Thandiani – A Hill Station Half-Built, Half-Abandoned

After the failure of the first war of independence from the British Raj in 1857, it became clear to the colonial masters that native Indian army troops were not trustworthy. Hence, it became an urgent policy matter to import the army troops of British origin on mass scale, which was done so during the subsequent years. However, it was soon realized that to sustain the blistering summer heat, emanating from the plains of Punjab, was extremely difficult for the imported soldiers of Great Britain. Hence, they started looking for cool alternative areas, where British troops of European origin could take refuge from intensely hot summers of down-country plains.

It was in this perspective that a small segment of 50–60 km long Galiyat ridge was selected, which starts from Murree and ends at Bara Gali. After building a mule track from Murree and Abbottabad for meeting the logistical needs, the troops started visiting Galiyat by mid 1870s. For the initial few years of settling down-phase, they started living in tents. But, in the later years, they started working on permanent mud-stone building structures.

In 1901, Galiyat gained even more importance when a new province was carved out of Punjab, North Western Frontier Province (NWFP). Right at the outset of the new millennium, a building structure of grandeur and elegance was raised at Nathia Gali, NWFP Governor House. For the next half a century, it served as the summer resort. A number of other provincial departments also followed in the same footsteps and the population of Galiyat kept growing at a steady pace.

In this perspective, the entire Galiyat became a military cantonment, where all the construction work was done by Military Engineering Services (MES) and was regulated by the Military Lands and Cantonments (MLC) Department. The end of the Second World War brought a new surge of Indian independence, which resulted in sub-division of the Indian Sub-Continent, creating a new country, Pakistan. It was due to this perspective that the British Raj failed to accomplish their cherished desire of extending the cantonments in the remainder parts of Galiyat. Otherwise, they had made a beginning at Thandiani, where, besides building a forest rest house, a church and some cottages were also built.

Hence, at the time of independence in 1947, it became the property of the Pakistan Army. Being a small army with limited needs, they declared it a surplus area. In short, the small military townships of Galiyat were declared abandoned cantonments. It was in 1961 that under an ordinance promulgated by the then government of West Pakistan, the Rawalpindi and Hazara Hill Tract Improvement Trust was created and assigned the responsibility to develop the abandoned cantonments in a gradual process. Ayubia was handed over to the Trust in 1962/63 while Nathiagali and Dongagali in the 1970s.

The local populace, residing in nearby villages and working as daily wage laborers, household servants or down-country migrants, had a number of complaints and grievances from the Trust. Because of mountainous terrain, they have an acute shortage of arable lands. Hence, their rain-fed agricultural practices are not enough to sustain their families. They perceived the Trust as an alien body meant only to serve the rich people, barely spending a few days, weeks or months per annum in their big bungalows, only in summers. The Trust never cared for or addressed the needs of the local population. For serving the external occupants, the locals were often admonished, scolded and degraded by the Trust officials.

In parallel to this, the road communication network in Galiyat displayed a marked improvement over the years. Towards the later part of 1990s, the rickety old single-lane road, with sharp twists, blind turns and steep gradients had been upgraded to a two-lane highway. At the same time there has also been a population swell at the country level. Hence, the Galiyat region took a big leap; from a hill resort it became a most easily accessible and cherished tourist destination for both the nationals as well as the internationals. The Trust was equally not equipped for meeting this enhanced and rapidly growing tourist demand. Hence, in this perspective, creation of GDA became an urgent necessity and was finally created.

Thandiani was discovered late by the British and the post-independence improvements in the road communication network in Galiyat never brought Thandiani into the manifold.

The establishment of St. Xavier’s Church in Thandiani is closely tied to the missionary activity. Mr. Worthington Jukes’ account suggests that the church was not merely a place of worship but also a symbol of the enduring missionary presence in the region. It was established in 1874, constructed primarily from locally sourced stone and timber. Worthington Jukes provides a detailed account of its construction, describing how the decision to build the church was made during one of his visits to Thandiani.

In his writings, Jukes recalls that the English community quickly responded to an appeal for funds, raising money for the construction of what was initially planned to be a log church. Timber for the project, particularly deodar and other pine trees such as Pinus excelsior and Pinus longifolia, was obtained from the surrounding forests at a cost of one rupee per tree, following approval from the authorities. Local masons and carpenters were employed to complete the work. The church held religious gatherings and other activities.

Although St. Xavier’s Church remains under the management of the Diocese of Peshawar today, it is no longer in active use. The building, like many other colonial-era structures in the region, has suffered from neglect and is in need of restoration. Furthermore, the closure of the dispensary in 2005 marked the end of an era for Thandiani as a center for missionary activity.