Chhachh

Chhachh چھچھ
Chhachh Location in Pakistan
Coordinates: 33°53′00″N 72°22′00″E / 33.8833333°N 72.3666667°E / 33.8833333; 72.3666667
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
District	Attock District
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
- Summer (DST)	+6 (UTC)
Calling code
Union councils
Website	www.HazroCity.comwww.attockonians.com

Chhachh (Urdu: چھچھ ) is a region consisting of an alluvial plain extending from Attock District of Punjab, Pakistan, south-west to Topi - Swabi. The word Chhachh is derived from the Pashto word Chaj.^{[clarification needed]} It is bounded on the north and west by the river Indus, and is about 19 miles (31 km) long from east to west, and 9 miles (14 km) broad. Percolation from the Indus makes the area extremely fertile,^[1] and it was the most fertile area of Rawalpindi Division. The population of the area is primarily made up of Hindko and Pashto speakers.

Chhachhi, a dialect of Punjabi is spoken Chhachh region.

Location

Chhachh is 7 km (4 mi) off the Pindi-Peshawar GT road (northwards). Chhachh is located at the edge of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa - Punjab border. It is located 20.4 kilometres from Attock city and 22.9 kilometres from Topi Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Chhachh is a plain which rolls from the Hazara-Gandhara Hills south to Kamra, and from east of the Indus to the broken lands near Lawrencepur. It is an alluvial plain in the north of the District and tehsil of Attock, Punjab, lying between 33°53' and 33° 59' N. and 72° 22' and 72°44' E.

History

The name "Chhachh" literally means "a bowl type container" according to the native language, which was used to drink lassi by the people living around this region. Geographically the surface of the Chhachh region is like a bowl. Chhachh has been identified with the Chukhsa or Chuskha country of the Taxila copperplate inscription. In the Muslim period it was known as Chhachh-Hazara, or Takht Hazara, "below Hazara", or "Plain of Hazara". Hazro is located in this plain.^[1][2][3]

Tribes

A large percentage of the population of Chhachh have Pashtun roots and belongs to Qais Abdur Rashid. Mostly descendants of the tribes of Durrani, Tanoli, Alizai, Yousafzai, Kakar, Jadoon, Tareen, Tahirkheli, Sadozai, Khattak and Barakzai. They arrived in the area around 1000 AD as part of the army of the Ghaznavid Empire and made it their permanent home after defeating the Hindu confederation near Hazro. Proof of this is that many of the villages and individual quarters are named after certain Pashtun personalities & tribes, markedly proving who had founded them. such as Aka Khel, Aja khel, Nasozai, Inayat Khel, Utman Khel, Saleem Khan, Ghorghushti, Adalzai, Grhe Alizai, Pirzai, Barazai, etc. Most of these Pashtuns now refer to themselves as Pathans and speak Hindko as their main language. Chach Pathans are revered for their fighting ability in ancient times and more recently for their many advancements in education, culture, and society. It is claimed that Hindko was the original ancient language of Chhachh when it was part of the Gandharan civilisation and was adopted over time by the Pashtun tribes of the area. The remaining population of Chach consists of Mughals, Kashmiris, Jats, Bangashs, Rajputs, Gujjars, Syeds

However there are villages (Waisa, Tajik, Shadi Khan, Painda, etc.) that are predominantly inhabited by Pashto speakers. Even though the majority of Chach Pathans may no longer speak Pashto as their mother tongue, they still zealously guard the pashtunwali tribal social traditions.

Villages

There are some 84 villages in the Chhachh valley, including:

• Kamalpuralam (The Barakzai's Village)
• Painda
• sirka (The Barakzai's Village)
• Nartopa
• Waisa
• Jalalia, Punjab
• Momanpur
• Malhoo
• Shadi Khan
• Malak Mala
• Garhi Matani
• Barazai
• Shinka
• Behbudi
• Chechi

See also

• Chhachi (Pashtun)
• Hazro, Punjab

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Chach (Chhachch) - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 10, p. 115
2. ^ [Indian Antiquary, vol. xxv, pp. 174-5.]
3. ^ Capital City of Chach, at HazroCity.com

External links

• MSN Map

Coordinates: 24°43′59″N 68°30′00″E / 24.733°N 68.500°E / 24.733; 68.500