A report by Abdullah Hayat Khan from Badrashi about the architecture of Nowshera.

1. Report: “The Architecture of Nowshera”
By AbdullahHayatKhan(86-FET/BSCE/F-16)
Introduction
owsheraalsocalledNowkhaar isthe maincityof NowsheraDistrictinthe KhyberPakhtunkhwa
Province of Pakistan,andisone of the largestcitiesinthe province.Itislocatedinthe Valleyof
Peshawar.Nowsheraliesonthe Kabul River andisapproximately43km eastof the provincial capital
Peshawaralongthe historicGrandTrunk Road. It is borderedbyPeshawarDistricttothe West,Mardan
Districtto the North,CharsaddaDistrictto the NorthWest,Swabi Districttothe NorthEast, Kohat
Districtto the South,Orakzai Agencyto the SouthWest& AttockDistrictto the East.
PreviouslyitwasknownasNowkhaarProvince till itwasannexedintoBritishIndiaviathe
Durand Line Agreement.Priortoitsestablishmentasa separate districtin1990,Nowsherawaspart of
PeshawarDistrict. The districtwasalsopart of the PeshawarDivisionuntil the reformsof The
Governmentof Pakistan.The districtisadministrativelydividedinto3Tehsils namely,
 NowsheraTehsil
 JehangiraTehsil
 Pabbi Tehsil
The districtisdividedinto47UnionCouncils.The largestbyarea isNizampur& the smallestby
area isPabbi. There are three cantonmentsinNowsheraDistrict.Thesecantonmentswere createdby
the BritishRaj.
 NowsheraCantonment
 CheratCantonment
 RisalpurCantonment
The populationof Nowsherain1998 Censuswas 874,373 while accordingtothe recentcensusof
2017 the newpopulationis 1,518,540.
Historic Background
The Afghan–Sikhwarswere aseriesof warsbetweenthe AfghanPashtunsDurrani Empire,and
the SikhEmpire. The 4th
war betweenAfghansandSikhswere foughtatNowsherawhichisknownas
“The Battle of Nowshera”.
Sikh Empire & The Battle of Nowshera (1823)
The Battle of Nowsherawhichtookplace on14 March 1823 wasn'tfoughtby the Durranis,but
by Pashtun tribesmen withsupportof the Durranis againstthe SikhKhalsaArmyof Maharaja Ranjit
Singh.Thiswasthe 4th battle inthe Afghan–Sikhwarsand4th Sikhvictory whichledthe Sikhs tothe
occupationof the Peshawarvalley.
Second Anglo-Sikh War,The Downfall of Sikh Empire(1849) & The Company Rule
Afterthe deathof RanjitSinghin1839, the empire wasweakenedbyinternal divisionsand
political mismanagement.Finally,by 1849 the state was dissolvedafterthe defeatinthe second Anglo-
Sikhwar. The SecondAnglo-SikhWarwasa militaryconflictbetweenthe SikhEmpire andthe British
East IndiaCompanythat tookplace in1848 and 1849. Thisvictoryresultsinthe annexationof the
Punjabandsubsequentlythe creationof North-WestFrontierProvince,bythe EastIndiaCompany in
lateryears.
N

2. Indian Rebellion(Revolt) of 1857 & The British Raj
Uprisingof Indiaor The First war of Independence tookplace in1857–58 againstthe rule of the
BritishEast IndiaCompany.Itwasan unsuccessful attemptbythe Indiannationswhichresultedinthe
imposementof BritishRaj. The Regionof NorthWestProvince remainedcalmduringthe revolt.The
whole Peshawarvalleywasundercontrol of BritishRaj.
Durand Line Agreement (1893) & The Creation of NWFP
The Durand Line wasa frontierboundary markedbetweenAfghanistanandBritishIndia.Itwas
establishedafter1893 memorandumof understanding(MoU) betweenMortimerDurandof BritishIndia
and AfghanAmirAbdurRahmanKhan.Referredtoas a frontierline,itisnamedafterMortimerDurand
whowas the ForeignSecretaryof colonial BritishIndiaatthat time. The North-WestFrontierProvince
(NWFP) wasthusestablishedin1901. Later on AbdurRahman Khan'ssuccessor,AmirHabibullahKhan
signedanewagreementwiththe Britainwhichagainconfirmedthe legalityof the DurandLine.After
AmirHabibullahKhan,KingAmanullahKhanacceptedDurandline asinternationalborderbetween
AfghanistanandBritishIndiaaftersigningAnglo-Afghantreatyof 1919.
The districtNowsherawasa part of AfghanistanasNowkhaarProvince till itwasannexedinto
BritishIndiaviathe Durand Line Agreement.DuringBritishrule,Nowsherawasatownand cantonment
as well astehsil of the PeshawarDistrict(laterPeshawarDivision).
Independence of Pakistan (1947)
Afterindependence itbecome apartof Pakistanandtodayit isa separate districtof KPKwith3
tehsilsand3 cantonments. Itisalsoa veryimportantdistrictof PakistanStrategically.
Shrine of Kaka Sahib
The shrine of 16th century’smostpopularSufi saintKastirGul aliasHazrat Rahmkaar Kaka Sahib
islocatedina mountainousregionin southof Nowsheradistrict.Itisconsideredasone of the most
frequentlyvisitedreligiousheritage sitesinKhyberPakhtunkhwa. Pilgrims fromfarandwide visitthe
shrine topay theirrespectstothe Sufi saint. The sonsof Ka Ka SahibCalled “KaKaKhels”.Accordingtoa
legend,hisancestorshadmigratedfromBukharainCentral Asiamanycenturiesagoandpermanently
settledinthe outskirtsof Nowshera.
The white mausoleum of KakaSahibbuiltbyhisdescendantsandfollowers in
17th
century has beautiful mosaicworkandfloral patternall overinside the structure inMughal
architecture style.
Ziarat Ka Ka Sahib Village
This small uneven terraintownwasnamed‘ZiaratKakaSahib’after the deathof Hazrat Kaka
Sahibon Rajab24 in 1653. Ithas a populationof 60,000.
The town was full of oldbuildings 8to 9 yearsago whichhas beendemolished now.Onlyfewold
housesare still remaininginwhich mostof the houses are buildof Stone whichwere boundwiththe
helpof clayand the exteriorof jointswereplasteredwiththe paste of Crushedstonesandlime.The
streetshave stone pavements.The houseshave onlyone storey.
The housesmainentrance hada room calledDEWRHIwhichworkedlike a sittingroomformen
guestsbutlateron people startedtyingtheirlivestockinit.Ithas now become obsolete.
Houseshave Chopalswhere the elderlymensatdownforchitchat insummersspeciallytoenjoy
the windand shadow inearlyyears.The Chopalshada timberroof withthe supportof timbercolumns
or in some case brickcolumns.It isremainedopenedfromall the sidesorin some casesclosedfromone
side withthe 3ft openingsinthe oppositeside forventilation.

3. The village hassome oldHindushopsrepresentingthe Hinduwayof architecture.The shophasa
woodenfrontgivingaunique looktoitsface in the narrow street.
Rang Mahal (The Painted Palace)
AurangMahal, currentlyknownasRang Mahal was built around1661-1681 byAurangzeb
Alamgirwhowasthe sixthemperorof the Mughal Empire.He ruledovermostof the Indian
subcontinent.Itissaid thatonce Mughal KingAurangzebcame to NowsheratomeetKakaSahibbuthe
refusedtosee himinhisresidence.Thenamakeshiftpalace waserectedwhichstill existsatashort
distance inValai villagebutisinruins. Itis alsosaidthat it wasmade for theirrest.
The material used initincludeslocallyavailableirregularblocksof lime stone fixedinthicklayers
of yellowishlime mortar,locallymade chowkasusedforpavement.Itswallsandarcheshave floral
designsandplantswithfullyandhalf blossomedflowersof colorful pigments.
Mir Aslam Khan Baoli (Step well) & Mosque
Mir AslamKhanbaoli isa fine example of Architecture.Itwasbuiltbetween1895-1905 by a
wealthycontractorand MuslimLeaderKhanMir AslamKhan.FromMughalsera,people use totravel
and trade on a route whichpassesthroughShaiduvillage andAkoraKhattak,towardKabul andKaka
SahibMazar. On thistrade route,there wasnosource of cleandrinkingwaterfortravelers.SoKhan
boughta landon the trade route for waterwell butlater,he decidedtoconstructa ‘baoli’insteadof a
simple waterwell because ‘Baoli’wouldalsoprovidetravelersarestplace and will protectthemfrom
daylightheatinhotsummers. Anotherreasonformakingthisstep-well wastoallow cattle andhorsesto
reach waterand to maintainandmanage well.Asthere wasnoconceptof baolisatthat time,KhanMir
AslamKhansentan architectfrom Nagpur,BritishIndia.The architecteasilydesignedthe Baoli forhim
and constructionbegannearhisvillage.
Mir AslamKhanbaoli isdesignedbeautifullyandisdividedintotwoparts.Onthe leftside,ithas
a deepwater-well,whichisabouttwoto three storiesdeep,andonthe otherside,there are more than
50 stairs,whichprovide accesstogroundwater of the baoli.Twointerestingthingscanbe notedinMir
AslamKhanbaoli;first,the stairshave a beautiful entranceandthe lowersecondhalf of the stairsare
coveredbya shelter-likestone covering.Thisstone coveringisconstructedstepwise;asthe stairs
continue togo downtowardthe ground water,the stone coveringabove it,alsogetslowerstep-wise,
towardthe bottomof the step-well,whichexhibitsthe marvelousarchitecture skills.InMirAslamKhan
baoli,asone goesdownthe stairs,the temperature getslower.Itisobservedthatinside the baoli,the
temperature is3 to 4 degreeslowerthanthe outside temperature.The onlyraw materialsusedinits
constructionare different sizedstonesandcementof those days.
He has alsobuilta mosque whichiscalledMirAslamKhanMosque also“SpeenJumat”whichis
situatedinShaiduVillage.Itisasymbol 1880’s rich Islamicarchitecture.The mosque hassome beautiful
interiordesignsonwallsarchesaswell aswoodenwork.
Taj Building
The Taj Buildingisanarchitectural jewelonthe mainGrand TrunkRoad in Nowshera,builtin
1920 by KhanBahadur Taj Muhammad whowas a famouscolonial-eracontractorand landlordwhose
fatherAbdul HamidKhanhad beeninthe service of the BritishEmpire aswell.
The facade of the three-storeybuildingishighlydecoratedwithfloral andvine patternsin
complexed stucco.The sweepingroundarchesandnumerousembellishedcolumnsrepresenta
charmingarchitectural blendof Roman,GothicandOriental.Anarchedgatewayonthe side of the
buildingwithbeautiful jharoka-styled(elevatedwindow balcony)featuresleadsintothe main

4. compound. The woodenbalconies atthe back are also veryattractive. The Material usedfor
constructionismainlybrickboundwiththe cementitiousmaterial locallyknow asKhakapluslime.
Importedgirders were usedhavingroofsof Chowkas.
Badrashi House
Badrashi House is the gardenpalace at Village Badrashi inNowsherabuiltbyKhanBahadur.Itis
alsoa livingmuseumcontainingarange of artifactssuchas Persiancarpets,furniture,cutlery,arms,
animal trophy-headsandsoon.Mr Taj ul Mulk sonof KhanBahadur liveswith hisfamilyinthismansion.
The house spreadsoverseveral acres. The palace has5 gates.The whole house isan
architectural masterpieceinitself. It’sconstructionwascompletedin1930’s.The palace gardenshas
beautiful fountains. The cornersof the palace has Chownieslike structuresforwatchmentoprotectthe
house fromrobbers.
Saddar Bazar
The Nowsheracitycontainsasaddar bazar whichwashome to people belongingfromdifferent
faithsbefore partition.The bazarhas 2 to 3 storeybuildingsinwhichthe groundfloorhasshopstoo.
There were several housesof Hindus,Muslims,SikhsandChristianswhichhasbeenreplace bynewly
made plazasinthe last10 years.
The houseshasarched shape entrance gates,woodenJarokhasandbeautiful doorswith
designed woodenwork.
Cantonments
Nowsheradistrictisthe onlydistrictof Pakistanhaving3cantonments.These cantonments
were establishedbyThe Britains.The three canttscontainsconvent,missionaryschools,hospitalsand
churchesmade accordingto the Britisharchitecture.
Nowshera Cantonment: NowsheraCantonmentwhichisthe home of artilleryhasmanyoldbuildings
whichremindsusthe pre partitionera.Most od the buildingsare made of brickwithslopingroofs.
Nowsheracanttalsohave a RailwayJunctionbuildbyBritians. Theirwasanoldboat bridge calledKashti
pul whichlinkedthe Northpartto the South.Later on a railwaybridge wasopenedonDecember1903.
The constructionof a newbridge tookplace in 1980s.
Risalpur Cantonment: RisalpurCanttis on the northof Kabul river. Risalpuris alsoknownas"Home
of Eagles"and"Home of Sappers".Ithas the oldestbuildingsdatingfrom1913 or 1914. In 1910 Risalpur
had a formeraerodrome andairfieldof the Royal FlyingCorps,andlaterthe Royal AirForce.
Cherat Cantonment: Cheratisa hill stationdatingfromthe 1860s that islocatedinthe Nowshera
District.Cheratliesonthe southof Kabul riverat an elevationof 4,500 feetonthe westof the Khattak
range,whichdividesthe districtof NowsherafromKohatDistrict.DuringBritishrule Cheratwas
importantas a hill cantonmentandsanitariumforBritishtroops.Itwasdeclaredacantonmentin 1886.
A hospital,achurch,and a fewbungalowswere builtbythe Britishauthorities. There were376
inhabitantsaccordingtothe March 1901 Census.
The End

5. References;
http://nowshera.org
http://nativepakistan.com
https://thenatuesbeauty.blogspot.com
https://thenatuesbeauty.blogspot.com/2018/07/rang-mahal-bara-dari-walae.html
https://www.dawn.com/news/1196455
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nowshera
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risalpur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherat
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durand_Line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowshera_District
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275098038_RANG_MAHAL_AT_VALAI
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