Hill States of India

The Hill States of India were princely states lying in the northern border regions of the British Indian Empire.

This article is about the princely states in NW India during the British Raj. For the hills in Northeast India, see Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

History
Princely state
Individual residencies
Agencies
Lists

During the colonial Raj period, two groups of princely states in direct relations with the 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.

After the independence and split-up of British India, the Hill States 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
Map of some Hill states, 1911

28 princely states (including feudatory princes and zaildars) in the promontories of the western Himalaya were named after Shimla as the Simla Hill States.[1] These states were mainly ruled by Hindu Rajputs.[2][3]

Three quarters of the roughly 4,800 square miles (12,000 km2), on both sides of the Sutlej river, was the territory of the Raja (earlier Rana) of Bashahr. The direct tributaries of Bashahr were:

  • Thakur of Khaneti
  • Thakur of Delath

Initially both Khaneti and Delath were feudatories of Kumharsain.

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

  • the Rana (also styled as Rana Saheb) of Kumharsain. Tributaries of Kumharsain before 1815 were:
    • Rana of Balsan
    • Thakur of Madhan
    • Thakur of Bharauli
  • Thakur of Beja State
  • Rana of Bhaji/Bhajji
  • Prince of Bhagat
  • Raja of Bilaspur (formerly Kahlur/Kehloor), entitled to an 11-guns salute
  • Rana of Darkoti
  • Rana (Shri) of Dhami
  • Raja (formerly Rana) of Jubbal, witj two tributaries:
    • Thakur (sahib) of Dhadi State, initially tributary to Tharoch, then to Bashahr and finally in 1896 to Jubbal.
    • (title?) Rawin = Rawingarh
  • Raja (formerly Rana) of Keonthal, where the feudal pyramid included five zaildars (jagirdars collecting a special tax) :
    • a Jagirdar Gundh
    • a Jagirdar Madhan = Kiari
    • Rana Sahib of Koti (since 1815)
    • Thakur Saheb (also styled as Rana) of Ratesh (popularly known as Kot, 'fortress')
    • Rana of Theog
  • Thakur of Kunihar
  • Rana of Kuthar
  • Thakur of Mahlog
  • Rana of Mangal
  • Raja of Nalagarh
  • Thakur (or Rai Mian) of Sangri State
  • 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 :

  • Maharaja of Kangra,
  • Raja (Saheb) of Chamba, entitled to an 11 gun salute
  • Raja of Mandi,
  • Raja of Suket,
  • Raja of 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

References
  1. Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 8, p. 233.
  2. "Part I: Kangra (1883-1884)", Gazetteer of the Kangra District, 1883-84; reprinted Indus Publ. Co., New Delhi, 1994, p. 33. ISBN 8173870241
  3. Crill, Rosemary; Jariwala, Kapil (2010). The Indian Portrait, 1560-1860. ISBN 9788189995379.
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