Mung Yadgar-e-Shuhada: The Sudhan Uprising Memorial

The Yadgar-e-Shuhada at Mung (also spelt Mong or Mang) is the martyrs' memorial in Sudhnoti district, Azad Kashmir, to the Sudhan leaders killed while resisting Sikh and Dogra rule in the 1830s. It marks the place where, according to the AJK Tourism and Archaeology Department, captured Sudhan chiefs were flayed alive on Gulab Singh's orders and their stuffed skins hung from trees. Mung is a small town a short drive north-west of Pallandri, and the memorial is the reason most people with an interest in Poonch's history go there.

This guide explains the uprising the memorial commemorates, why the date is given differently in different sources, how to reach Mung, and what to combine it with.

What happened at Mung?

The Sikh Empire took Kashmir in 1819, but the hills of western Poonch, Sudhan country, held out for years. The Sudhans were led by the chieftain Shams Khan and the sardars Sabz Ali Khan and Malli Khan. In 1832 Gulab Singh, then Raja of Jammu, and his brother Dhian Singh called in Ranjit Singh, who came with a large army and hill guns; the Sudhan leaders submitted and Shams Khan was taken to Lahore as a hostage.

Shams Khan came home in 1836. In 1837, as rumours of a Sikh defeat at Jamrud spread, he led a new revolt across Poonch. Mung was the Sudhan stronghold, and the fight for it was the deadliest of the campaign, with heavy losses on both sides before Dogra troops took it after a long assault. Fighting also took place at Pallandri, Baral, Pachhiot, Narian and other villages.

What followed is why Mung matters. Captured rebels had their hands and feet cut off. Sabz Ali Khan and Malli Khan were flayed alive. Shams Khan and his nephew Rajwali were later killed in a night ambush and their heads displayed in iron cages on the Adha Dek pass. Gulab Singh offered five rupees for the head of any insurgent or anyone connected to one. British officers of the time put the dead at around 12,000 (Lepel Griffin) to 14,000 or 15,000 (Major Carmichael Smyth), and famine followed because the fields had gone untended.

Was it 1832 or 1837?

The AJK archaeology department's page dates the killings to 1832 and names Raja Hira Singh as the man who killed most of the Sudhan leaders, with Gulab Singh flaying the rest and hanging their stuffed skins on trees at Mung. Wikipedia's article on the 1837 Poonch revolt, which draws on Diwan Kirpa Ram's Gulabnama and Muhammad Yusuf Saraf's history of the Kashmiri freedom struggle, places the flaying of Sabz Ali Khan and Malli Khan in the 1837 revolt, with 1832 as the year of the earlier submission.

We follow the 1837 dating for the executions because it rests on named historical sources, but you will see 1832 on the official page and in some local accounts. Either way, the memorial honours the same people and the same events.

What is the memorial like?

Wikipedia records that the Yadgar-e-Shuhada was built at Mung after Azad Kashmir came into being, to honour the sardars and chieftains who died. We could not find a reliable published description of its present form, any inscriptions, a caretaker, or a fixed date for commemorations, so we will not describe what you will find there. Ask in Mung for directions; the memorial is the town's best-known landmark.

It is a place of mourning for the Sudhan tribe, which makes up most of Sudhnoti's population, rather than a tourist attraction. Dress and behave as you would at a graveyard, ask before photographing people, and avoid treating the story as a curiosity.

Mung in 1947

Mung's place in the region's memory did not end with the 19th century. Wikipedia notes that it was a base of operations in the 1947 Poonch revolt, and that Captain Khan Muhammad Khan, known as the Khan of Mong, was a guerrilla leader in the First Kashmir War. For the bigger picture, see our history of Azad Kashmir. Today Mung is a quiet town with schools and a campus of the University of Poonch.

How do you get to Mung?

Drive first to Pallandri, Sudhnoti's district headquarters, about 97 km from Rawalpindi by Kahuta and the Azad Pattan bridge; our Pallandri guide covers the town and the climb up from the Jhelum. Mung lies north-west of Pallandri and is connected to it, and to Rawalakot and Thorar, by roads with daily bus services.

We have not been able to confirm a road distance or drive time from Pallandri, so ask locally and allow extra time on the narrow hill roads. Signal can drop between villages, so download an offline map before leaving Pallandri.

What can you combine it with?

The best pairing is Baral Fort, south of Pallandri, which Gulab Singh built in 1837 to 1839 to hold the district after the revolt. Seeing the fort and the memorial on the same day gives you both sides of the story.

In and around Pallandri you can also see Rani Baoli, a Dogra-period stepwell of dressed stone, and the stone DC House of 1915 from outside. For an overnight stay with more choice, continue to Rawalakot and Banjosa Lake; our places to visit in Rawalakot covers that end of Poonch.

Who should make the trip?

Mung is worth the detour if you care about the history of Poonch and the Sudhan tribe, or if you have family roots in Sudhnoti. It is a short, sober stop that gives real meaning to the hill country you drive through between Azad Pattan and Rawalakot.

It is not a scenic or family destination in itself, and there is nothing to do there beyond paying respects and reading the landscape. If you are heading to Azad Kashmir for lakes and meadows, put your time into Rawalakot and Banjosa, or see the experiences page and our Azad Kashmir guide for other options.

Is it safe to visit Sudhnoti?

Pakistani visitors travel through Sudhnoti regularly, and it is well away from the Line of Control. Azad Kashmir saw its deadliest unrest in years in the 2026 Joint Awami Action Committee protests from June, with road blockades and long phone and internet shutdowns, so check local news and current police advice before you go. As of September 2026 the UK government advises against all but essential travel to Azad Kashmir beyond the 10-mile LoC zone; overseas visitors should check their own government's advice, since ignoring it can void travel insurance.

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