Mandawa-Havelî 320-Maharajahs' room-20131007

Dan Chand, prince of Bilaspur (6125127594)

Bilaspur State or Kahlur State, sometimes Kahloor Riyasat, was a kingdom (697-1849) and later

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

(1849-1948) in the Punjab Province ruled by a separate branch of Chandravanshi Chandel dynasty.Raja Bir Chand 697-730 was the founder of the state but it was named as Kahlur only after the Construction of Kahlur Fort by Raja Kahal Chand around 890-930CE and Raja

Anand Chand His Highness Raja Sir Anand Chand (26 January 1913 – 12 October 1983) was the 44th Raja of Bilaspur. He was a Member of Parliament, representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament as a member of the Indian Nati ...

the 44th Raja was the last ruler. The state was Earlier known as Kahlur Riyasat and was later renamed Bilaspur.States before 1947 A-J
/ref> It covered an area of , on the name of River Bias (from Biaspur later became Bilaspur) and had a population of 100,994 according to the

1931 Census of India The Census of India prior to independence was conducted periodically from 1865 to 1941. The censuses were primarily concerned with administration and faced numerous problems in their design and conduct ranging from the absence of house numbering ...

. The last ruler of Bilaspur State acceded to the Indian Union on 12 October 1948. Bilaspur State remained Bilaspur Province in independent India until 1950 when the province was briefly renamed "Bilaspur State" before it was merged with

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 pea ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

as a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

in 1954.Social, cultural, and economic history of Himachal Pradesh By Manjit Singh Ahluwalia
/ref> In the pre-partitioned

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

, the

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested ...

of Kahlur ( Bilaspur) elevated the

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they ...

to the status of

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the co ...

and he wanted them to serve in his army and Raja did so.

History

According to local Oral Tradition and Records during the reign of Raja Harihar Chand a new state was founded around 697 CE by his son First Ruler Raja Bir Chand. After Raja Kahal Chand had built Kahlur Fort the state was named after as Kahlur(probably from Kahal-pur) and the Ruling Chandel Dynasty of Kahlur was also Known as Kahluria. Initially the capital of the state was at a place named Jandbari — now in

Hoshiarpur district Hoshiarpur district is a district of Punjab state in northern India. Hoshiarpur, one of the oldest districts of Punjab, is located in the North-east part of the Punjab state and shares common boundaries with Gurdaspur district in the north-we ...

— and then it was transferred to Kahlur Fort, but was later moved permanently to present town Bilaspur by Dip Chand, the 32nd

of Kahlur () Raja Bhim Chand who succeeded Raja Deep Chand fought Battle of Nadaun against

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and came out victorious.

under Alif Khan were supported by Raja of Kangra and Raja Dayal of Bijarwal When Raja Bhim Chand abdicated in 1692 to lead a life of sanyasi the state was at previously unknown heights. The reign of Bhim Chand's son Ajmer Chand was of conquest as well. By the end of his forty years reign the number of states paying tribute was considerable: Baghal State, Baghat, Keonthal, Beja, Mangal, Bhajji,

Mahlog Mehlog or Mah(i)log was a princely state of India before and during the colonial British Raj. In 1940 it had a population of 8,631 and an area of . The capital city was Patta. On 15 April 1948 Mahlog acceded to the Indian Union. Later it was ...

, Dhami,

Kuthar Kuthar, formerly Krishangarh, is located in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. Krishangarh (Kuthar) is situated on the MDR-75 i.e. Shalaghat-Arki-Kunihar-Kuthar-Patta-Brotiwala (previously known as State Highway-9) adjoining Sabathu, Kasaul ...

, Kotkhai, Kunihar, Balsan, and Nehra among others. All continued to pay tribute until Mahan Chand reign 1778 but by 1790 only Mangal State continued to acknowledge Bilaspur'so suzerainty. Since the 18th-century the rulers of Bilaspur State patronised artists of the Kangra painting style. Bilaspur State came under British protection in 1815 under Raja Mahan Chand and became one of the

Simla Hill States The Hill States of India were princely states lying in the northern border regions of the British Indian Empire. History During the colonial Raj period, two groups of princely states in direct relations with the Province of British Punjab ...

. Raja

was the last ruler of the princely state and Pandit Sant Ram was the last Home Minister. As Bilaspur acceded to India on 28 October 1948, Bilaspur retained an independent identity as a separate province and as a part-C State of India. The Raja was appointed commissioner of the State. In following years after Raja resigned his deputy Chhabra, who was appointed by govt of India, helped run the temporary govt of Bilaspur while the territory of the princely state was politically integrated into the Indian Union. From 26 January 1950 Bilaspur was administered by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

as a separate C-Class state named Bilaspur State which in 1954 was incorporated into the State of Himachal Pradesh as a province.

The Family

Chandel in Bilaspur belong to different branches of the ruling family.These families are numerous, and all enjoyed

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, starti ...

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

s from state amounting in aggregate to Rs. 40,000 a year in 1933.The chief names are: *Ajmerchandia *Kaliyanchandia *Tarachandia *Sultanchandia

Rajas

#Bir Chand, founder; () #Udhran Chand #Jaskarn Chand #Madanbrahm Chand #Ahl Chand #Kahal Chand, 6th Raja;() #Slar Chand #Men Chand #Sen Chand #Sulkhan Chand #Kahn Chand, 11th Raja. Conquered Hindur, which he created as a separate realm for his second son. #Ajit Chand, 12th Raja (son of Khan Chand) #Gokul Chand #Udai Chand, () #Gen Chand #Pruthvi Chand #Sangar Chand, () #Megh Chand, () #Dev Chand #Ahim Chand #Abhisand Chand, () #Sampurn Chand () #Rattan Chand () #Narandar Chand #Fath Chand #Pahar Chand #Ram Chand #Uttam Chand #Gyan Chand () #Bikram Chand () #Sultan Chand () #Kalyan Chand () #Tara Chand () #Dip Chand () # Bhim Chand (Kahlur) () #Ajmer Chand () #Devi Chand () #Mahan Chand () #Kharak Chand () #Jagat Chand () #Hira Chand () #Amar Chand () #Bijai Chand () #

()

History

The Family

Rajas

References

Further reading