Mansehra

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title: "Mansehra" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-mansehra-district", "mansehra-district", "cities-in-khyber-pakhtunkhwa"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansehra" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Mansehra
native_name
native_name_lang	Urdu and Hindko
settlement_type	City
image_skyline	File:Mansehra Snow fall.jpg
image_caption	Mansehra after winter snowfall
pushpin_label_position	bottom
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Pakistan
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_name2	Mansehra
subdivision_type3	Tehsil
subdivision_name3	Mansehra
elevation_m	1088
population_total	127,623
population_as_of	2017
population_footnotes
population_density_km2	340
postal_code_type	Postal Code
postal_code	21300
timezone	PST
utc_offset	+5
population_demonym	Mansehri or Mansehrian
subdivision_type4	Region
::

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History

Ancient period

Main article: Mansehra Rock Edicts

The region around the present-day city of Mansehra was inhabited by the early Indo-Aryans since the 3rd millennium BC, and was later a part of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara and the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka governed this area as a prince on the imperial throne in 272 BCE. He made it one of the major seats of his government. The Edicts of Ashoka, inscribed on three large boulders near Mansehra record fourteen of Ashoka's edicts, presenting aspects of the emperor's dharma or righteous law. These represent some of the earliest evidence of deciphered writing in the subcontinent, dating to the middle of the third century BCE, and are written from right to left in the Kharosthi script. Mauryans were followed by a variety of kingdoms, including Kushans, whose most notable ruler, Kanishka the Great, ruled from the nearby city of Puruṣapura. During this period Buddhist art and architecture flourished in the area.

Medieval period

The Uḍi Śāhis were the last great Gandharan dynasty before the Muslim conquest of Gandhara. They were notable for their impressive coinage and architecture, and built a series of temples in the region. They remained in control of the area until their defeat at Peshawar by the Ghaznavids in the year 1001. The region was originally known as Pakhli; it came to be known as Hazara only after Timurid invasion in 1399, when Tamerlane assigned it to his local chieftains, namely the Hazara-i-Karlugh, after whom the name of Hazara Division is derived. Hazara region comprised Pakhli Sarkar of the Mughal province of Kashmir, and was administered so until the Durrani invasions by Ahmad Shah Durrani in the early 18th century, which resulted into anarchy and severe economic decline. The area was divided among several petty tribal chieftaincies in the following decades, and remained so until the conquest by the Sikhs in 1818.

Modern period

Hari Singh Nalwa, a Sikh commander of Ranjit Singh, conquered the Hazara region in 1818 by defeating the local chieftains. He governed Hazara from the newly-established city of Haripur, named after him. After his death in 1837, Hari Singh was succeeded by Mahan Singh Hazarawala as the Nazim of Hazara, who founded the modern city of Mansehra. The Sikhs remained in power until 1849, when the area came under British rule.

The British East India Company conquered Mansehra after the defeat of the Sikhs in the first Anglo-Sikh War in 1846. The British divided Hazara region into three tehsils (administrative subdivisions): Mansehra, Abbottabad, and Haripur. Hazara formed part of Punjab province until 1901, when the British formed the buffer province of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Hazara was annexed into it. During the British rule, Mansehra was a small town. Its population according to the 1901 census was 5,087.

On 8th of June 1847 James Abbott, who would later become First Deputy Commissioner of Hazara, noted in his journal: "Marched to Maunseera, 16 miles (from Nawan Shehr). Found a regiment of Jumboo troops in the town, quartering themselves not only in the bunnias' shops but in the houses and amongst the women of the unfortunate inhabitants. The troops have no tents, had brought no cooking utensils, and of course were exercising the right which might confers to make use of the zenanas and cooking utensils of their fellow-subjects. Can it be wondered that any people possessing means of resistance should revolt against such tyranny?"

After the independence, Hazara district was elevated to the divisional status in 1976. In the October of the same year Mansehra Tehsil was made district and Mansehra became its headquarters.

Organisation

Mansehra City is the administrative capital of District and Tehsil Mansehra. The City of Mansehra is administratively divided into four Union Councils: Mansehra City Wards No. 1–4 and Mansehra (Rural)/suburban. Each union council is divided into Mohallas.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2023 census, Mansehra had a population of 137,278 which was an increase of 1.22% since the 2017 census, table below shows details from the first census in 1951 and onwards.

Languages

| caption = Languages of Mansehra City (2023) | value1 = 79.42 | label1 = Hindko | color1 = coral | value2 = 10.96 | label2 = Pashto | color2 = yellow | value3 = 5.91 | label3 = Urdu | color3 = green | value4 = 3.71 | label4 = Others | color4 = silver According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, Mansehra City has a predominantly Hindko-speaking population, with Hindko spoken by 79.42% of residents. Pashto is the second most common first language, accounting for 10.96% of the population, followed by Urdu at 5.91%. While an additional 3.71% of the city spoke Other languages (mostly Punjabi and Shina).

Religion

::data[format=table title="Religious groups in Mansehra City (1931−2017){{efn|1931-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Mansehra, which included Mansehra Municipality.{{rp|19}}|name="MansehraCity1931to1941"}}"] | Religious group | 1931 | 1941 | 2017 | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Total population | 5,780 | 10,217 | 144,898 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Islam [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]] | 4,217 | | 8,141 | | 144,838 | | | | | | | | | | Hinduism [[File:Om.svg|15px]] | 1,091 | | 1,699 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | Sikhism [[File:Khanda.svg|15px]] | 469 | | 375 | | | | | | | | | | | | Christianity [[File:Christian cross.svg|15px]] | 3 | | 2 | | 39 | | | | | | | | | | Jainism [[File:Jain_Prateek_Chihna.svg|15px]] | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Zoroastrianism [[File:Faravahar.svg|15px]] | 0 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | Judaism [[File:Star_of_David.svg|15px]] | 0 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | Buddhism [[File:Dharma_Wheel_(2).svg|15px]] | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ahmadiyya [[File:Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya_1-2.svg|15px]] | | | | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | Others | 0 | | 0 | | 19 | | | | | | | | | ::

Cultural festival

The city hosts the Mansehra Shiva Temple, which is known for its annual Shivarathri festival. During the festival of Durgashtami, held in the first month of the Hindu calendar and the seventh month of the Nanakshahi calendar, about 400 local Hindus assembled on Bareri Hill to worship Devi (as Durga). Offerings were taken by a Brahmin of Mansehra. The assembly on each occasion lasted only one day. The site is ancient, as at the base of Bareri Hill are the boulders inscribed with the Edicts of Ashoka.

Gallery

File:Mansehra City from another perspective.jpg|Northern parts of Mansehra city File:Sunset in Mansehra city.jpg|Sunset in Mansehra City

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Mansehra

Notes

References

(2018-01-03). "DISTRICT AND TEHSIL LEVEL POPULATION SUMMARY WITH REGION BREAKUP (MANSEHRA DISTRICT)". [[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]].
"Mansehra Demographics table". [[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]].
Department of Archaeology and Museums. (2004-01-30). "UNESCO world heritage Centre - Mansehra Rock Edicts". Whc.unesco.org.
(1971). "Ancient Pakistan". Chairman, Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar..
Khan, Shakirullah. (June 2023). "The Uraśa State and its capital: Some notes". [[Quaid-i-Azam University]].
(December 19, 2011). "History of the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles: 1858 to 1928". Andrews UK Ltd..
"Mānsehra Village - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 203". Dsal.uchicago.edu.
JOURNALS AND DIARIES OF THE ASSISTANTS TO THE RESIDENT AT LAHORE - No. 11.—Journal of Captain James Abbott, Boundary Commissioner, Punjaub, from 1st to llth June 1847.
"Tehsils & Unions in the District of Mansehra". Nrb.gov.pk.
(August 2025). "Population by administrative units 1951-1998". [[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]] }}{{Dead link.
"First Digital Census: Understanding Its Importance and Process - Pakistan Bureau of Statistics population".
(1931). "Census of India, 1931, vol. XV. North-west frontier province. Part I-Report. Part II-Tables".
(1941). "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 10, North-West Frontier Province".
"Final Results (Census-2017)".
(17 February 2020). "Pakistan prepares to hold a major Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri". Gulf News.
(1876). "Report of the land revenue settlement of the Hazara district of the Punjab By E. G. Wace". Central Jail Press.
"Around Abbottabad by S.A.J. Shirazi". Travelers Digest.

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