Deshiwal

The Deshiwals are a tribe of the Swati pashtun origin residing on the eastern slopes of the Black Mountain of Hazara, had a fighting strength of over 1000 armed men at the end of the 19th century, who saw action against the British. Deshi or Deeshan is the name given to the country to north of Agror, and lying to the west of Nandhiar. It comprises a portion of the eastern slopes of the Black Mountain, a beautiful part of the Swati country, wooded spurs with intervening watercourses, on the banks of which are the villages. They are a united tribe, equally among themselves and when external danger threatens. They live in six big villages, Hotal Deshan, Kotgala, Peshora, Shingli Payeen, Shingli Bala, Gijbori, and in dozens of small villages. They migrated and changed their villages, after every five years (which they called Waish) before 1947. Thus no individual had any land ownership and all the land which they had, was a common wealth. So in case of any external invasion, they fought unitedly for the sake of their territory. The deadly earthquake on October 8, 2005 affected this area badly. More than seventy people lost their lives and hundred of people injured. Property loss was also in billions. Kotgala and Hotal were the most affected villages.