Kangra is a city and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

Kangra district Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch. In 1758 ...

in the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is also known as ''Nagarkot''. Kangra airport 1

Meaning of Kangra

Kangri word in Ladakh/Lahaul means snow on top of mountain. Since snow capped mountains are visible from the city of Kangra, therefore it is named Kangra (town of snow laden peaks).

History

Historically known as Kiraj and Trigarta,Blankinship, Khalid Y, "The End of Jihad State ", pp132 the town of Kangra was founded by

Katoch Katoch is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan. Their traditional area of residence was in the Trigarta Kingdom, based at Jalandhar and at Kangra Fort in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. They descent from the Trigarta dynasty mentioned in the Mahabha ...

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 con ...

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 ...

s of Chandervanshi Lineage. The Katoch

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 f ...

s had a stronghold here, with a fort and lavish

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. Another ancient name of the city is Bhimagar and it was supposedly founded by Raja Bhim, younger brother of Kuru Emperor

Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his first w ...

of Indraprastha (now Delhi). The temple of

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

Vajreshwari was one of the oldest and wealthiest in northern India. It was destroyed, together with the fort and the town, by

1905 Kangra earthquake The 1905 Kangra earthquake occurred in the Kangra Valley and the Kangra region of the Punjab Province (modern day Himachal Pradesh) in India on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale and killed more th ...

on 4 April 1905, when 1339 people died in this place alone, and about 20,000 elsewhere. In 1855 the headquarters of the district were removed to the

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...

Dharmsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

, which was established in 1849.Kangra Town
''

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

'', v. 14, ''p. 397.''

Invasions of Nagarkot

It is said that

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

looted the Shri Bajreshwari Mata Mandir(Temple). He also looted a fort in the region in 1009, but whether the fort of Kangra was taken or not is not yet historically verified. There were hundreds of well-defended forts that lay between Ghazni and Nagarkot fort, and so it highly unlikely that his looting expedition ever reached Kangra. Also, this claim is negated by historians who have cited various sources to say that the fort was impregnable and remained unconquered until the conquest by Emperor

Jehangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

in 1622.

The Katoch-Sikh battles and alliances against the Kingdom of Nepal

The fort was recaptured by the Katoch Kings after Jehangir's death. Multiple battles ensued between the Sikh king

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

and the Katoch King

Sansar Chand Sansar Chand (c. 1765 – 1824) was a Rajput ruler of the erstwhile state of Kangra-Lambagraon, Kangra in what is now the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Early life Sansar Chand was a scion of the Katoch dynasty which had ruled Kangra for cen ...

Katoch. But, while the war between the Sikhs and Katochs was taking place, the gates of Kangra fort were left open. The

Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...

army entered the opened gates of Nagarkot fort in 1806. This forced an alliance between the battling Sikhs and Katochs, and both the armies re-captured the fort after a battle in 1809. Kangra stayed with the Katoch Kings until 1828 when Maharaja Ranjit Singh annexed it after Sansar Chand's death. Then after the

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 ...

ese Gorkha Captured the Kangra until the British Came theirs. The fort and city were then captured by the British in 1846 and remained occupied until India's independence. 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, ...

of Kangra was merged in India in 1948 by the then titled Raja of

Kangra-Lambagraon Kangra-Lambagraon was a historical princely estate (''jagir'') of British India located in the present-day state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1947, the estate comprised 437 villages, encompassing an area of 324 km2. It had with a Privy Purse o ...

namely Raja Druv Dev Chand Katoch.

Geography

Kangra has an average elevation of 733 metres (2404 ft). The district of Kangra extends from the

Jalandhar Doab Doaba also known as Bist Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba is called "Doabi". T ...

far into the southern ranges of the

Himalaya 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 ...

. It is a town at the confluence of the Baner River and Majhi River, and

Beas Beas is a riverfront town in the Amritsar district of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Punjab, India, Punjab. Beas lies on the banks of the Beas River. Beas town is mostly located in revenue boundary of Budha Theh wit ...

is an important river here.

Economy

Tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

cultivation was introduced into Kangra valley about 1850. The

Palampur Palampur is a hill station and a municipal corporation situated in the Kangra District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is surrounded by pine forests and flanked by the Dhauladhar ranges. There are numerous streams flowing from the ...

fair, established by the government with a view to fostering commerce with

central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, attracts a small concourse of Yarkandi merchants. The Lahulis carry on an enterprising trade with

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

and countries beyond the frontier, by means of the pack

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, tea,

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es,

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

are the chief exports.

Visitor attractions

The

Kangra Fort The Kangra Fort is located 20 kilometers from the town of Dharamsala on the outskirts of the town of Kangra, India. History Raja Dharam Chand submitted to the Mughal Ruler Akbar in 1556 and agreed to pay tr ...

is also a popular tourist attraction. It is one of the oldest forts in

as well as the oldest in

It is the home of

Masroor Rock Cut Temple The Masrur Temples, also referred to as Masroor Temples or Rock-cut Temples at Masrur, is an early 8th-century complex of rock-cut Hindu temples in the Kangra Valley of Beas River in Himachal Pradesh, India. The temples face northeast, towards ...

built by the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

s, also known as Himalayan Pyramids and wonder of the world for being likely contender for the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Many ancient temples such as the Jawalaji, Chamunda Devi temple, Chintapurni temple, Baba Baroh and

Baijnath temple Baijnath Temple (Devanagari: बैजनाथ मंदिर) is a Nagara style Hindu temple situated in a small town of Baijnath located in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, India, and was built in 13th Century by two local merchants named ...

are located here. Gopalpur Nature Park in Gopalpur village has

tea garden A tea garden is an outdoor space or garden where tea and light refreshments are served, or any garden with which the drinking of tea is associated. Especially in India, it is also a common term for a tea plantation. The tea garden was a part o ...

Mcleodganj McLeod Ganj, also spelt McLeodganj, (pronounced ''Mc-loud-gunj'') is a suburb of Dharamshala in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" (a short form of Dharamshala used mainly by Tibetans) because ...

near

Dharamshala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

is the home-in-exile to the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

. The Bhagsunag Temple is located there. The

Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, abbreviated as the HPCA Stadium, is a picturesque cricket stadium located in the city of Dharamshala in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. The town of Dharamsala is best known interna ...

in Dharamshala is also an attraction because of its location in front of the snow-capped mountains and is the highest altitude international cricket ground in the world.

Demographics

The 2001 India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

states that Kangra had a population of 9,154. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Kangra has an average

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

rate of 83%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 81%. In Kangra, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Demographics

India

, *Number of Households - 1,924 *Average Household Size(per Household) - 5.0 *Population-Total - 10,185 *Population-Urban - 10,185 *Proportion of Urban Population (%) - 100 *Population-Rural - 0 *Sex Ratio - 997 *Population (0-6 Years) - 902 *Sex Ratio (0-6 Years) - 797 *SC Population - 660 *Sex Ratio (SC) - 1050 *Proportion of SC (%) - 7.0 *ST Population - 10 *Sex Ratio (ST) -150 0 *Proportion of ST (%) - 0 *Literates - 7,567 *Illiterates - 1,589 *Literacy Rate (%) - 92.0

Transport

Kangra Airport Kangra-Gaggal Airport , officially known as Kangra Airport, is a regional airport serving areas of Kangra including Dharamshala, the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located at Gaggal, which is situated from the city, from ...

(IATA airport code DHM) is 10 km to the city's north. It is served by

Kangra Valley Railway The Kangra Valley Railway is a gauge railway that runs from Pathankot, Punjab to Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh. It runs through the sub-Himalayan region of Kangra Valley and is long. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites tentative li ...

line from

Pathankot Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal cor ...

94 km away. It is connected by road with other cities in Himachal Pradesh and India. It is 450 km from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, 36 km from Palampur and 15 km from Dharamshala, 220 km from

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

References

External links

*
Kangra photo gallery

{{Kangra district

Meaning of Kangra

History

Invasions of Nagarkot

The Katoch-Sikh battles and alliances against the Kingdom of Nepal

Geography

Economy

Visitor attractions

Demographics

Demographics

Transport

See also

References

Further reading

External links