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Through the ages
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1000 – 1500 A.D.
Kutlehar is second oldest Kingdom among the Punjab hill States, the first being the ancient Kingdom of Kangra.
The area of Kutlehar was ruled by various minor rulers and was united by the Pal King as his Kingdom, the minor rulers accepted the over lordship of the King and promised him tribute. The capital of the Kingdom was established at Babhour, where the King resided in a fort.
Some time after the arrival of the Pal King in Kutlehar, the monarch of the neighboring Kingdom of Kangra suspected that his Kingdom might be attacked and a battle took place between the Kangra and Kutlehar armies, the Pal King won this battle, but the Kangra army attacked again during the night and another battle broke out, in this mayhem taking advantage of the dark the Raj-Purohit and a select troop of the elite force disappeared into the forests, while the Pal King personally lead the attack but due to the surprise attack the defensive could not stand and the sun rose over the lifeless body of the King, surrounded by the bodies of his army.
Unknown to the Kangra army just about then the detachment of troops that had left in the dead of the night was stopping to rest and along the sounds of trotting hoofs and clanking of swords was the sound of a crying baby who was held tightly by the Raj-Purohit, the infant was the Crown Prince and heir to the Pal King.
Shortly after this the Kangra King contracted leprosy, many treatments were tried but to no avail, then one night the King was told in a dream by the Goddess Durga that he had been punished by her because of his attack on the Pal King, who she said was dear to her and to be cured he must seek out the heir of the slain King and reinstall his property to him.
A search followed and the Crown Prince was found by the Kangra King who married his daughter to him and reinstalled him in Kutlehar, and also gave the area of Nadaun to him and declared that on the raj-tilak of every successive Kangra King the first tikka would be applied by the ruler of Kutlehar, it is said that within a few days the Kangra King recovered completely from leprosy.
In the 11th century rose a great monarch, King Jas Pal, who made many changes in the administration of the Kingdom for better management and efficient disposal of problems and divided Kutlehar into administrative provinces, he also created sub provinces managed by ministers who daily informed the Raja via sowars and it is said that he made himself the master of all land between the Sutlej and Bias.
Raja Jas Pal had five sons and a daughter, the eldest son succeeded him and the other four Princes and the Princess left for a pilgrimage to the Simla hills. On the way the second Prince conquered and established Bhajji, the third Prince, conquered and established Koti and according to the Gazetteer of the Keonthal State, the other Prince, Junga is said to have changed into a Deota or God and has a temple in Keonthal, there are 22 other Gods who are considered the sons of God Junga, who seek Junga’s permission before they can celebrate a jag or observe a festival, thus acknowledging Junga as the foremost God, the Princess is said to have manifested into a Goddess and has a temple at Dharech.
From the time of Raja Jas Pal things remained more or less calm, partially due to the fact that the Kutlehar Rajas have, due to their spiritual ways and learning, the Bhrahma-gaddi or an equation made with Lord Bhrahma, the God of learning, this kept most of the neighboring rulers from attacking Kutlehar territory.
In 1337 Mohammad Bin Tughlak managed to subdue Kutlehar but soon lost control, his successor, Firoz Shah Tughlak managed to retake the hills followed by Timur in 1398 who took Delhi and on his way back went through the hills, looting and destroying all that came in his way, soon after this the Raja of Suket rose to power and conquered many Kingdoms, he came all the way to Kutlehar, where he annexed a strategic hilltop into his Kingdom, and made his boundary with Kutlehar, here again it is said that the Goddess Durga came to the Suket Raja in a dream asking him to retreat from the Kutlehar territory, which he did.
The next period of about a century after this remained comparatively calm. |
Kattar
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At this time the other power
that was rising was that of Sikhs, the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak ji visited Kutlehar during his tour of the hills in
1515 – 1517 and was received with due honor and respect. The
dense forests of Kutlehar and successive supportive Raja’s served
as refuge for the Sikh Gurus and warriors to escape Mughal
persecution, in 1700 Guru Gobind Singhji
retreated to the Kutlehar forests after the Mughals
attacked Anandpur, and in 1701, the Raja and
the Rani of Kutlehar met Guru Gobind Singhji
at Rewalsar, where the Guruji
presented the Raja with a sword.
As the Mughal power declined, wars within the
hill kingdoms increased, in 1758, Raja Ghammand
Chand of Kangra, after being appointed the
governor or Nazim of the Jullundhar
doab by the Durani
King, annexed Chowki, the northern
administrative province of Kutlehar, the Katoch
King was subdued by Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Kutlehar territory restored on
assurance of tribute, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was overpowered by Jai Singh Kanahiya, who was requested by Raja Sansar Chand to help him
take the Kangra Fort which was under the Muslim governor, Saif Ali Khan, a siege was laid during which the
governor died and his son vacated the fort for a price, but a feud
ensued between Sansar Chand
and Jai Singh, eventually the fort was made over to the Katoch King and its war equipment were made over to
Jai Singh.
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Kharau or wodden shoes dating from the 1400s.
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| Through the ages |
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