Gazetteers of the Simla Hill States
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PUNJAB StATES GAZETTEERS. VOLUME VIII. PART A. GAZETTEERS OF THE SIMLA HILL STATES. 1934. COl!PILED AND PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF 'l:HE PUNJAB GOVERNMENT • • Lahore: ' ~ l'rmted by the Sapermtendcnt, Government Prmtu>g, PnnJab ~- 1935. Price : Ra. 1·14..0 or "'· lO-t. PUNJAB STATES GAZETTEERS. VOLUME Vill. PART A GAZETTEERS OF THE SIMLA HILL STATES. 1934. COMPILED AND PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE PUNJAB GOVERNMENT. Labore a Printed b7 the Supermteadont, Govemmmt Pnntlajr, Panfab. l93S. R;u••J I.Jat of Aroato for t~o /i•'• vf PuaJab Govoramoat Pubhcatioaa. Os TD CoBTI!IBNT .A5D UNITED KnranoM ~ -......, ,. - ~Pub~oattooa oblalnable 01tbor d1rect from tho H•gh CommiSSioner for India, at ~-Iadla Houoe. Aldwyob, London, W C 2, or through any bookseller Ill INDIA . , - .... ..,. _ 'l'be MAIU.OIIB, •• The-Qoauau D11Jer" and the Umon Pres,;, Amntsar The M.a.NAO'IB, The Mufid t·' Am Press, Lahore · · "'" _} The 'd:A "f.&.GUIO Pa.oPB.tBTO~-The Cammeroua.l Book £omps.ny, Brandreth Road, Lahore e.-J.J..,. .1!..-..... r .. .i Jdesare R.uu KBISBlfA & SoNs, Ana.rkah, Lahore. The HoNY SIIOBBTABY, PuoJn.b Rehg1ous Book Soc1ety, Lahore L. RAil LAL SURt, Propnotor,·" The Stadooll' Owa-Agonoy," Anarkab, Lahore. The PBOPBIBTOB, PunJab Law Book Mart, Mohaa Lal Road, Lahore. L. DawA!I CB.AMD, Propnotor, The .Meroanttl~ p,.,.., NISbet Road, Lahore. B S J&URA, Esq, B A., B T, •The Stadenll'' Popular Dopdt, Kaohen Road, Lahore u-n GoP.t.L Soraa SlJilJ & Co , Law Booksellers and Bmdors, Lahore Tho ~4o..B, Uruvemtyllook Agoooy Kaohen Road, Lahore- - The PaoPB!IITOB, City Book Co, Poet Box No 283, Madras < • no PBOPBJBTOB, The Book Compaoy, Ltd • College gqpare, Caloatta ·-Tho MA!140IIII, StandanU!ook Deplt, ;rho Mall, Lahore The PaoPIUBTOB, Aftab Pun.Jab General Law Book Age-;;oy, near Old C.ty Pohoe Station, Lahore • The MA!I&ODIQ P.umnm, The Bombay Book Depclt, Gll'gaoO. Bombay, !lleoaro CnTTBBn & Co, Rooksellero, 3 Bach&r~tm Chatter:JI Lane, Poet Ollioe Hatkhola, Calcutta. - Tho MaN ..OilB, The Oxford Book and Stattonery Co , The Mall, Labore u-rs TIIAOKBB SPD11< & Co , Ltd., P 0 Box No 54, Calcutta. Hosara. D B T48APOBBV.u..&, SoNs & Co, Kttah Mahal, 190, Homhy Road, Fort Bombay Heosrs. W NaWIIA!I & Co, Ltd., 3, Old Court Hoose Street, Post Box No 76, Calcutta. Tho ~.. oBB, The Now'Book Dopilt, No 79, The Mali. Sllllla. The M4NAOBB, Tho Eogll8h Book Depilt, Tal Road, Agra l'tleosro R CAIIBB&r & Co , ll·A. Ha1dar Lane, Bowbazar, Calcutta Heosra. DASB BBOTIIIIBS, Bookoellers and Pubhohers, Anarkah, Lahore. r.r Fuoz.UD Dnr & Solis, Government Pnntere and Booksellers, opp001te Tonga Stand, Loharl Gate,.Labore. l'tleosrs B P.l.Biltll & Oo., Booksellers and Pubhohero, NarsmhJI Pole, Baroda. Mr H D L....., Bm, B Com., Knohna Nagar, Lahore. (For Law pubhoahoDS only) l'tleosrs R 8 ToJWU. & Son, Pabhobero, Onontal and Fomgo Bookoellero, oppo lllte Fan Gate, Dellu. H...,., SAIIPSOll WILLIAK & Co, Booksellero, &o, 127-B, Tho MaD, CaWDpC>!e, F.oQIB CR.um IIIAaw.ur, Bookoeller, Peshawar Cantonment. BHAJJI STATE, 1934. CHAPTER I -Descriptive. SECTION. A.-General.; The BhaJji State lies between 81° 7' and 81° 17' north, and 177° 23' east, on the south bank of the SutlPJ Its maximum length is CRAP_:!. A. 22 miles and Its maxrmum breadth 9 miles ; its area Is 98 square Counl. ,miles, and the population accordmg to, the census of 1931 is ,15,413. It IS bounded on the north by Suket, on the east by Sangn and Kumharsam, on the_ south by Keonthal, Madhan, Koti, Patiala and Dharm, and on the west by Baghal. The capital, Sum, IS on the SutleJ about twenty-four miles from Simla ; Its populatiOn accordmg to the census of 1931IA 692. The country IS mountainous, the elevatiOn above the sea ':rangmg from 2,000 feet m the SutleJ valley to- 9,406 feet at the :;::: ~ubmit of the Shah peak About one half of the state to the east of the Nauti khad consiSts practically of the' Shali range, which ;runs parallel t() the SutleJ, and from which numerous spurs :run down more or_less at nght angles to the fiver West of the NautJ khad the average elevatiOn of the country is lower, and the pnncipal natural feature IS the- long ndge, which, startmg at Mashobra,· enters ;the state JUst .beyond Naldera, and runs for a considerable distance almost parallel to the SntleJ, until it end11 on the nver some three miles below the suspension bndge which cames the ro'ad from Simla to Snket. - ' ' The 11verage anm.iat fucome' is Rs. ,7~,000 ~n4 Bs. 1,440 are r-. paid m tnbute. ,, . j j I I lj SECTION B.-History. The founder of the mhng family, accordmg to tradition, TberaiiDg was Chrrn, second son of Rampal, 24th RaJa of Kutlehr m the fauuJ,.. Kangra Distnct.* He and his younger brother Chand are stated to have left Kutlehr on therr father's death, and to have estab- hshed themselves respectively m BhaJJI and Koti The capital of.,the state was ongmally Mool BhaJJI, a village close to Moo! KotJ m the valley of the Nauti khad, below Mahasu. Nothmg certain IS known regarding the successors of Chiru but a chief named Sohan Pal, m the 29th generatiOn from Chrru, IS said to have founded the village of Sum, and to have tran•ferred his capital there from Mool BhaJji " ' The followmg IS extracted from the settlement report of 1923:- ,.. There JS no previous lnstory of the state. A memorandum con· sJStmg of a few pages m Hmdi bas been recovered from a OSee lu.sto1y of tho rwhlg family of Kota Stat& 2 BB.AJ.JI STAT& ] (PART A. Brahmm m village Galtham who used to be one of the spmtual CHAP. LB. leaders of the clnefs of the state It shows that the fannly Jhatorr. of the presen~ RatS traces back from Kodan Got RaJputs. They had thea estate m Nanda Ban and Katler m Kangra Dlstnct There wa.e one RaJa Susharm Chandar of Nanda Ban who, when he could ,not keep Nanda Ban m Ins control, hls brother (stc) Ude Pal left the place and came and settled in village Klan m the state on the banks of the nver SutleJ. He watched the afl'JW'S of the people With an mtelhgent eye He found that the people were turbulent a:nd recogmsed ndbody as the1r chtef They were called MaVIs Ude Pal, acquamt. mg htmself With the affJW'S of the Mavis, struck up a fnend iilnp with a Bra.hmm named Samoo of the village Mandhor m the state and With Ius wd obtamed sway m several villages, so much so that he brought under hts control some port10ns of the Kott and Madhan states, and also the Parganas Chandra and Pha.gu of the Keonthal State He estabhshed his capital at Mool BhaJJI Vtlla.ge After him m the twenty·nmth gene' mtiori Thakur Bohan Pal founded the' village Som and tra.nS- 1 ferred Ius ca.pttal to that Vlile.ge from Mool Bha.JJi. Thakur Sohan Pal's grandson Thakur Chandar Pal bestowed the Ilaqa of the State Koti on his younger brother as JBgll' and the latter estabhshed the capital of his State at Mool Kott winch IS very near to Mool Bha.JJI~ In the thllty.second generatiOn, Thakur Aiam Chanda.r conquered the Ilaqas of the, Kangal,and th~ Sangn States a.nd ama.lgama.tmg them With Ius own ~ State estabhshed Ius .capital at Khat No 1 Thakur Alam Chandar was 8occeeded by Thakur Amli.r Chana,' whd ill his tin:ie' got his Ilaqa surveyed and nwned the umt of measurement as lea.ll. ld the thirty-fourth genemtmrr Thakur Jw Chandar 'Wlth the atd of the RaJa of Bashahr mvaded the Suket State and burned several , J.lla.ces ' In the thirty·slXth generat10n Thakur Deep Chandar retgned RaJa Sahib of Btlaspur persuaded tins chief to return ~he Ilaqas of Kangal and Sangn to RaJa Man Smgb: of the Kulu State, and got watved m Ins favour the tnb'ute whtcfi the BhllJJI State used to pay to RaJa Mali Sutgh In tins' Thakur's time Chadam, Phagu and Madhan were also re ltnqmshed. In the forty·second generstton Thakur Amnt Pal was the chief who fought 'Wlth success 'Wlih the RaJa Salnb of Kulu. He ts satd to have mvaded also the pargana Kemh of the Keonthal State and burnt several villages It lB also BBid that he conquPred the Dhamt State whose clnef got back htB Ilaqa on sumg for mercy " The country was over-rnn by the Gurkhas from -1808 to 1815, and on thetr expuls10n Rana Rudar Pal was confirmed m, possessron of the state by a sanad dated 4th September 1815. Rana Rudar Pal, however, 14 years before hts death made over the state to hts son Ran Bahadur, and retll'9d to- Hardwar. Ran 8 BHAJJI STATE. ] [PABT A. Bahadur ruled till 1875 when he was succeeded by Ius son Durga CHAP. I. L Smgh, hom m 1842. Durga Smgh d1ed m 1918, and was succeeded Biltorr. by h1a son Rana B1r Pal Smgh, the present chief, who was born in 1906. SECTION C -Population. The populatwn 18, as m the other hill states, composed chiefly Trlbeo an4 of Kanets With an, adiD.lXture of Rajputs and Brahmans. No cut.. speCial descnphon of these JB reqwred The best known place of worship m the state 18 the temple ReUgton. of Kah on the top of the Shah, a conspicuous mil oppos1te Mashobra 9,406 feet above sea level There are nme other temples elsewhere in the state.