Kangra Himachal Pradesh: History and Economy

Prateek Bachlas

6 years ago

Kangra Himachal Pradesh: History and Economy

In this article, we will talk about the ancient history of Kangra Himachal Pradesh which is the fourth highest as per area after Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba and Kinnaur. Kangra became a district of Himachal Pradesh on 1st November 1966 having area of 5,739 sq km. History of Kangra Himachal Pradesh is mainly divided into three parts: Ancient, Medieval and Modern history. So here we begin:

ANCIENT HISTORY: It is believed that in ancient times, Kangra was formed at the time of Mahabharata. Bhumi Chand founded this riyasat, at that time Multan (Pakistan) was its capital. 234th king of Kangra, Susharma made Kangra as Capital and got the Kangra fort constructed. He was founder of Kangra. He sided Kauravas during Mahabharata. The meaning of trigatra is land between three rivers i.e. Ravi, Beas and Satluj. Banganga, Nugal and Kurali khad’s meeting point is also known as trigatra. As per Cunningham, Jalandhar’s name has been taken from Jalandhar Rakshak, who was killed by Lord Shiva. Mohd. Ghajnavi Darbari UTBI mentioned this fort as Bheemkot in his book.

Books: Trigatra is mentioned in Mahabharata, Puranas and Rajtrangini. Panini also mentioned Trigatra as Ayudhjeevi Sangh in eighth chapter. Kangra means Kan-ka-gad. Lord Shiva killed Jalandhara and his ear fell here.

European Traveller: 1615-Thomas Koryat, 1666-Thevenot, 1783-Foster and 1832-William Moorcraft visited this place. Hiuen Tsang visited in 635AD.

MEDEIVAL HISTORY: Mahmoud Ghajnavi in 1009 attacked Kangra Fort by defeating Anandpal and Bhrampal. Jagdish Chand was the king of Kangra at that time. Kangra was under Turak till 1043. Tomar king helped Kangra to get free from Turak. In 1051-52 Kangra was again under Turak till 1060.

Tuglaq: Mohammad Bin Tuglaq attacked Kangra in 1337. Prithvi Chand was the king at that time. Firozshah Tuglaq took 1300 books from Jwalaji to France to get them translated into Faarsi (French). Firozshah Tuglaq’s son Nasirudin Shah took shelter in Kangra in 1389.

Taimur Lang: Kangra king Meghchand 1398 Taimur Lang looted Shivalik (1399) and Dhameri.

Harichand-I And Karamchand: Harichand went for hunting and got lost. His people thought that he was dead and made Karamchand the king. After which he founded Gileir Riyasat. Sansarchand-I, son of Karamchand became king in 1430.

Mughal Vansh : As per Tabakat-e-Akbar, Shanjahan occupied Kangra Fort. Akbar sent Todarmal to measure hilly regions. Vidhichand, in 1589, revolted against Mughals with the help of other kings but lost. Trilokchand (1605-12) and Harichand-II (1612-17) were the kings at the time of Jahangir. Nawab Ali Khan was first mughal kiledar of Kangra Fort. Jahangir got a mosque constructed inside Kangra Fort. Nawab Saif Ali Khan was the last kiledar of Kangra fort.

MODERN HISTORY:

Abhay Chand (1747-50): He built a fort at thakurdwara and Tihra fort in 1748.

Ghamand Chand (1751-74): He laid the foundation of Sujanpur town in 1761 . In the time of Ahmadshah Durani, he left Kangra. He died in 1774.

Sansar Chand–II (1775-1824): Jassa Singh Ramgarhiya was the first Sikh to attack Kangra, Chambaand Nurpur. Jai Singh Kanhaiya defeated him in 1775. Sansar Chand kept Ishwari Sen (Mandi) in jail for 12 years. Amar Singh Thapa freed him. In 1794, he attacked Bilaspur which is responsible for his decline. Amar Singh Thapa defeated him in Mahalmoriya in 1805. In 1809, Raja Ranjit Singh defeated Amar Singh Thapa and in 1809 Jawalamukhi ki Sandhi was signed between Sansar Chand and Ranjit Singh. Sansar Chand gave Kangra fort and 66 villages to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh made Dessa Singh Majithiya governor of Kangra Fort and areas of Kangra. Sansar Chand died in 1824.

Economy of Kangra: The economy is the start and end of everything. You can’t have successful education reform or any other reform if you don’t have a strong economy. Economy of Kangra has played an important role in the economy of our state. Further the economy of our state plays important role in the economy of our country. So let us know about the economy of Kangra:

1. Tea farming was started in 1849 in Kangra Himachal Pradesh. Tea processing factory was set up in Beed. Tea Farm was opened in 1939 in Palampur.

2. Silk seed centres are running in Nagrota, Palampur and Shahpur.

3. Bee keeping centre was opened in Nagrota in 1936.

4. In 1973, Milk project “Dugad Yojna” was started.

5. Natural resources in the form of Natural gases were found in Jwalaji.

6. Various Hydel projects are running in Kangra. These include:

i) Pong Hydroelectric project (396 MW)

ii) Gaj Hydroelectric Project, Shahpur (10 MW).

iii) Baner Hydroelectric Project (12 MW).

Main Temples in Kangra:

Temples are the main attraction of this district. Some of the important temples are discussed below:

Lake at Chamunda Devi (**Credits**: **Himachal Full Knowledge**)

1. Brijeshwari temple: Mahmoud Ghazni plundered it. 1905 earthquake damaged it

2. Jwalamukhi temple: Maharaja Ranjit Singh made the dome (gumbad) of gold here in 1813. The tongue of Maa sati is said to have fallen here.

3. Masrur rock cut temple: Naagar shaili built by Kashmir Raja Lalityaditya in 8th century. It is dedicated to lord Shiva and also know as Ajanta of Himachal.

4.Baijnath Temple: Baijnath, dedicated to lord Shiva, Shikhar shally, 1204 myuk and aahuk named trader built it.

5. Bhagsunaag temple: Raja Dharam hand

6. Brij Bihari temple: It lies in Nurpur, and was made by Raja Basu

7. Chamunda Devi: It lies in 10 km west of Palampur.

8.Kunal pathri: It is believed that skull of sati fallen here,and temple is surrounded by tea gardens, it is 5km away from Dharamshala.

9. Bagla Mukhi temple: It lies in doorway of Kotla fort near Kangra.

Thanks for going through the History and economy of Kangra Himachal Pradesh. Lot More coming your way, Stay tuned. Don’t forget to visit this URL for more questions on Himachal Pradesh General Awareness: himbuds.com/category/hpas

Featured Image: hpkangra.gov.in

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