I was just walking through some documents I had saved over the years, when it struck me that there has been very little new research work or relook into the history of the hill states. One particular format has been the examination of oral ballads, very few of which seem to be available in popular culture today. However, that was certainly not the case in the British era, when much field work seems to have been done by scholars of Europe on the subject, as they panned across the state of the Lahore kingdom and their adjunct territories. Sirmour was a Small Princely state along the Yamuna river's course While their purpose may have been malevolent in nature, many interesting insights got captured over the course of their work, and replication or improvement on the same seems to be rather scarce, especially in the context of what the European scholars used to call the "Punjab Hill States". One such case was on Sirmour, where very little information can be found in the publi...
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| Raja Sansar Chand Katoch and his son Anirudh Chand Worshipping at the Gauri Shankar Temple in Sujanpur Tira (from Eva-Seitz Collection) |
Kangra was one of the most important and largest hill state in Northern India, and held the distinction of perhaps having one of the oldest continuous dynastic lineage without break. The original claim of the Katoch clan of Kangra has been that they were the original rulers of the ancient Trigarta, which extended into Punjab to include the Jalandhar Doab. Moreover, the clan claims to have participated all the way back into the Mahabharata war on the side of the Kauravas.
While the Mahabharata clan may be difficult to verify, the antiquity has certainly been unquestionable. Archaeological field reports by Alexander Cunningham among other sources clearly find reference to an ancient kingdom of that extent, with remains of coins having been found in and around the Jalandhar Doab among other remains and excavations, that have been documented in archaeological field reports of the time extensively. A possible reason for the retraction of the state into the region among other reasons was believed to be the rampant Islamic invasions especially in the Sultanate periods of Medieval India, affecting all the hill states among others. The Gazetteer of Kangra District of 1883-84 believes that the boundaries of cis-Ravi states in particular, including Nurpur, may have been affected by the Islamic onslaught.
Interestingly, the Katoch clan saw breakaways at different points in time, which further indicate the importance of the state and the boundaries at one point in time, which clearly rivalled Jammu at some stage. As recorded by Hutchison and Vogel in their compendium on the Punjab Hill states, these four states were Jaswan, Haripur/Guler, Siba and Datar State.
Founding of the Jaswan State
Jaswan State occupied a fertile tract in the Jaswan Dun of the hills of Hoshiarpur District of Punjab. It was founded Purab Chand Katoch in A.D. 1170. The circumstances under which the principality separated remain shrouded in mystery. Some believe that Jaswan was originally a fief, which became independent in the unsettled times arising from Islamic invasions. The capital of the State was at Rajpura and the clan called itself Jaswal. Of course, in true Rajput traditions, the families of Jaswan did not marry into the other states and in Kangra ever. Large parts of this state, particularly the Jaswan Dun, today falls in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh.
Founding of the Guler State
Guler was perhaps the largest and the most important of the offshoot states. Having gained fame for its own sub-school of Pahari painting style, the kingdom had come up under extremely strange circumstances, as Hutchison and Vogel marvel on the story of the State’s founding.
The original name of the State was Gwaliar, which got corrupted to Guler. The name was derived from the word Gopala or Gwala (cowherd), as the tradition states that a cowherd pointed out to Hari Chand the site, where a tiger and a goat were seen drinking water together, as a suitable place for his capital. The town established at the base of the fort was called Haripur, named after Hari Chand.
The story explaining the reasons behind the establishment of the Guler State are extremely strange to say the least. As the story goes, during the sixteenth century A.D. Hari Chand was the original successor to the throne of the Kangra kingdom, and had even ascended to the throne. Once, during a hunting expedition in the neighborhood of Harsar, a village, Hari Chand had fallen into a well, and remained undiscoverable despite a long search by friends and family. Keeping the throne vacant was a certain problem, and the belief that the king had fallen a victim to some beast of prey. His loss was motu-ned as one who was dead meant that Hari Chand’s funeral rites were completed, and his brother Karam Chand ascended the throne.
Meanwhile Hari Chand, after the lapse of several days, (22 days as the story goes) was discovered in the well by some shepherds who managed to extricate him. His position was embarrassing. Since his name had been effaced from the rolls of the living, and another king had been placed on the throne, Hari Chand believed that his return to Kangra would cause chaos. With this in mind, he resolved not to attempt the recovery of his birthright.
Thus, as the Gazetteer of the Kangra State observes the elder brother reigned at Haripur over much smaller territory, and the younger brother sat, by an accident, on the hereditary throne of the Katochs. However, Guler takes precedence over Kangra. Goler is the senior branch, the head of the house, and on any decision when etiquette is observed, the first place was conceded to Guler. Consequently, the clan also adopted the name Guleria.
Founding of the Siba State
Siba State was an offshoot from Guler state, and thus an indirect offshoot of the Kangra state. During the rule of fourth generation of the state’s formation, a
Sibarn Chand, the younger brother of the ruling Chief of Guler, declared his own state in a tract to the south of the Beas river sometime around A.D. 1450. Sibarn Chand founded the capital and named it Siba after his own name. This was the norm in Kangra and Guler. The state is today almost exclusively found within the Pragpur tehsil of Kangra District, and the boundaries are nearly representative of the original state’s boundaries.
Founding of the Datarpur State
Datarpur State came up as an offshoot of the Siba state. During the rule of the seventh generation of the Siba state, the king Manak Chand had three sons – Narmada Chand, Ram Chand and Lakhudah Chand. The third son, who resided in Dada within the Siba State, named Datar Chand, had founded the Datarpur State in A.D. 1550. The state was essentially a tract in the Dasuya tehsil of Hoshiarpur.
This tract was originally in the possession of a local chief, who had called in Datar Chand to help against his enemies, as pointed out by Hutchison and Vogel. However, after reclaiming the territory, he declared himself ruler. Giving the kingdom his own name, he called it Datarpur, and the family clan got the name of the family is Dadwal, being originally from Dada.
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