Part III: Social Change and Transformation in Post-1974 Hunza
From Princely Rule to Modern Governance: The Social Transformation of Hunza After 1974
Introduction: Completing the Historical Journey
This article concludes our three-part historical study of the former Hunza State. Part I examined the traditional taxation system and its relationship with social and economic organization. Part II explored the fiscal administration of the state and the ways in which external political forces gradually influenced its internal institutions.
Part III moves beyond taxation and administration to examine a broader question:
How did Hunza move from hereditary princely rule towards modern government and a more diversified social and economic order after 1974?
The answer cannot be explained by a single event, institution, or development programme. The abolition of hereditary princely authority in 1974 was a major political turning point, but the social transformation of Hunza was much longer and more complex. Education, roads, migration, political mobilisation, government institutions, community organizations, religious and social institutions, development agencies, tourism, markets, new occupations, and changing aspirations all contributed to the transformation.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) represents a more recent stage in this longer history of connectivity. By linking the northern areas of Pakistan more closely with national and international trade, transport, digital networks, tourism, and cross-border economic activity, CPEC has created new opportunities while also raising questions about environmental sustainability, local participation, cultural change, land use, and the distribution of economic benefits.
The central argument of this article is therefore continuity within change.
The political structure changed relatively quickly, but many social practices, community relationships, cultural traditions, and local institutions continued to evolve gradually. Modern Hunza is consequently neither a complete break with the past nor simply a continuation of the old order. It is the outcome of an extended interaction between historical institutions and new political, educational, economic, technological, and social forces.
1. Hunza Before 1974: A Distinct Political and Social Order
Before 1974, Hunza was governed as a hereditary princely state under the Mir. The state possessed its own administrative traditions, taxation arrangements, systems of labour and service, and mechanisms for managing agriculture, irrigation, security, and local affairs.
The Mir's authority was not exercised in isolation. Local communities, village leaders, religious figures, landholders, cultivators, artisans, traders, and other social groups participated in the functioning of society in different ways.
As discussed in Parts I and II, taxation was connected with agricultural production, labour obligations, livestock, trade, and other forms of economic activity. Irrigation was particularly important because agricultural production depended on the organization and maintenance of water systems in a difficult mountain environment.
Sidky's research on irrigation and state formation in Hunza shows that water management cannot be understood simply as a technical matter. It was connected with labour organization, social relations, authority, and the development of political institutions (Sidky, 1996, 1997).
Thus, the former state should not be viewed only through the personality of the Mir. It was a wider social system involving many layers of local organization.
2. Major General S. Shahid Hamid and the Historical Landscape of Hunza
Major General S. Shahid Hamid's Karakuram Hunza: The Land of Just Enough provides an important twentieth-century account of Hunza before the major political transformation of 1974 (Hamid, 1979).
His observations are valuable because they document aspects of the physical environment, agriculture, settlements, political organization, social relationships, and everyday life of Hunza during an earlier period of rapid transition.
However, such accounts must also be read critically. They represent the observations and interpretations of their authors and their historical circumstances. No single account can represent the complete experience of Hunza's population.
This is particularly important when studying a society from outside perspectives. Historical Hunza was not simply an isolated mountain society waiting to be transformed by the modern state. Its people had their own political traditions, economic strategies, cultural institutions, trade connections, migration patterns, and forms of social organization.
3. Political Mobilisation Before 1974
The political transformation of Hunza did not suddenly begin with the announcement of 1974.
Political awareness and criticism of hereditary authority had developed through wider social and political changes. Education, increased mobility, contact with other parts of Pakistan, migration, exposure to political ideas, and changing expectations about citizenship gradually influenced political consciousness.
The experience of Hunza migrants outside the valley was particularly important.
Shafqat Hussain's study of Hunza places the region's changing identity within wider processes of modernity, mobility, development, and postcolonial politics (Hussain, 2015). Hunza's relationship with the wider world was therefore much more dynamic than the older image of a remote mountain state might suggest.
4. A Window to Karachi: Migration and Political Awareness
One important but sometimes overlooked dimension of Hunza's political history was the experience of migrants living outside the region.
Karachi provided a significant urban environment in which people from northern areas encountered industrial labour, trade unions, political organizations, education, and wider debates about citizenship and social rights.
Hussain (2015) discusses the experience of Ghazi Mohammad, a Wakhi from Hunza who worked as a wage labourer in Karachi during the 1960s and became involved in trade-union and political activities.
This example provides a useful window into a larger historical process.
The political consciousness that contributed to changes in Hunza was not produced exclusively inside the valley. Migration created new social networks through which ideas, experiences, expectations, and political awareness travelled between Hunza and major cities.
Consequently, the history of political change in Hunza should also be understood as a history of mobility.
5. 1974: The End of Hereditary Princely Rule
On 24 September 1974, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto announced the abolition of the Hunza State's hereditary political authority.
Contemporary reporting described the event as the abolition or merger of the Hunza State with the Northern Areas. However, a clarification published shortly afterwards by the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, States and Frontier Regions distinguished the abolition of hereditary authority from the question of formal territorial merger.
This distinction is historically important.
Therefore, rather than reducing 1974 to the simple statement that “Hunza merged with Pakistan,” it is more precise to describe the event as the abolition of hereditary princely rule followed by a major administrative and political transformation of Hunza within the Northern Areas.
The change ended the Mir's hereditary political authority and opened the way for a different system of administration and political participation.
6. Political Change Did Not Mean Immediate Social Change
The abolition of hereditary authority was a major political event, but political transformation does not automatically produce immediate social transformation.
Families continued to cultivate land. Villages continued to maintain community relationships. Cultural traditions remained important. Local knowledge continued to influence agriculture, water management, architecture, and social life.
At the same time, new institutions gradually expanded their influence.
Government departments, schools, roads, markets, political organizations, development agencies, religious and community institutions, and private enterprises became increasingly important.
The result was a gradual restructuring of society rather than a sudden replacement of the old system.
This is why continuity within change provides a useful framework for understanding post-1974 Hunza.
7. From Mir-Centred Administration to Modern Government
Before 1974, political authority was organized around the institution of the Mir and associated local administrative arrangements.
After 1974, state authority increasingly operated through government departments, formal administrative procedures, elected institutions, courts, police, schools, development offices, and other public institutions.
This change affected everyday life.
Education became increasingly connected with government and private institutions. Agricultural and infrastructure development became part of formal development planning. Public employment became an important source of livelihood. Citizens increasingly interacted with government offices rather than with a hereditary ruler and his representatives.
Yet the older social networks did not disappear.
Village organizations, family networks, religious institutions, local leadership, and customary practices continued to influence social life.
Modern governance therefore developed through interaction with existing community structures.
8. Changing Labour Relations
One of the significant social changes after 1974 was the gradual transformation of labour relations.
Under the former state system, agricultural labour, taxation, and different forms of service obligations were connected with political authority and social status. The abolition of hereditary rule altered the institutional context in which these relationships operated.
Over time, wage employment, salaried government work, education, migration, construction, tourism, trade, and professional occupations became increasingly important.
This did not mean that agriculture disappeared. Rather, household economies became more diversified.
A family could combine farming with government employment, teaching, business, tourism, construction, migration, or professional work outside Hunza.
9. Education as an Engine of Social Change
Education has been among the most important forces shaping post-1974 Hunza.
The expansion of schools and increasing access to secondary and higher education created opportunities that were very different from those available to earlier generations.
Benz (2013) demonstrates how educational expansion in Gilgit-Baltistan affected social and economic life. Education contributed not only to literacy but also to occupational mobility, migration, new aspirations, and changing social roles.
For Hunza, education increasingly became a pathway to:
government employment;
professional occupations;
higher education;
migration;
entrepreneurship;
leadership;
social mobility; and
greater participation in public life.
The significance of education therefore extends beyond the classroom.
It changed what young people could imagine for themselves and what families expected from the next generation.
10. Women and Educational Opportunities
The expansion of education also contributed to changes in women's social and economic opportunities.
Girls' education expanded considerably over time, and women increasingly entered teaching, health, public service, business, higher education, and other professional fields.
Research from the high mountain areas of northern Pakistan indicates that female education has contributed to changing perceptions of women's roles, although the pace and nature of change have varied between communities (Voigt & Spies, 2020).
The transformation should therefore not be presented as complete or uniform.
Traditional responsibilities within households and communities continue to be important, while educational and professional opportunities have created new possibilities for women and girls.
The two realities exist together.
11. The Karakoram Highway and the Opening of Hunza
The Karakoram Highway was another major force in Hunza's transformation.
Road connectivity reduced the practical isolation of many mountain communities and strengthened connections with Gilgit, Pakistan's larger cities, China, markets, educational institutions, and wider networks.
Kreutzmann (1991) showed that the Karakoram Highway had significant effects on mountain societies, including changes in mobility, trade, labour, markets, and access to external opportunities.
For Hunza, the highway became much more than a transport route.
It helped transform the valley from a predominantly agricultural and locally oriented economy into a society increasingly connected with national and international markets.
12. Migration and the Rise of a Professional Class
Improved education and transportation encouraged migration.
Young people increasingly travelled to Gilgit, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, and other cities for education and employment. Others moved abroad.
Migration produced both economic and social effects.
Remittances supported household consumption, housing, education, agriculture, and small businesses. At the same time, migrants brought back new ideas, skills, professional experiences, and social expectations.
A professional class gradually expanded, including teachers, doctors, engineers, civil servants, researchers, entrepreneurs, information-technology professionals, and other specialists.
This mobility transformed the relationship between Hunza and the outside world.
13. Irrigation and the Continuing Importance of Local Institutions
Despite modernization, agriculture and irrigation remained important.
Hunza's mountain environment requires careful management of water, land, and agricultural resources. Traditional irrigation systems depended upon cooperation, local knowledge, labour, and institutional arrangements.
The transformation after 1974 therefore did not eliminate local environmental knowledge.
Instead, traditional practices increasingly interacted with government departments, modern engineering, development programmes, changing land use, and new agricultural technologies.
This illustrates a broader pattern in Hunza: modern institutions often developed alongside older community practices rather than completely replacing them.
14. Community Institutions and Civil Society
Community organization has played an important role in Hunza's development.
Village-level cooperation, local organizations, voluntary associations, religious institutions, welfare groups, educational initiatives, women's organizations, youth groups, and civil-society organizations have all contributed to social development.
These institutions have helped communities respond to education, health, infrastructure, disaster risk, social welfare, economic development, and cultural preservation.
Their contribution is particularly important because development in mountainous areas often depends upon local participation.
15. Jamati and Community Institutions
Jamati and community institutions have also played important roles in education, social organization, welfare, capacity building, and community development in parts of Hunza.
Their contribution should, however, be placed within the wider institutional landscape.
Hunza's transformation cannot accurately be attributed to a single organization or institutional network. Government departments, local communities, families, educators, development agencies, private businesses, migrants, entrepreneurs, civil society, and religious and community institutions have all contributed in different ways.
A balanced historical interpretation therefore recognizes institutional cooperation rather than assigning exclusive responsibility for development to any one actor.
16. AKDN and Development Transformation
The Aga Khan Development Network has been an important development actor in northern Pakistan, including work in education, health, economic development, cultural heritage, community development, and other sectors.
Its institutions have worked with communities and, in several areas, alongside government and other partners.
The Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan, for example, operates schools and hostels in Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Punjab, and Sindh and has also supported educational improvement involving government and community schools.
These activities are part of a wider development history rather than an isolated institutional story.
The importance of AKDN should therefore be recognized alongside the contributions of government, communities, private actors, migrants, educators, and other organizations.
17. AKRSP and Participatory Development
The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme has also influenced development practices in northern Pakistan through community organization, infrastructure, savings, income diversification, entrepreneurship, and skills development.
Participatory development changed the relationship between communities and development programmes by emphasizing local organization and collective decision-making.
Such approaches contributed to a broader shift from development being viewed only as something delivered by government towards development also being understood as something in which communities could participate.
Again, this was one component of a larger transformation.
18. Cultural Heritage: From Palace to Public Heritage
The transformation of Hunza also changed the meaning of historical places.
Baltit Fort, once associated with the ruling institution, gradually became a major heritage site and cultural centre.
Its conservation illustrates how a structure associated with political authority could acquire a new role in the modern economy and cultural landscape.
The conservation of Baltit Fort and the historic core of Karimabad involved local participation and created new opportunities for heritage education, tourism, cultural activities, and economic enterprise.
This represents an important transformation in the meaning of heritage: political symbols of the past can become shared cultural resources in the present.
19. Changing Social Hierarchies
The post-1974 period witnessed important changes in social hierarchy.
Education, salaried employment, migration, professional qualifications, entrepreneurship, political participation, and access to wider networks increasingly became sources of social status.
This did not mean that family background, land, lineage, local reputation, or community relationships became irrelevant.
Rather, the basis of social prestige became more diverse.
A person's education, profession, public service, business success, overseas experience, or contribution to community life could increasingly influence social standing.
The result was a more complex social structure than the one associated with the former princely order.
20. Changing Identity
Modern Hunza identity is shaped by several overlapping dimensions.
People may identify with their village, valley, linguistic or cultural community, religious community, region, Pakistan, professional networks, diaspora, or global connections.
These identities do not necessarily compete.
A person can simultaneously be strongly connected to local culture and participate in national and international social networks.
Hussain (2015) shows how ideas of Hunza identity have changed through encounters with development, modernity, political structures, and global networks.
Thus, identity in contemporary Hunza is better understood as layered and evolving.
21. CPEC: A New Stage of Connectivity
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor represents a new stage in the history of connectivity that has shaped northern Pakistan.
The Karakoram Highway created an important physical connection between Pakistan and China, while CPEC has expanded the concept of connectivity to include transport infrastructure, energy, trade, tourism, digital communication, agriculture, industrial cooperation, and people-to-people links.
The CPEC framework officially identifies connectivity as one of its major purposes and includes cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, industry, information technology, science and technology, and socio-economic development.
For Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern route and the Khunjerab border give the region a particular geographical significance.
The CPEC fibre-optic project is especially relevant because the 820-kilometre cable enters Pakistan through Khunjerab and passes through Gilgit-Baltistan before connecting with wider national telecommunications networks. This has created an additional form of connectivity beyond roads and physical trade routes.
The significance of CPEC for Hunza therefore extends beyond the movement of goods.
It potentially connects the valley more strongly with tourism markets, digital services, e-commerce, logistics, information technology, education, entrepreneurship, and cross-border economic networks.
22. CPEC and Gilgit-Baltistan: Opportunities and Questions
At the regional level, CPEC can influence Gilgit-Baltistan through several interconnected areas.
Connectivity and trade
Improved transport and border connectivity can facilitate the movement of people and goods and potentially strengthen trade between Pakistan, China, and wider regional markets.
Tourism
Better connectivity can increase tourist access to Hunza, Skardu, Gilgit, Ghizer, Nagar, and other destinations.
Research has already found an association between CPEC-related infrastructure and tourism demand in Gilgit-Baltistan (Nazneen et al., 2021/2022).
Agriculture and value addition
CPEC's agricultural cooperation framework includes capacity building, technology extension, agricultural processing, market information, and agricultural trade.
For GB, these areas could be relevant to fruit production, horticulture, food processing, cold-chain systems, packaging, and market access.
Digital connectivity
The fibre-optic network and wider CPEC digital cooperation create possibilities for information technology, remote education, digital entrepreneurship, e-commerce, tele-services, and knowledge-based employment.
Skills and employment
The emerging CPEC 2.0 framework places greater emphasis on private-sector participation, technology, agriculture, industrial cooperation, information technology, and skills development.
For GB's young population, the long-term significance may therefore depend not only on infrastructure but also on whether local people acquire the skills required to participate in emerging economic opportunities.
23. CPEC and Hunza: Local Economic Possibilities
Hunza occupies a particularly significant position within this wider transformation because of its location along the Karakoram Highway and its proximity to the Khunjerab border.
Research specifically examining Hunza found that respondents from groups including students, retailers, hotel owners, tour operators, and travel agents perceived CPEC as having a significant relationship with tourism development and the local economy (Karim et al., 2020).
However, the same study also identified concerns regarding environmental and cultural effects.
This combination is important.
CPEC may create opportunities for:
tourism and hospitality;
logistics and transport;
cross-border trade;
agricultural and horticultural value chains;
local food processing;
handicrafts and cultural products;
information technology;
digital entrepreneurship;
youth skills development;
small and medium enterprises; and
professional services.
But these opportunities will not automatically benefit every household equally.
The distribution of benefits will depend on local participation, skills, access to finance, infrastructure, regulation, market conditions, and the ability of local businesses to compete.
24. CPEC, Tourism, and Environmental Sustainability
Tourism provides one of the clearest examples of the opportunities and challenges associated with increased connectivity.
Research on CPEC and tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan suggests that infrastructure and improved accessibility can stimulate tourism demand, while also raising environmental and socio-cultural concerns (Nazneen et al., 2021/2022).
More recent research on Hunza describes tourism expansion as involving complex interactions among government, markets, and local actors. It also identifies concerns relating to land, livelihoods, ecology, commodification, and regulation (Ali & Schetter, 2026).
These findings suggest that future development should not be measured only by the number of tourists, hotels, roads, or investment projects.
The quality and sustainability of development are equally important.
If tourism grows faster than water systems, waste management, traffic management, housing, public services, and environmental protection, economic gains may be accompanied by new pressures on local communities.
CPEC therefore makes sustainable planning more important, not less.
25. CPEC and Cultural Change
Economic corridors are also social corridors.
Greater movement of tourists, traders, workers, investors, students, and professionals can introduce new ideas, consumption patterns, technologies, lifestyles, and cultural interactions.
For Hunza, this may create opportunities for cultural exchange and heritage-based entrepreneurship.
At the same time, rapid commercialization can change the meaning and use of local cultural traditions.
This is particularly relevant to historic settlements, architecture, festivals, handicrafts, food traditions, local languages, and community spaces.
The challenge is not to prevent cultural change but to ensure that local communities retain meaningful participation in deciding how their heritage and cultural resources are represented and used.
26. CPEC 2.0 and the Future of Gilgit-Baltistan
The future direction of CPEC is increasingly being discussed through the concept of CPEC 2.0.
Official plans and recent CPEC discussions have placed greater emphasis on industrial cooperation, agriculture, information technology, science and technology, private-sector participation, skills development, and broader socio-economic cooperation.
In 2025, the Pakistani side described CPEC 2.0 as moving beyond the earlier emphasis on infrastructure and energy towards areas including industrialization, agriculture, IT, science and technology, and business-to-business cooperation. In 2026, official discussions continued to focus on B2B collaboration in areas such as minerals, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, jewellery, retail, ICT, and agricultural mechanization.
For Gilgit-Baltistan, the future consequences may therefore extend well beyond road construction.
Potential areas include:
1. Regional trade and logistics
The Khunjerab route may become increasingly important for Pakistan-China trade and wider regional connectivity.
2. Agricultural value chains
GB's fruits, dry fruits, vegetables, livestock products, and other agricultural commodities could benefit from improved processing, packaging, storage, market information, and trade systems.
3. Tourism and hospitality
Improved connectivity could increase domestic and international tourism, but sustainable destination management will be essential.
4. Digital economy
The fibre-optic network and expanding digital cooperation could create opportunities for IT services, remote work, online education, e-commerce, and digital entrepreneurship.
5. Youth skills
Technical and vocational education could become increasingly important if local people are to participate in new sectors rather than remaining primarily consumers of externally generated investment.
6. Small and medium enterprises
Local businesses could potentially participate in supply chains connected with tourism, logistics, agriculture, construction, services, and trade.
7. Cross-border cultural and educational exchange
Greater connectivity may expand academic, cultural, professional, and people-to-people interaction.
These are potential pathways rather than guaranteed outcomes.
27. The Question of Local Participation
One of the most important questions for the future is not simply whether CPEC will bring development to GB, but how local people will participate in that development.
Infrastructure alone does not guarantee broad-based economic transformation.
Local participation may depend on:
education and technical skills;
access to information;
access to credit and investment;
transparent land and business regulations;
local entrepreneurship;
environmental safeguards;
effective public institutions;
community consultation;
women's participation;
youth participation; and
fair access to emerging employment and business opportunities.
This question is particularly important in mountainous regions where land, water, ecology, and cultural heritage are closely connected to community life.
28. CPEC and the Possibility of Uneven Development
Large infrastructure projects can produce uneven economic effects.
Some communities may benefit from tourism, trade, transport, construction, or new businesses, while others may experience increased land prices, environmental pressure, traffic, or competition for resources.
Recent research on tourism in GB similarly indicates that economic benefits can coexist with environmental costs (Farooq & Haq, 2025).
Therefore, CPEC should be examined not only through aggregate economic indicators but also through its distributional effects.
Who receives new employment?
Who owns new businesses?
Who has access to training?
Who benefits from rising land values?
Who bears environmental costs?
Who participates in planning?
These questions are essential for understanding the social consequences of the corridor.
29. From Agriculture to a Diversified Economy
Agriculture remains part of Hunza's identity and household economy, but it no longer provides the sole economic foundation for most households.
The contemporary economy combines:
agriculture and horticulture;
government employment;
education;
tourism;
retail and trade;
construction;
transport;
professional services;
entrepreneurship;
migration and remittances; and
digital and knowledge-based activities.
CPEC may add another layer by connecting these activities more closely with regional trade, logistics, tourism, technology, and agricultural value chains.
This diversification has increased household opportunities but has also created new economic dependencies.
Land prices, tourism demand, migration, environmental pressure, changing consumption patterns, and cross-border connectivity have all influenced the economic landscape.
Hunza's economy is therefore increasingly connected to forces beyond the valley.
30. Customary Practices and Formal Law
Another important transformation concerns the relationship between customary practices and formal law.
Historically, local communities relied heavily on customary arrangements for managing land, water, natural resources, social relationships, and dispute resolution.
Modern government introduced formal administrative and legal institutions.
Yet customary practices did not simply disappear.
Research on northern Pakistan has documented the continuing significance of customary arrangements in natural-resource management (Bilal et al., 2003).
The contemporary situation is therefore best understood as an interaction between customary knowledge, community practice, formal law, government administration, and changing economic conditions.
As infrastructure, tourism, and investment increase, this interaction will become even more important.
31. Electoral Politics and Citizenship
The end of hereditary political authority created greater space for modern forms of political participation.
Electoral politics, political parties, local representation, public debate, civil society, and media gradually became important parts of public life.
Citizens increasingly interacted with representatives and public institutions through modern political mechanisms rather than through hereditary authority.
However, political participation has also raised continuing questions about representation, development priorities, public accountability, and the constitutional position of Gilgit-Baltistan.
These questions are part of the ongoing political history of the region.
32. Present-Day Hunza: Opportunity and Challenge
Contemporary Hunza presents a striking combination of opportunity and challenge.
The region has comparatively strong educational aspirations, extensive connections with national and international communities, a growing tourism economy, increasing entrepreneurship, and substantial human capital.
CPEC and improved digital and physical connectivity have added another layer to these opportunities.
At the same time, the valley faces challenges related to:
environmental vulnerability;
water and land management;
climate-related risks;
pressure from tourism;
changing land use;
employment opportunities for young people;
migration;
rising living costs;
preservation of cultural heritage;
infrastructure pressure; and
the need for sustainable economic planning.
The contemporary challenge is therefore not simply to modernize Hunza.
It is to manage modernization in ways that protect ecological resources, cultural identity, social cohesion, and opportunities for future generations.
33. Present-Day Gilgit-Baltistan: Governance and Constitutional Questions
Hunza's contemporary development cannot be separated from the wider political and constitutional context of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 provides the principal governance framework under which the region's current institutions operate.
The constitutional and legal position of Gilgit-Baltistan remains a subject of political and legal discussion.
Importantly, this is not merely a historical question. In September 2026, the Federal Minister for Law and Justice stated that consultations concerning the constitutional and legal matters of Gilgit-Baltistan were underway, with different administrative, constitutional, legal, and financial options being reviewed.
These developments demonstrate that the political transformation that began in the twentieth century remains part of an evolving institutional process.
34. Historical Memory and the Meaning of 1974
More than five decades after the events of 1974, their meaning remains part of historical memory.
For some, the abolition of hereditary rule represents political modernization and greater participation. For others, the period is remembered through questions of lost institutions, changing authority, cultural memory, or the relationship between local autonomy and wider governance.
A historian should not impose a single memory upon a society.
Instead, different memories should be recognized and examined through evidence.
The historical importance of 1974 lies not only in what changed immediately but also in the long-term processes that followed.
35. Continuity Within Change
The evidence examined in this three-part series suggests that the transformation of Hunza cannot be described simply as a transition from “traditional” to “modern.”
Many elements of the past continued within the new institutional environment.
Agriculture survived alongside tourism.
Customary knowledge continued alongside formal law.
Community institutions developed alongside government departments.
Cultural traditions continued alongside new lifestyles.
Local identity continued alongside national and global identities.
Family networks continued alongside professional institutions.
The modern economy developed without completely eliminating the older agricultural economy.
The Karakoram Highway created one layer of connectivity; CPEC and digital infrastructure are creating additional layers.
This is the meaning of continuity within change.
36. Five Dimensions of Transformation
The social transformation of Hunza after 1974 can be understood through five interconnected dimensions.
1. Political transformation
Hereditary princely authority was replaced by modern administrative and political institutions.
2. Educational transformation
The expansion of schooling and higher education created new forms of knowledge, mobility, employment, and social aspiration.
3. Economic transformation
Agriculture increasingly became part of a diversified economy involving government employment, migration, tourism, trade, entrepreneurship, professional services, and potentially wider regional trade.
4. Social transformation
Changing education, mobility, women's opportunities, occupations, and social networks gradually altered relationships and patterns of social status.
5. Cultural transformation
Historical traditions, local identities, heritage, and community values continued while interacting with national, regional, and global influences.
These dimensions should not be treated separately. They reinforced one another.
37. From Princely State to Modern Hunza
The journey from the former Hunza State to contemporary Hunza was neither instantaneous nor linear.
The political transformation of 1974 provided an important institutional turning point. But the deeper social transformation was produced over decades.
Education changed aspirations.
The Karakoram Highway changed mobility.
Migration expanded horizons.
Government institutions changed public administration.
Community organizations strengthened collective action.
Development agencies introduced new approaches to education, health, livelihoods, and social organization.
Entrepreneurs created new economic opportunities.
Women and young people increasingly participated in education and professional life.
Tourism connected Hunza more strongly with national and international markets.
CPEC has added new possibilities in trade, logistics, tourism, agriculture, digital connectivity, skills, and regional economic cooperation.
Digital technology has created another layer of connectivity.
At the same time, agriculture, community relationships, cultural traditions, local knowledge, and historical memory remain important.
Hunza's modernity is therefore not the disappearance of its past.
It is the continuing interaction between the past and the present.
Conclusion: Transformation Without Rupture
The history of Hunza after 1974 is best understood as a process of transformation without complete rupture.
The abolition of hereditary princely rule changed the political structure of the former state. But it did not instantly transform society.
The deeper transformation emerged gradually through education, mobility, infrastructure, migration, political participation, community organization, government institutions, development initiatives, entrepreneurship, tourism, changing aspirations, and increasingly, digital and regional connectivity.
CPEC represents an important new phase in this continuing transformation.
Its future significance for Gilgit-Baltistan and Hunza will depend not simply on the construction of infrastructure but on what develops around that infrastructure: trade, tourism, agricultural value chains, digital services, skills, entrepreneurship, investment, cultural exchange, and employment.
At the same time, the future consequences cannot be assumed to be entirely positive or negative. Research has identified both economic opportunities and concerns involving environmental pressure, cultural change, land use, tourism intensity, and unequal distribution of benefits.
The central question is therefore one of how connectivity is governed and who participates in its benefits.
If local skills, entrepreneurship, community participation, environmental safeguards, transparent institutions, and sustainable planning develop alongside physical connectivity, CPEC could become an additional platform for economic diversification in GB and Hunza.
If infrastructure and investment grow without adequate local participation, environmental management, or regulatory capacity, new pressures may accompany economic opportunities.
These are possibilities rather than predetermined outcomes.
No single institution can adequately explain Hunza's transformation.
Government provided formal administration and public services. Communities maintained local cooperation and social organization. Jamati and other community institutions contributed to education, welfare, and social development. AKDN agencies and AKRSP supported programmes in different sectors. Private businesses and entrepreneurs expanded economic activity. Migrants connected Hunza with cities and international networks. Educators, women, youth, professionals, and civil society actors helped reshape social possibilities.
CPEC and wider regional connectivity now add another layer to this institutional and economic landscape.
These contributions interact with one another.
The most important historical lesson is therefore that modernization is not simply the replacement of one system by another. Societies adapt, negotiate, preserve, and transform their institutions over time.
Hunza provides a particularly valuable example of this process.
Its transformation from a hereditary princely state into a contemporary society has involved both change and continuity. The mountains, villages, agricultural landscapes, cultural traditions, and historical memories remain visible, but the social world around them has changed profoundly.
The history of Hunza after 1974 is consequently not a story of the disappearance of the past.
It is a story of how people carried elements of that past into a changing political, economic, educational, technological, and social environment—and continuously reinterpreted them.
1974 ended a political system. It did not end history.
The next chapter of Hunza's history will be shaped not only by its past, but also by how its people, institutions, government, businesses, communities, and younger generations respond to the opportunities and challenges created by education, tourism, digital connectivity, regional trade, and CPEC.
References
Ali, A. (2023). Estimating the recreational value of mountain tourism to shape sustainable development in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Journal of Cleaner Production, 426, 138990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138990
Ali, N., & Schetter, C. (2026). Tourism frontier: A space of opportunity and disenchantment in Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan. Political Geography, 127, 103514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2026.103514
Benz, A. (2013). Education and development in the Karakorum: Educational expansion and its impacts in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Erdkunde, 67(2), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.3112/erdkunde.2013.02.02
Bilal, A., Haque, H., & Moore, P. (2003). Customary laws governing natural resource management in the Northern Areas. IUCN Pakistan.
Dani, A. H. (1991). History of the Northern Areas of Pakistan (2nd ed.). National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research.
Dawn. (2024, September 25). From the past pages of Dawn: 1974: Fifty years ago: Hunza state merged. Dawn.
Dawn. (2024, September 30). From the past pages of Dawn: 1974: Fifty years ago: Hunza clarification. Dawn.
Farooq, K., & Haq, W. (2025). Economic, environmental and socio-cultural impact of tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan: Evidence from primary survey. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1), 2556482. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2025.2556482
Hamid, S. S. (1979). Karakuram Hunza: The land of just enough. Ma'arif Limited.
Hussain, S. (2015). Remoteness and modernity: Transformation and continuity in northern Pakistan. Yale University Press.
Karim, R., Muhammad, F., Salman, A., Shah, A. S., Qureshi, J. A., & Nilofer, M. (2020). Impact of China Pakistan Economic Corridor on local economy and tourism development: Case of Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology, 11(4), 14–17. https://doi.org/10.46660/ijeeg.v11i4.291
Kreutzmann, H. (1991). The Karakoram Highway: The impact of road construction on mountain societies. Modern Asian Studies, 25(4), 711–736. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X00010817
Nazneen, S., Hong, X., Jenkins, C. L., & Ud Din, N. (2022). China–Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), tourism demand, and environmental concerns: Policy implications for sustainable tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan. Journal of Public Affairs, 22(3), e2600. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2600
Sidky, H. (1996). Irrigation and state formation in Hunza: The anthropology of a hydraulic kingdom. University Press of America.
Sidky, H. (1997). Irrigation and the rise of the state in Hunza: A case for the hydraulic hypothesis. Modern Asian Studies, 31(4), 995–1017. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X00017236
Voigt, K., & Spies, M. (2020). Female education and social change: Changing perceptions of women's roles in society in the high mountains of Northern Pakistan. Mountain Research and Development, 40(4), R9–R16. https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00028.1
Source and Methodological Note
This article is a historical and analytical synthesis rather than a complete archival history of Hunza. It draws on historical scholarship, ethnographic research, administrative material, contemporary newspaper reports, development literature, and studies of education, migration, irrigation, tourism, community institutions, connectivity, and social change.
The sources have different strengths and limitations. Colonial and administrative records may reflect the assumptions of their authors and institutions. Ethnographic studies represent particular field experiences and analytical perspectives. Oral histories are valuable for understanding local memory but may include retrospective interpretations. Contemporary newspapers document events while reflecting the language and circumstances of their time. Institutional publications provide useful information about programmes and activities but naturally represent the perspectives of the institutions concerned. Research on CPEC and tourism likewise reflects particular methodologies, samples, and analytical frameworks.
For these reasons, source triangulation has been used wherever possible. Particular care has been taken in discussing the events of 1974 by considering contemporary reporting together with subsequent clarification rather than relying on a single account.
The article also avoids attributing Hunza's transformation to any one institution or social group. Government, local communities, Jamati and community institutions, AKDN agencies, AKRSP, private actors, migrants, educators, entrepreneurs, women, youth, and civil society have contributed in different ways and at different stages.
Similarly, CPEC is treated neither as an automatic solution to development challenges nor as an inherently negative force. Its possible consequences for GB and Hunza are considered in relation to documented developments, existing research, institutional plans, local participation, environmental sustainability, and the uncertainties surrounding future implementation.
The central interpretation of “continuity within change” is an analytical framework rather than a claim that all people experienced transformation in the same way. Social change in Hunza has been uneven, shaped by differences in generation, locality, gender, occupation, education, mobility, economic opportunity, and access to institutions.
End of Part III and the Three-Part Series
Part I
The Traditional Taxation System of the Former Hunza State: A Socio-Economic Analysis
Part II
The Fiscal Administration of the Former Hunza State: From Internal Machinery to Colonial Transformation
Part III
From Princely Rule to Modern Governance: The Social Transformation of Hunza After 1974
A good attempt.
ReplyDeleteThanks Zafar Sb for your encouraging comments 🙏
Delete