Musyari Murree 4.24

Murree (Punjabi, Urdu: murree) is a hill station and summer resort and the administrative centre of Murree Tehsil, which is a subdivision of Rawalpindi District and includes the Murree Hills.
Murree was the summer capital of the British Raj in the Punjab Province (British India). A popular tourist destination, Murree is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British. Located in the north-west Himalayas at an average altitude of 2,291 metres (7,516 ft), the city of Murree, draped in forests of pine, and oak, experiences pleasant summers and cold, snowy winters. The city is famous for its buildings styled in tudorbethan and neo-gothic architecture dating from the colonial era.
Murree is located along the Islamabad-Murree Highway, some 58.3 km (36.2 mi) northeast of Islamabad.


*location


Murree Tehsil is located in the northernmost part of Punjab province where it borders the North West Frontier Province. The hill resort city of Murree is the capital city of this





*HISTORY



Murree was developed in 1851 by the (then) President of the Punjab Administrative Board, Sir Henry Lawrence,[2] and was originally established for the British troops garrisoned on the Afghan frontier[3] as a sanatorium.[4] Officially, the municipality was created in 1850.[5
The permanent town of Murree was constructed at Sunnybank in 1853. The church was sanctified in May 1857, and the main road, Jinnah Road, formerly known as The Mall (and still commonly referred to as), was built. The most significant commercial establishments, the Post Office, general merchants with European goods, tailors and a millinery, were established opposite the church. Until 1947, access to Jinnah Road was restricted for "natives" (non-Europeans).
Until 1876, Murree was the summer headquarters of the Punjab local government; after 1876 the headquarters were moved to Simla.[4]
The railway connection with Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province, via Rawalpindi, made Murree a popular resort for Punjab officials, and the villas and other houses erected for the accommodation of English families gave it a European aspect. The houses crowned the summit and sides of an irregular ridge, the neighbouring hills were covered during the summer with encampments of British troops, while the station itself was filled with European visitors from the plains and travellers to Kashmir.
In the hot season it was the headquarters of the Lieutenant General of the Northern Command. The Commissioner of the Rawalpindi Division and the Deputy-Commissioner of Rawalpindi also resided here during part of the hot season, for which period an Assistant Commissioner was placed in charge of the subdivision consisting of Murree Tehsil. The site was selected in 1850 almost immediately after the annexation of the Province, and building operations commenced at once. In 1851 temporary accommodation was provided for a detachment of troops; and in 1853 permanent barracks were erected. The regular garrison generally consisted of two mountain batteries and one battalion of infantry. In 1873, 1874, and 1875 Murree was the summer headquarters of the Punjab Government. It was connected with Rawalpindi town by a service of tongas.[5]
The income during the ten years ending 1902–3 averaged Rs. 49,500, and the expenditure Rs. 48,200. In 1903–4 the income and expenditure were Rs. 5r,400, chiefly from octroi, and Rs. 54,400 respectively. The income and expenditure of cantonment funds averaged Rs. 10,000 between 1893 and 1903. The chief educational institutions at that time were the Lawrence Military Asylum for soldiers' children[6] (now the Lawrence College Ghora Gali), and the St. Denys' and Convent English schools for girls. The station also contained the Lady Roberts Home for invalid officers and a branch of the Alliance Bank of Simla. The Murree
Brewery was the only industrial concern of any importance.[5]




*2005 earthquake



During the earthquake of 2005, 40% of houses in Murree tehsil were damaged or destroyed[3]




*Murree hills culture

[edit]Tribal histories



Shah Wali, also known as Dhoond Khan (from whom the Dhond Abbasi tribe descended), came to Murree in the middle of the 12th century, while Mohazzam Shah, alias Dhanni Pir (from whom the Dhanyal tribe descended), arrived around 1190 from Dhanni, Chakwal. Shah's parents had ruled Multan State for about 190 years and were descended from Alvis, who migrated from Iraq early in the 8th century. Mohazzam Shah supported Shahabuddin Ghouri intermittently to curb the activities of Dogra Rajputs, who were against his leadership. In the 13th century, Mohazzam Shah died fighting against the Hindu Dogra Rajputs, and a separate tribe, Dhanyal, was established. The followers of Mohazzam Shah have made a shrine in his memory on Lehtrar Road, a rural area of Islamabad. All Dhanyals are Alvis and are the descendants of Mohazzam Shah. As he had control over Kashmir, Murree and the surrounding area, the tribe is often called Raja, a king tribe in the locality. Between Dhanyals, they have seven or eight offshoots of the tribe living in Hazara, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Bagh Azad Kashmir, Sialkot, Chakwal, Multan and other parts of Pakistan. All are Sunni Muslims. Although they have never participated in the national politics of Pakistan, they are well represented in the Pakistani Armed Forces. Hundreds of Dhanyals sacrificed their lives in World War II and the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971.
Raja Afzal Khan was famous politician of Satti Tribe he contested lagislative assembly election and was second Chairman of Union Council Chahrian who belongs to Village Dhal his family is head of Dhal valley.




*Occupation




Historically, hunger and starvation pushed many people towards the plains or into the army, police and other services. Farming and cattle breeding, the two main occupations of the hill people, have not improved in recent times. Despite the poor returns, farming is the main occupation of the hill people. Farmers in the hilly tracts cannot double-crop, as the climate and irrigation do not give high yields. The average farmer has a holding of four or 5 acres (20,000 m2) land, the small size making farming even more difficult. Cattle breeding is another popular occupation but is not done for profit. Cows are kept to supply milk for household consumption, and bullocks are used to work the plough. Hill cows are hardy but small. An indigenous cow would give a maximum of one seer of milk.
When the Murree Sanatorium developed, a great demand for milk was created. It stimulated the local Zamindars to import milch-kine from other districts. Buffaloes would give two to twelve seers of milk. The profit in milk sales was considerable as milk was sold at the fixed price of one anna per seer. But these windfall profits lasted only until the end of the season. As for large flocks of sheep and goats, they were valued more for providing manure than for milk, meat or skin. In those days, it was a common custom to get the Gujjar herdsmen to assemble their flocks on unsown fields at night. In return, the farmers provided food to the herdsmen. The droppings of sheep and goats fertilised their fields with the best manure available in the hills. Profits from the two main occupations of the hillmen were adequate only if the Zamindars had additional income, but the majority did not. In the absence of an industrial base, local potential was unrealized.
In the past, traditional flour mills (jandar) on waterfalls were used to crush grains. Donkeys are used to carry water from the Choha spring, and the people of Pothawar also use donkeys to carry military equipment and food from Rawalpindi Railway Station to the Murree Hills.




*Housing




The rural population of Murree lived in far-flung, small hamlets called dhoks and Grann. Each dhok consisted of at least one to fifty houses. A hamlet comprised fewer than a dozen houses. Each family had its own house and cattle sheds constructed in the middle of its own fields. This isolation was self-desired and voluntary and inspired by their elders. The need for mutual protection often forced the rural population of the countryside to congregate and live in large villages, but the hill people felt no such compulsion. Their priorities lay in two entirely different directions. In the winter, the hill people stayed in their mud houses with fires to stay warm, but during the British Raj, the favoured construction pattern changed to the European style. the sunny bank where the old hoyses which is the property of sheikhs as known as the mohallah sheikhwalla the shees mahal are also the property of sheikhs




*Population density




The quality of soil in the hills varies from place to place. The Zamindars therefore may not get the best piece of land in one village alone. The land may be in patches that are scattered at great distances from each other. Hence, the difference between manured and unmanured soil determines their choice of residence. They have distributed their dwellings with the view of readily obtaining manure for a land that appears potentially fertile. Actually, the soil of Murree and Patriata and Karore spurs was considered the best in the tehsil. It was deep and earthy. High-return crops could be grown in it with the help of ample rainfall and a lot of hill manure. When compared with the rich soil of the Punjab plains, it was not as good, but by the hill standards it was satisfactory. For this reason, the Murree, Patriata and Karore spurs are densely populated compared to the other spurs.


* GEOGRAPHY




Murree is one of the largest resort towns in the Galyat area of Pakistan, and is the municipal or regional capital of Murree Tehsil* (*general administrative subdivision[10]), it is an administrative division of the Rawalpindi District. The town of Muree is situated on the southern slopes of the Western Himalayan foothills as they ascend northeastward, towards the bivurcated states of Kashmir. During British colonial rule in the nineteenth century, its altitude was established at 7,500 feet (2,300 m)



*RELIGION



Islam is the main religion. However, there is also a SHIA(0.5%),Christian(0.7%) &Hinduism presence; churches from the British Era can be found in Murree and nathia gali.i



*union concils of murree


UC Name of Union
Uc-49 Murree Urban
Uc-51 Dewal
Uc-52 Phagwari
Uc-53 Potha Sharif
Uc-54 Ghel
Uc-55 Rawat
Uc-56 Sehr Bagla
Uc-57 Darya Gali
Uc-58 Gora Gali
Uc-59 Numble
Uc-60 musyarii
Uc-61 Angoori
Uc-62 Tret
Uc-63 Charhan
Uc-64 Ban






*Administration



Union Council within Murree.
As well as being tehsil headquarters, Murree is also a Union council, it is bounded to the north by Darya Gali and Rawat[disambiguation needed ], to the west by Ghora Gali, to the south by Numbal and Musyari, and to the east by Ghel and Charhan.





*Education




With 69 percent literacy rate (1998 census) among those age ten and above, Murree is among the most literate areas in the country and easily surpasses major cities in this regard. Village Ausia having literacy of 82.7 percent in population of 4450 is among the most literate areas of Pakistan. There is probably no other rural dwelling of same size with such high literacy rate anywhere else in Pakistan. The credit for the same must go to people's love for knowledge as well as dedication of teachers.
Like other parts of Sub-continent modern school system was introduced in Murree after the advent of the British rule in 1850. Initially primary schools for boys were established in Murree, Ausia, Tret, Karor and Kotli Sattian. Presently there is one degree college each for boys and girls each Murree. Another girls college has been constructed at Phagwari. However, the classes have not been started despite the fact that the construction work was completed several years ago.
Besides there are two higher secondary schools, at Ausia and Tanda, sixteen secondary schools, twelve middle and 112 primary schools for boys. There are 6 high schools, 15 middle and 109 primary schools for girls. Other than that there are a large number of private schools in every nook and corner of Murree, providing commendable services to the people.

Murree is also known for its elitist educational institutions which have been attracting students from across the country since independence. Lawrence college Gora Gali, established as Lawrence Memorial Asylum in 1860 for children of serving or retired British soldiers away from tropical climate of sub-continent. It was part of chain of four such schools established across British India. Spread over an area of more then 150 acres at an altitude of 6397 feet (1950 meters) Lawrence college provides education from class one to twelve including A level and O level and is popular among Pakistani upper classes.
Other colleges established during the British period for the children of British colonialist but now serving the Pakistani gentry include Saint Dynes and Convent of Jesus and Marry. Saint Dynese has recently closed it boarding to in order to cater the needs of local population.
Other schools established after independence include Cadet College Lower Topa, Cadet College Murree Pindi Point, Army Public School.

It would be unfair not to mention Murree Christian School which was unfortunately subjected to terrorist attack in 2002. Situated at Garial near Jika Gali Murree Christian School serve educational needs of children of missionaries who serve in Pakistan and neighbouring countries. It also accepts admissions from grade four to 12 and is open for children from families with evangelical Christian background even if they serve in other professions.
It is headquarter of Murree Town (previously known as tehsil or sub-division) of Rawalpindi district of Pakistani Punjab.