Bilaspur State or Kahlur State, sometimes Kahloor Riyasat, was a kingdom (697–1849) and later princely state (1849–1948) in the Punjab Province ruled by a separate branch of Chandravanshi Chandel rajput dynasty. Raja Bir Chand 697–730 was the founder of the state but it was named Kahlur only after the Construction of Kahlur Fort by Raja Kahal Chand around 890–930CE and Raja Anand Chand 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 Sage Bias (from Biaspur later became Bilaspur) and had a population of 100,994 according to the

1931 Census of India Census in British India refers to the census of India prior to Independence Day (India), independence which was conducted periodically from 1865 to 1941. The censuses were primarily concerned with administration and faced numerous problems in th ...

. 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 (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, the

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

of Kahlur ( Bilaspur) elevated the

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Nepal. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they also work as fishermen along with agriculture. In the beginning of 20th ce ...

to the status of

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

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. He was born in the Chandel Rajput dynasty, who claimed to be a descendant of Sisupala from the

Chandravansha The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling varna (Social Class) mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related ...

Haihaya tribe. After Raja Kahal Chand had built Kahlur Fort the state was named Kahlur (probably from Kahal-pur) and the ruling

Chandel Dynasty of Kahlur Chandel may refer to: Places * Chandel, a town in Manipur, India * Chandel district, a district in Manipur, India * Chandel, Pernem, a village in the sub-district or ''taluka'' of Pernem, North Goa People * Ashok Kumar Singh Chandel, Indian ...

was also Known as Kahluria. Initially the capital of the state was at a place named Jandbari — in (now in punjab after 1953) — 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 The Battle of Nadaun, alternatively known as the Hussaini Yudh'','' was fought at Nadaun, between Raja Bhim Chand of Bilaspur (Kahlur) and the Mughals under Alif Khan. Bhim Chand was supported by Guru Gobind Singh (the tenth Sikh Guru) and t ...

against

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

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, Dhami, Kuthar, 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. Raja Anand Chand 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 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

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

Demographics

Ruling dynasty

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

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

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) Bhim Chand (born 1651) was the Rajput King of Bilaspur state (reigned 1665 – 1692) and Anandpur Sahib fell under his territorial area. He launched his first expedition against Guru Gobind Singh in 1682. In 1686 he conflicted with the armies of ...

() #Ajmer Chand () #Devi Chand () #Mahan Chand () #Kharak Chand () #Jagat Chand () #Hira Chand () #Amar Chand () #Bijai Chand () # Anand Chand ()

Currency

No coins from Bilaspur State have been found, and the state may have simply been too small and remote, with little demand for currency, to mint its own. There was little long-distance trade that required currency. Any coins that did circulate in the area were probably originally from elsewhere, such as the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

. After the British gained influence in the region in the mid-1800s, the British system based on the rupee predominated. For everyday transactions, though,

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange (economics), exchange in which participants in a financial transaction, transaction directly exchange good (economics), goods or service (economics), services for other goods ...

was the main way that most people exchanged goods and services.

History

Demographics

Ruling dynasty

Rajas

Currency

Notes

References

Further reading