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JHELUM, or JEHLAM

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 413 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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JHELUM, or JEHLAM , a See also:town and See also:district of See also:British See also:India, in the See also:Rawalpindi See also:division of the See also:Punjab. The town is situated on the right See also:bank of the See also:river Jhelum, here crossed by a See also:bridge of the See also:North-Western railway, 103 M. N. of See also:Lahore. Pop. (1901), 14,951. It is a See also:modern town with river and railway See also:trade (principally in See also:timber from See also:Kashmir), See also:boat-See also:building and cantonments for a See also:cavalry and four See also:infantry regiments. The DISTRICT OF JHELUM stretches from the river Jhelum almost to the See also:Indus. See also:Area, 2813 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 501,424, showing a decrease of 2 % in the See also:decade. See also:Salt is quarried at the See also:Mayo mine in the Salt Range. There are two See also:coal-mines, the only ones worked in the See also:province, from which the North-Western railway obtains See also:part of its See also:supply of coal.

The See also:

chief centre of the salt trade is Pind Dadan See also:Khan (pop. 13,770). The district is crossed by the See also:main See also:line of the North-Western railway, and also traversed along the See also:south by a See also:branch line. The river Jhelum is navigable throughout the district, which forms the south-eastern portion of a rugged Himalayan See also:spur, extending between the Indus and Jhelum to the See also:borders of the See also:Sind See also:Sagar See also:Doab. Its scenery is very picturesque, although not of so See also:wild a See also:character as the See also:mountain region of Rawalpindi to the north, and is lighted up in places by smiling patches of cultivated valley. The backbone of the district is formed by the Salt Range, a See also:treble line of parallel hills See also:running in three See also:long forks from See also:east to See also:west throughout its whole breadth. The range rises in bold precipices, broken by See also:gorges, clothed with brushwood and traversed by streams which are at first pure, but soon become impregnated with the saline See also:matter over which they pass. Between the line of hills lies a picturesque table-See also:land, in which the beautiful little See also:lake of Kallar Kahar nestles amongst the See also:minor ridges. North of the Salt Range, the See also:country extends upwards in an elevated See also:plateau, diversified by countless ravines and fissures, until it loses itself in tangled masses of Rawalpindimountains. In this rugged See also:tract cultivation is rare and difficult, the See also:soil being choked with saline matter. At the See also:foot of the Salt Range, however, a small See also:strip of level soil lies along the See also:banks of the Jhelum, and is thickly dotted with prosperous villages. The drainage of the district is determined by a See also:low central See also:watershed running north and south at right angles to the Salt Range.

The See also:

waters of the western portion find their way into the Sohan, and finally into the Indus; those of the opposite slope collect themselves into small torrents, and empty themselves into the Jhelum. The See also:history of the district See also:dates back to the semi-mythical See also:period of the Mahabh¢rata. See also:Hindu tradition represents the Salt Range as the See also:refuge of the five Pandava brethren during the period of their See also:exile, and every salient point in its scenery is connected with some See also:legend of the See also:national heroes. Modern See also:research has fixed the site of the conflict between See also:Alexander and See also:Porus as within Jhelum district, although the exact point at which Alexander effected the passage of the Jhelum (or Hydaspes) is disputed. After this event, we have little See also:information with regard to the See also:condition of the district until the See also:Mahommedan See also:conquest brought back literature and history to Upper India. The Janjuahs and See also:Jats, who now hold the Salt Range and its See also:northern plateau respectively, appear to have been the earliest inhabitants. The Ghakkars seem to represent an See also:early See also:wave of conquest from the east, and they still inhabit the whole eastern slope of the district; while the Awans, who now cluster in the western See also:plain, are apparently later invaders from the opposite See also:quarter. The Ghakkars were the dominant See also:race' at the period of the first Mahommedan incursions, and long continued to retain their See also:independence. During the flourishing period of the See also:Mogul See also:dynasty, the Ghakkar chieftains were prosperous and loyal vassals of the See also:house of See also:Baber; but after the collapse of the See also:Delhi See also:Empire Jhelum See also:fell, like its neighbours, under the sway of the Sikhs. In 1765 Gujar Singh defeated the last See also:independent Ghakkar See also:prince, and reduced the wild mountaineers to subjection. His son succeeded to his dominions, until 181o, when he fell before the irresistible See also:power of Ranjit Singh. In 1849 the district passed, with the See also:rest of the See also:Sikh territories, into the hands of the British.

End of Article: JHELUM, or JEHLAM

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