Garhwal District - History of Garhwal District

History of Garhwal District

The region of Garhwal has always been growing along with the rest of the India.The first dynasty that ruled over uttrakhand was Katyuri. It marked various milestones in the area of inscriptions and temples. After the downfall of Katyuris the whole of Garhal region was broken up into more than sixty four principalities which were ruled by a chieftain. Originally Garhwal had 52 Garhs(fortress). These garhs were small and had their own chiefs who were responsible for the welfare of the garh. The Garhwal Kingdom was found by one of the chief named Ajay Pal, who reduced the petty garhs and brought them under his own chieftainship. He and his ancestors ruled over Garhwal and Tehri till 1803. During their rule they encountered various attacks from "Mughals", "Sikhs", "Rohillas" and "Gorkhas". The Gorkha invasion was marked by severe brutality and massacre. The Garhwalis started associating the term "Gorkhyani" with massacre. Despite the efforts of the Garhwalis the Gorkhas managed to capture till Langoorgarh but had to retreat due to an attack by the Chinese army. In 1803 the Gurkhas invaded Kumaon and Garhwal yet again and drove the Garhwal chief away. For the next 12 years the Gurkhas ruled over Garhwal. In 1814 they got into a war with the British for encroaching on their territory. Garhwal and Kumaon then became a British district. Garhwal had an area of 5629 sq. mil and was under the Kumaon division. The present king of Kumaon kingdom is Raja Mahendra Chand of Lamakhet (Pithoragarh), he is married to Rani Gita Chand of Rina and has three children's (Rajkumari Aakanksha Chand, Rajkumari Mallika Chand, Rajkumar Aryan Chand) After independence garhwal, Almora and Nainital were administered by the commissioner of Kumaon division. In 1960 Chamoli was removed out of the Garhwal region. In 1969 Garhal division was established and Pauri was made its headquarters.

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