The Gilgit Agency was a political agency for keeping control of the subsidiary states of Jammu and Kashmir at the northern frontier of India. The areas under the Agency consisted of
All these states had their own rulers or systems of administration; the Agency provided supervision under a British Political Agent.89
Until 1935, Gilgit and Astore tehsils (now districts) comprised the Gilgit wazarat of Jammu and Kashmir with its own governor (wazir-e-wazarat), who was also based at Gilgit. However, the Political Agent did exercise some control over the wazarat's affairs, leading to a system of dual rule and causing frictions.1011
In 1935, the British leased the Gilgit tehsil as the "Gilgit Leased Area". It was administered directly by the Political Agent. The Astore tehsil became its own wazarat, which was administered as part of the Kashmir province of Jammu and Kashmir.12
In 1941, the Gilgit Agency had a population of 77,000 and the Gilgit leased area had 23,000. Both the areas together came to be loosely referred to as the 'Gilgit Agency'. The administration of the Agency was carried out "on behalf of His Highness' Government". The Political Agent communicated with the central government in New Delhi via Peshawar (the capital of the North-West Frontier Province) instead of the Resident in Kashmir, reportedly for "security" reasons.13
During the First Anglo-Sikh War, Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (Dogra) helped the British Empire against the Sikhs.1415 After the defeat of the Sikh Empire, The Treaty of Lahore (1846) and the Treaty of Amritsar (1846) were signed. Under Article IV of The Treaty of Lahore, signed between the Maharaja Duleep Singh and the British Empire, the Sikhs ceded the territories between the rivers Beas and Indus as war indemnity.
IV. The British Government having demanded from the Lahore State, as indemnification for the expenses of the war, in addition to the cession of territory described in Article 3, payment of one and half crore of Rupees, and the Lahore Government being unable to pay the whole of this sum at this time, or to give security satisfactory to the British Government for its eventual payment, the Maharajah cedes to the Honourable Company, in perpetual sovereignty, as equivalent for one crore of Rupees, all his forts, territories, rights and interests in the hill countries, which are situated between the Rivers Beas and Indus, including the Provinces of Cashmere and Hazarah.
In the north, these territories included Gilgit (the present Gilgit District), Astore (the present Astore District) and Chilas (presently a tehsil of the Diamir District).16 By 1860, the three areas were constituted as a Gilgit wazarat (district), and the princely states of Hunza and Nagar to the northeast accepted the suzerainty of the Maharaja Ranbir Singh.17
The Treaty of Amritsar did not constrain the Maharaja from establishing relationships with external powers, and he is said to have had dealings with Russia, Afghanistan, China and Turkestan. The British watched these developments with concern, especially in the light of Russian expansion in the north.18
Ranbir Singh's successor Pratap Singh was a weak ruler. The British used the opportunity to establish an Agency in Gilgit in 1889, stationing a Political Agent who reported to the British Resident in Srinagar. The initial purpose of the Agency was to keep watch on the frontier and to restrain Hunza and Nagar from dealing with the Russians.
By 1889, the House of Ayasho had consolidated complete control over the regions of Punial, Gupis-Yasin, and Ishkoman, incorporating them as provinces under their rule. To emphasize their authority over these territories, the ruling family named the newly unified state Takht-e-Punial translating to (Greater Punial).19 The Ayasho family, of Ismaili origin, was supported by the Syeds, particularly the fathers and uncles of Pir Syed Karam Ali Shah.2021 The British Raj, aiming to strengthen their hold over the area, installed the Ayasho family as perminent rulers and officially recognized the state as a Special Political District.2223 Today, the legacy of the House of Ayasho is carried on by Shehzada Sameer Shah, the current crown prince of the family, who is also known as Shehzada Syed Sameer Ali Shah Ayasho and holds the title "Prince of Punial."
Soon afterwards, the states of Hunza and Nagar were brought under the direct purview of the Gilgit Agency. The Jammu and Kashmir State Forces were stationed in a garrison at Gilgit, which were used by the Agency to keep order. They were replaced by a British-officered Gilgit Scouts in 1913.24
Gradually, the princely states to the west of Gilgit (Punial, Yasin, Kuh-Ghizar, Ishkoman and Chitral) were also brought under the purview of the Gilgit Agency. These areas were nominally under the suzerainty of Kashmir but were directly administered by the Agency.25 Following a rebellion in 1892, Chitral was transferred to the Malakand Agency in the Frontier Areas26 The remaining areas remained under the control of the Gilgit Agency, which administered them through governors.27
Main articles: Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 and 1947 Gilgit rebellion
The local rulers of these territories continued to appear at the Jammu and Kashmir Durbars until 1947. Following the Partition of India, on 31 October 1947 the British officer William Brown led the Gilgit Scouts in a coup against the Dogra governor of Gilgit which resulted in the region becoming part of the Pakistan administered Kashmir. Most of the Ladakh Wazarat, including the Kargil area, became part of Indian-administered Kashmir. The Line of Control established at the end of the war is the current de facto border of India and Pakistan.
Initially, the Gilgit Agency was not absorbed into any of the provinces of West Pakistan, but was ruled directly by political agents of the federal government of Pakistan. In 1963, Pakistan entered into a treaty with China to transfer part of the Gilgit Agency to China, (the Trans-Karakoram Tract), with the provision that the settlement was subject to the final solution of the Kashmir dispute.
The dissolution of the province of West Pakistan in 1970 was accompanied by change of the name of the Gilgit Agency to the Northern Areas. In 1974, the states of Hunza and Nagar and the independent valleys of Darel-Tangir, which were the de facto dependencies of Pakistan, were also incorporated into the Northern Areas.
Pakistan and India continue to dispute the sovereignty of the territories that had comprised the Gilgit Agency.
British agencies were generally based in British-ruled territories even though they controlled native-ruled states. In this instance, the Maharaja was persuaded to allow a base in his territory. ↩
Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015). - Snedden, Christopher (2015). Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 ↩
Bangash, Three Forgotten Accesions (2010). - Bangash, Yaqoob Khan (2010). "Three Forgotten Accessions: Gilgit, Hunza and Nagar". The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 38 (1): 117–143. doi:10.1080/03086530903538269. S2CID 159652497. https://doi.org/10.1080%2F03086530903538269 ↩
Ali, Nosheen (2019), Delusional States, Cambridge University Press, pp. 33–34, ISBN 978-1-108-49744-2 978-1-108-49744-2 ↩
"Political Map of India". http://www.surveyofindia.gov.in/files/POL_MAP_4M_ENG_WTR.jpg ↩
"Govt releases new political map of India showing UTs of J&K, Ladakh". The Times of India. 2 November 2019. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-releases-new-political-map-of-india-showing-uts-of-jk-ladakh/articleshow/71867468.cms ↩
"J&K Reorganisation (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2019 -- [Territory of Leh district shall constitute, Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilas, Tribal territory & 'Leh & Ladakh' except present territory of Kargil]". 2 November 2019. https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2019/11/02/jammu-and-kashmir-reorganisation-removal-of-difficulties-second-order-2019/ ↩
Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015), Appendix V. - Snedden, Christopher (2015). Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 ↩
Bangash, Three Forgotten Accesions (2010), p. 122. - Bangash, Yaqoob Khan (2010). "Three Forgotten Accessions: Gilgit, Hunza and Nagar". The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 38 (1): 117–143. doi:10.1080/03086530903538269. S2CID 159652497. https://doi.org/10.1080%2F03086530903538269 ↩
Census of India, 1941, Volume XXII (1943), p. 3. - Census of India, 1941, Volume XXII – Jammu and Kashmir, Parts I & II, The Ranbir Government Press, 1943 https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.62753/page/n1 ↩
Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015), p. 118. - Snedden, Christopher (2015). Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 ↩
Christopher Snedden. Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. p. 67. ↩
Bawa, Satinder Singh. The Jammu Fox: A Biography of Maharaja Gulab Singh of Kashmir, 1792-1857. p. 263. ↩
Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), p. 20. - Schofield, Victoria (2003) [First published in 2000]. Kashmir in Conflict. London and New York: I. B. Taurus & Co. ISBN 1-86064-898-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=rkTetMfI6QkC ↩
Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), p. 11. - Schofield, Victoria (2003) [First published in 2000]. Kashmir in Conflict. London and New York: I. B. Taurus & Co. ISBN 1-86064-898-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=rkTetMfI6QkC ↩
Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), p. 12. - Schofield, Victoria (2003) [First published in 2000]. Kashmir in Conflict. London and New York: I. B. Taurus & Co. ISBN 1-86064-898-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=rkTetMfI6QkC ↩
Chahryar, Adle; M, Baipakov, Karl; Irfan, Habib; UNESCO (31 December 2003). History of civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-103876-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) 978-92-3-103876-1 ↩
"Pir Sahab Syed Karam Ali Shah left us". PAMIR TIMES. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2025. https://pamirtimes.net/2020/08/06/pir-sahab-syed-karam-ali-shah-left-us/ ↩
"Ex--GB Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah passes away". 4 August 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2025. https://www.app.com.pk/national/ex-gb-governor-pir-karam-ali-shah-passes-away/ ↩
"Gilgit-Baltistan: A Chronology". PAMIR TIMES. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2025. https://pamirtimes.net/2022/02/26/gilgit-baltistan-a-chronology/ ↩
"Prince of Punial". Prince of Punial. Retrieved 22 January 2025. https://historyofpunial.blogspot.com/2018/07/princeofpunial.html ↩
Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict (2003), pp. 12–13. - Schofield, Victoria (2003) [First published in 2000]. Kashmir in Conflict. London and New York: I. B. Taurus & Co. ISBN 1-86064-898-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=rkTetMfI6QkC ↩
Chohan, Gilgit Agency (1997), p. 203. - Chohan, Amar Singh (1997). Gilgit Agency 1877–1935, Second Reprint. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-7156-146-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=EqZFsNIuVWEC&pg=PA203 ↩
Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris (2015), p. 110. - Snedden, Christopher (2015). Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 ↩