Chattroh

Chattroh is a small village in the Dadyal tehsil (sub-division) of Mirpur District, Azad Kashmir, lying on the banks of the River Jhelum. Ancient Chattroh was founded by the rajput rulers of the valley of Indherhill.

Like much of Mirpur, Chattroh has deep connections with the UK. Many people originally from Chattroh have settled in the urban centres such as Birmingham and Manchester. The Cheetham Hill district of Manchester is often referred to as New Chattroh (by Mirpuris), reflecting the fact that a large number of people from Chattroh live there. The town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester also has a large number of people from Chattroh living in it. The link with the UK is immediately obvious on entering Chattroh, where one is greeted by palatial, hacienda-style residences, eerily empty, which have been built with remitted pounds. In this regard, Chattroh is no different from the rest of Mirpur, where links with the UK have precipitated various property booms since the 1960s.

Demography

According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, its population was 3,191.^[1]

History

When the Mangla Dam was created in the 1960s, Chattroh escaped relatively unscathed, with only land on the periphery affected. However, plans to raise the Mangla reservoir further, if implemented, are certain to affect properties in Chattroh. These plans, as well as the general property boom, have contributed to demand for habitable land (as in much of Mirpur). This in turn has encouraged many unscrupulous people to take advantage of the archaic land laws and registers to make unmeritorious claims to premium land.

Politics

Chattroh also has a long history of involvement in politics. Ch Abbass Ali, Mirpur's representative to the assembly of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler of Kashmir, was from Chattroh. In recent years, two MPs for the Dadyal constituency of the state government have hailed from Chattroh, both of whom also served as State Ministers. Choudhry Ali Mohammad Chacha, the ex Minister of Law of Azad Kashmir who was assassinated in Mirpur in March 2008, and Ch Masood Khalid advocate.As well as political figures, other great personalities such as Khalid Mahmood, a great writer of fiction has also descended from Chattroh.

References

1. ^ www.scribd.com/doc/2510797/Village-List-Mirpur-AJK