Gopal Singh, Raja of Chamba (ruled 1870-1873)

Chamba State was one of the oldest

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

s in present-day

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, having been founded during the late 6th century. It was part of the States of the Punjab Hills of the Punjab Province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from 1859 to 1947. Its last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union of 15 April 1948.

Geography

Chamba is situated in the bosom of the

Himalaya Mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, and its boundaries are on the northwest, west, and northeast by

Kishtwar Kishtwar is a town, municipality and administrative headquarter of the Kishtwar District in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The district was carved out of the Doda district in 2007. It is located in the Jammu division. T ...

and

Doda district Doda is a district in the eastern part of Jammu Division in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The district consists of 18 tehsils viz. Thathri, Bhaderwah, Doda, Mohalla, Bhagwa, Assar, Bhalla, Gundna, Marmat, Kahara, ...

of Jammu region; on the east,

Lahaul The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul () and Spiti (; or ). The present administrative centre is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were merged ...

; and on the southeast and south, the districts of Kangra and

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the Indian state of Punjab, between the rivers Beas and Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a border with Pakistan. The ...

. The

Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

flows through this district, and many

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

generating stations have been developed here.

History

According to tradition, the ancient name of Chamba wal "Champa and the predecessor state was known as "Brahmpur" Later Became

Bharmour Bharmour, also known as Machu Pichu of Himachal, formally known as Brahmpura, was the ancient capital of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Situated at an altitude of 2,100 metres in the Budhil valley, forty miles to the south-east of C ...

around 550 AD by Raja Maru Verman Who Came from Kalpagram to Hills of Chamba.In 900s, the capital was Shifted from Bharmour to Present day Chamba Town. The rulers of Chamba State patronized artists of the

Pahari painting Pahari painting (literally meaning a painting from the mountainous regions: ''pahar'' means a mountain in Hindi) is an umbrella term used for a form of Indian painting, done mostly in miniature forms, originating from Himalayan hill kingdoms ...

style. Between 1809 and 1846 Chamba was tributary to

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

. In 1821, Chamba annexed

Bhadrawah Bhaderwah or Bhadarwah (also ''Bhaderwah Valley'') is a town, tehsil, sub-division and also additional district in the Doda district of the Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is also known as Chota Kashmir (Mini Kashmir) for its sce ...

State. On 9 Mar 1846, Chamba State became a British protectorate.

Rulers

The rulers of Chamba princely state belonged to the Suryavanshi Mushana(मूषाण)

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

Dynasty.

Rajas

Raja Sahil Verman Around 920AD shifted His Capital From Bharmaur to Present Day Chamba Town. It is believed that King Shail Varman ruled until 940 AD. From then onwards the state of Chamba continued to be ruled by different kings of the Mushana Rajput Dynasty from their capital at Champavati, which later came to be Known as Chamba. Following are some of more famous kings of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh: * Raja Yugakar Verman * Raja Vidagdha Verman * Raja Dodaka Verman * Raja Vichitra Verman * Raja Dhariya Verman * Raja Salavahana Verman * Raja Soma Varman * Raja Asata Varman * Raja Jasata Verman * Raja Dhala Verman * Raja Udayan Varman * Raja Anand Verman * Raja Ganesa Verman * Raja Pratap Singh Verman, (from 1559 to 1586) * Raja Vir Vahnu Verman (1586 to 1589) * Raja Balbhadra Verman (1589 to 1641) as Chamba. * 1690 - 1720 Udai Singh (b. ... - d. 1720) * 1720 - 1735 Ugar Singh * 1735 - 1794 Raj Singh (b. 1735 - d. 1794) * 1794 - 1808 Jit Singh (b. 1775 - d. 1808) * 1808 - 1844 Charhat Singh (b. 1803 - d. 1844) * 1844 - 1870 Shri Singh (b. 1839 - d. 1870) * 1870 - Apr 1873 Gopal Singh (b. 18... - d. 1893) * 17 Apr 1873 – 22 Jan 1904 Sham Singh (b. 1866 - d. 1905) * 22 Jan 1904 – 22 Sep 1919 Bhuri Singh (b. 1869 - d. 1919) * 22 Sep 1919 - 7 Dec 1935 Ram Singh (b. 1890 - d. 1935) * 7 Dec 1935 – 15 Aug 1947 Tikka Lakshman Singh (b. 1924 - d. 1971)

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 32, 34, 12, N, 76, 7, 48, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Princely states of Himachal Pradesh Chamba district Rajputs States and territories disestablished in 1948 6th-century establishments in India 550 establishments 1948 disestablishments in India Former monarchies of Asia