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{{Use Indian English|date=August 2017}}
'''Katoch''' is a [[Chandravanshi]] [[Rajput clan]]. Their traditional area of residence was in the [[Trigarta Kingdom]], based at [[Jalandhar]]<ref name="Brentnall">{{citation |last=Brentnall |first=Mark |title=The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ayYbAvECXQwC |year=2005 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-163-4|page=312}}</ref> and at [[Kangra Fort]] in the Indian state of [[Himachal Pradesh]]. They claim descent from the [[Trigarta Kingdom|Trigarta dynasty]] mentioned in the [[Mahabharata]].

== Etymology ==
There are two possible origins for the word ''Katoch''. Members of the clan say it comes from the words ''Kat'' (army) and ''uch'' (upper class)<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Singh|editor-first=Kumar Suresh |editor-link=Kumar Suresh Singh |author=Anthropological Survey of India |authorlink=Anthropological Survey of India |title=India's Communities |volume=5 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19563-354-2 |page=1613 |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9MVAQAAMAAJ |quote=KATOCH They derive their nomenclature from the word Kat (army) and uch (upper class)}}</ref> but other sources say that it comes from ''kot'' (fort). The [[Kangra fort]] was known as Nagarkot or Kot Kangra, and since the administrators/rulers resided within that particular ''kot'' they were vernacularly called "Kot'ch" or कोटच, which means ''those within the fort''.<ref name="Kot'ch">{{cite book|last1=Jeratha|first1=Aśoka|title=Forts and Palaces of the Western Himalaya|year=2000|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=9788173871047|page=20|edition=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2oZiyOqReoC|quote=The Kangra fort is situated at a peculiar strategical situation overlooking deep furrows leading to wide spanned stream. The fort, now in ruins, once commanded respect among the hill chieftains... It was popularly known as Nagarkot or Kot Kangra. Kot denotes a fort and Nagar denotes a town, so collectively it meant the fort of the town. The clan who ruled Kot Kangra was named Katoch after Kot. In fact, this fort was so peculiar in its situation and formidable features that it became a unique structure among the prevailing forts. So the clan ruling this fort was known as Katoch.}}</ref> This over time became Katoch.

== History ==
[[File:View from top of Kangra Fort overlooking river.jpg|thumb|right|The strategic [[Kangra fort]] commanded the respect of the region.<ref name="Kot'ch"/>]]
The main branch of the Katoch clan were the rulers of the [[Kangra State]], which was, by some accounts, the most prominent kingdom between the [[Ravi River|Ravi]] and [[Sutlej River|Sutlej]] in the pre-modern period.<ref>{{citation |last=Prasad |first=Shankar |title=The Gallant Dogras: An Illustrated History of the Dogra Regiment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Wxsgt6_0TYC&pg=PA34 |year=2005 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=978-81-7062-268-0 |pages=16, 21, 34}}</ref><ref name=Parry>{{citation |last=Parry |first=Jonathan P. |title=Caste and Kinship in Kangra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MabdAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-54585-6|pages=11–13}}</ref>
The Kangra State was also known as ''Trigadh'', a name derived from the ancient [[Trigarta Kingdom]] mentioned in the ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref>{{citation |last1=Chakrabarti |first1=Dilip K. |last2=Hasan |first2=S. Jamal |title=The antiquities of Kangra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsC1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA7 |year=1984 |publisher=Munshiran Manoharlal |page=7 }}</ref> The tradition holds that the Katoch were the rulers of Kangra from the times of ''Mahabharata'' till the pre-independence era.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeratha|first1=Aśoka|title=Forts and Palaces of the Western Himalaya|year=2000|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=9788173871047|page=Preface|edition=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2oZiyOqReoC&pg=PA5}}</ref>

In the pre-modern period, the hill states of the modern Himachal Pradesh are said to have constantly warred with each other, despite relations of kinship and intermarriage. In 1333, under the reign of Raja Prithvi Chand, Mohammad Bin Tughlaq attacked Kangra with 100,000 men. Only 10 of them returned to Delhi and were executed by the emperor.<ref>Chandra, Satish (1997). Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals. New Delhi, India: Har-Anand Publications. pp. 101–102. {{ISBN|978-8124105221}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jeratha |first=Asoka |title=Forts and Palaces of the Western Himalayas |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Forts_and_Palaces_of_the_Western_Himalay/l2oZiyOqReoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mohammad+tughlak&printsec=frontcover |year=2000 |publisher=Inds Publishers |isbn=978-81-7387-104-7 |pages=23}}</ref> Then they were brought under the [[Mughal empire|Mughal]] suzerainty by the emperor [[Akbar]]. The Mughal control was limited, however. The rulers of the states retained a fair degree of independence. Emperor [[Jahangir]] captured the Kangra fort in 1610, annexing the surrounding area and reducing the Katoch rajas to the status of vassals.<ref name=Parry/>

After the decline of the Mughal power, Raja Ghamand Chand (r. 1751–1774) recovered most of the territory earlier ceded to the Mughals. Raja Sansar Chand (r. 1775–1823) established the supremacy of Kangra over all the surrounding hill states. During his reign, Kangra became a major centre for the arts and several palaces were built.<ref name=Parry/>

In the year 1805, the neighbouring hill states rebelled, with the aid of the [[Gurkha]] army. Raja Sansar Chand was forced to seek the help of Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]] of Lahore. The Gurkha army was expelled but Ranjit Singh also annexed the most fertile part of the Kangra valley, reducing the Katochs of Kangra as well as the neighbouring rajas to the status of vassals. After the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] of 1846, the whole area was ceded to the British [[East India Company]], eventually integrated into the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab province]]. The Katochs and the surrounding hill rajas were assigned small ''jagirs'' over which they had the rights of revenue and magisterial authority.<ref name=Parry/>

== Clans and surnames ==
The Katoch clan one of the 14 ruling clans of the Himachal Pradesh and Jammu region in the medieval times.<ref name="charak">{{cite book|last1=Charak|first1=Sukh Dev Singh|title=History and culture of Himalayan states Himachal Pradesh Volume I|publisher=Light & Life Publishers |page=17|year=1978|isbn=9788120609426|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3btDw4S2FmYC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeratha|first1=Ashok|title=Dogra Legends of Art & Culture|year=1998|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=9788173870828|page=22|edition=1998}}</ref>

Katochs suffixed 'Chandra' to their names until the rise of the Sikh dynasty in Punjab, after which some clan members started suffixing 'Singh' also. However, most clan members today, including in the sub-clans, suffix Chand.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeratha|first1=Ashok|title=Dogra Legends of Art & Culture|year=1998|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=9788173870828|page=22|quote=These rajput clans suffixed their family names after their proper names for instance Katoch rajas suffixed Chandra. Chambials suffixed Varman, Suketias suffixed Sen while as Jaswal and Sibials suffixed Chand.|edition=1998}}</ref>

Until the reforms of 1930s, the Katoch women were only married westward, generally to the Pathania and Jamwal/Jamuwal men. The higher the sub-clan rated its own status, the farther away towards the west they tended to marry.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parry |first1=Jonathan P. |title=Caste and Kinship in Kangra |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781-1-3654-585-6|page=220 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MabdAAAAQBAJ}}</ref>

== Regions ruled by the clan ==

In past centuries, the clan and its branches ruled several [[princely state]]s in the region of Trigarta. Trigarta refers to the land between three rivers, namely, Beas, Sutlej, and Ravi.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeratha|first1=Asoka|title=Forts and Palaces of the Western Himalaya|year=2000|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=9788173871047|page=21|edition=2000|quote=Trigarta, meaning land of three rivers. The three rivers referred are the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2oZiyOqReoC}}</ref> However, the clan lost lands and by the 17th century had been reduced to a small hill state. The originator of the clan was [[Rajanaka Bhumi Chand]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Charak|first1=Sukh Dev Singh|title=History and Culture of Himalayan States, Vol. 1|pages=134–136|edition=1978}}</ref> Their rulers include [[Sansar Chand]] II and [[Rajanaka Bhumi Chand]], the latter being the founder of the [[Jwalamukhi temple]] in [[Himachal Pradesh]].

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Rajput Groups of India}}

[[Category:Rajput clans of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:History of Himachal Pradesh]]

Katoch - Revision history

ImportMaster at 19:44, 28 January 2022