Bolan Pass
| Bolān Pass درۂ بولان | |
|---|---|
 A railway track traverses the pass | |
| Elevation | 1,793.4 m (5,884 ft) |
| Traversed by |  N-65 National Highway;[1]Rohri–Chaman Railway Line |
| Location | Sibi,Pakistan |
| Range | Toba Kakarrange |
| Coordinates | 29°27′13″N67°29′41″E/ 29.453516°N 67.494648°E |
  Bolan Pass Location of Bolan Pass  Bolan Pass Bolan Pass (Balochistan, Pakistan) | |
Bolan Pass(Urdu:درۂ بولان) is a valley and a natural gateway[2]through theToba Kakarrange[citation needed]inBalochistanprovince ofPakistan.It is situated 120 km (75 miles) south of Pakistan's border withAfghanistan.The pass is an 89 km (55 miles) stretch of the Bolan River valley fromRindliin the south to Darwāza nearKolpurin the north. It is made up of a number of narrow gorges and stretches.[2]It connectsQuettawithSibiby road and railway.
Being strategically located, it has also been used by traders, invaders, and nomadic tribes as a gateway to and from South Asia.[3]The Bolān Pass is an important pass on the Baluch frontier, connectingJacobabadandJhangwith Multan, which has always occupied an important place in the history of British campaigns inAfghanistan.
The local population south of the pass predominantly consists ofBrahvi tribes,who extend from Bolan Pass toCape Monzeon theArabian Sea.[4][5]The ethnic group north of the pass consists of mainlyPashtuns,while to west,Balochis.[6]
Geography
[edit]
The Bolan Pass is in theToba Kakarrange which lies south of theHindu Kushmountain ranges. Bolan Pass is described as a pass over a lofty range that is full of ravines andgorges.[7]The mountain ranges of the Bolan pass are the southern geographic border between theIndian Plateand theIranian plateau.The southern point of the pass, near Dhadar, is the western bound of theIndus Valley[8]and is seen as a great strategic point betweenPakistan,Afghanistan,Iranand theArabian Sea.[9]
History
[edit]
The Bolan pass is the southern counterpart of theKhyber Pass.Both ranges have been used throughout history for invasions of the Indian subcontinent.[10]In 1748, the Afghan kingAhmad Shah Durraniinvaded India by using the Bolan Pass in addition to the traditional Khyber Pass route. The Durrani capitalQandaharwas located nearby the pass which gave quick access to Indian lands.[11]
In 1837, threatened by a possible Russian invasion of South Asia via theKhyberand Bolān Passes, a British envoy was sent toKabulto gain support of theEmir,Dost Mohammed.In February 1839, during theFirst Anglo-Afghan War,theBritish ArmyunderSir John Keanetook 12,000 men through the Bolān Pass and enteredQandahar,which the Afghan princes had abandoned; from there they would go on to attack and overthrowGhazni.The pass they chose was not the same as that used by the modern railway line, but further west at Siri-Bolan. A British officer of theBengal Artillerydescribed the Bolan Pass in 1841 in these words:
"The road through this pass leads, with few and rare exceptions, along what is the bed of a mountain-torrent, when filled by the melting of the snows or heavy rains, and is composed of loose shingly gravel, that recedes from under your feet, and is very difficult for draught: camels get on well. It is infested by theKakurs,who live by robbery; and the hills sometimes close in upon the road, which is filled up by the bed of the stream, running through rocky chasms, upwards of a hundred feet high, from the top of which the robbers assail the travellers with stones; and were they as bold as they are cruel and perfidious, they might hold the place against all comers. Many spots were pointed out to me by the guides I had with me, as signalised by acts of violence, several European officers having lost their baggage during our occupation of the country. Should there be rain in the higher parts of the mountains, the stream at times comes down in an almost perpendicular volume, without warning, and sweeping all before it, as a friend of mine experienced, when he saw a party of men, horses, and camels, and all his property, borne down by it; when himself and some few men with him escaped by climbing up the nearly perpendicular side of the hill. About thirty-seven men were washed away upon that occasion. "[12]
In 1883, SirRobert Groves Sandemannegotiated with theKhan of Kalat,Khudadad Khan,and secured British control over the pass in exchange for an annual fee.[13]
Bolan Pass railway
[edit]
From Sibi, the line runs south-west, skirting the hills to Rindli and originally followed the course of the Bolan stream to its head on the plateau. The destructive action of floods, however, led to the abandonment of this alignment, and the railway now follows the Mashkaf valley (whichdebouchesinto the plains close to Sibi), and is carried from near the head of the Mashkaf to a junction with the Bolan atMachh.An alternative route from Sibi to Quetta was found in the Harnai valley to the N.E. of Sibi, the line starting in exactly the opposite direction to that of the Bolān and entering the hills atNari.Originally theHarnairoute, although longer, was the one adopted for ordinary traffic, the Bolan loop being reserved for emergencies. However, the route suffered regularly from floods and land slips. Hence the Bolan route was upgraded in 1895 to handle all traffic with the Harnai route kept for local traffic. In 1942 floods destroyed a large part of the line and all through running ceased. By 1943 all bridges and track between Khost and Bostan had been recovered. At this time (2024) the line from Sibi to Khost still exists but is out of Service. At the Khundilani gorge of the Bolan route conglomerate cliffs which rise to a height of 800 feet (240 m), enclose the valley. At Siri Bolan the passage between the limestone rocks hardly admits of three persons riding abreast. The temperature of the pass in summer is extremely high. In winter, it is the extremely cold, and the ice-cold wind rushing down the narrow outlet becomes destructive to life. Since 1877, when the Quetta agency was founded, the pass was secured by theBritish Indian Armyfrom militias ofBalochtribesmen (chieflyMarris).
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^PAK: Multitranche Financing Facility for the National Highway Development Sector Investment Program, Project 2 (MFF0002)(PDF).Prepared by Government of Pakistan for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). April 2009. p. 5 (6).
- ^abBolān Pass,Encyclopædia Britannica4 October 2014.
- ^Singh, Sarina (2004).Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway(6th ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 112.ISBN978-0-86442-709-0.
- ^Minahan, James B. (31 August 2016),"Brahui",Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World, 2nd Edition: Ethnic and National Groups around the World,ABC-CLIO, pp. 79–80,ISBN978-1-61069-954-9
- ^Shah, Mahmood Ali (1992),Sardari, jirga & local government systems in Balochistan,Qasim Printers, pp. 6–7
- ^Robert Markham, Sir Clements (1878)."The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5".The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5.Retrieved10 March2020.
- ^Robert Markham, Sir Clements (1878)."The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5".The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5.Retrieved10 March2020.
- ^Robert Markham, Sir Clements (1878)."The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5".The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5.Retrieved10 March2020.
- ^Heathcote, T.A. (2015).Balochistan, the British and the Great Game: The Struggle for the Bolan Pass, Gateway to India.ISBN9781849044790.Retrieved10 March2020.
- ^Robert Markham, Sir Clements (1878)."The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5".The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5.Retrieved10 March2020.
- ^Robert Markham, Sir Clements (1878)."The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5".The Geographical Magazine, Volume 5.Retrieved10 March2020.
- ^"The Bolan Pass." — Extract of a letter from an Officer of the Bengal Artillery, dated Camp at "Quetra," or, more properly, "Shawl Kot," in Khorasan, 2 December 1841. JRGS, Vol. 12 (1842), pp. 109–110.
- ^Singh, Sarina (2004).Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway(6th ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 113.ISBN978-0-86442-709-0.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Bolan Pass".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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