Garhwal kingdom


Kingdom of Garhwal was also known as Tehri Garhwal, was a princely state under British paramountcy in the current north-western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India, founded in 823 CE by Kanak Pal the progenitor of the Panwar dynasty that ruled over the kingdom uninterrupted until 1803 CE.
The princely state was divided into two parts during the British Raj, namely: the princely state of Garhwal and the Garhwal District of British India. The princely state of Garhwal consisted of the present day Tehri Garhwal district and most of the Uttarkashi district. This former state acceded to the Union of India in August 1949 CE.

History

Ancient

The royal dynasty of Garhwal started with Kanak Pal. Garhwal Kingdom was founded in 823 AD, when Kanak Pal, the prince of Malwa, on his visit to the Badrinath Temple, met Raja Bhanu Pratap, the ruler of Chandpur Garhi, one of the 52 Garhs of Garhwal. Raja Bhanu Pratap had no sons. The King married his only daughter to the prince and subsequently handed over his kingdom, the fortress town. Kanak Pal and his descendants of Panwar dynasty, gradually conquered all the independent fortresses belonging to its 52 small chieftains, and ruled the whole of Garhwal Kingdom for the next 916 years, up to 1804 AD.

Medieval

In 1358, the 37th ruler, Ajay Pal, brought all the minor principalities for the Garhwal region, under his own rule, and founded the Garhwal Kingdom, with Devalgarh as its capital, which he later shifted to Srinagar. Balbhadra Shah, was the first Raja of Garhwal to use the title Shah. The capital was shifted to Srinagar by Mahipat Shah who ascended to the throne in 1622, and further consolidated his rule over most parts of Garhwal, though he died early in 1631, though his seven-year-old son, Prithvi Shah ascended to the throne after him, the Kingdom was ruled by Mahipat Shah's wife, Rani Karnavati for many years to come, during which she successfully defended the kingdom against invaders and repelled an attack of Mughal army led by Najabat Khan in 1640, and in time received the nickname of 'Nakti Rani' as she used to chop off the noses of any invader to the kingdom, as the Mughal invaders of the period realised.
The next important ruler was Fateh Shah, remained the King of Garhwal from 1684 to 1716, and is most known for taking part in the Battle of Bhangani on 18 September 1688, where combined forces of many Rajas of the Shivalik Hills fought with 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh's army. During his reign, Sikh Guru and the ex-communicated eldest son of Har Rai, Ram Rai settled here, upon recommendations of Aurangzeb, which eventually led to the establishment of modern town of Dehradun. Fateh Shah died in 1716, and his son Upendra Shah died within a year of ascending to the throne in 1717, subsequently Pradip Shah ascended and his rule led to rising fortunes of the Kingdom, this in turn attracted invaders, like Najib-ud-daula Governor of Saharanpur, who invaded in 1757 along with his Rohilla Army and captured Dehradun. However, in 1770, the Garhwali forces defeated the Rohillas and retrieved possession of the Dun region.
In 1791 Gorkha forces of the Kingdom of Nepal, invaded Kumaon and took control of most of the hill country, expelling or subduing most of the rajas.

Twelve-year Gorkha occupation (Gorkhyani)

The Garhwal kings went into exile in British territory as the Gorkhas began their twelve-year rule over Garhwal region.
The Gorkhas ruled Garhwal with an iron fist. Their excessive taxation policy, iniquitous judicial system, slavery, torture and lack of civilised administrative set up made the Gorkha rulers extremely unpopular amongst their subjects. Cultivation declined rapidly and villages were deserted. During the Gorkha rule, a revenue settlement for Garhwal was undertaken in 1811. The rates were so high that the land-owners found it difficult to honour, and the Gorkhas sold hundreds of their family members into slavery in satisfaction of the arrears. If a person or his family members were not purchased as slaves in auction, such people were sent to Bhimgoda near Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar for selling. The Gorkhas are said to have established a slave market at Das Bazar in Haridwar. Harak Dev Joshi, a prominent minister from the Kumaon court wrote letters to Fraser, the resident at Delhi describing the atrocities committed by the Gorkhas on the Garhwali people. British writer and explorer Captain F.V. Raper has written an eye-witness account of it in the Asiatic Researches :
Scottish travel writer and artist, J. B. Fraser wrote:
The Mukhtiyar of Nepal, Bhimsen Thapa imposed a general restriction on human trafficking in Garhwal, Sirmur and other areas in 1812 A.D. Anti-bribery regulations were issued against regional governors and declared it illegal to give or take any form of bribes or gifts from people. He established Hulak system through a relay of porters up to Yamuna river in Garhwal. Regulations issued in July 1809 states:
The royal court sent the following orders regarding abolition of slave trading:

Defeat of the Gorkhas and split of Garhwal Kingdom

The occupation of the kingdom by the Gorkhas went unopposed from 1803 to 1814 until a series of encroachments by the Gorkhas on British territory led to the Anglo-Nepalese War in 1814. Sudarshan Shah, son and heir of the defeated ruler of the Kingdom of Garhwal who was in exile in British territory, saw his chance and entered into an alliance with the British in 1812. When the expected war erupted, he joined forces with them in the conquest of the hill territories. At the war's end on 21 April 1815, as a result of the Treaty of Sugauli, the British annexed half of the Kingdom of Garhwal and converted the other half into a subsidiary princely state.

Formation of the Princely State of Tehri Garhwal

Sudarshan Shah, the heir to the Kingdom of Garhwal received approximately half his ancestral territories, limited to western Garhwal region and received recognition as Raja of a new princely state of Garhwal. The British established their rule over the eastern half of the Garhwal region, which lies east of Alaknanda and Mandakini river, which was later on known as British Garhwal and Dehradun, along with Kumaon, which was merged with British India as a result of the Treaty of Sugauli. The former Kumaon Kingdom was joined with the eastern half of the Garhwal region and was governed as a chief-commissionership, also known as the Kumaon Province, on the non-regulation system.
Since the capital Srinagar was now part of the British Garhwal, a new capital was established at Tehri, giving the name of Tehri state.
Sudarshan Shah died in 1859, and was succeeded by Bhawani Shah, who in turn was succeeded by Pratap Shah in 1872. The kingdom had an area of, and a population of 268,885 in 1901. The ruler was given the title of Raja, but after 1913, he was honoured with the title of Maharaja. The King was entitled to an 11 gun salute and had a privy purse of 300,000 Rupees. In 1919, Maharaja Narendra Shah shifted the capital from Tehri to a new town, which was named after him, Narendranagar.

India's independence

During the Quit India Movement people from this region actively worked for the independence of India. Ultimately, when the country was declared independent in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat started their movement to free themselves from the clutches of the Maharaja Narendra Shah.
Due to this movement, the situation became out of his control and it was difficult for him to rule over the region. Consequently, the 60th king of Panwar dynasty, Manabendra Shah, the last ruling Maharaja of the Garhwal Kingdom, accepted the sovereignty of the Union of India. Tehri Riyasat was merged into the Garhwal District of United Provinces and was given the status of a new district, the Tehri Garhwal district. Subsequently, on 24 February 1960, the state government separated one of its tehsils which was given the status of a separate district named Uttarkashi. It is currently part of the Garhwal Division of the Uttarakhand state of India which was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. Former royal palace of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal at Narendranagar, now houses the Ananda in the Himalayas spa, established 2000.

Flag of Garhwal

The flag of Garhwal was known as Badrinathji Ki Pataka or Garuda Dhwaj. It was in use since pre-1803 as a symbol of Garhwal State; and continued to be used from 1803 to 1949 as the symbol of princely state of Garhwal,. After 1949, this flag is the symbol of Royal family and Lord Badrinath. The colour scheme is two equal stripes of white and green horizontally placed and the symbol used was Garuda. White stands for purity, peace, tranquillity with snow as an additional meaning for Himalayan state. Green stands for agriculture, greenery, prosperity and progress. According to Filcher11, the colours represent the snow of the Himalaya and the forests of the state. In the centre the crest of the coat of arms is placed – an eagle with expanded wings is the vehicle of Lord Badrinath / Vishnu with emphasis on Garhwal being God's own abode.
"As Garuda is where Lord Vishnu is, it celebrates association of Garhwal with Lord Vishnu. As Lord Himself has a role sustaining the world, the state of Garhwal is sustained by support of God. It is in a pose with expanded wings which shows readiness and preparation to soar high. Thus it gives a meaning of divinity, majesty and ambitious preparedness with readiness to embark on great undertakings."
This verse was used with special fervour in Garhwal due to the Flag being Garuda Dhwaj. The verse was used by ruler of princely state himself while bidding farewell to state forces.

Rulers of Garhwal

According to Atkinson, there are four chronological lists of the Parmar rulers of Garhwal.
Mola Ram the 18th century painter, poet, historian and diplomat of Garhwal wrote the historical work Garhrajvansh Ka Itihas which is the only source of information about several Garhwal rulers.
No.NameReignPortraitNo.NameReignPortraitNo.NamePortraitReign
1Kanak Pal688–69921Vikram Pal1116–113141Vijay Pal1426–1437
2Shyam Pal699–72522Vichitra Pal1131–114042Sahaj Pal1437–1473
3Pandu Pal725–75623Hans Pal1141–115243Bahadur Shah1473–1498
4Abhijat Pal756–78024Som Pal1152–115944Man Shah1498–1518
5Saugat Pal781–80025Kadil Pal1159–116445Shyam Shah1518–1527
6Ratna Pal800–85026Kamadev Pal1172–117946Mahipat Shah1527–1552
7Shali Pal850–85727Sulakshan Dev1179–119747Prithvi Shah1552–1614
8Vidhi Pal858–87728Lakhan Dev1197–122048Medini Shah1614–1660
9Madan Pal887–89529Anand Pal II1220–124149Fateh Shah1660–1708
10Bhakti Pal895–91930Purva Dev1241–126050Upendra Shah1708–1709
11Jayachand Pal920–94831Abhay Dev1260–126751Pradip Shah1709–1772
12Prithvi Pal949–97132Jayaram Dev1267–129052Lalit Shah1772–1780
13Medinisen Pal973–99533Asal Dev1290–129953Jayakrit Shah1780–1786
14Agasti Pal995–101434Jagat Pal1299–131154Pradyumna Shah1786–1804
15Surati Pal1015–103635Jit Pal1311–133055Sudarshan Shah1815–1859
16Jay Pal1037–105536Anant Pal II1330–135856Bhawani Shah1859–1871
17Anant Pal I1056–107237Ajay Pal1358–138957Pratap Shah1871–1886
18Anand Pal I1072–108338Kalyan Shah1389–139858Kirti Shah1886–1913
19Vibhog Pal1084–110139Sundar Pal1398–141359Narendra Shah1913–1946
20Suvayanu Pal1102–111540Hansadev Pal1413–142660Manabendra Shah1946–1949