History of Almora

History of Almora

Ancient History

History of Almora : The ancient town of Almora, before its establishment, was under the possession of Katyuri king Baichaldeo. He donated the major part of this land to a Gujrati Brahmin Sri Chand Tiwari.

Founding of Almora (1568)

Later on when Chand kingdom was founded in Baramandal, the town of Almora was founded at this centrally located place in 1568 by Kalyan Chand. In the days of the Chand Kings it was called Rajapur. The name ‘Rajpur’ is also mentioned on a number of ancient copper plates.

Administrative Headquarters (1815-Present)

History of Almora : Almora town was the administrative headquarter of the Kumaun district; that was formed in 1815 following the defeat of Gorkha army in the Anglo-Gorkha war and the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli. The Kumaun district then consisted of the complete Kumaon Division excluding the Terai district with its headquarters at Kashipur.

In 1837, Garhwal was made a separate district with its Headquarters at Pauri. The Nainital district was carved out of the Kumaun District in 1891, and the Kumaun District was then renamed Almora District after its Headquarters.

Pithoragarh district was carved out of Almora on 24 February 1960 and Bageshwar district on 15 September 1997.

History of Almora : Chand Dynasty Rule (1568-1790)

Som Chand (1568-1581)

The rule of Som Chand (1568-1581 AD) marks the beginning of the Chand rule in Almora region. He shifted his capital from Champawat to Almora in 1568. He was the first ruler of Chand dynasty who ruled from Almora. He defeated the Raja of Garhwal and pushed him across the Alaknanda river. He also defeated the Doti Kingdom (1576) and occupied the fort and palace of Doti. He died in 1581.

Udyot Chand (1581-1588)

Udyot Chand (1581-1588 AD), son of Som Chand came to power after his death in 1581. He was a brave and ambitious ruler. He built the present town of Almora, with four gates in four directions. He also constructed three temples of Udyot Chandeshwer, Tripur Sundari and Parbateshwer in 1688 to mark his victory over Garhwal and Doti. He died in 1588.

Lakshmi Chand (1588-1638)

Lakshmi Chand (1588-1638 AD), son of Udyot Chand, ruled for a period of 50 years from 1588-1638 AD. In 1623, he attacked Garhwal but was badly defeated by its King Pradhuman Shah near Badhan. In 1630, Laksmi Chand again attacked Garhwal but was defeated. However, he gradually consolidated his position. He constructed Laxmi Vinayak temple in Almora. He did not have a son, so after his death in 1638, his grandson Prithvipati Chand came to the throne.

Prithvipati Chand (1638-1664)

Prithvipati Chand (1638-1664 AD) became king at the age of 12 years after Lakshmi Chand. There was infighting for power during his minority. When he came of age, he became an ambitious ruler. He attacked Garhwal in 1653 but was defeated. But he continued the policy of aggression against Garhwal and defeated the Garhwal king in 1657. He occupied Srinagar and constructed a victory pillar there. He was killed in war with Garhwal in 1664.

Chakra Chand (1664-1678)

Chakra Chand (1664-1678 AD), brother of Prithvipati Chand, became king after his death in 1664. He was a brave, ambitious and powerful ruler who continued the attacks on Garhwal. He scored initial success when he drove away the Garhwal king, Prithvipati Shah to the plains of Haridwar. But the Garhwal king took help of Mughal governor of Dehradun, who supplied him with an army. In the battle that followed, Chakra Chand was badly defeated in April 1670. Later Chakra Chand attacked Garhwal in 1678 but was killed in the battle.

Udit Chand (1678-1684)

Udit Chand (1678-1684 AD), Son of Chakra Chand, then became king at the age of 12 years. There was infighting for power. His uncle Balo Kalyan Chand expelled Udit Chand and became king in 1684.

Balo Kalyan Chand (1684-1688)

Balo Kalyan Chand (1684-1688 AD), uncle of Udit Chand captured power in 1684. He was son of Lakshmi Chand. He fought with the Garhwal king Fateh Shah and signed a peace treaty, fixing the Alaknanda river as the boundary between Garhwal and Kumaun. He constructed the temple of Golu Devta in Champawat. He died in 1688.

Udyot Chand (1688-1707)

Udyot Chand (1688-1707 AD), son of expelled king Udit Chand then became king again in 1688 after death of Balo Kalyan Chand. He was a strong and ambitious ruler. He attacked Garhwal in 1690 and 1703 but was defeated. However, he gradually consolidated his position in Almora. To commemorate his victories, he constructed the temples of Tripur Sundari, Udyot Chandeshwer and Parbateshwer in Almora town. He died in 1707.

Subhag Chand (1707-1720)

Subhag Chand (1707-1720 AD), son of Udyot Chand, then became king in 1707. In 1716, the Raja of Garhwal, Pradhuman Shah, attacked Almora but was defeated by Kumaun army led by general Shivram Joshi. Subhag Chand then counter attacked and invaded Srinagar. Pradhuman Shah had to take refuge in the hills. Subhag Chand occupied the strategic forts of Chandpur and Karnaprayag. He later released Pradhuman Shah and restored Garhwal throne to him. Subhag Chand died in 1720.

Jyoti Chand (1720-1736)

Jyoti Chand (1720-1736 AD), son of Subhag Chand, then became king in 1720 at the age of 12 years. His mother Rajeshwari Devi looked after the administration. Jyoti Chand became active king in 1730. His main achievement was to occupy the Terai region till Ramnagar in 1731. But Mughal faujdar of Moradabad attacked in 1732, defeated Kumaun army and snatched entire terai region from Jyoti Chand. Jyoti Chand died in 1736.

Kalyan Chand (1736-1748)

Kalyan Chand (1736-1748 AD), brother of Jyoti Chand, was then crowned king in 1736 at the age of 14 years. His mother Rajeshwari Devi became regent. Taking advantage of the situation, Rohilla Sardar Ali Muhammad Khan attacked Almora in 1743. Their combined army occupied Almora without resistance. Queen Rajeshwari Devi took young Kalyan Chand and fled to Dhamakot. The Rohilla army looted Almora city. They destroyed old temples built by Chand kings. Then they advanced towards Dhamakot but were defeated by Kumaun army near Badhan. The rohillas then retreated to Bareilly. Kalyan Chand regained his capital Almora.

In 1745, Rohillas under Ali Muhammad Khan again attacked Kumaun, but were badly defeated by Kumaun armies led by Shivdutt Josi at Badakhori and Hariram Joshi at Kota.

Meanwhile Kalyan Chand paid tribute to Delhi King, who issued Farman granting the entire Terai region (Bhabar) to Kalyan Chand. After this victory, Shivdutt Joshi built grand forts at Rudrapur and Kashipur to defend the Terai region.

Deep Chand (1748-1777)

Deep Chand (1748-1777 AD) was a minor when he became king in 1748 after death of Kalyan Chand. The real power remained in the hands of Shivdutt Joshi.

In 1761, Kumaun army under Shivdutt Joshi and Hariram Joshi participated in the Third Battle of Panipat. They fought along with Rohillas, supporting Ahmad Shah Abdali against the Marathas. Kumaun army used a special rocket called Baan in the battle, which proved decisive in the defeat of the Maratha army.

After this battle, friendly relations were established between Kumaun, the Mughals, Rohillas and Nawabs of Rampur and Moradabad. Peace returned to Kumaun, which allowed Shivutt Joshi to strengthen the forts at Rudrapur and Kashipur further.

However, internal conflicts soon weakened the Chand rule. For example, sons of Shivdutt Joshi (Jaykrishna) and Haridutt Joshi (Jayram) even fought a battle at Basuri Sera in which Jayram was killed. Infighting and disturbances weakened the army and administration.

Mohan Chand (1777-1788)

Mohan Singh, a Bakshi under king Deep Chand, adopted the name Mohan Chand and took over the reigns of Chand rule in 1777. He ruled till 1788.

Internal conflicts, deceit and murders increased during his rule. Taking advantage, external powers including Garhwal, Doti, Rohillas and Awadh (Lucknow) further weakened the empire.

Mahendra Chand (1788-1790)

Mahendra Chand (1788-1790 AD), son of Mohan Chand, was the last Chand king. During his rule, the administration and army were very weak.

Finally in 1790, the Gorkha (Nepal) king Ran Bahadur Shah attacked Kumaun. His army defeated and killed Mahendra Chand, ending the Chand dynasty after ruling for about 220 years.

History of Almora : Chand Administration & Society

Administration

Somchand established a kind of Panchayati Raj system for administration.

He appointed officers like ministers, administrators, advisors and army commanders (Sena Adhikshyak) from among the local chieftains (Thokdars) and Brahmins to run the administration.

• The Fartyals and Mehras were given charge of ministers and advisors.
• Joshis, Bishts, Pandeys were appointed to other positions like village heads (Budha, Sayana), priests (Purohit), doctors (Vaidya) and civil/police administration.

The king was the highest authority and held supreme power. To aid administration, he set up a Council of Ministers (Mantri Parishad) consisting of:

• Bakshi: Incharge of revenue collection and military
• Wazir: Head of civil administration
• Lekhiya: Head clerk for record keeping
• Sahayak Lekhiya: Assistant for records at Pargana level
• Kalamdan: Issued king’s official orders
• Fauzdar/Kiledar: Oversaw army, forts and defences
• Purohit/Dharmadhikari: High-born Brahmins as religious priests, astrologers.
• Sayana, Budha, Thokdar: Collected revenue

The kingdom was divided into Parganas, which were further divided into villages and towns.

Rozina were lands whose revenue was used to pay salaries of officials.

Thokdars were the land owners who cultivated the land and paid taxes to the state.

In the justice system, minor local disputes were resolved by village panchayats, while serious crimes were handled by royal judges (Munsiff, Amin) appointed by the king.

Society

The Chand kings, ministers and upper class belonged to Rajputs, usually claiming descent from the Sun (Suryavanshi) or Moon (Chandravanshi) dynasties in mythological texts.

Next were the Brahmins who performed religious rites and rituals for the king and society in return for grants of land (Brahmadeya) or villages (Agraharas). Brahmins also served as ministers, advisors and local judges.

The main fighting arms of the military and bodyguards of kings were drawn from the Thokdars or Khasa Rajputs of Kumaon. They held land and property in return for military service and tax revenue.

Below them were the common peasants, artisans and labourers like Kolis, Doms, Harijans, Rajis etc. They cultivated the land, practiced trades like ironsmith, carpentry or served as manual scavengers and labourers. They paid taxes to the state and Thokdars by tilling their land or by products of their labour.

At the lowest rung of society were the Doms considered untouchables or Harijans. They worked in what were considered “polluting” professions like disposal of dead bodies, manual scavenging etc.

British Rule (1815-1947)

After the defeat of the Gorkhas in 1815, Kumaon came under British rule as per the Sugauli Treaty. They established their rule indirectly through local administrators (Tehsildars).

To protect their strategic interests, the British constructed metalled roads connecting major towns like Almora, Ranikhet, Bageshwar, Champawat etc. These roads greatly eased trade and transport.

The British also introduced the postal system, police reforms, modern education, law courts, new land revenue system and provided relief during natural calamities like famines. They also patronized local arts, crafts and culture.

But their heavy land revenue demand and altered traditional customs led to public unrest and revolts like the Bhotiya-Tharu labour revolt (1907).

In 1921, the Non-Cooperation movement started by Gandhi also spread to Kumaon, with people boycotting foreign goods, courts and schools.

Ultimately India gained independence from Britain on 15 August 1947. Kumaon division became part of the new state of Uttar Pradesh in independent India.

Conclusion to History of Almora

History of Almora : Thus we see that Almora has a rich, varied and tumultuous history spanning over 850 years. From its founding by the Chand Rajputs, wars with Garhwal, Rohilla and Gorkha invasions, building of magnificent temples to its modernization by the British, Almora has seen it all. Its unique culture and breathtaking natural beauty continues to attract tourists and preserve its rich heritage to this day.