Sansar Chand Katoch portrait The Gorkha invasion of Kangra in 1805–06 is a fairly well-known episode in the history of the western Himalayan states. The campaign, that eventually brought Raja Sansar Chand's ambitions to a halt and led to his decline, has been discussed in multiple historical accounts. Yet, while going through some older writings on the history of Nepal, I came across an account that seems to suggest that the confrontation between the Katochs and the Gorkhas was not a one-off; it was one of the multiple confrontations that had occurred, arising from a variety of reasons. The account appears in Ludwig F. Stiller's The Rise of the House of Gorkha: A Study in the Unification of Nepal, 1768–1816 (1973) , which draws upon Francis Buchanan-Hamilton's earlier An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal (1819) . The story begins not with the Gorkhas, but with Sansar Chand's growing influence in the region. Hamilton wrote that after the demise of Dharma Prakash, who had d...
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| Sansar Chand Katoch portrait |
The Gorkha invasion of Kangra in 1805–06 is a fairly well-known episode in the history of the western Himalayan states. The campaign, that eventually brought Raja Sansar Chand's ambitions to a halt and led to his decline, has been discussed in multiple historical accounts. Yet, while going through some older writings on the history of Nepal, I came across an account that seems to suggest that the confrontation between the Katochs and the Gorkhas was not a one-off; it was one of the multiple confrontations that had occurred, arising from a variety of reasons.
The account appears in Ludwig F. Stiller's The Rise of the House of Gorkha: A Study in the Unification of Nepal, 1768–1816 (1973), which draws upon Francis Buchanan-Hamilton's earlier An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal (1819). The story begins not with the Gorkhas, but with Sansar Chand's growing influence in the region. Hamilton wrote that after the demise of Dharma Prakash, who had died battling Sansar Chand's forces following the conflict involving Kahlur, Karma Prakash inherited both the throne and a rather difficult political situation.
According to Sirmour Riyasat ka Itihas, Karma Prakash was ill-prepared for the responsibilities of kingship: having spent his earlier years away from the administration, he had little understanding of state affairs and limited administrative experience. Consequently, factionalism and administrative disorder marred his short tenure. Initially, he governed under the advice of Wazir Mehta Prem Singh, with whom he had a close relationship, but tensions soon developed between the wazir and other officials. The situation deteriorated further when Prem Singh, fearing the Raja's hostility after an exchange in which Karma Prakash accused him of having been responsible for his brother's death, allegedly conspired against the ruler.
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| Amar Singh Thapa |
In the midst of this chaos, Karma Prakash, who had otherwise holed himself up in Kiarda Dun after fleeing Nahan to avoid potential threats, travelled to Dehradun to meet the leader of the western Gorkha campaign, Kazi Amar Singh Thapa. There, Karma Prakash reminded Thapa about an earlier treaty between Nepal and Sirmaur that recognised the Ganga as the boundary between their territories, and how the Gorkhas violated this arrangement by occupying Dehradun during Sirmaur's internal troubles. Karma Prakash nevertheless offered to restore their understanding if Amar Singh would assist him in suppressing the rebels and recovering his state. It was in this context that Karma Prakash invoked his alliance with the Gorkhas and sought assistance from Amar Singh Thapa, the officer commanding the forces of the Nepal government in Garhwal.
At the same time, Prem Singh had encouraged Ram Saran Singh of Handur to invade Sirmaur's territories and also sought to foment internal unrest by drawing Kanwar Kishan Singh into rebellion. Ram Saran Singh occupied parts of Sirmaur adjoining Hindur, while Kishan Singh and his associates began plundering the state, including its capital, Nahan, and established themselves at the fort of Narayangarh. Hamilton's account, however, presents a somewhat different explanation, suggesting that Sansar Chand had persuaded the Raja of Handur to turn against his ally, Sirmaur, by promising him independence and leadership over the twelve chiefs who had earlier been alienated from Bilaspur and made tributary to Sirmaur.
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| Bhakti Thapa |
What followed next was typical of the shifting sands politics of the times in the region. Amar Singh responded by sending Bhakti Thapa with a force of 1,000 fusiliers (bearers of fusil gun). These troops joined the forces of Sirmaur and advanced westwards in search of their enemies. Hamilton records that they were soon compelled to retreat by the combined forces of Sansar Chand and Handur. This is a particularly interesting detail, since it places a Gorkha military contingent in direct confrontation with Sansar Chand's forces at a date earlier than the conventional campaign of 1805–06. The episode did not end there though; following the setback suffered by the combined forces, Sansar Chand entered into negotiations with Krishna Singha, the uncle of Karma Prakash, and with his assistance plundered the family possessions of that chief.
Following this Karma once again appealed to Amar Singh Thapa. This time, Amar Singh himself advanced with his entire force, eventually subduing Handur and the adjoining territories, while restoring Karma Prakash to possession of his estates.
What makes this account particularly interesting is the sequence of events that emerge. The Gorkhas were not simply advancing westwards through a series of military conquests; rather, they were intervening in regional politics, and this intervention was shaped by existing political alliances and rivalries among the hill states. The appeal from Sirmaur brought them into a conflict in which Sansar Chand was already deeply involved. The initial expedition under Bhakti Thapa failed, but Amar Singh's subsequent intervention appears to have substantially altered the balance of power in the region.
One must also remember that there is another conflict that is mentioned by Moorcroft in his travel diaries between Sansar Chand and the Gorkhas. William Moorcroft, writing on the basis of information gathered during his travels in the hills, describes how Sansar Chand successfully repelled a Gorkha invasion and drove the invading force beyond the Sutlej. A treaty was subsequently concluded, recognising the river as a boundary which neither side was to cross. Shiv Prasad Dabaral also records this sequence of events in his account of the Gorkha expansion towards the Sutlej. Interestingly, only R. K. Kaushal dates this earlier invasion to 1801, although Moorcroft or Dabaral never provide an explicit year.
It is tempting to connect the episode described by Hamilton with the earlier Sutlej crossing recorded by Moorcroft and Dabaral. However, the two accounts do not necessarily describe the same military encounter. Hamilton's narrative concerns the intervention of Bhakti Thapa in support of Sirmoor, followed by Amar Singh's campaign against Hanur. Moorcroft and Dabaral, on the other hand, describe a direct crossing of the Sutlej into Sansar Chand's territory, followed by a Gorkha defeat and a negotiated boundary. Whether these events formed part of a connected sequence, or were separate confrontations during the early phase of Gorkha expansion, remains an interesting question.
What is becoming increasingly apparent is that the familiar invasion of 1805–06 may not have been the first occasion on which Sansar Chand had to contend with Gorkha military power. Judging by Karma Prakash's timelines, this incident may have taken place around 1803-04, well before the major invasion undertaken by the Gurkhas in December 1805.
Hamilton's account clearly provides an important additional piece of evidence - rather than one decisive Gorkha invasion followed by the fall of Kangra's political ambitions, we may be looking at a longer series of military interventions, shifting alliances and confrontations that preceded the events of 1805–06. And that, in itself, makes this lesser-known episode worth revisiting.
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