History of Tehri

"GARHWAL" - the land of many ‘GAHRS’ meaning forts.Tehri was made up of many small forts which were ruled by chieftains. Therefore, the history of Garhwal before the dynastic rule of the ‘Panwar’ rulers was not known. Kanak Pal was the first ruler of the state of Garhwal in 823 AD. He came from what is now called the state of Maharastra. The name ‘PANWAR’ is made up of two words, ‘PAN’ and ‘MAR’ meaning, "He who crushes enemies".

Kanak Pal came to Northern India in the early 9th century to help Nepal against the uprising of Tibet. He subsequently settled down in Garhwal and started the rule of the Pal dynasty from 823 AD to 1947 AD, a reign of over 1000 years and 60 descendants. Ajay Pal, the 37th descendant, was able to unify a large part of Garhwal and do away with the reign of the chieftains. Ajay Pal established his rule after defeating the chieftains and set up his capital at Shrinagar, Garhwal. In time, the rulers of Garhwal increased their kingdom size and power. Infact, Garhwal was one of the independent kingdoms on which the mighty Mughals of Delhi had neither any influence or supremacy.

The rulers of Garhwal remained independent and repeatedly expelled the attacks of the Mughal rulers of Delhi. During the rule of Shah Jahan, the Emperor of India in the 17th century, Rajamata Karanwati of Garhwal, the mother and regent of her minor son, Prithiviraj Shah, humiliated Emperor Jahangir by not only defeating his forces but also returning the survivors with their noses lopped off. Later when Raja Prithivi Pati Shah became the ruler of Garhwal, he gave shelter to the bothers of Emperor Aurangzeb in the end of the 17th century. The use of the suffix "Shah" after the name came to be used around this time instead of the "Pal". This was similar to the Mughul rulers use of the title "Shah" to denote their kingly status. The Garhwal rulers assumed the "Shah" title alongside their name indicating their position of being kings over and independent state.

GAHRH

King Sudarshan Shah established his capital at Tehri town and afterwards his successors Pratap Shah, Kirti Shah and Narendra Shah established their capital at Pratap Nagar, Kirti Nagar and Narendra Nagar respectively. Their dynasty ruled over this region from 1815 to 1949.

During the Quit India Movement people of tehri region actively participated for the independence of the country. Ultimately when the country was declared independent in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat started their movement for getting themselves freed from the clutches of Maharaja. Due to the movement the situation became out of his control and was difficult for him to rule over the region.The 60th king of Pawar Vansh Manvendra Shah accepted the sovereignty of Indian Government. Thus in 1949 Tehri Riyasat was merged in Uttar Pradesh and was given the status of a new district. Being a scattered region it posed numerous problems for expediting development. Resultantly on 24th February 1960 the U.P. Government separated its’ one tehsil which was given status of a separate district named as Uttarkashi.

Tehri

The district of Tehri Garhwal is one of the largest district of state uttarakhand and which lies from the snow covering Himalayan peaks of Thalaiya Sagar, Jonli and the Gangotri group all the way to the foothills near Rishikesh. Bhagirathi which runs through appears to divide the tehri district into two, while the Bhilangna, Alaknanda, Ganga and Yamuna rivers border it on the east and west. Tehri's neighbouring districts are Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pauri, Rudraprayag and Dehradun. Tehri was a former princely state of British India, named after its capital; area 4180 sq. m.; pop. (2001) 604608. It adjoined the district of Garhwal, and its topographical features are similar. It contained the sources of both the Ganges and the Yamuna, which are visited by thousands of Hindu pilgrims. The gross revenue in 1911 was about 28,000 rupees, of which nearly half was derived from forests. No tribute was paid to the British government.

Pauri garhwal, including today's Chamoli and Rudraprayag (partly) district came to be called British Garhwal until India's independence in 1947. Tehri, at the meeting point of the rivers Bhagirathi and Bhilangna, became the new Capital of Tehri Garhwal.

Tehri Garhwal has it’s own army and police force. However after the formation of India in 1947 and the subsequent merger of the various states in India at the time, the Garhwal Rifles was merged in with the Indian Army. Soldiers from this unit were among the first to receive the Victoria Cross - the highest decoration for a soldier in the British Army, Services rendered by the British. The ruler at the time of the merger of the states into the Indian Union in 1947 was Maharaja Manabendra Shah.

Tehri Garhwal resembles other parts of the Himalayas where various ethnic groups live side by side. Following chiefly the agrarian-pastoral way of life, native Garhwalis make their living from the hilly land the best they can. Some, like the Bhotia traders, migrate far and wide, although the ancient trade routes with Tibet have been closed since 1950. Most of the indigenous people like Jaunsari, Buksha, Tharu, and Raji are heterodox Hindus and Buddhists, while Sikh migrants from West Punjab have settled in the lowlands since 1947. A few Muslim groups are also native to the area, although most of them have settled recently. The Muslim Gujjar herders also migrate to the hills.

Location and Area Of Tehri Garhwal

Tehri Garhwal is one of the western most district of the Uttaranchal (now uttarakhand) State located on the outer ranges of the mid Himalayas which comprise low line peaks rising contiguously with the planes of the northern India. The district lies between the parallels of 30.3` and 30.53` north latitude and 77.56` and 79.04` east longitude. Uttarkashi from the north, Rudraprayag from the east, Puri Garhwal from the south and Dehra Dun from the west are bounding the districts. On the western front Yamuna river separates it from Jaunsar Pragana of the Dehra Dun district while Bhagirathi rising from the north of the Gangotri in the district Uttarkashi touches the district near village Nagun. Total area of the district is 4421 sq. kms (Census 1991).The district headquarter is located at New Tehri Town since 1.4.1989, Earlier Narendranagar was the district headquarter.