Gulab Singh’s journey from Jammu to the court of Punjab’s ruler, the illustrious Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and the manner in which he established his reputation and influence there is a uniquely fascinating tale.
Likewise, the account of how, following the conflict between the British and the Sikhs and, subsequently, as war indemnity, the Kashmir region was purchased by Gulab Singh who then became Maharaja is another ghastly chapter of history.
Similarly, the story of how Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan were brought under the control of the Jammu government at the hands of Gulab Singh’s ministers, Zorawar Singh Kalahoria and Lakhipat Rai, along with Colonel Nathu Shah, is a tale in its own right.
My intention is not to reiterate all of these events but rather to highlight the remarkable practical and scholarly work of one of the key functionaries of the Dogra government, namely Minister Maulvi Hashmatullah Khan Lucknowi, whose work is the primary source on the history of Gilgit-Baltistan.
It was probably in 1939 that Maulvi Hashmatullah Khan’s book, Mukhtasar Tareekh-e-Jammu o Kashmir aur Aqsaa-e-Tab, was published in Lucknow, in which the histories of Jammu & Kashmir, Kishtwar, Kargil, Ladakh, and Gilgit-Baltistan were compiled.
Although the author of the book was a functionary of the Dogra government and, consequently, the main objective of his writing was, in his own words, to extol the conquests and greatness of the state, the history he compiled set apart from the political and expansionist aims of the Dogra regime serves as a milestone in the history of Gilgit-Baltistan.
During the Dogra rule, Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh were organized under distinct administrative divisions. In Baltistan, initially a kardar (administrator) was appointed, and later an official holding the position of Minister served as the administrator. This ministry also encompassed Kargil and Ladakh.
Maulvi Hashmatullah Khan Lucknowi was posted in Gilgit in 1894 and in Chitral in 1895 under the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Government of English India. In 1898, he entered the service of the State of Jammu & Kashmir and served in Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Rajouri, Kargil, Ladakh, and Baltistan.
He served as the Minister of Administration and worked tirelessly during this period to gather material for his book, the details of which he mentioned in the preface. During his tenure, he not only became well-acquainted with every inch of the State of Jammu and Kashmir but also developed a deep interest in its history and culture. Therefore, after retiring from service in 1928, he began compiling his book, which was published in 1939.
Before discussing the contents and significance of the book, it is both interesting and important to mention how this book reached Baltistan. At the end of the preface, the name of the place “Aligarh” is mentioned, suggesting that Maulvi Hashmatullah Khan may have settled there after retirement.
Now, let us shift our focus from Lucknow back to Kharmang, Skardu, where a man from the village of Pari traveled to Lucknow in pursuit of education. There, at a scrap bookstore, he discovered the mentioned book, Tareekh-e-Jammu (History of Jammu). However, the story is not as simple as merely traveling to Lucknow, acquiring an education, and returning to Skardu with the book. It was far from an easy journey.
Ali Mumtaz belonged to the village of Pari in Kharmang, a place renowned for producing notable figures in Gilgit-Baltistan. Many of its residents have made significant contributions in various fields. The village is also famous across Pakistan for its apples, known as Suspolo, which are cherished for their exquisite taste and fragrance. It was in this very village that Ali Mumtaz was born.
The story of Sheikh Ali Mumtaz’s journey to Lucknow and his acquisition of the book Tareekh-e-Jammu o Kashmir o Aqsaa-e-Tibet was narrated to me by Muhammad Ali, who is more commonly known as Muhammad Ali PIA—a nickname derived from his employment with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Muhammad Ali recounted that he and Baltistan’s esteemed historian, Yousuf Hussain Abadi, traveled to Shigar several years ago to meet Sheikh Ali Mumtaz for one specific reason: the book Tareekh-e-Jammu. It was rumored that Sheikh Ali Mumtaz possessed the first edition of the book, published in 1939 in Lucknow, which had since become rare. While later editions were published in Lahore and by Verinag Publishers in Azad Kashmir, none matched the beauty of the first edition. Additionally, the original edition included hand-drawn illustrations that were omitted in subsequent reprints. Yousuf Hussain Abadi managed to photocopy the first edition before returning the original to Sheikh Ali Mumtaz.
The journey of Sheikh Ali Mumtaz from Kharmang, Baltistan, to Lucknow in pursuit of education was filled with hardship and perseverance.
Ali Mumtaz developed a keen interest in religious studies, but since there were no educational facilities in his village, he wandered from place to place until he eventually reached Skardu. There, someone advised him to go to Rawalpindi to pursue a better education. However, in those days, traveling to Rawalpindi was no easy task—it was not as simple as boarding a bus and arriving comfortably. Back then, the journey required crossing Deosai, then Burzil Pass, followed by Minimarg, Qamri Top, Azad Kashmir, and finally reaching Rawalpindi—all on foot. The entire trek took Ali Mumtaz a full month.
Even after reaching Rawalpindi, he was not satisfied. Someone suggested, “If you are so eager to study, why not go to Lucknow? Why waste time here?” The idea struck him deeply. However, traveling to Lucknow was even more arduous than reaching Rawalpindi.
Ali Mumtaz returned to Baltistan on foot and exercised patience for a while. The following year, he sold some livestock to fund his long and treacherous journey. He set out from Kharmang, crossed Kargil and Ladakh, then traveled through Kashmir, traversed the Banihal Pass to reach Jammu, and from there continued through Amritsar before finally arriving in Lucknow. This entire journey was undertaken entirely on foot.
The contrast between the remote, mountainous village of Pari, Kharmang, and the vibrant, cultural metropolis of Lucknow—considered a beacon of Indian civilization—was overwhelming. The journey felt like a dream, one that he lived day and night.
Although Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s Lucknow was no more, its unique charm still lingered, and the sweetness of its language and literature, along with the light of knowledge, had not diminished.
He spent seven years in Lucknow, completed his studies in Islamic jurisprudence, and later joined the education department in Baltistan. But that is another story.
During his studies, he had to cook for himself, so he became familiar with the local grocers, bakers, and milk vendors. Whenever he bought sugar, salt, or tea from the grocery store, these items were wrapped in pieces of paper or newspaper. Over time, he developed a habit—after transferring the tea and sugar into glass jars, he would immediately examine the scrap paper to see what was written on it.
One day, as per his habit, he glanced at the paper, but what he saw left him in disbelief. He read it over and over again, yet he still couldn’t believe it. The words shimmered before his eyes—never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that in the streets of Lucknow, on a scrap of discarded paper, he would find something written about Skardu, Baltistan. But this miracle had indeed happened.
Turning the paper over, he realized that it had been torn from a book. A sudden realization struck him—this must be a book, and it had to be about Baltistan!
Leaving his tea-making unfinished, he ran towards the grocery store in the nearby alley. Out of breath, he waved the paper in front of the shopkeeper and anxiously asked where it had come from. Sensing his urgency, the shopkeeper promptly directed him to a junk dealer’s shop, just a street away.
The junk shop was filled with neatly stacked piles of paper—brown envelopes, newspaper clippings, bundles of magazines and journals tied with twine, loose pages torn from hardcover books, all forming a world of discarded literature. Near the entrance stood a weighing scale, used for measuring and selling the old paper by weight.
Ali Mumtaz showed the crumpled page to the shopkeeper and, with great persistence, demanded to see the book it came from, mentioning that the grocer had bought this scrap paper just that day.
The junk dealer walked towards a storage area attached to the shop and returned with a few books. Some were in terrible condition, their bindings falling apart, but one was intact. It was none other than Mukhtasar Tarikh-e-Jammu wa Kashmir wa Aqsa-e-Tibet (A Brief History of Jammu and Kashmir and the Tibetan Regions).
Ali Mumtaz developed a passion for religious education, but since there were no educational facilities in his village, he wandered from place to place until he reached Skardu. There, someone advised him to go to Rawalpindi if he truly wanted to pursue quality education. However, in those days, traveling to Rawalpindi was no easy task—it wasn’t as simple as hopping onto a bus and arriving at your destination amidst honking horns.
With great eagerness, Ali Mumtaz flipped through the pages of the book and scanned the table of contents. To his astonishment, the book contained a detailed history of Skardu, Khaplu, Rondu, Shingo, Shaghar, and Shigar, including the complete account of these regions up until the Dogra conquest in 1840. It was not just about Baltistan—the book also documented the history of Kargil, Ladakh, Dardistan, Kishtwar, and even the governance of Jammu, along with hand-drawn illustrations.
Ali Mumtaz explained to the junk dealer that this book held the history of his homeland and was of immense significance to him. When he asked for the price, he couldn’t believe his ears—the dealer was asking for 16 rupees. This amount exceeded even his three months’ expenses.
Mumtaz tried to reason with the shopkeeper, explaining that he was selling everything at the rate of scrap paper, and this book was part of the same lot. He even pointed out that the grocer had purchased the entire bundle of discarded paper, including this book, for a negligible price earlier that day. So why the contradiction in pricing now?
The junk dealer laughed heartily and responded, “Indeed, I sell everything at scrap value because, for most customers, these papers have no significance beyond being used as wrapping material. But,” he paused for a moment and then continued, “since you seem to have a deep love for books, and this particular one belongs to your homeland—making you its rightful stakeholder—the price must reflect its true worth.”
After some negotiation, Ali Mumtaz finally purchased Tareekh-e-Jammu for 14 rupees and brought it back with him to Skardu when he completed his education.
Thus, this book found its way to Baltistan. Later, Wary Nag Publishers reprinted it multiple times, while Lok Virsa Islamabad translated some chapters about Baltistan into English and published them in 1987.
According to Muhammad Ali Sahib, Maulvi Hashmatullah Khan of Lucknow had sent three copies of the book to Baltistan—one for the Raja of Skardu, another for Agha Ahmad Ali Shah, and the third for Minister Ghulam Mehdi. It is believed that these copies may still be in the possession of their respective families.
Ali Mumtaz became known as “Sheikh” and, after serving for many years in the education department, retired and eventually passed away. Since he had studied in Lucknow and was also a custodian of Baltistan’s intellectual and literary heritage, he wrote a few works in the Balti language, though many of his writings are now rare.
It is said that one of his masnavis contained 740 verses. He also translated the Holy Quran into Balti, but it never saw the light of day. It is rumored that his calligraphy and drawings were widely admired as well.
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