Himalayas, Tehri Garhwal
is on of the sacred hilly districts of Uttaranchal
State. Before the creation
of universe, Lord Brahma is said to have meditated on this sacred
land. Muni-ki-Reti and Tapovan of the district are the places
of penance for the ancient Rishis. Its hilly terrain and lack
of easy communications have helped it to preserve its culture
almost intact. Tehri and Garhwal are the two words combined for
naming the district as Tehri Garhwal. While the prefix Tehri
is the corrupted form of the word `Trihari` which signifies
a place that washes away all the three types of sins, namely sins
born out of thought (Mansa), word (Vacha) and deed (Karmana),
the other part `Garh` means country fort. In fact during olden
days possession of number of forts was considered as a significant
measuring rod of the prosperity and power of their rulers. Prior
to 888, the whole of the Garhwal region was divided into small
`garhs` ruled by separate independent kings known as Rana, Rai
or Thakur. It is said that the prince Kanakpal who hailed from
Malwa visited Badrinath ji (presently in Chamoli district) where
he met the then mightiest king Bhanu Pratap. King Bhanu Pratap
was impressed with the prince and got his only daughter married
to him and also handed over his kingdom. Gradually Kanakpal and
his descendents extended their empire by conquering all the garhs.
Thus up to 1803 i.e. for 915 years the whole of the Garhwal region
remained under their control.
During 1794-95 Garhwal was under the grip of
severe famine and again in 1883, the country was terribly shaken
by an earthquake. Gorkhas had by then started invading this territory
and heralded their influence over the region. The people
of the region being already affected by natural calamities were
in the deplorable condition and therefore could not resist Gorkhas
invasion. On the other hand, Gorkhas whose several attempts for
capturing the fort Langoor
Garhi had earlier failed, were now in powerful position. In 1803,
therefore, they again invaded Garhwal region when King Pradumn
Shah was the ruler. King Pradumn Shah was killed in the battle
in Dehra Dun but his
only son (Sudarshan Shah was minor at that time) was cleverly
saved by the trusted courtiers. With the victory of Gorkhas in
this battle their dominion was established in Garhwal region.
Later on their kingdom extended up to Kangara and they ruled over
this region continuously for 12 years before they were thrown
away from Kangara by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. On the other hand
Sudarshan Shah could manage help from East India Company and got
his kingdom freed from Gorkha rulers. The East India Company merged
Kumaon, Dehra Dun
and east Garhwal in the British Empire
and the west Garhwal was given to Sudarshan Shah which was then
known as Tehri Riyasat.
King Sudarshan Shah established his capital
at Tehri town and afterwards his successors Pratap Shah, Kirti
Shah and Narendra Shah established their capital at Pratap Nagar,
Kirti Nagar and Narendra Nagar respectively. Their dynasty ruled
over this region from 1815 to 1949. During the Quit India Movement
people of this region actively participated for the independence
of the country. Ultimately when the country was declared independent
in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat started their movement
for getting themselves freed from the clutches of Maharaja. Due
to the movement the situation became out of his control and was
difficult for him to rule over the region. Consequently the 60th
king of Pawar Vansh Manvendra Shah accepted the sovereignty of
Indian Government. Thus in 1949 Tehri Riyasat was merged in Uttar
Pradesh and was given the status of a new district. Being a scattered
region it posed numerous problems for expediting development.
Resultantly on 24th February 1960 the U.P. Government separated its’
one tehsil which was given status of a separate district named
as Uttarkashi.
LOCATION AND AREA
Tehri Garhwal is one of the western most
district of the Uttaranchal State (Former Uttar Pradesh) located
on the outer ranges of the mid Himalayas which comprise low line
peaks rising contiguously with the planes of the northern India.
The district lies between the parallels of 30.3` and 30.53` north
latitude and 77.56` and 79.04` east longitude. Uttarkashi from
the north, Rudraprayag from the east, Puri Garhwal from the south
and Dehra Dun from the west are bounding the districts. On the
western front Yamuna river separates it from Jaunsar Pragana of
the Dehra Dun district while Bhagirathi rising from the north
of the Gangotri in the district Uttarkashi touches the district
near village Nagun.
Total area of the district is 4421 sq.
kms (Census 1991) . The district headquarter is located at New
Tehri Town since 1.4.1989, Earlier Narendranagar was the district
headquarter.
GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES
A major portion of the district is having
hilly tract. The plain area is more fertile than the plateau area.
Bulk of the area of the district is under forest which occupy
a place of importance not only in the ecology but also in the
economy of the district. These forests are rich in vegetations.
Wood of commercial value is produced. These forests are also famous
for production of herbs and plants of medicinal value. There has
been a denudation of forests in the past, resulting in impoverishment
of forests wealth. Under five year plans efforts have been made
to plant trees under forestations programmed. Availability of
soft wood has given rise to the manufacturing of wooden toys in
the area.
