Where is kangra

It was in the beginning when these outsiders tried to establish their power that the kings of the area stood in their way. He also found the Jullundur monarchy still undivided. At some later period, perhaps that of the Muhammadan invasion, the Katoch princes were driven into the hills, where Kangra already existed as one of their chief fortress. In spite of constant invasions, the little Hindu kingdoms, secure within their Himalayan glens, long held out against the aggressive Muhammadan power.

In , the riches of the Nagarkot temple attracted the attention of Mahmud of Ghazni, who defeated the Hindu princes at Peshawar, seized the fort of Kangra and plundered the shrine of an immense booty in gold, silver and jewels. From this time, Kangra does not reappear in general history till , when the emperor Firoz Tughlak again led a force against it. The Raja gave in his submission, and was permitted to retain his dominions; but the Muhammadans once more plundered the temple.

In , Akbar launched an expedition into the hills, and occupied the fort of Kangra. The fruitful valley became an imperial demesne, and only the barren hills remained in the possession of the native chiefs.

Yet the remoteness of the imperial capital and the natural strength of the mountain fastnesses encouraged the Rajput princes to rebel; and it was not until after the imperial forces have been twice repulsed that the fort of Kangra was starved into surrender to an army commanded by prince Khurram in person At one time Jahangir intended to build a residence in the valley, and the site of the proposed palace is still pointed out in the lands of the village of Gargari.

Probably, the superior attractions of Kashmir, which the emperor shortly afterwards visited, led to the abandonment of his design.

At the accession of Shah Jahan the hill Rajas had quietly settled down into the position of tributaries and the commands of the emperor were received and executed with read obedience. Letters patent sanadas are still extant, issued between the reign of Akbar and Aurangzeb, appointing individuals to various judicial and revenue offices, such as that of kazi, kanungo, or chaudhri. In some instances the present representatives of the family continue to enjoy privileges and powers conferred on their ancestors by the Mughal emperors, the honorary appellation being retained even where the duties have become obsolete.

During the period of Muhammadan ascendancy, the hill princes appear to have been treated liberally. They still enjoyed a considerable share of power, and ruled unmolested over the extensive tracts which remained to them. They built forts, waged wars upon each other, and wielded the functions of petty sovereigns.

The loyalty of the hill Rajas appears to have won the favour and confidence of their conquerors, and they were frequently deputed on hazardous expeditions and appointed to places of high trust in the service of the empire. In , the Katoch principalities nominally formed part of the territories ceded to Ahmad Shah Durrani by the declining Delhi court. But the native chieftains, emboldened by the prevailing anarchy, resumed their practical independence, and left little to the Durrani monarch or the deputy who still held the isolated fort of Kangra for the Mughal empire.

In , the Sikh chieftain, Jai Singh, obtained the fort by stratagem, but relinquished it in to Sansar Chand, the legitimate Rajput prince of Kangra, to whom the State was thus restored about two centuries after its occupation by Akbar.

This prince, by his vigorous measures, made himself supreme throughout the whole Katoch country and levied tribute from his fellow chieftains in all the neighbouring States. For twenty years he reigned supreme through out these hills, and raised his name to a height of renown never attained by any ancestor of his race. He found himself unable, however, to cope with the Sikhs, and two descents upon the Sikh possessions in the plains, in and , were repelled by Ranjit Singh.

In , Sansar Chand attacked the hill State of Bilaspur Kahlur , which called in the dangerous aid of the Gurkhas, already masters of the wide tract between the Gogra and the Sutlej. The Gurkhas responded by crossing the latter river and attacking the Katochs at Mahal Mori, in May, The invaders gained a complete victory, overran a large part of the hill country of Kangra, and kept up a constant warfare with the Rajput chieftains who still retained the remainder. The people fled as refugees to the plains, while the minor princes aggravated the general disorder by acts of anarchy on their own account.

The altitude varies from metres above mean sea level amsl to around metres amsl. It is encapsulated in the north by the districts of Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti, in the south by Hamirpur and Una, in the east by Mandi and in the west by Gurdaspur district of Punjab. The present Kangra district came into existence on the 1st September, 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, and had six tehsils namely Nurpur, Kangra, Palampur, Dehragopipur, Hamirpur and Una. Kangra district derives its name from Kangra town that was known as Nagarkot in ancient times.

A tract of land to the east of Sutlej that probably is the area of Sirhind in Punjab also formed a part of Trigrata.