Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : Does not figure in list of 447 backward
districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 555
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : D
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 294 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 56 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Earthquake : Earthquake measuring 8.0 in 1905
Challenges of the district : Our research
with local communities
Education is an area where we need to do lot of
improvement. The quality of education given in the government school
is not up to the standard. So people prefer private schools.
We have a medical college in our district in which more than 400
posts are still vacant. There are many patients who need urgent
assistance due to less staff people need to wait for long. These
are the challenges that government has to intervene
Brief About Kangra District
Lying 526-km north-west of New Delhi, Dharamshala is the headquarters
of the Kangra District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Kangra valley is one of the most pleasant, relaxing and spiritual
places in the Himalayas. Marvelously scenic, especially upper
Dharamshala, is well wooded with oak, cedar, pine and other timber
yielding trees and offers some lovely walks and finer views. In
1855, Dharamshala had only two major areas where civilians settled
in : McLeod Ganj, named after Lieutenant Governer of Punjab "David
McLeod", and Forsyth Ganj, named after a Divisional Commissioner.
Lord Elgin, the British Viceroy of India (1862-63) fell in love
with the natural beauty of Dharamshala because of its likeness
with Scotland, his home in England. Lord Elgin died in 1863 while
on a tour. He now lies buried in the graveyard of St. John's Church-in-Wilderness
which stands in a cosy pine grove between McLeod Ganj and Forsyth
Ganj.A Legend has it that Lord Elgin liked Dharamshala so much
that he had sent a proposal to the British monarch to make Dharamshala
the summer capital of India. However, the proposal was ignored.
By 1904, Forsyth Ganj and McLeod Ganj had become nerve centres
of trade , business and official work of Kangra District, But
on April 4,1905, as a result of a severe earthquake, whole of
the area was devastated. Alarmed at the massive destruction, the
British goverment decided to shift the district headquater offices
to the lower reaches of spur. As a result, the present-day district
courts and kotwali bazar areas came into being which earlier had
only a jail, a police station and cobbler's shop to boast of.
Until India attained independence from Britain on Aug. 15,1947
McLeod Ganj and Forsyth Ganj continued to serve as health resorts
and resting places for the British Rulers. But all this changed
when the goverment of India decided to grant political asylum
to the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatsho, in 1959. In 1960, he was
allowed to make McLeod Ganj his headquaters. After his arrival,
trade, commerce and tourism picked up afresh. This because with
the Dalai Lama came thousands of Tibetan refugees, who gradually
settled in Mcleod Ganj. During the last three decades, The Tibetans
have built many religious, educational and cultural instutions
in and around McLeod Ganj, which has helped in preservation of
their culture. This has been a keen area of interst for the people
around the world and as a result they flock at Dharamshala at
various times.
The present Kangra district came into existence
on the 1st September, 1972 consequent
upon the re-organisation of districts by the Government of Himachal
Pradesh. It was the
largest district of the composite Punjab in terms of area till
it was transferred to Himachal Pradesh on the 1st November, 1966 and had Six
(6) tehsils namely Nurpur, Kangra, Palampur, Dehragopipur and
Hamirpur. Kullu
was also a tehsil of Kangra district up to 1962 and Lahul &
Spiti which also formed a part of Kangra was created as a separate
district in 1960. On
the re-organisation of composite Punjab on the 1st November, 1966 the area constituting
Kangra district were transferred to Himachal Pradesh along with
the districts of Shimla,
Kullu and Lahul & Spiti and tehsils of Una and Nalagarh
and 3 villages of Gurdaspur district.
KANGRA VALLEY
Kangra
district derives its name from Kangra town which was called Nagarkot
in the ancient times Kangra proper originally was a part of the
ancient Trigartha (Jullundur) which comprises of the area lying
between the river "SHatadroo" (probably Sutlej) and Ravi.A tract
of land to the east of Sutlej which probably is the area of Sirhind
in Punjab also formed a part of Trigratha. Trigratha had two provinces.
One in the plains with headquarter at Jullundur and other in the
hills with headquarter at Nagrkot ( the present Kangra).
In the time
of Harsha, the famous Chinese pilgrim
Huien Tsiang visited Jullundur some time in March 635 A.D.
and in his writings he has referred to the principality of Jullundur
situated towards the north- east of China-Po-ti (China Bhakti) and towards the south east of Kiu-lo-to (Kullu). From the history of
Kashmir given in the Rajtirangini, Raja Shanker Verma (883 to
903) of Kashmir held suzerainty over
Prithi Chand of Trigartha.
In
ancient times a number of petty chiefs ruled in the hills within
their respected domains owning allegiance to the powerful Raja
at the center. However, Katoch princes ruled over Kangra from
the earliest times. At
the time of invasion of Punjab by Alexander in 326 BC Trigartha
was ruled by a Katoch prince.
In
the beginning of 11th century, Mahmood of Ghazni finished the
Turki Shahi family and the Hindu Shahi dynasty of Kabul in Afghanistan
and after defeating a large Hindu army at Ohind and later at Peshawar, advanced into the
plains of the Punjab. After defeating
the Hindu king at Lahore he invaded Nagarkot. He was attracted by the prestige
of Kangra fort. After
defeating the Rajput Raja at Kangra, who had sent most of his
men to fight the
Muslims elsewhere, Mahmood satisfied his lust for wealth by carrying
away on camel backs, enormous wealth of gold and silver from the
fort and temple of Kangra.
After this storm had passed away, the Katoch kings continued
their rule over the Trigarth area undisturbed. Even after the conquest of
Lahore by the Turks the Katoch family held some territory of Jullundur
in the Plains. However, one lbrahim of Ghazni conquered this territory
from the Katoch King Jagdeo Chander in 1070 A.D.
In
1337. Mohd. Tuglak, an Afghan king of Delhi, captured the fort at Kangra in the reign
of Raja Priti Chand. In 1351, however, Raja
Purab Chand recovered the fort from the Muslims. One of his successors, namely
Raja Roop Chand, became ambitious and led an expedition into the
plains of Punjab, plundering the country right upto the outskirts of
Delhi. This was an act of effrontery which could not be condemned
by the Sultan of Delhi.
So Firoz Shah Tuglak invaded Kangra, in 1366, to punish the Raja.
The fort was surrendered after a long siege. After the death of Roop Chand,
his son Singara Chand succeeded to the throne and was ruling over
Kangra at the time of the invasion of Timur.
Sher
Shah Suri, the Afghan king, who turned out Humayun from India,
also captured Kangra in 1540.
By 1555, the Muslim influence again declined. Akbar, however, subjugated
all the hill Rajas. Occasionally
the hill Rajas rebelled against the imperial authorities, but
after a few skirmishes with the Mughal Generals, they submitted
and renewed their pledges of loyalty.
Jahangir
also became interested in the kingdom of Trigarth of Kangra. He
wanted to annex the territory of this state and to capture the
fort, because a lot of prestige was attached to the fort of Kangra.
It was said that
who-so-ever, held the fort was the ruler of hill state.
The invasion took place in 1615 under the command of Sheikh
Farid, Murtaza Khan and
Raja Suraj Mal of Nurmal who was in the confidence of Jahangir.
The fort could not be captured and after one year the siege had to be given up. Next year, another
expedition was sent by Jahangir under Shah Quli Khan, Mohammed Taqi and Suraj Mal, but Suraj
Mal proved unfaithful. The emperor had to send another strong
force under Sunder Dass against Suraj Mal and also against the
Raja of Kangra. After One year and two months siege, Sunder Dass
captured the fort in 1620. The Katoch ruler lost the fort at least
for 160 years. The
entire state was annexed to the Mughal Kingdom and a strong garrison
was left incharge of the fort. In 1622, Jahangir and Begum Nur
Jahan came to Kangra via Siba and returned to Delhi via
Nurpur and Pathankot. They
were fascinated by beauty of the Kangra valley.
In 1752,
Punjab was transferred to Ahmed Shah Durani by the weak Mughal
rulers of Delhi. The Afghans could not successfully control these
far flung areas from Kabul, so local governors were appointed
to administer the territory on the behalf of the Afghan rulers.
In 1758, Raja Ghamand Chand was appointed Nazim or Governor of
Jullundur Doaba under the Afghans.
Ghamand Chand was a brave man and a strong ruler who restore the prestige and
glory of Kangra. As
he was unable to capture the Kangra fort, he built another fort at Tira Sujanpur on the left bank of the Beas almost opposite
to Alampur on a hill overlooking the town. This great ruler died
in 1774 and was succeeded by his
son Tegh Chand who died after one year in 1775
Kangra then saw the rise of another great ruler Sansar
Chand(II). Though the Punjab has been given to the Duranis, the
old Mughal officers had been proclaimed their independence in some outlying part of the country.
Nawab Saif Ali Khan at Kangra was one such officer. Raja Sansar Chand had an ambition to recapture the fort and in
1781, he called to his aid Sardar Jai Singh of Kanhaya Misal. The fort was surrendered by
the Mughal officer in 1783 but it fell into the hands of the Sikhs.
Sansar Chand got the fort after some years by exchanging it with
some territory, which he had won in the plains of Punjab. After getting the
fort, Sansar Chand revived the tradition and laid a claim to supremacy
over all the principalities and hill states of the Jullundur Circle. He made the hill chiefs
tributary to himself in his capital at Teera Sujanpur. He erected a great Darbar
Hall. For full twenty years he reigned supreme over all the hill
states of Kangra, Mandi, Kullu and Chamba. Sansar Chand was well known
for his generosity, kindness, bravery, justice and good administration,
patronage of art and shewd judgment of men and matters. Sansar
Chand was also a great builder. He had beautified many places
in the territory ruled over by him. He planted numerous gardens
and the one at Alampur is said to have been as beautiful as the
Shalimar Gardens at Lahore. However, reckless
bravery and unlimited ambition of this great Raja ultimately ruined
him. His dream was
to regain the far-reaching dominions of his ancestors and even
to establish the Katoch rule in the entire Punjab.
In 1803-1804, he invaded the plains of
Punjab twice but was defeated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In 1805 he annexed a part
of Bilaspur state, thus coming in conflict with the Gurkhas, who
in the later half of the 18th century moved south to establish
their dominion over the entire hilly part of India from Nepal
to Kashmir and had actually come up to the river Sutlej. Gurkhas became angry
at the annexation of a part of Bilaspur state, which was under
their suzerainty. They
invaded Kangra, but were defeated. The hill Rajas of Kangra however,
were feeling sore against Sansar Chand. They all approached
Raja Amar Singh Thapa of Gurkhas through the Raja of Bilaspur
to invade Kangra again.
In 1806, with
the help of the hill chiefs, the Gurkhas defeated Raja Sansar
Chand who had to take refuge inside the fort. The country was laid waste
and was plundered by the enemies. During the siege of the fort,
a state of anarchy prevailed throughout the Kangra valley. The siege lasted for four
years. After the
Sansar Chand managed to get out of the fort and fled to Tira Sujanpur.
In
1809, Maharaja Ranjit Singh visited Jawalamukhi temple where Sansar
Chand met him and entered into a treaty with him. It was agreed that the Maharaja should help
Sansar Chand in expelling Gurkhas from the state and that in return the Maharaja would get the Kangra
fort along with nearby 66 villages. Gurkhas were defeated by the
combined forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Sansar Chand. The
fort of Kangra with 66 villages surrounding it, was made over
to Ranjit Singh. Dessa Singh Majithia was appointed the Nazim
or Governor of the fort and Kangra hills and from that day all states of the Jullundur Circle become tributary to the Sikhs.
Sansar Chand returned to Tira Sujanpur where he died in 1823.
Sansar
Chand's son, Anirudh Chand succeeded his father in 1823 but he
was not destined to rule for a long time. Raja Dhian Singh, the Dogra
chief of Jammu ,the most powerful man in the Sikh kingdom after
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, desired to marry one of the two sisters
of Anirudh Chand. For the rulers of the Katoch family, this demand
in itself was an insult.
Anirudh Chand was adamant not to permit that alliance.
The Maharaja got angry and led an expedition against him. Anirudh Chand had to flee
and Sikhs occupied the entire state of Kangra.
After
the first battle of Sikhs in March 1846, the territory of Punjab
lying between the Sutlej and Ravi rivers, including the hill states
of Kangra proper and Kullu were ceded to British Government. The
entire area, comprising Kangra proper, Kullu and Seraj and the
tracts of Lahul-Spiti, was now constituted into the Kangra district,
with its headquarters at Kangra. After a few years, the headquarters
of district was transferred to Dharmshala because that place was
considered cooler and healthier for the British officers and also
the slopes of Dhauladhar provided ample room to accommodate in
a newly raised local contingent for the army.
THE KANGRA FORT
The Kangra Fort was the seat of power of the Katoch Rajas
from the time of its 234th Raja, Raja Susharma Chand Katoch, if
not from the time of its first legendary Raja, Raja Bhoomi Chand
Katoch onwards. It is said to have been founded by Susharma Chand
Katoch, an ally of Kauravas in the Mahabarata war. It was the
ancient capital of the Katoch kingdom and symbol of power in Punjab
Hill States.The Fort is situated on a precipitous cliff overhanging
the Ban Ganaga and Manjhi rivers. The ruins still dominate the
Kangra valley. One can enter the fort by a narrow path. It was
protected by a number of gates named after its winners like Jahangir,
Ranjit Singh and the British.
