Unn ja khiyaling ule shamudam gumana hazir | Mehbbob Jan Yasini | Brushaski Song | Mudoori, Thoi

The eye-witness report of Mudoori Tragedy (War of Mudoori 1863) in George W. Hayward’s words. “In the spring of 1863 the Dogras secretly collected a force of some 11000 with the intention of invading Yasin. So unexpected was the raid that they had surprised the chief and his followers, who seeing they had no chance of resisting such overwhelming odds, fled with their families to Mudoori Fort. The Raja, Mulk Aman, escaped to Chitral. The villagers and the chiefs endeavored to come to terms with the Hoshyara Samad Khan, Zarawar Sing and Isa Bahadur, the petty Raja of Punyal. They were assured that no harm should befall them if they would evacuate the fort and lay down their arms. They did so in the simple faith that no injury, as sworn upon an oath, should be done to them. A part of Dogras who had gone round the fort then made their appearance amongst the women and children. The men were outside the fort thus unable to protect their wives and children. Inside the fort, the villagers including women and children were massacred by the foulest treachery and cruelty. After plundering the place, Yasin was burnt and all the cattle carried off to Srinagar". Mudoori Fort is located at Sandi in Yasin Valley, Ghizer District - Gilgit Baltistan (GB) in northern Pakistan. Six years later, Hayward visited the ruined walls of the fort of Mudoori, led by his host Mir Wali, the ruler of Yasin. He counted 147 skulls and after returned to Kashmir, he wrote letters both to his patrons at the Royal Geographical Society in London and to the largely-read Calcutta newspaper, Pioneer. Within weeks of the publication of this correspondence, Hayward was killed in Darkut on the morning of 18th July, 1870 allegedly by the men of Mir Wali - Ruler of Yasin.