Hunza (princely state)

Hunza
هنزه (Persian)
ریاست ہنزہ (Urdu)
ہنزا (Burushaski)
c. 1200–1974
Flag of Hunza
Flag
Coat of arms of Hunza
Coat of arms
StatusIndependent Kingdom (until 1892)
Princely state of British India (1892–1947)
Princely state of Pakistan (1947–1974)
Official languagesPersian (official court language until 1947)[1]
Urdu (after 1947)
Demonym(s)Hunzakutc
GovernmentPrincipality
Establishment1200s
History 
• Established
c. 1200
• Disestablished
24 September 1974
Area
• Total
11,660 km2 (4,500 sq mi)
Today part ofPakistan
UN map (1972) of Jammu and Kashmir showing the Karakoram Highway up to the Khunjerab Pass. Baltit (Karimabad) is the capital of Hunza.

Hunza (Persian: هنزه, Urdu: ہنزہ), also known as Kanjut (Persian: کانجوت; Urdu: کنجوت), was a princely state in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan. Initially, it functioned as a principality and subsequently became a princely state under a subsidiary alliance with the British India starting in 1892 and continuing until August 1947. For a brief period of three months, it remained unaligned after gaining independence, and then from November 1947 until 1974, it retained its status as a princely state within Pakistan. The territory of Hunza now constitutes the northernmost part of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.[2]

The princely state bordered the Gilgit Agency to the south, the former princely state of Nagar to the east, Xinjiang, China, to the northeast and Afghanistan to the northwest. The state's capital was Baltit (also known as Karimabad). The princely state of Hunza is now the Hunza District in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan.

  1. ^ Sidky, M. H. (1995). "Irrigation and State Formation in Hunza". Central Asiatic Journal. 39 (2): 246–269. JSTOR 41928023. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  2. ^ Younghusband, Francis (1904). The Heart of a Continent. Asian Educational Services. p. 186. ISBN 9788120608504.