The Mangla Dam: How It Changed Kashmir and Shaped Britain’s Kashmiri Diaspora

The Displacement That Created Britain’s Kashmiri Diaspora

In the early 1960s, a colossal engineering project began to rise along the banks of the Jhelum River in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It promised prosperity, progress, and power for Pakistan. Yet for the people of Mirpur and its surrounding valleys, it brought heartbreak, loss, and the uprooting of entire generations.

The Mangla Dam, one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world, was more than just a symbol of modern development, it marked the beginning of one of the greatest internal displacements in South Asia’s post-colonial history.

What followed not only changed the landscape of Kashmir forever but also laid the foundations of a new chapter of Kashmiri identity, the story of the British Kashmiri diaspora.

This is the story of how a dam built in the name of progress submerged towns, scattered communities, and created a global Kashmiri nation across the seas.

The Indus Waters Treaty and the Birth of Mangla Dam

After the Partition of British India in 1947, both India and Pakistan faced an urgent question, who controlled the rivers that sustained life across the plains of Punjab?

The six mighty rivers of the Indus Basin had become international boundaries overnight, with India controlling the headwaters and Pakistan depending on their downstream flow.

To prevent conflict over water, the Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960, brokered by the World Bank. The treaty gave India control over the eastern rivers, the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, while Pakistan retained the western ones, the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab.

But this division meant Pakistan lost access to key water supplies for agriculture in Punjab and Sindh.

To make up for this loss, Pakistan planned a network of link canals, barrages, and reservoirs. The centrepieces were Tarbela Dam on the Indus and Mangla Dam on the Jhelum, a structure that would harness the river flowing through the heart of Mirpur district in Azad Kashmir.

In 1961, construction began. International contractors arrived, machinery thundered through the valleys, and the old city of Mirpur braced for a transformation no one could truly comprehend.

Purpose and Promise: Power, Water, and Progress

The Mangla Dam was designed to serve multiple national objectives. It would:

• Store water to irrigate millions of acres of farmland in Pakistan.
• Generate hydroelectricity, producing over 1,000 megawatts — enough to power factories and cities.
• Control floods and stabilise agriculture.
• Supply drinking water for major urban areas.

From the perspective of planners in Islamabad and Lahore, Mangla represented modernisation and self-reliance. For the people of Mirpur, however, the project soon became synonymous with loss.

A City Beneath the Water

The human cost of progress became painfully clear as surveyors mapped out the future reservoir. The rising waters would swallow entire valleys, villages, mosques, markets, and farmlands.

When the dam gates closed, an estimated 280 villages, including large parts of the Mirpur city itself, disappeared under water. An entire way of life, centuries of heritage, and countless family histories were drowned forever.

Over 100,000 to 150,000 people were displaced. For a population that had already endured the turmoil of Partition just fifteen years earlier, this was a second uprooting, this time not from war, but from the march of development.

Families watched helplessly as bulldozers tore through ancestral homes. Graveyards were relocated, orchards were destroyed, and mosques that once echoed with the adhaan became islands before vanishing below the rising waves.

To this day, elders of Mirpur recall watching the Jhelum River rise like a slow flood, swallowing everything in its path.

The Broken Promises of Rehabilitation

The Government of Pakistan promised that those affected would be compensated and resettled. In practice, many families received far less than the value of their land. New housing colonies, including New Mirpur City, were established, but resources were limited, infrastructure poor, and livelihoods uncertain.

Displaced farmers found themselves without land, tradesmen without workshops, and shopkeepers without markets. The pain of losing not only property but also community was immense. Villages that had been bound together for generations were scattered across new colonies, towns, and countries.

For many, survival meant looking beyond Kashmir.

The Unexpected Destination: Britain

At the same time that Mirpur was losing its land to the reservoir, Britain was facing a different challenge.
After World War II, the UK was rebuilding its industries and cities. There was a severe shortage of labour, especially in textile mills, foundries, and public transport. To fill the gap, Britain turned to its former colonies and Commonwealth partners, inviting workers to help rebuild the nation.

Read more about the contributions of Kashmiris in Britain.

During this period, the Pakistan Government negotiated with the United Kingdom to allow a number of displaced Mangla families to migrate as part of a resettlement programme. This was both a humanitarian and economic arrangement, providing opportunities for the displaced and meeting Britain’s labour demands.

Thus began a wave of migration that would forever change both Mirpur and many British towns.

Mirpur to Midlands: A Journey of Survival

The first groups of Kashmiri migrants arrived in the early 1960s, mostly young men seeking work in Bradford, Birmingham, Oldham, Sheffield, Derby, Luton, and other industrial towns. Many came with little more than a suitcase and the addresses of distant relatives or friends.

Their work was tough, long hours in factories, cold winters, language barriers, and unfamiliar customs.

Yet they brought with them values of hard work, honour, and faith, deeply rooted in the Kashmiri spirit. In small rented houses and factory dormitories, they recreated a sense of home, cooking together, praying together, and supporting each other.

One early migrant, Abdul Rahman from Dadyal, later recalled:

“When I left home, the water had just started to rise. We were told our village would go. I arrived in England with hope, but my heart was still in Kashmir.”

These men sent money home, not just to their families but to rebuild entire communities. Remittances from the UK soon became a lifeline for Azad Kashmir, funding new schools, mosques, and businesses.

By the 1970s, their wives and children began joining them, transforming temporary labour migration into permanent settlement.

Read more about the contributions of Kashmiris in Britain.

From Workers to a Community

What started as a wave of displaced workers evolved into a rooted diaspora. By the late 1970s and 1980s, British towns like Bradford, Birmingham, and Luton had vibrant Kashmiri communities. They built mosques, community centres, and cultural associations, preserving their language and traditions — from Pahari and Potwari dialects to Kashmiri cuisine and crafts.

The Mangla generation worked tirelessly, often in silence, to give their children better lives. Education became the new dream — where once the Jhelum River had sustained their fields, now it was knowledge that sustained their families.

Their children grew into doctors, teachers, councillors, and entrepreneurs. The Kashmiri diaspora became one of the most visible and active communities within Britain’s Muslim population, deeply connected to both nations they called home.

Historic Links: The British Indian Army

Long before the construction of the Mangla Dam, a deep connection already existed between Kashmir and Britain. During the era of British rule in India, thousands of men from the districts of Mirpur, Kotli, and Poonch enlisted in the British Indian Army.

For the colonial forces, these Kashmiri recruits were a source of inexpensive manpower, brave, focused, but easily replaceable in the eyes of their superiors. The words ‘disposable soldiers’ were used to describe these individuals.

But for the Kashmiri men themselves, this was a chance to survive and support their families. Under the Dogra regime, Muslim communities were burdened with crushing taxes and denied fair economic opportunities. Military service offered one of the few ways to earn a steady income, escape poverty, and bring dignity to their struggling households.

They fought bravely in World Wars I and II, including in Burma (Myanmar), North Africa, and Italy.

Their exposure to British officers and institutions meant that, even decades later, Britain felt like a familiar place to many Kashmiris. When migration opportunities arose after the dam, these earlier veterans often paved the way for others, writing letters of invitation or sponsoring relatives.

This long-standing connection is one reason the British-Kashmiri community remains proud of its service and contribution to both Britain’s and Pakistan’s histories.

A Diaspora Defined by Dual Belonging

For many overseas Kashmiris, home is both Britain and Kashmir. Generations born in the UK often grow up hearing stories of the submerged lands, of mango trees and mountain villages that exist now only in memory. The older generation still refers to Mirpur as “back home”, even after fifty years in England.

Diaspora identity is complex, it carries both nostalgia and transformation. British Kashmiris have become an integral part of the UK’s social fabric, yet they continue to express love and loyalty to their ancestral homeland through charitable work, remittances, and cultural preservation.

Charities like the Kashmir Welfare Foundation embody this bridge, combining faith, humanitarian service, and heritage. What began as remittances for family survival has evolved into organised community development such as building schools, hospitals, and water systems in Azad Kashmir, while promoting education and integration in Britain.

Economic Impact of Migration

The Mangla-related migration dramatically reshaped the economy of Azad Kashmir. Remittances from the UK became one of the largest sources of income for the region, financing everything from homes and businesses to infrastructure and education.

Today, towns like Mirpur, Kotli, and Dadyal are often called “Little England” because of their strong ties to the UK — both financially and culturally. Many houses stand empty for much of the year, occupied only when their owners return for holidays from Birmingham or Luton.

The diaspora also transformed British cities, contributing to local economies, trade, and cultural diversity. Restaurants, textile shops, and businesses founded by Kashmiris became landmarks in northern England’s multicultural landscape.

Memory, Loss, and Legacy

Despite the visible success of the diaspora, the emotional scars of displacement have never fully healed. Many elders who were forced to leave Mirpur in the 1960s still speak of the pain of losing ancestral land, the villages beneath the lake, and the graves they could never visit again.

Mangla Lake, beautiful and serene to the visitor’s eye, remains a site of mourning for those who remember what lies beneath. Beneath its calm waters sleep the homes, fields, and memories of generations — a submerged world that still shapes Kashmiri consciousness.

The Mangla Dam stands today as both a monument of progress and a symbol of sacrifice. It gave Pakistan water and electricity, but it took from Kashmiris a landscape of belonging.

Community Strength: From Displacement to Empowerment

Over time, the narrative of loss turned into one of resilience. The displaced did not simply disappear, they rebuilt, adapted, and flourished. In the UK, Kashmiri migrants created community networks that helped later generations access education, employment, and representation.

Kashmiri-origin councillors, mayors, and MPs now serve in various parts of Britain. Young activists, writers, and professionals proudly trace their heritage to the valleys submerged by Mangla. Their stories remind the world that displacement does not erase identity, it transforms it.

Faith also played a powerful role in this transformation. Mosques established by early migrants, often the first buildings they collectively funded — became centres not only of worship but of community life. Islam, family, and education became the three pillars of the diaspora’s growth.

Why Did So Many Kashmiris Come to the UK?

The reasons were intertwined — historical, social, and emotional:

Together, these factors created a self-sustaining migration cycle that continues even today, as younger generations maintain ties with both lands.

The Modern British Kashmiri Identity

Today, British Kashmiris are a vibrant part of the UK’s cultural mosaic. They speak both English and Pahari, celebrate Eid and cultural days, and bridge two worlds effortlessly.

Community leaders often describe this as a “dual identity of pride” — proud to be British citizens contributing to society, and equally proud to be descendants of Kashmir’s mountains and rivers.

In cities like Derby, Bradford, and Birmingham, Kashmiri-owned charities, mosques, and welfare groups play vital roles in supporting not only their own communities but also wider humanitarian efforts, from earthquake relief in Kashmir to food banks in the UK.

This legacy is what makes the Mangla story unique, from forced displacement grew one of the most influential diasporas in Europe.

Mangla Today: Progress and Reflection

Decades later, Mangla remains vital to Pakistan’s economy. It has been raised and expanded, increasing power output and water storage. The dam’s lake now attracts tourists, boaters, and photographers, yet few know the full history beneath the surface.

For the diaspora, visits to Mangla are often deeply emotional. Standing at the viewpoint overlooking the reservoir, many feel pride in their heritage and pain for what was lost. Some families even drop flowers into the water as a gesture to the ancestors whose lands were submerged.

As one elderly returnee once said:

“We lost our homes to the water, but we built new ones across the sea. Our roots are deep — no dam can drown them.”

From Submerged Land to Global Legacy

The story of the Mangla Dam is not just about engineering or politics, it is a story about people.

It tells of the resilience of Kashmiris who lost everything yet rebuilt their lives in foreign lands. It tells of how a tragedy gave birth to one of Britain’s most dynamic communities. And it reminds us that progress, when measured only in megawatts and acres, can forget the hearts it displaces.

Today, as new generations of British Kashmiris rediscover their heritage, the memory of Mangla remains a bridge between past and future, between the valleys of Azad Kashmir and the streets of Birmingham.

Through remembrance, education, and community work, the descendants of the displaced continue to honour their ancestors’ sacrifice, turning a history of loss into a legacy of strength.