Swabi District

Infobox Pakistan district
district = Swabi District
area = 1,543
population = 1,026,804
pop_year = 1998
density = 665
caption = Location of Swabi District (highlighted in yellow) within the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
region = North-West Frontier Province
established =
nazim = Shahram Khan
naib_nazim = Saeed Zada
seats =
tehsils = 3
languages = Pashto
website =

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Swabi District ( _ur. صوابی) lies between the Indus River and Kabul River, in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. Its residents are referred to as "Swabiwaals". Swabi is the fourth most populous district of the NWFP. The "Yousafzai" clan of "Pukhtoons" are the district's predominant clan.

Overview

The history and culture of Swabi is very rich. The late historian Roshan Khan Baba from this region wrote about the history of this great tribe in his book 'History of the Yousafzai Tribe'. A drive to Swabi from Jehangira or Mardan is scenic and a beautiful experience. Lush green fields and shady trees line the road on either side.

Swabi is proud of its illustrious sons like Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum founder of Islamia College, Peshawar and the brave martyr of the Kargil war Captain Karnal Sher Khan recipient of the highest military award of Pakistan Nishan-e-Haider. Many "Swabiwaals" are liberal in their outlook yet devout Muslims. They are well known for their hospitality.

Tobacco is a popular cash crop of Swabi along with vegetables, wheat, sugar cane and maize. Its climate is ideally suited for citrus in particular while many other fruits like watermelon, peaches and apricots are also grown there. Swabi is also rich with mineral resources founded in the Maneri village and its white marble is very popular throughout the country.

Swabi is home to the largest earth filled dam of the world, the Tarbela Dam. It also boasts one of the most prestigious institution of Pakistan, the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology located in village Topi.

A six lane motorway connecting Islamabad with Peshawar passes through Swabi District with an access interchange at Ambaar.

Archaeological Sites

Swabi contains many important archaeological sites, it was part of the Gandhara civilization. Alexander the Great crossed river Indus where the village of Hund now lies on its right bank. Hund is an archaeological treasure and been the capital of the Hindu and Turk Shahi for nearly three hundred years. Archaeological sites are found peppered all over Swabi and they are great tourist attractions. [ [http://www.dawn.com/2001/10/08/nat16.htm Archaeological sites being neglected - Dawn Pakistan] ]

Rani Ghat is another start of the Gandhara archaeological site located further deep in the mountainous area. Rani Ghat is the famous historical palace on the top of mountain used by the that time Rani (queen). She was famous for buying the fresh air coming from Swabi side. She paid to the villagers for clean air -- they were not allowed to pollute it by blowing the crops in the air for cleaning purpose. The ruins are still a famous place for visitors. Being as a part of origin of Buddhist Gandhara Civilisation it has also attracted re-construction funds from Japanese research institutes. With the help of Japanese funds the local NGO Shewa Educated Social Workers Association(SESWA) built walkway to the historical sites and built fences to protect the area. It also built a mountain resthouse on Baga mountain which a popular tourist site. This area attracted many tourists including Japanese, who came here for studies in the ancient times to learn Buddhism.
Similarly the ruins of Darsan are also present. Although enough Archaeological work has not been done on this area and needs attention from the Archaeologists.Molana abdul qadir was a great scholar resident of village pabaini the founder of pushto accadmy and pushto department,the 1st pushto dictionary was written by him.

People

Partition

Before partition, Hindus also lived here and most of the businesses were owned by them, both Muslims and Hindus lived peacefully. Majority of Hindu population was present in Bamkhel and Naranji village before partition. After partition, the vast majority of Hindus left for India. People from swabi are from the Yousafzai tribe,also known as Yousafzai-Afghan. Whose origin is from Kandahar.

After Partition

Today almost the whole population is Pakhtun of the Yousafzai tribe, however even today Hindus and Sikhs are found in some areas of Swabi.

The well-known Islamic scholars of this village are mufti Gulzar Khan Babakhel, Maulana bin Amin and Maulana Shamsul Nawaz.

The most populated village in Swabi is Yar Hussain, a village in Tehsil Lahor. Archaeologically, Lahor was the original Lahor and the Lahore city of Panjab was raised after this one. Hund was called Hind and Lahor was the capital of Hind.

The museum of Peshawar is decorated with the historical utensils and ornaments of Lahor. The poets of Pashtu Mir Nawas Khan, Bakhshir, Norbaz Haji, belonged to this locality.

An historical place in Swabi District is Haryan, named after the Arians civilisation. Haryan is located 3km from the main Swabi-Jahangira road from Lahor Tehsil and on the bank of river Indus. in old period, Haryan was well developed and spread from Hund to Attock fort of Mughal King Akbar. the proverb is famous amongst old people that "if the goat climb to the roof of one house in Haryan, then she could visit entire area from Hund to Attock", because of the densely populated area.

Beka village is at the edge of River Indus. People are very hospital caring and famous for their rich culture. Historically Village Beka was replace by river Indus. It was the famous village during Akbar (emperor). Akbar sent his faithful soldiers to live in this area. After flood on old Beka people move parallel to river on other side e.g existing Beka, Nabi, Sala, and Haryan till Zida.

In new Beka village, Yusuf Zai clan, Khattak clan, Shahib Zadgan (Bacha Sahib) and Blar Khel are living. Literacy rate is high compare to other villages. Haji Mohabat Khan late was social welfare activist. He aimed to bring literacy in female as equal to man. Haji Mohbat khan devoted his life for the welfare of people. He donated his land for girls Primary school, Girls High school and also land for grave yard and hospital. Bacha Sahib family serving from long time.Their fore parents are scholar from Bukhara( Central Asia). They are famous in Tib (Health). Allah gave them shafa in their hand. Every year people come from miles and miles and from abroad to celeberate uras (celeberation).Swabi has a green valley called Gadoon.Gadoon touches its boundreis with Haripur up side Bunir .

One of the most famous villiage in Swabi is Kernal Sher Khan Kalay (Previously called Nawan Kalay). The villiage was renamed after Kernal Sher Khan who gave his life for his nation in Kargil War. Sher Khan is the only pukhtoon to have received the highest military award in pakistan, the Nishan-e-Haider. His tomb lies close to the Mardan Swabi highway near Shewa Adda.

Next to Kernal Sher Khan Kalay is the villiage Shewa. Shewa is a beautiful villiage and is home to the tomb of Yousuf Khan and Sher Bano. Shewa also has a resthouse on Baga mountain and another one on Karmar mountain near olive gardens. Boths these spots are famous tourist spots. Shewa has some of the best Mukha players in whole of Swabi district. Shewa has more then 12 schools which is ones of the highest for any villiage of its size in the whole of pakistan.

Tourism

Swabi is notable for being the setting for the Yusuf Khan and Sherbano folktale, a famous Pashtun love story, visitors come to Shera Ghund (the village) and climb the mountain to visit the tomb of Yousaf Khan. Gadoon Amazi is one of the most popular place for the tuorist,Spaecily the village of Mangal Chai,

Another area is Kund park - which lies on the bank of the rivers Indus and Kabal it is located in Tordher, and attracts visitors from across the N.W.F.P and Punjab. Another tourist area is Ghazi-Bharota dam, which lies near Topi and Tarbela. Mahaban Hill in Gadoon has a scenic beauty like Swat and other hilly areas. Here exist a resort, naming as Pir Galai, which is 6000 feet above the sea level and from here one can have glance at Mansehra, Buner and Kaghan Hills. The Tomb of Yousaf Khan in village Shera Ghund, near Shewa Adda.

Villages

Swabi,Darra, Kala, Lahore, DOBIAN,Beka [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beka,_NWFP] , Nabi, Salah, Haryan, Manki, Tordier,Jelbi, jelsi, Bamkhel, Zaida, Thand Koi, MArghoz, Maneri,Shahmansoor, Panjpir, Maini,Kotha, Topi,Batakarha Shewa, Yar Hussain, Tarakai,Ismaila, Adina, Kunda, Kalabat, Char Bagh, etc the main villages of Distt Swabi among its apprx 400 villages.

Afghan Refuges Camp

The Afghan Refugee Camp was established more than 20 years ago when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and five million Afghanis fled to Pakistan for shelter. This was the biggest camp in the country. Most of the refugees speaking the same language and culture had little problem settling down. But the huge flow of arms (confiscated from Soviet soldiers during the war), together with the rise in drug smuggling from Afghanistan and theft had became great challenges for the local population. The local people wished to have peace in Afghanistan so that refugees could leave as soon as possible. This camp is also called Sawabi Camp. The very hospitable people of Sawabi have graciously accepted this camp's presence for more than two decades.Baja,the small villege of swabi famous for many reason.The people are very highly educated most of the serve in pak army many of them are doctor,professors,civil judge and cheaf sectery.the people of this vellige is famous for there braveness and kindness.

Games

In the category of games, two types of games are played in Swabi. Local and ancient games include Maily MAKHA, Kabaddi, Cock Fighting, and Dog Fighting, Horse racing, and Asses, Akor, Gulu Dandai, Bilorai and Pat patonay Etc.

The popular games of modern times are: cricket and football The Famous player in cricket in all over the district, Ibrahim Shah is also belong to Villege Khunda. Swabi is regarded as one of the few best volleyball nurseries in the country. Many of the national team players are from this district, including former national volleyball team captain Raheem, originally from village Zaida.

Mukha (A type of archery) is the traditional game of Swabi, in which different villages take part. Mukha is kind of archery using a bow and arrow made from a long bamboo stick and instead of a tip, it has a flat dish-shaped head called Tobray, The target is hit by arrow with the help of bow.

Kabbadi is one of the most famous sport of the area.Panj pir is the current champion of the game.The Makha game is very femou between the two villages Mangal Chai and Channi of the Gadoon. People come from all over the Swabi to enjoy this game.

The Hub of Streams and Rivers

Swabi is home to dozens of streams and two great rivers, the Indus and the Kabul River. Both the rivers meet at a place called Kund, another major tourist attraction. The Indus river with its spectacular blue colour and the Kabul river's muddy brown water go side by side without blending. It is a treat to watch these two rivers hug each other quietly for thousands of years in its own special way. Also there are several small streams in different locations of the swabi. A unique stream is in village Maini. The water of the stream comes out in the centre of the village. its speciality is that in the winter the water of the stream is so hot. and in the summer water becoms cold. this water is used for irrigation purpose in village. This stream is called CHINA which means a spring. The three villages named KOTHA, TOPI and Maini are collectively called UTMAN has this peculiar aspect that all of them has natural springs called CNINA in Maini, CHINO in Kotha and Bayin in Topi.

Gadoon Amazai

Gadoon Amazai is one of the biggest Industrial estate of NWFP. Here once situated 580 industries and mills but due to no proper planning it is losing its charm. There are more reasons the biggest one is that the owners were not giving to workers their rights. 12 hour working, no weekend leave, no cadual leave, no medical leave were allowed to workers. Labour law of Pakistan was nothing in front of industrialist because many of them were ministers and members assemblies. Often workers did demonstration and government withdrawal incentive because the industrialist were making money only and were sending their products to others parts of Pakistan in low rates while others industrialist from different parts of Pakistan were also against them and so on many more reasons. One reason was that also the people of Gadoon were not happy of industrial estate because the industrialist were not giving rights to workers and even not giving jobs to them while often labours leaders if do something for labours they always charged in falls cases and often put in jails. Most of them are still wanted in many falls charges and they live hide of government eyes so when incentive were withdrawal local people and labour leaders not take any action and so government withdrawal incentive. And it is also cause of disturbance of Gadoon Amazai industrial estate.

Maneri is the most popular village of Swabi by all means. It is a big village with a huge population. Most people are in Guld and Europe. Most educated people of the district. They are famous for hospitality and bravery.

References

External links

* [http://swabi.swiftshare.net Swabi Village] , internet site dedicated to Swabi village