Alibeg,[1] also spelt Ali Beg or Ali Baig (علی بیگ), previously called Kirtan Ghar (کیتن گھڑ/ਕੀਰਤਨਗੜ), is a village in the Bhimber District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is on the bank of the Upper Jhelum Canal.[2] It is the seventh-largest village of Azad Kashmir with a population of almost five thousand people. Most of the people are educated in the village.[citation needed]
Alibeg
علی بیگ | |
|---|---|
| Ali Baig | |
  Alibeg | |
| Coordinates: 33°00′43″N 73°51′59″E / 33.0119°N 73.8665°E | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Territory | Azad Kashmir |
| District | Bhimber District |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
History
editThe village was earlier known as Kirtan Ghar under the name of a Sikh gurudwara in the area. There was also a Khalsa Middle School (خالصہ مڈل سکول/ਖਾਲਸਾ ਮੀਡਲ ਸਕੂਲ),[3] which was mainly run by Sant Baba Sunder Singh Ji. students from nearby villages such as Dina, Gora Nakka, Kalri, Kamotra, Jhelum, Kotla, Chachiya etc. came to seek knowledge. And the languages taught in the school were Persian, Urdu, Punjabi, English etc. Before the partition of 1947, the main communities that lived there are Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus and they engaged in agriculture and pastoralism. Presently, Arain Families populate the Ali Baig village.
Economy
editPeople in the village grow wheat, maize, barley, pulses, sugarcane and other vegetables.
Alibeg has several private schools.
Demographics
editThe native language is Pothwari.
Notable people
edit- Sub. (Retired) Raj Muhammad (Historian appeared on several TV shows. He is also featured in the book The Quest Continues: Lost Heritage : the Sikh Legacy in Pakistan.)
- Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar Mehar (late) (Retired) Superintendent of Azad Kashmir
- Professor Riaz Akhtar (late) (Former Principal Education College Afazalpur, Mirpur AJK)
- Prof.Dr.Shafiq Anjum (Professor of Urdu, NUML Islamabad)
- Sep.Muhammad Yaqoob Shaheed (Martyred in 1999 Karghal Sector)
References
edit- ^ Khalid Hasan, Mirpur 1947 – The Untold Story, Friday Times, 2007.
- ^ 15 dead as van plunges into Upper Jhelum Canal, Pakistan Today, 10 June 2011.
- ^ List of Colleges and Schools, His Highness' Government, Jammu and Kashmir, 1938, p. 2.
Bibliography
edit- Vaid, S. P. (2006), Socio-Economic Roots of Unrest in Jammu & Kashmir, Jammu: Shyama Publications – via archive.org
External links
edit- "ali baig arraian dist bhimber AJK". wikimapia.org. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
- "Bus crash kills 14 children in AJK - thenews.com.pk". thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
- Nasir Mahmood, Ali Baig Gurdwara - ruins, Tripadvisor, January 2017