Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : Does not figure in list of 447 backward
districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 169
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : C
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 395 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 526 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Challenges of the district : Our research with local communities
There are many social and development challenges
faced by women and other community people of Doda.
Transportation is a major problem.
Women are not educated. Women are mostly at the receiving end. Till
date hardly any women are literate. Government has not yet initiated
any kind of programs to address this issue.
Brief About Doda District
Doda district is the third largest in terms of
area after Leh and Kargil.The district falls between 32 degree-53'
and 34degree-21' north latitude and 75degree-1' and 76degree-47'
east longitude. Spread over in area of 11,691 Sq.Kms the district
has a population of 5.25 lakhs (1991-census). The sex ratio was
904 females per 1,000 males and the density of population 36 per
Sq.Kms.The literacy percentage ae per 1981 census was 18.5 percent.The
district has been divided into four Sub- Divisions viz Doda,Ramban,Bhaderwah
and Kishtwar.It has seven tehsils viz Doda, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar,Ramban,Banihal,Thathri
and Gandoh. The no.of Panchayats is 132.
The altitude varies from 8,000 ft.to 15,000 ft.The
average rainfall is 35 inches per annum which is lowest as compared
to other distt.of the division. The Chenab,main river flowing
through the distt.is commercially very vital for transportation
of timber from forests and power generation.Chenab river has a
hydel potential of about 15,000 Mws.Prestigious hydel projects
of Salal and Dul Hasti are on this river.The district is known
for its rich mineral Deposits. Lead,mica ,gypsum, manganese, marble
,graphite copper etc are found here. The distict is pre-dominantly
rural and has agricultural and pastoral economy. The distt.has
good potential for tourism including piligrim and adventure. Monuments
of archeological importance in the distt. include a fort at Bhadarwah,Bhandharkot
fort in Kishtwar and Ghajpat Qila at Ramban. Kashmiri, Dogri,
Bhadarwahi, Kishtwari,Siraji, Pogli,Paddri, Punjabi etc are the
languages being spoken here in different areas.
Historical Origin
Of District Doda
This District has a rich history. The district derived
its name from its district headquarter Doda. It is said that one
of the ancient Rajas of Kishtwar whose dominion extended beyond
Doda persuaded one utensil maker Deeda, a migrant from Multan
(now in Pakistan), to settle permanently in this territory and
set up an utensil factory there. Deeda is said to have settled
in a village which later on came to be known after him. With the
passage of time the name Deeda has changed into Doda, The present
name of the town.
The entire
area of District Doda including Allaqa Dengbatal (Tehsil Mahore)
was initially divided into two independent States of Kishtwar
and Bhaderwah. The erstwhile Kishtwar State had been divided into
eleven parganas of proper Kishtwar, Nagseni, Padder, Marwah, Warwan,
Dachhan, Kontwara, Saroor Sarthal, Zanskar, Bawanjwah and Doda-Siraj-Banihal.
In other words, Kishtwar State consisted of all areas of the present
District Doda including Deng Battal (Tehsil Mahore of Udhampur
district) and Zanaskar of Kargil and excluding present Bhaderwah,
Bhalessa, Thathri Tehsils, Marmat Galihan, Raggi, Assar, Batote
areas of Doda and Ramban Tehsils. The history of Kishtwar dates
back to 200 B.C. When the revered Buddhist scholar Nagsena was
invited to a discussion by king Mender in his palace at Sakla.
In the discussions Nagsena replied all the questions of the king
who then embraced Buddhism and became king Milinda. Nagsena recorded
the discussion in "Millinda Panha" a Pali Treatise on the fundamental
principles of Buddhist philosophy.
Kahan Palor
Kahan Sen was the first Raja of Kishtwar who belonged to the royal
dynasty of Vikramaditya of Ujjain. He had established his rule
much earlier than 1087-88 A.D. He was succeeded by Raja Gandarb
Sen and subsequently by 45 others in line of succession. The territory
of Kishtwar was conquered by Raja Gulab Singh in 1821. A.D. when
Raja Mohd Teg Singh surrendered at Doda without any resistance.
Kishtwar was
annexed to Jammu kingdom in 1821 A.D. but Gulab Singh did not
visit Kishtwar. He appointed Mian Chand Singh as Amil (Administrator)
of Kishtwar. One Lak Shan was appointed as kardar under Chain
Singh (Neeli Akhon-wala). Chain Singh was replaced by Mehta Basti
Ram as administrator of Kishtwar. Raja Gulab Singh appointed Zorawar
Singh as Governor of Kishtwar in June 1823 who remained in power
upto 1841. Marwah was annexed to Kishtwar during Zorawar Singh's
first Ladakh expedition (1833-34). >From 1934-1841 Zorawar
Singh led four expeditions to Ladakh. When Zorawar was busy in
crushing rebellion in Zanskar, Ratnu the Palsara or Chief Official
of Chamba Raja in Paddar, stirred up the people and seized the
Dogra soldiers kept at Chaattargarh Fort in Paddar. In the spring
of 1836 Zorawar Singh personally commanded a large force of about
3,000 men to avenge the insult. Chattargarh's name was changed
to Gulabgarh. When Zorawar Singh conquered Paddar, Ratnu fled
away to Chamba where from he was sent to Jammu as a prisoner.
During the fourth invasion of Ladakh, Zorawar Singh was killed
on December 12,1841 by a Tibetan soldier in the battle of Doyo.
On the death
of General Zorawar Singh, Mian Jabbar Singh was sent as Governor
of Kishtwar in 1842 A.D. In 1846 A.D., the whole of Jammu and
Kashmir situated in the eastward of the river Indus and westward
of the river Ravi including Chamba and excluding Lahul was handed
over to Maharaja Gulab Singh. Thus the province of Kishtwar also
formed part of the J&K State. Sometime during 1875.A.D. the
J&K State was divided into two division called provinces and
the status of Kishtwar got reduced to a district with Ramban as
its Tehsil. Lala Sarb Dayal is considered as the last Governor
of Kishtwar province. Kishtwar remained as a district headquarter
upto 1909 A.D. and was then placed under Udhampur Wazarat. District
Doda was ultimately carved out in 1948 A.D.
The Islamic
faith entered the region of Kishtwar as a spiritual and moral
force, when Hazrat Shah Farid-ud-Din came over to Kishtwar via
Dengbattel, Ramban and Doda, in 1664 A.D. When Raja Jai Singh
ruling the while going to Kishtwar, he stayed at Doda for the
long long 14 years and then left for Kishtwar.
The principality
of Bhadarwah was distributed into 15 tharas or administrative
units. The total area of Bhaderwah Jagir (including Bhalessa etc)
was 533 sq.miles which after amalgamation with Udhampur district
in 1931 was reduced to 213 sq.miles only. The earliest mention
of the place is traced from Rajatarangni around (1112-28 A.D.),
where the place has been named as Bhadravakash i.e. good resting
place. According to the genealogical role of the Rajas of Billawar,
the State of Bhaderwah was found about fifteenth century by a
Scion of Balauria family, but lateron, came under the control
of Chamba. Thus it may be presumed that the State was established
any time around 12th century, but the events of the place, right
upto the close of 16th century are not very clear.q
Nag Pal (IInd)
was the son of Maha Pal who, like his father was a great devotee
of Basak Nag. He is said to have ruled for one hundred years.
Mela Patt is celebrated at Bhadarwah in honour of Nag Pal's spiritual
victory over Emperor Akbar. After Nagpal (IInd) the political
conditions of Bhadarwah principality were very uncertain upto
the 17th century. Nag pal is said to have died about 1620 A.D.
Nag Pal (IInd) was succeeded by Bhakhat Pal (1620-35 A.D.) and
many others. Bhadarwah became a part of Chamba State during the
reign of Charat Singh, (1821-44 A.D.). His brother Zorawar Singh
was appointed its Administrative Governor. Being a man of fine
tastes Zorawar Singh preferred to stay at Chamba and administration
of Bhadarwah was conducted by a succession of Subedars, who could
not win over the local inhabitants. Zorawar Singh was designated
as Titualar Raja of Bhadarwah in 1833 A.D. and was termed as Chhota
Raja.
In 1844 A.D.
Sri Singh was seated on the Gaddi of Chamba. Due to family dispute,
Zorawar Singh fled to Bhadarwah and then to Jammu where he tried
to gain the support of Jammu and rebel elements of Bhadarwah,
but he could not succeed till his death. Zorawar Singh's son,
Prakaram Singh was made Raja of Bhadarwah in 1845 A.D. But owing
to Anglo-Sikh war of 1845, Sikh dominion of the Hill States became
very weak and Gulab Singh availed this opportunity to annex Bhadarwah
with his territory. The same year when Prakaram Singh was its
Raja, Bhadarwah passed on to Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1846 A.D.
During Gulab Singh's time, Bhadarwah remained a military administered
area, administered by a Special Administrative Officer and it
was only in the later year of Ranbir Singh's rule, that Bhadarwah
was bestowed as Jagir to Amar Singh. Bhadarwah in Ranbir Singh's
time remained as private Jagir. Ranbir Singh appointed Lhab Joo
as Kardar (Tehsildar) of Bhadarwah in 1859 A.D. Bhadarwah remained
a Jagir of Raja Sir Amar Singh during 1978-81 A.D. On November
10,1886, as per report of Tehsildar Bhadarwah, the Jagir of Bhadarwah
was handed over to the representatives of Raja Amar Singh by Tehsildar
Bhadarwah and it remained his personal domain with all Powers
for its administration, development and revenue collection till
his death in 1911 A.D. Thus for almost all practical purposes
Amar Singh was ruler of Bhadarwah between 1886 and 1911. When
Amar Singh passed away in 1911. A.D. Maharaja Pratap Singh issued
an order regarding the Jagir and a committee of management was
constituted for the estate of Hari Singh for the disposal of civil
and criminal matters. Pratap Singh passed away in 1925. He had
no issue and therefore Amar Singh's son Hari Singh occupied the
throne of J&K State. The status of the Jagir was changed.
Its name as private Jagir was changed to Private Domain and incharge
jagir was changed to Director private Domains. On the recommendations
of Private Domain Assimilation Committee, the status of Bhadarwah
ended in 1930 A.D. Consequently Bhadarwah became a tehsil of Udhampur
District in 1931. After establishment of District Headquarter
Doda, Bhadarwah was made a tehsil of this District.
Consequent upon reorganization of District and Tehsils,
Naibat Thathri and Niabat Bhalessa of Bhadarwah Tehsil also became
full fledged Tehsils in 1981.
Geography
Total area of Distt. Doda is 11691 Sq. Kms. Doda District
has been carved out from the erstwhile District Udhampur in 1948,
and is the third largest in terms of area after Leh and Kargil.
Lying in the outer Himalayan range in J&K State, the district
falls between 32 degree-53’ and 34 degree 21’ north latitude and
75 degree-1' and 76 degree-47' east longitude. In terms of the
area it is the 3rd largest District after Leh and Kargil in the
State. On its north is Doda District of Kashmir while south-west
and south are bordered by the Districts of Udhampur, Kathua and
Chamba area of Himachal Pradesh. From east and south-east is Leh
District There are most famous mountain peaks in District Doda
like Marble Pass, Nunkun on the Suru Border which rise to a height
of 2300 ft.above sea level. Two other famous peaks are Brahma
and Moon Sikle.
Climate
Due to its varying physical features, the District
does not have a uniform climate. The climate is temperate in the
places like Kishtwar, Bhadarwah etc. and sub tropical in areas
like Ramban. Average rainfall in District Doda has been recorded
as 35.08 inches per year which is lowest as compared to other
Districts of Jammu Division. Due to low average annual precipitation,
the whole of District Doda has been declared as Drought prone.
The Climate of Bhadarwah and Kishtwar is totally
different to that of Doda. In these areas there is lot of snow
fall during the winter season and the summer is as pleasant as
Kashmir. These places are worth visiting in the winters for enjoying
the Snowfall specially. Due to this feature of Bhadarwah, it is
generally called as "MINI KASHMIR"
Special / Unique About
The District
The District is endowed with wast wealth of natural
beauty and resources. Full with natural endownments, scenic splendour,
places of tourist interest, Worship, round the year snow claded
mountain peaks and challenging tracks allure the adventurers and
trekkers not only from India but also from abroad.
The District has good potential for tourism including
pilgrim and adventure tourism owing to its captivating scenic
splendour, pilgrim centres and lofty mountain peaks. Monuments
of archeological importance in the district include a fort at
Bhadarwah, Bhandharkot fort in Kishtwar and Ghajpat Qila at Ramban.
- The District is known for its rich mineral deposits. Lead,
mica, gypsum, manganese, marble, graphite copper etc. The
costliest blue sapphire is found in Paddar, at a height of
about 15,000 feet. The work on this mine is abandoned at present.
- Blankets of Kishtwar and Bhadrawah tehsils are famous in
J&K state
- Saffron and Zeera of Tehsil Kishtwar are a special variety
in the District
- Wild Mushroom is also a special variety in Distt. Doda
