Kangra Town

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Kangra Town

Nagarkot’ or Kot Kangra — Town in Kangra District, Punjab, formerly the head-quarters of the District and still the head-quarters of the Kangra tahsil, situated in 30 degree 5' N. and 76 degree 16' E. Population (1901), 4,746. Lying on the northern slope of the low ranges which run through the centre of the District, it faces Dharmsala and commands a fine view of the Kangra valley. In its lower suburb (called Bhawan) was the temple of Devi Bajreshri, whose gilded cupola was, until the earthquake of 1905, a conspicuous landmark, and which contained a late Sanskrit inscription of about 1430 dedicated to Jawala Mukhi and mentioning Sansar Chand I, the Katoch king of Kangra. On the lofty ridge south of and above the town stood Kot Kangra or 'the fort,’ surrounded on three sides by inaccessible cliffs. In its highest part were the dwellings and temples of the old Katoch kings of Kangra. The town, with the fort and temples, was destroyed by the earthquake of April 4, 1905, in which 1,339 lives were lost m tne town. Seven Europeans were among the killed.

Kangra has from time immemorial been a stronghold of the Katoch Rajas. Firishta, in his introductory chapter narrating the exploits of a former king of Kanauj, who overran the hills from Kumaun to Kashmir, subduing 500 petty chiefs, distinctly alludes to the Raja of Nagarkot. The riches of the temple attracted the attention of Mahmud of Ghazni, who in 1009 took the fort and plundered the temple, carrying off, it is said, 700,000 golden dinars, 700 mans of gold and silver plate, 200 mans of pure gold in ingots, 2,000 mans of unwrought silver, and 20 mans of jewels, including pearls, corals, diamonds, and rubies. The temple plundered by Mahmud was probably situated within the fort and was not the temple of Devi in Bhawan, as has been supposed. Thirty-five years later the place is said to have been recaptured after a siege of four months by the Hindu princes under the Raja of Delhi. Kangra submitted to Flroz Shah in 1360, who again plundered the temple ; and in 1388 prince Mahmud Tughlak, when a fugitive from Delhi, found an asylum here till called to the throne in 1390. Kangra was permanently garrisoned under the Mughal s, and should have passed to Ahmad Shah Durrani in the

1 Nagarkot appears to have been the name of the town and Kangra of the fort. cession of 1752 ; but the governor, Saif Ali Khan, refused to surrender it, and maintained himself in the fort for twenty years. After his death in 1774, Sansar Chand, Raja of Kangra, laid siege to the fort and, being unable to reduce it, called in the Sikh leader Jai Singh, Kanhaya, to whom, and not to the Raja, it surrendered. Jai Singh, however, withdrew in 1785, and Sansar Chand possessed himself of the fort. Kangra was besieged from 1806 to 1809 by the Gurkhas, who were only repelled by the aid of Ranjit Singh. In return for his services the Maharaja appropriated for himself the fort, which was held by the Sikhs when the Jullundur Doab was ceded to the British in 1846. The governor refusing to surrender, the fort was invested and capitulated after a two months' siege. The head-quarters of the District were first fixed at Kangra, but were transferred to Dharmsala in 1855.

The temple of Devi above mentioned was one of the most ancient and famous shrines in Northern India, and was largely resorted to by pilgrims from the plains at the great festivals held in March, April, and October. The municipality was created in 1867. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 5,500, and the expenditure Rs. 5,300. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 5,600, chiefly derived from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 6,500. Its position on the Kangra valley cart-road makes it an important centre of internal trade. The chief educational institution is an Anglo-vernacular middle school maintained by the Church Missionary Society, which has a station here. There is a Government dispensary.