there is the three floor watch tower constructed. The storage space is located at the south side of the tower and it is located at the higher level of the rock. The mosque, the royal throne and the guest rooms are at the north side of the watch tower with a minor level difference. Structurally the watch tower is rich in features containing cribbage work and mud brick infill, with windows looking in all directions. The royal throne is placed in front of the mosque on the eastern side with a panoramic view of the Altit settlement."

The fort is being restored by the Historic Cities Support Programme.

Team HunzaHistory

The Hunza Apricot Pit, Vitamin B-17 and the Cancer Cure Myth

The Hunza people did grow apricots and eat the apricot kernel of the apricot pit. The apricot kernel does indeed contain vitamin B-17, and the people may have had a low incidence of cancer, but the apricot had nothing to do with the cancer rate in the Hunza people. Vitamin B-17 has never been shown to prevent or cure cancer. The dead Hunzakuts were never examined by anyone to verify the cause of death. It was never proven that they had a low incidence of cancer.


Team HunzaHistory