Anthropos 92.1997: 83-90
Migration and Society in Gilgit, Northern Areas
of Pakistan
Martin Sökefeld
Abstract. - High mountain areas like the Northern Areas of Pa
kistan are frequently regarded as having been isolated from the
surrounding world before the development of modern means
communication. The paper argues that Gilgit, the modern
Ce nter of the Northern Areas, had been subject to immigration
ar| d thus contact with the outside long before the era of road
construction. The relationship between immigrants and people
°f Gilgit changed according to the conditions and (political)
context of migration. Modernity did not start migration but it
caused new patterns of migration and of relations with immi
grants to emerge. [Pakistan, high mountain areas, migration,
c hange, conflict]
Martin Sökefeld, M.A. (Köln 1990), Dr. phil. (Tübingen
*^96); 15 months field research in North Pakistan (1991-1993);
" bis main interests are South Asia, ethnicity, action theory,
et hno-hermeneutics; - publications: see References Cited.
Introduction
High mountain areas are often considered to be
special habitats because they are largely isolated
a °d secluded from the outside world - at least
before they have been “opened up” by mod-
ern techniques like road construction. They are
s aid to be a kind of “ethnographic museums”
w here archaic cultural traits are preserved because
110 or only extremely limited exchange with the
surrounding countries existed. The same views
have been expressed frequently about the Northern
^reas of Pakistan, situated at the meeting point of
Karakoram, Himalayan, and Hindu Kush ranges,
bor somebody coming from the plains of Pakistan
° r Europe this assumption seems quite natural at
hrst sight. For those not used to life in high moun-
ta in environment, the physical structure of the area
w hh its high peaks and deep river gorges indeed
Se eins to be very inimical to mobility and commu
tation. The Northern Areas of Pakistan are said
have been “opened up” by the construction of
Karakoram Highway, a metalled all-weather
r °ad that connects the plains of Pakistan with
Kashgar in the Chinese province Sinkiang and that
has been completed in 1978. The Highway follows
the valleys of the Indus and Hunza rivers and
enters China on top of Khunjerab Pass. No doubt,
the completion of the Karakoram Highway (KKH)
has intensified exchange between the mountain
area and the lowlands extremely, but not at all
have the mountains been isolated before.
Of course, high mountains restrict mobility in
many respects. But they do not prevent people
from moving. Man always finds his way even in
very adverse surroundings. Mobility in the North
ern Areas has not started only with the construc
tion of the KKH. Only its form and extent has
been changed by road construction. Thus, there
has always been migration within and into what is
now the Northern Areas of Pakistan. The area was
never secluded from the outside world. Still more
important, migration was and is not just a minor
occurrence in the region. It is a condition that has
decisive influence on the structure of society. In
this paper I want to show some of the effects
migration had on society in Gilgit, the largest town
in the Northern Areas.
Today Gilgit is in every respect the center of
the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Situated at the
confluence of the rivers Gilgit and Hunza, not
faraway from the junction of the Gilgit River with
the Indus, it was accessible from all sides both
through the valleys and over mountain paths. Dur
ing its eventful history, Gilgit had been in turns
both center of regional power and target of attack
from outside. Today, Gilgit has more than 40,000
inhabitants and houses all modern and administra
tive facilities. Its population is characterized by its
extreme diversity. Fifteen different mother tongues
are spoken in the town. 1
The fact of migration to Gilgit is proved by
the presence of a large number of migrant groups.
Many of them have come before the British started
to construct more convenient paths in the mountain
world. It is impossible to date the arrival of these
1 These languages are: Balti, Burushaski, Domaki, Farsi, Guj-
ri, Hindko, Kashmiri, Khilli (Kohistani), Khowar, Pashtu,
Punjabi, Shina, Turki, Urdu, and Wakhi.