Home

Jammu and Kashmir, India   

About Poonch

District Poonch which is popularly known as mini Kashmir is the smallest in area  and the remotest district of Jammu and Kashmir  state. It is bounded by the Actual Line of Control (ALC) from three sides.The ALC is about 103 Kms. from  Tarkundi  in Balakote to Sawjian in Mandi Block. Poonch has witnessed many historical events and has been ruled by outsiders and locals at different junctures till it became a part of independent India.In the 6th Century A.D. Chinese traveller Huien Tsang passed through Poonch. He wrote that   Poonch was famous for graphics, fine tea (Musloom) and good horses. Around 850 A.D., Poonch became a sovereign state when Mr. Nar, a horse trader declared himself Raja of Poonch . In 1596 A.D. Mughal King Jehangir nominated Siraj-ud-din of village Kahuta as Raja of Poonch . In 1798 A.D. a Gujjar leader Rooh-ullah-Sangu became the ruler of this area.

Fountain garden in Poonch Town
[ Photograph Courtesy : Mahrajkar Singh Ishar
Everest Mountaineering Club, Rajouri ]

From 1819 A.D. to 1850 A.D. Poonch remained a part of Khalsa Darbar , Lahore. In 1850 A.D. Dogra Raja Moti Singh laid foundation of Dogra Raj in Poonch .  On the death of Raja Jagat Dev Singh in 1940,  Sardar Abdul Qayoom Khan became administrator of Poonch under the orders of Kashmir Government. In 1947 two and half  tehsils of Poonch principality went under the illegal occupation of Pakistan, while as the rest became a constituent of Rajouri Poonch district. In 1967 for administrative convenience this district was further divided into two parts , viz district Rajouri and district Poonch. Presently Poonch district consists of 178 Villages , 115 Panchayats , 51 Patwar Halqas, 8 Niabats, 6 Blocks, 3 Tehsils, and 1 Sub-division.

People:

The people of different faiths, caste and creed are living peacefully in the district. Races like Gujjars, Bakerwals, Punjabis,  Kashmiris and Rajputs-mostly muslims  are living in harmony nourishing their composite culture lavishly. Gujjars are mostly residing on the slopes of mountains. They are having small pieces of land for cultivation, and cattle for supplementing their economy. Bakerwals are  nomadic tribes. Most of them rear herds of goats and flocks of sheep. Gujjars and Bakerwals speaks Gojri whereas rest of the population (excluding Kashmiris) speak Pahari/Poonchi.  The mother tongue is a great cementing factor of Pahari speaking people because they remain so closely associated with each other that cultural ethoes transcend all that of distinct beliefs and faiths.

Economy:

The economic condition of people of Poonch district is not satisfactory. Industrial environment is totally absent and commercial activity exists on a very low scale. The poverty tells adversely upon the life style of the general population which cripples their purchasing power and renders most of them fragile to withstand the abnormalities of consumer market. There are many unemployed youths in the district and the  people usually try to go for the government jobs  as the  potential in the private sector is bare minimal. Unemployment problem among youth, both skilled and unskilled workers is quite large when compared to other districts of the State and the State Govt./Distt. Administration is trying its level best to eradicate the problem by implementation of different employment generation schemes viz. PMRY, SSES, SGSY, SJSRY by providing loans to the beneficiaries through different Banks and in SJRY by providing wages to the beneficiaries during the loan period. The new policy of the Govt. to recruit Rehbar-e-Taleem Techers from respective villages/ areas is also helping the unemplyed youths of Rural areas of the District.

The total area of the district is 113675 Hect., out of which cultivable area is 27765 Hect. and net area sown is 27459 Hect . On the other hand, the forest area is 34050 Hect., while Area under double cropping works to 11000 Hect approximately. There are 36796 land holdings. The average size of land holding is 1.28 Hect

Administrative Set-Up

Before partition, district Poonch consisted of four  tehsils, namely Bagh, Sadhnuti, Mendhar  and Haveli.  After traumetic experience of 1947 two and a half tehsils went under the illegal occupation of Pakistan while tehsil Mendhar  and half of tehsil Haveli continued being a part of the country. From 1947 to 1967 district Poonch was named   as Rajouri-Poonch district. In 1967, Rajouri- Poonch district was again bifurcated into two parts namely, Rajouri and Poonch districts.

Maize drying - a staple food of area
[ Photograph courtesy : Mahrajkar Singh Ishar
Everest Mountaineering Club, Rajouri ]

The district Poonch comprises of 178 villages including 10 uninhabited villages, 115 panchayats, 51 patwar halqas,12 girdawar circles, 8 niabats, 6 blocks, 4 tehsils , one sub-division and 190993 khasra numbers.

Presently under single line administration, the sectoral heads of various departments are working under the administrative control of District Development Commissioner. The District Development Commissioner is also known as Deputy Commissioner and is Revenue head of the District.The Deputy Commissioner is also vested with Powers of District Magistrate and is responsible to maintain Law and Order in the District. The law confers him very wide powers for maintaining peace and tranquility.The administration of Police force  is vested  with Superintendent of Police   in the  Distrct but under the  general directions of the District Magistrate as per provisions of Law i.e. Indian Police Act, 1861.