Talokar (village)

Talokar is the name of a village in the Haripur area of Hazara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) in Pakistan.^[1] and is situated at Latitude 33.9852778 degrees; and Longitude 72.9419444 degrees.

History

It was originally founded during the 12th or 13th century AD by the Talokar Jatt tribe, but later on in the 17th century became part of Deri-Talokar, the Jagir (feudatory estate) of a prominent family of Zamindar Tarin Pashtuns, who were styled Khan of Dheri and Rais of Talokar. ^[2]

The most well-known members of this family include the late Nawab-Bahadur Sardar Muhammad Habib Khan Tarin, Risaldar, CSI, Khan Sahib Abdul Majid Khan Tarin, OBE, Barrister,^[3] Khan Sahib H.E Abdus Salim Khan, former ambassador and Omer Salim Khan (Omer Tarin) the poet, mystic and scholar.

Role in World War I

In World War I Talokar and its nearby (smaller) villages (now in Pakistan) made a big contribution of soldiers to the British Indian Army at that time, around 240 men;^[4] the village in all of British India with the highest number was Dulmial in Chakwal District of Punjab. Among those people from Talokar who died in action in the Great War, were Jemadar Abdul Latif Khan, IDSM^[5] of the 82nd Punjabis , Sowar Ghulam Jan Khan^[6] of the 11th Cavalry seconded to Central Indian Horse and Sepoy Sikandar Khan of the 82nd Punjabis, attached to the 58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force).^[7][8] A total of 18 people from here are supposed to have died in the War.^[9]

Further information

The approximate population of the main Talokar village at the present time is about 4800^[10] and it is primarily an agrarian area, despite the village's proximity to Haripur town (approx. 2 km)^[11] and is well known for its fine vegetables, wheat and maize crops and orchards of loquats, oranges and other fruits. Although the majority of the residents are engaged in farming activities, a fairly large number are also in government and military service and some few working in local industries or working abroad as immigrant labour.^[12]

The main tribes and ethnic groups here are Awans, Maliars, Pathans, Syeds, Gujars, Bhatti Rajputs and some others. In terms of religious practices, the population is overwhelmingly Muslim, mostly of the Sunni persuasion. The general level of literacy/education is quite high by Pakistani standards, with schooling for both boys and girls available^[13] and, by and large, Talokar is a prosperous, law-abiding and peaceful community, although, in common with the clannish culture of the region, occasional outbursts of violence are evident.^[14] Among popular pastimes here are hunting, horse riding and the traditional martial art of Gatka.^[15]

References