Kutlehar
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Kutlehar (कुटलेहर) was a Princely State in Una district of Himachal Pradesh, covering an area of 2200 km2. The rulers were originally Brahmins who changed their Varna to Kshatriyas.[1] Kutlehar Fort is situated near Bangana in Una district of Himachal Pradesh.
Variants
Location
Kutlehar was an independent kingdom built in the 10th century. The limits of the kingdom were at their maximum during the rule of Raja Jas Pal in the 11th century when it is said that he was the master of all lands between the rivers of Satluj and Beas.
History
According to tradition Kutlehar state was founded around 750 AD by an ancestral king named Raja Gopal. Between 1805 and 1809 the state was occupied by Nepal until the Gorkha occupants were driven out. Kutlehar State was extinguished in 1825 when it was briefly annexed to Pañjab (Punjab). The same year, after the British established their domination in the area, the Raja of Kutlehar was granted a Jagir to the value of 10,000Rs. Raja Saheb Shri Ram Pal Bahadur (1864-1927) was granted the title of hereditary Raja on 15 March 1909.
Numerous wars were fought over the centuries including in 1337 with Mohammad Bin Tughlak, Timur in 1398, Emperor Akbar in 1556 who levied a tribute upon the Raja of Kutlehar of 1600 rupees along with gifts of jewels, cloth and hill pheasants on the Emperor's birthday. Also as a guarantee of loyalty a son of the Raja, 'a Prince' of Royal Blood was kept in attendance at the Imperial Court in Delhi and a troop of 500 foot soldiers were stationed with the Mughal Emperor and paid for by the Kutlehar Durbar.
In 1700 Guru Gobind SIngh ji crossed Kutlehar when Anandpur Sahib was attacked by the Mughals. The then Raja defied the Mughal orders and did not attack the Sikh army paying heavily with the wrath of the Mughal Emperor and the Kutlehar territory was cut back and the Raja was left with just a fraction of his old territory. In 1701 the Raja and Rani of Kutlehar met Guru Gobind Singhji at Rewalsar where the Guruji presented the Raja with his sword as a token of gratitude. The Kutlehar Family is still in possession of the sword gifted by Guru Gobind Singh ji.
In the more recent past, the Kutlehar territory extended to the present areas if District Una, Talhatti in Hoshiarpur, Bassi Bachertoo in Bilaspur and in Hamirpur, till it was annexed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh 1825 and the Raja exiled to the fort in Charatgarh. Punjab was then annexed by the British and the Raja ad allowed to move back in the hills.
Kuthlehar Fort
Situated in the eastern part of the present Una district, as mentioned earlier, Kuthlehar was the smallest of all the Kangra kingdom in olden times. As it consisted of two provinces-Chauki and Kuthlehar, hence the double name by which the State was generally known. The territory of Kuthlehar has been formed by a break in the continuity of the second or Jaswan Chain of the hills. As this ridge approaches the Sutlej, it suddenly divides into two parallel branches; and the valley between them, with a portion of the enclosing hills, is the pretty State of Kuthlehar. The dynasty is one of considerable antiquity. The progenitor of the family was a Brahmin but on acquiring regal he was recognized as Rajput. Mr. G.C. Barnes states that he came from Sambhal, near Moradabad but the family records trace his descent from a Raja of Poona. About the tenth or eleventh century the then head of the family, named Jas Pal, conquered the taluqas of Talhatti and Kuthlehar and fixed his capital at Kot-Kuthlehar. The two small states of Bhajji and koti in the Simla Hills were said to have been founded, by his second son and grand-son. The clan name is Kuthlehria.[2]
Although the state is not mentioned in the Muhammadan histories of the time yet the ruling family possess sanads granted by the Mughal emperors, addressing them as Rai and recognising their rights as rulers of the tracts Chauki, Kuthlehar, Mankhandi in Nadaun and Talhatti in Hoshiarpur on payment of tribute and under the condition of military service. They enjoyed tranquil possession of their territory all through the Mughal period, but in later times the aggressions of the neighbouring States reduced their country to the present limits of the Kuthlehar taluqa . [3]
कुटलेहर किला
कुटलेहर किले को लोकप्रिय सोलह सिंधी किले के रूप में जाना जाता है। कुटलेहर किले के शासक मूलरूप से ब्राह्मण थे परंतु अपने को राजपूत का दर्जा दिया। यह ऊना के प्रसिद्ध पर्यटन स्थलों में से गिना जाता है जो समुद्र स्तर से 4500 मीटर की ऊंचाई पर बंगाणा के पास स्थित है। इस किले को कांगड़ा के राजा संसार चंद्र ने बनवाया था। सिख महाराजा राजवंश के पहले महाराजा रणजीत सिंह ने 1809 ई में इस किले का जीर्णोद्धार करवाया था। किले से गोविंद सागर झील और पौंग बांध के दृश्य दिखाई देते है। किले के पास में रायपुर पैलेस, कुटलेहर जंगल, पिपलु और बगाना भी स्थित है जहां पर्यटक भ्रमण करने जा सकते हैं। [4]
External links
References
- ↑ Company, Indus Publishing (1994). Gazetteer of the Kangra District: 1883-84. Kangra. Indus Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7387-024-8.
- ↑ http://hpuna.nic.in/history.htm
- ↑ http://hpuna.nic.in/history.htm
- ↑ https://hindi.nativeplanet.com/una/attractions/kutlehar-forts/#overview