During the colonial Raj period, two groups of princely states in direct relations with the Province of British Punjab became part of the British Indian Empire later than most of the former Mughal Empire, in the context of two wars and an uprising.
For its princely rulers the informal term Hill Rajas has been coined. It does not apply to other native hill country princes such as the Rawat of Rajgarh.
After the independence and split-up of British India, the Hill States acceded to the new Dominion of India and were later divided between India's constituent states of Punjab (proper), Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Three quarters of the about 4,800 square miles (12,000 km2), on both sides of the Sutlej river, was the territory of the Raja (earlier Rana) of Bashahr. The direct tributaries of Bashahr were :
the Thakur of Khaneti
the Thakur of Delath
Initially both Khaneti and Delath were feudatory of Kumharsain.
The other, all far smaller, princely states, including a few with some petty dependencies of their own, were further south, on the left bank of the Sutlej :
the Rana (also styled as Rana Saheb) of Kumharsain. Tributaries of Kumharsain until 1815 were:
the Thakur (originally titled Rana up to the occupation by the Gurkhas; Thakurs from 1815 to 1929) of Tharoch = Tiroch
NB - For various of the entities above, the authentic title of the chieftain is missing. While some of the lowest ranking may have had none, for the princes that can merely be due to insufficient sources available
The princely states of the Simla Hills all ultimately became part of the modern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
^"Part I: Kangra (1883-1884)", Gazetteer of the Kangra District, 1883-84; reprinted Indus Publ. Co., New Delhi, 1994, p. 33. ISBN8173870241
^Crill, Rosemary; Jariwala, Kapil (2010). The Indian Portrait, 1560-1860. Mapin Publishing Pvt. ISBN9788189995379.
Sources and external linksEdit
Indian Princely States website
Punjab State Gazetteer [then Punjab was much larger], vol. VIII, Gazetteer of the Simla Hill States 1910
and various links therefrom (click on map or names) to official sites of the state's districts
August 29, 2023
hill, states, india, this, article, about, princely, states, india, during, british, hills, northeast, india, khasi, jaintia, hills, were, princely, states, lying, northern, border, regions, british, indian, empire, contents, history, simla, hills, states, pun. This article is about the princely states in NW India during the British Raj For the hills in Northeast India see Khasi and Jaintia Hills The Hill States of India were princely states lying in the northern border regions of the British Indian Empire Contents 1 History 1 1 Simla Hills 1 2 States of the Punjab Hills 2 References 3 Sources and external linksHistory EditDuring the colonial Raj period two groups of princely states in direct relations with the Province of British Punjab became part of the British Indian Empire later than most of the former Mughal Empire in the context of two wars and an uprising For its princely rulers the informal term Hill Rajas has been coined It does not apply to other native hill country princes such as the Rawat of Rajgarh After the independence and split up of British India the Hill States acceded to the new Dominion of India and were later divided between India s constituent states of Punjab proper Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Simla Hills Edit Map of some Hill states 191128 princely states including feudatory princes and zaildars in the promontories of the western Himalaya were named after Shimla as the Simla Hill States 1 These states were ruled mainly by Hindu Rajputs 2 3 Three quarters of the about 4 800 square miles 12 000 km2 on both sides of the Sutlej river was the territory of the Raja earlier Rana of Bashahr The direct tributaries of Bashahr were the Thakur of Khaneti the Thakur of DelathInitially both Khaneti and Delath were feudatory of Kumharsain The other all far smaller princely states including a few with some petty dependencies of their own were further south on the left bank of the Sutlej the Rana also styled as Rana Saheb of Kumharsain Tributaries of Kumharsain until 1815 were the Rana of Balsan the Thakur of Madhan the Thakur of Bharauli the Thakur of Beja State the Rana of Bhaji Bhajji a prince of Bhagat the Raja of Bilaspur formerly Kahlur Kehloor entitled to an 11 guns salute the Rana of Darkoti the Rana Shri of Dhami the Raja formerly Rana of Jubbal which had two tributaries the Thakur sahib of Dhadi State initially tributary to Tharoch then to Bashahr and finally in 1896 to Jubbal title Rawin Rawingarh the Raja formerly Rana of Keonthal where the feudal pyramid included five zaildars jagirdars collecting a special tax a Jagirdar Gundh a Jagirdar Madhan Kiari the Rana Sahib of Koti since 1815 the Thakur Saheb also styled as Rana of Ratesh popularly known as Kot fortress the Rana of Theog the Thakur of Kunihar the Rana of Kuthar the Thakur of Mahlog the Rana of Mangal the Raja of Nalagarh the Thakur or Rai Mian of Sangri State the Thakur originally titled Rana up to the occupation by the Gurkhas Thakurs from 1815 to 1929 of Tharoch TirochNB For various of the entities above the authentic title of the chieftain is missing While some of the lowest ranking may have had none for the princes that can merely be due to insufficient sources availableThe princely states of the Simla Hills all ultimately became part of the modern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh States of the Punjab Hills Edit Some nearby Hindu and Sikh states include the Maharaja of Kangra the Raja Saheb of Chamba entitled to an 11 gun salute the Raja of Mandi the Raja of Suket the Raja of Siba no salute as Siba was not fully part of the British Indian Empire only Siba Jagir Jagir of Mian Devi Singh up to Kotla etc References Edit Imperial Gazetteer of India v 8 p 233 Part I Kangra 1883 1884 Gazetteer of the Kangra District 1883 84 reprinted Indus Publ Co New Delhi 1994 p 33 ISBN 8173870241 Crill Rosemary Jariwala Kapil 2010 The Indian Portrait 1560 1860 Mapin Publishing Pvt ISBN 9788189995379 Sources and external links EditIndian Princely States website Punjab State Gazetteer then Punjab was much larger vol VIII Gazetteer of the Simla Hill States 1910 Himachal Pradesh State s official website and various links therefrom click on map or names to official sites of the state s districts Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hill States of India amp oldid 1169980786, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
