>Bender the Bot at 04:41, 20 February 2021

2021-02-20T04:41:40Z

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{{short description|Former country}}
{{About|the princely states in NW India during the British Raj|the hills in Northeast India|Khasi and Jaintia Hills}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}

The '''Hill States of India''' were [[princely state]]s lying in the northern border regions of the [[British Raj|British Indian Empire]].

== History ==
{{Princely states topics}}
During the colonial [[British Raj|Raj]] period, two groups of princely states in direct relations with the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Province of British Punjab]] became part of the British Indian Empire later than most of the former [[Mughal Empire]], in the context of two wars and an uprising.

For its princely rulers the informal term '''Hill Rajas''' has been coined. It does not apply to other native hill country princes such as the Rawat of [[Rajgarh State|Rajgarh]].

After the independence and split-up of British India, the Hill States [[Instrument of accession|acceded]] to the new [[Dominion of India]] and were later divided between [[India]]'s constituent states of Punjab (proper), [[Haryana]] and [[Himachal Pradesh]].

===Simla Hills===
[[File:Chamba Kangra Bilaspur Mandi Kulu 1911.jpeg|thumb|Map of some Hill states, 1911]]
28 [[princely state]]s (including [[feudal|feudatory]] princes and [[zaildar]]s) in the promontories of the western [[Himalaya]] were named after [[Shimla]] as the '''Simla Hill States'''.<ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V08_239.gif Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 8, p. 233.]</ref> These states were ruled mainly by [[Hindu]] [[Rajput]]s.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8tCfhaVcul4C&pg=PA33&dq=Katoch+dynasty+rajput&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kxT9T678OIzxrQf108DLBg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Katoch%20dynasty%20rajput&f=false "Part I: Kangra (1883-1884)", ''Gazetteer of the Kangra District,'' 1883-84; reprinted Indus Publ. Co., New Delhi, 1994, p. 33.] {{ISBN|8173870241}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ongF6dkNKAcC&pg=PA142&dq=pathania+dynasty+rajput&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AxX9T-CTN8bQrQfwuIXbBg&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=pathania%20dynasty%20rajput&f=false]</ref>

Three quarters of the about {{convert|4800|sqmi|km2}}, on both sides of the [[Sutlej]] river, was the territory of the Raja (earlier Rana) of [[Bashahr]]. The direct tributaries of Bashahr were :
* the Thakur of Khaneti
* the Thakur of Delath
Initially both Khaneti and Delath were feudatory of [[Kumharsain]].

The other, all far smaller, princely states, including a few with some petty dependencies of their own, were further south, on the left bank of the Sutlej :

* the Rana (also styled as Rana Saheb) of [[Kumharsain]]. Tributaries of Kumharsain until 1815 were:
** the Rana of Balsan
** the Thakur of Madhan
** the Thakur of Bharauli
* the Thakur of [[Beja State]]
* the Rana of Bhaji /Bhajji
* a prince of [[Bhagat]]
* the Raja of [[Bilaspur State (princely state)|Bilaspur]] (formerly [[Kahlur]]/[[Kehloor]]), entitled to an 11-guns salute
* the Rana of [[Darkoti]]
* the Rana (Shri) of [[Dhami]]
* the Raja (formerly Rana) of [[Jubbal]], which had two tributaries:
** the Thakur (sahib) of Dhadi State, initially tributary to Tharoch, then to Bashahr and finally in 1896 to Jubbal.
** (title?) Rawin = Rawingarh
* the Raja (formerly Rana) of [[Keonthal]], where the feudal pyramid included five [[zaildar]]s ([[jagirdar]]s collecting a special tax) :
** a Jagirdar Gundh
** a Jagirdar Madhan = Kiari
** the Rana Sahib of [[Kochi, India|Koti]] (since 1815)
** the Thakur Saheb (also styled as Rana) of Ratesh (popularly known as Kot, 'fortress')
** the Rana of [[Theog]]
* the Thakur of [[Kunihar]]
* the Rana of [[Kuthar]]
* the Thakur of [[Mahlog]]
* the Rana of [[Mangal]]
* the Raja of [[Nalagarh]]
* the Thakur (or Rai Mian) of Sangri State
* the Thakur (originally titled Rana up to the occupation by the Gurkhas; Thakurs from 1815 to 1929) of Tharoch = Tiroch
*
''NB'' - For various of the entities above, the authentic title of the chieftain is missing. While some of the lowest ranking may have had none, for the princes that can merely be due to insufficient sources available''

The princely states of the Simla Hills all ultimately became part of the modern Indian state of [[Himachal Pradesh]].

=== States of the Punjab Hills ===
Some nearby Hindu and Sikh states include :
* the Maharaja of [[Kangra State|Kangra]],
* the Raja (Saheb) of [[Chamba State|Chamba]], entitled to an 11 [[gun salute]]
* the Raja of [[Mandi State|Mandi]],
* the Raja of [[Suket State|Suket]],
* the Raja of [[Siba (princely state)|Siba]], no salute, as Siba was not fully part of the British Indian Empire, only Siba Jagir (Jagir of Mian Devi Singh) up to Kotla.
* etc.

== References ==
{{RefList}}

== Sources and external links ==
* [http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/main.html Indian Princely States website]
* Punjab State Gazetteer [then Punjab was much larger], vol. VIII, ''Gazetteer of the Simla Hill States 1910''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051203020000/http://himachal.nic.in/welcome.asp Himachal Pradesh State's official website] and various links therefrom (click on map or names) to official sites of the state's districts

{{Princely states of the Punjab and Simla Hills}}

[[Category:Princely states of Punjab]]
[[Category:Princely states of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:History of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:History of Punjab]]
[[Category:History of Punjab, India]]
[[Category:History of Haryana]]

Hill States of India - Revision history

>Bender the Bot at 04:41, 20 February 2021