Keonthal State, covering an area of 482 km
2, was one of the
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 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 ...
during the period of the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.
Its capital was
Junga. Keonthal acceded to India on 15 April 1948. Currently, it is part of the Indian state of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
.
History
According to tradition there was a predecessor state founded around 765 AD.
The state of Keonthal was founded before the 19th century. It was ruled by Rana Raghunath Sen until its occupation by
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
under General Amar Singh Thapa from 1803 to 1814. After the occupation, Sansar Sen ruled as the Rana from 1814 till 24 July 1858 when he took the title of Raja.
After the Gurkha War in 1815, a portion of Keonthal, which had been occupied by the Gurkhas, was sold to the maharaja of Patiala, the remainder being restored to its hereditary chief.
[
Keonthal's first capital was Koti, 9 kilometres from the hill station of Chail after which the capital was shifted to Junga.]
Rulers
The heads of the state bore the title 'Rana
Rana may refer to:
Astronomy
* Rana (crater), a crater on Mars
* Delta Eridani or Rana, a star
People, groups and titles
* Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name)
* Rana (title), a histori ...
' until 1858.
Ranas
*.... – .... Bhup Sen
*1801 – 1803 Raghunath Sen (1st time) (d. 1831)
*1803 – 1814 occupied by Nepal
*1814 – 1831 Raghunath Sen (2nd time) (s.a.)
*1831 – 24 Jul 1858 Sansar Sen (d. 1862)
Rajas
*24 July 1858 – 1862 Sansar Sen
*1862 – 1882 Mahendra Sen
*1882 – 1901 Balbir Sen
*1901 – 1916 Bije Sen
*2 February 1916 – 15 August 1947 Hemendra Sen (b. 1905)
References
External links
Keonthal Princely State
{{coord, 31, 02, N, 77, 18, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title
Princely states of India
History of Himachal Pradesh
States and territories disestablished in 1948
Rajputs
18th-century establishments in India
1948 disestablishments in India