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Baffa is a town and Union Council (an administrative subdivision) of Mansehra District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. [1] It is located in Mansehra Tehsil and lies to the north of the district capital Mansehra.[2] The majority of the population of speak Pashto while few of the people also speaks Hindko as their first language. Urdu the National Language is also spoken.
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History
British rule
Baffa was given the status of municipality in 1873 during British rule, it was principal mart of Northern Hazara and of the neighbouring independent tracts. The population in 1901 was 7,029. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 4,500, and the expenditure Rs. 4,600. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 5,300, chiefly derived from octroi and the expenditure was Rs. 4,700. A vernacular middle school was maintained by the municipality and the District board[3].
Location
Union Council Baffa is situated in the Sirran Valley of Mansehra District, the town is located on the right bank of the Siran river in the northern corner of the Pakhli plain[3]. It is 13 kilometres away from the district capital Mansehra in the North West. It is the Headquarters of the historical “Pakkhal Valley”. This valley is the last biggest plain area between Pakistan and China(The Deosai National Park is the biggest Plain land on the Pak-China Himalayan frontier, covering an area of 3000 sq km). Beyond Pakkhal Valley is the continuous chain of the world largest mountains the Himalayas. Baffa is situated at the base of the Himalayan mountains. It used to be a big historical Market between Gilgit and Rawalpindi.
The village baffa is the resting place of Mulana Ghose Hazarwi and historically the relly point of the Turks who had established their main cantonment at the village of Guli Bagh. The local dialect is pashto and Hindko. The major tourist attractions are nanga baba shrine located at the top of a hillock overlooking the pakhal maidan (plain), Khar maidan Guli Bagh and Mount Tingalai. er of crops are harvested specially paddy ricebside vegetables specially tomatoes, onions and potatoes. Finest quality Virginia tobacco is grown which has a major impact in improving local economic conditions.
Local commerce is carried out in the city centre specially Adnan Plaza which provides one of the best single stop commercial center available within a radius of 12 Square kilometers.
It takes 30 minutes from Manshehra City to Baffa via the historic Karakaram Road. On the way there is a bridge linking the small town Inayat Abad to Baffa. This bridge was constructed by the British government in the year 1935. In the year 2002 floods carried apart however it has now been reconstructed and good to go. The scenery is very beautiful specially because of Baffa's river, lush green trees and the surrounding mountains covered with snow.
Religion
By religion 100% population is of Muslims. Nearly all are of the Sunni sect with exception of a family or two of shia sect. The people of Baffa are mostly religious and give great respect to religious belief. Sahibzada family is regarded and believed as the "Saints" (Pir). The Late Sahibzada Haji Sahib was the Saint. Who's mausoleum is within the Baffa Town and is Famous by the name "Ziarat". There are about 50 mosques within the Baffa Town boundary,with the biggest being named "Khaer Medaan",this is by nature a vast ground with half of its area boundary walled. The "Namaz e Eiden" (Eid Prayer) is offered here by the majority of the population.
Demography
Tribes
The tribes of the union council are the Swati, Syed, Gujjar , and a few Turks. Swati is the leading and major caste of the U/C Baffa. They own the substantial part of the land. About 97 percent of the total land in U/C Baffa is owned by this caste. Swatis came in this area back in 17th century. Before that this area was ruled by the “Turks”. The last Turk ruler was Sultan Mehmud Khurd.Syed Jalal Baba was his son-in-law. Sultan Memud went to Delhi to see the then Moghal king Aurangzeb. During his absence Syed Jalal Baba invited Sawatis to attack Pakhal sarkar. Swathis were met with tough resistance at Jhanjal fort near Thakot(Battagram) by one of loyal general of Sultan Mehmud, shamsher Khan. But ultimately the fort fell to Sawathis after one and half month. The sons of Sultan Mehmud were minor and their mentor syed Jalal Baba, was already with Sawathis, therefore it was an easy success for invaders. Swati's came in this area from Swat. They conquered this area in 1703 under command of Syed Jalal Baba and established state. Turks were then expelled from the area and consequently they migrated to other parts of Hazara. Descendants of these Turkish rulers are living in various parts of Hazara. Prominent among them are the Turks(Rajas) of village Behali, district Mansehra and Manakrai district Haripu(Raja Amanuullah an ex speaker of NWFP assembly belonged to this village). Very few of them sustained their residence in this area which was then under the rule of Syed Jalal Baba son of Hazrat Pir Baba (Tomb in Sawat).
Education
The overall literacy rate in U/C Baffa satisfactory . Baffa has a lot of good education institutions serving Baffa and surrounding areas. There is 1 Government owned High School for boys and an Inter College for girls,two government owned middle schools.There are privately owned schools for boys and girls as well. There are 9 PhD Scholars in different subjects in Baffa which in fact is a very impressive figure for such a small town. There is a considerable number of people having professional degrees in medicine, engineering, business etc. The Female literacy rate for elder population is not satisfactory in the area,but is very much satisfactory for the young female generation,as parents are now preferring to send their daughters to schools and colleges. Recently a new university named Hazara University has been established just few kilometers away from Baffa Town which has motivated a lot of students to continue their studies specially female students who could not go far or live in other cities for higher studies. Mostly educated females of Baffa are engaged in teaching at different government and private schools. The ratio of educated women doing job other than teaching is extremely low.
Agriculture
Main agricultural yields include vegetables, wheat, maize, Rice, Sugarcane, and Tobacco. Tobacco produced in Baffa is of superb quality. “Super Virginia” Tobacco produced in the area is considered as the second best quality tobacco in the world. Two multinational Tobacco companies i.e. “Lacson Tobacco Company Limited” and “Pakistan Tobacco Company” are operating in the area. They purchase the locally produced tobacco and export it to Europe and USA where this is used in world’s top cigarettes Brands like Gold leaf, Marlbro, Capston etc. Tobacco farming is very tedious as well as very risky. Farmers may earn big profits or may suffer from a huge loss.Some families do not find it morally good to cultivate Tobacco so they turn to vegetables. Tomatoes, Potatoes and other vegetables are cultivated in large numbers. Unfortunately there are no fruit gardens, as people have not adopted the trend of fruit gardens, even though the climate is very suitable for a lot of fruits.
The climate of U/C Baffa is very suitable for tea farming. Research about tea production in Pakistan was first initiated by a local Farmer of U/C Baffa. There were privately owned tea farms in Baffa even in late 70s. Owner of the world leading tea company “Brook Bond” Mr. David Brooks visited Baffa in early 80s and admire the research work of the local farmer on tea production. Government of Pakistan established Pakistan’s first tea research centre “National Tea Research Institute (NTRI)” in Baffa.
Development
Development works are bit slow since the last two decades for such a big Town, it is has been neglected by the previous governments for development works. This is clear from the fact that Baffa Town being the top quality cultivator of Tobacco does not have high quality tobacco leaf roasting facilities like Natural Gas. The people of Baffa Town are desperately waiting for the supply of natural gas. Electricity projects were started in the mid 1950s, Telecom sector of Pakistan "PTCL" started its services in mid 70's. There is one government owned Hospital in Baffa Town.
Public And Private Offices
There are two different banks providing its services namely the National Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank Limited. There is one Pakistan Post Office and two Utility Stores.
Sports
Different sports activities carried in Baffa Town include football, volleyball, swimming and cricket. Every year a number of tournaments are held at the Boys High school ground Baffa.The most popular game is cricket.
Notable people
- Haji Abdul Malik Khan - A notable scholar and principal of Government High School Baffa. He was very active in politics and was one of the main local leaders of his time. Mr. Abdul Malik Khan was a key factor in the educational development in UC Baffa and was respected throughout the educational sectors in the Hazara Division.
- Moulana Ghulam Ghous Hazarvi - a former MNA and famous religious scholar
- Syed Nawab Shah - director of excise and taxation, NWFP. He died in June 1988.
- Mian Abdul Qayyum - a well known congress leader and politician. He was an ally of Ghaffar Khan and later served as editor of the Aljihad newspaper in the early '50s. He died on 2 May 1972. He was a cousin of Moulana Ghulam Ghous Hazarvi.
- Abdul Sattar Khan - a former Provisional Minister - ex chief minister of the NWFP.
- Justice (R.) Abdul Hakeem Khan - former Governor of NWFP and former Chief Justice Peshawar High Court.
- Muhammad Iqbal Khan Swati - retired secretary to the Government of NWFP, eminent Lawyer of Peshawar High Court.
- Principal Mehboob-ur-Rehaman - an eminent Education Specialist and former district education officer of Mansehra. He died of cardiac arrest on 12-08-2007. He has the honour of being the first principal in B-19 ever in the history of Baffa. His first death anniversary was commemorated on August 12, 2008 by offering tributes to his service. He served the Education Department for 35 years and earned prestigious rewards for his invaluable service record. He had a very deep understanding of "Tasawaf".
- Brig. (R.) Mohammad Iqbal Khan - Internationally known civil engineer, who received the Sitara-I-Imtiaz for the successful completion of the Shah Faisal Mosque whilst he was Managing Director of the National Construction Company; Brig. Mohammad Iqbal Khan retired from Pakistan Army (Crops of Engineers)and was inducted into the National Construction Company as its Managing Director. During His service to the Nation, Mr. Iqbal Khan participated in three wars with India in which he recieved several medals for bravery. His notable service to the nation (amoungst may others) included the successful completion of the Shah Faisal Mosque and the construction of the Karakoram Highway. Brig. Iqbal Khan was also the regional manager of the Pakistan Atomic Energy program for developing, mining and enrichment of the radioactive materials in the NWFP during the 1970's. In his later years, he was very active in developmental projects that benifited the local population of UC Baffa.
- Rustam Khan - advocate and pioneer of tea production in Pakistan. He received many awards in field of agriculture. He was a successful advocate and he used his abilities to help the poor and accomplished much for the development of Baffa.
- Mohammad Ayub Khan Swati - a famous poet of the area who published many books such as Gard-e-Alam, Dagh-e-Sitam, etc. He died in 1990 of cardiac arrest.
See also
References
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