Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan: Hunza State

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BOOK NAME: Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan: Hunza State
AUTHOR: Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan
PUBLISHER: Authority
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2013
The following excerpt has been taken from Pages: 51 — 57

Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan was born in Hunza in 1867. His father Mir Ghazan Khan was then ruler of the Hunza State, but Nazim's elder brother Safder Ali Khan murdered his father, two brothers and took over the throne of Hunza State.
FALL OF HUNZA STATE
“In the summer of that year, the marriage between Uzar Khan's son and Safdar Ali's daughter took place and, although it appeared on the surface that friendship existed between the two countries, there was little doubt that the old enmity was only lying dormant and was ready to break out on the slightest provocation. In order to help things Wazir Thara Beg had been made milk -- father to be both sides but it soon became obvious -- in fact information to this effect was sent by Safdar Ali's sister that he was playing a double game in the hope of making what he could out of the situation. While pretending to be loyal to my brother he was offering the throne of Hunza to Uzar Khan; while pretending in front of the people that he was their friend, he fully intended reviving the taxes that my father had abolished as soon as he had enough power to do it. He was continually preaching hatred of the British to both sides telling both the Mirs that if they did not prevent it Hunza and Nagir would be occupied.
“Mir Safdar Ali asked me what I thought ought to be done about Wazir Thara Beg, and on consideration, I replied that if all the things revealed about Thara Beg were true then he should definitely be put to death. This, however, the Mir refused to do and so things deteriorated.
“It was at this time -- in 1891 -- that Colonel Durand returned to Gilgit. He wished to send a letter to Kashgar and, when Safdar Ali refused to let it go through, he realized what had happened and immediately decided to attack on Hunza.
“The force that marched out of Chait Fort to attack on Hunza on December 1, 1891, consisted of following:
“Officers and Spoyees of 5th Gurkha Regiment: 188
“Officers and Spoyees of 20th Punjab Infantry: 28
“24th (Hazara) Mountain Battery: 2 guns
“Bengal Sappers and Miners: 7
“Spedding's Pathans and Punyali Levies: 200
“Officers/Spoyees of Kashmir Imperial Service Infantry: 661
“Total, about 1,000 fighting men and over 1000 colies for transportation. “Sixteen British officers accompanied the force.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, I could not witness the war as I was given the responsibility to protect Irshad pass with a small force of three hundred men to prevent expected attack on Hunza from Chitral to help the British. While I was there, I received an urgent order from Safdar Ali to return to Baltit immediately. I travelled night and day and arrived in twenty four hours. Safdar Ali had been at Khanabad but British army at Nilth had defeated his forces and he had returned to Hunza. He wanted me to go over into China and raise an army to help him, but I told him that China was too far away and that even if they were willing to come to his aid it would be long before they could do anything to help him. He then asked me to go to Lieutenant Manners-Smith and sue for peace so accordingly, off I went towards Nilt where the forces then were, but before I reached there, the Hunza Nagir Joint Forces were defeated. I met Thara Beg and Nazar Khan returning from war and they told me that it was then too late to treat with the enemy and that flight was all left to them.
“It was December 22, 1891 when the British force entered in Hunza. In the war, about 80 people from Hunza and Nagir were killed and 9 were taken as prisoners at Nilth Fort. Whereas from British side only 6 men were killed and 27 wounded out of which 7 were officers. In the Hunza Nagir war Lt Aylmer, Boisragon and Manner Smith fought fearlessness with courage and received Victoria Cross later. When I returned to Baltit I found that Safdar Ali and Uzar Khan had already started on their flight to China. I had previously told them that I thought this was foolish and had advised them to await the coming of the British and explained to them that Thara Beg had been at the bottom of all the trouble, but they refused to take my advice. The consequence was that the whole country was in a very unsettled state and consternation was rife among the Motibars and other people of importance. I did my best to pacify them but without success and about four hundred men from Hunza and Nagir left their country and fled towards Kashgar and, as Safdar Ali, had taken my family with him in his hurried departure, I, perforce, had to go too.
REFUGE IN CHINA
“I caught up with Safdar Ali at Ghujjad Bai and found that Uzar Khan (Mir Nagir) too was there. All the Motibars of Sarikul (A place in China) had collected there - Tilla Khan, Yakub Khan, Muhabat Shah, Sayid Shah Talib and Asman Beg Kirghis of Taghdambash - but no one had taken any steps to furnish the refugees with supplies. On arriving there, I ordered that three tents should be pitched and some provisions produced after which a great deal more respect and courtesy was shown to our party.
“On the following day, we reached Dafdar in among small places inhabited occasionally by Nomads -- where four sheep were presented to me and from here Safdar Ali went on a day ahead. From Dafdar we went to Jurgool and thence to Tughnan Shah where Sayid Shah Talib fed all four hundred refugees.
“From there we marched to Sarikul (a border town of Sinkyank province of China) where the locals at first refused to allow us to occupy an empty fort; on my telling them, that I was willing to take all responsibility and to pay fine that might be imposed by the Chines authorities they withdrew their objections and Safdar Ali and I took up our abode there, on the understanding that if the Chinese send men there, we would evacuate it for them.
“At that time, Karim Beg was at Tung but Yakub Shah and Tulia Bai were with us at Sarikul.
“Our numbers were noted down and sent to the Khan Daotai at Kashgar and, as there were too many of us to be supported by the limited resources of the country, Wazir Tara Beg and twenty of his men went to Tiznif, a hundred men were sent to Chosman and another hundred to Tughnan and Kazghan. I then summoned all the local headmen and suggested to them that until news came from the Chinese authorities we should be given the same food as they had in their houses. To this they demurred but, partly by cajolery, partly by simulated wrath and chiefly because I pointed out to them that if any of the refugees were to die of starvation they would be held responsible by the Chines, they consented and divided the party up between the neighboring villages where they were fed, what they consumed. Forty sheep belonging to Safdar Ali, were slaughtered for him and his followers.
“After a week we heard that Jangdarin with a hundred soldiers would soon be arriving and, as we had promised to leave the fort if it was wanted by the Chinese, we made arrangements for accommodation at Tughnan Shahr, sent our families there and ourselves went to meet Jangdarin at Taghrama as Safdar Ali feared that the Serikhulis might give him a wrong impression of us if they spoke to them first.
“The Chinese officer recognized me at once and asked me what had happened. I gave him a short account then and afterwards, in seclusion of his Kbirgah, told him the whole story.
“He said that the Sarikulis (locals of Sarikul) had informed him that the British had attacked Hunza unprovoked and had driven the people out of the country. I was able to tell him that the reverse was the case as the Mir had promised to keep a road open for English mails going to Kashgar and to refuse passage to any Russians who might wish to visit the country: owing, however, to the intrigues of Wazir Tara Beg and Uzar Khan of Nagir, in whose schemes he was but a tool, he had made a secret agreement with Russia and had refused to allow the mail to go through, with the consequence that the British had attacked his country, conquered it and that now he was a supplicant at the throne of the Emperor of China.
“He asked me what the total number of refugees was and I told him that, including women and children, it was five hundred souls from Hunza and about three hundred from Nagir and that, thanks to the generosity of the Sarikulis Mottibars, food had been produced for them all for the sake of the good name of the Emperor of China. This pleased him very much.
“He then summoned the Sariklis and asked them where his men were going to be accommodated and was informed that I had commandeered the fort on arrival but that on hearing of the proximity of the Chinese troops, it had been evacuated and other shelter had been found for us. This also pleased him.
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