Hazara, Pakistan

Hazara (Hindko: هزاره, Urdu: ہزارہ) is a region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It comprises six districts: Abbottabad District, Battagram District, Haripur District, Kohistan District, Mansehra District and now, since 28 January 2011, the new Tor Ghar District.

History

Name

Some equate the name of Hazara with the Hazara people that originated in the Hazarajat or Hazaristan area of Afghanistan, claiming that the Hazaras came with Timur after his invasion of South Asia. Yet others trace this name back to Timur who conquered the area and left behind an army of thousand (Hazar) Karlugh Turk soldiers as his strategy of protecting the routes between Kashmir and Central Asia. Under Karlugh Turks, parts of this area became known as 'Pakhli' and Hazara-i-Karlugh as referred to during the British reign in the region.

According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 13, p. 76: "The origin of the name Hazāra is obscure. It has been identified with Abisāra, the country of Abisares, the chief of the Indian mountaineers at the time of Alexander's invasion. Dr.Aurel Stein regards it as derived from Urasā, or 'Urasha', the ancient name of this region.

The region was not formally called Hazara until the British rule made it as a district of that name although it was sometimes referred to by his term earlier, too.

Some distinguished Indologists including Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee, Dr B. C. Law, Dr J. C. Vidyalankar, Dr M. Witzel, Dr...
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