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1 DASILA communities are inhabitant of Kumaon. Kumaon is one of the two regions and administrative divisions of Uttarakhand, a mountainous state of northern India, the other being Garhwal. It includes the districts of Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar. It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Nepal, on the south by the state of Uttar Pradesh, and on the west by the Garhwal region. The people of Kumaon are known as Kumaonis and speak the Kumaoni language. It is home to a famous Indian Army regiment, the Kumaon Regiment. Important towns of Kumaon are Haldwani, Nainital, Rudrapur, Almora, Pithoragarh, Mukteshwar and Ranikhet. Nainital is the administrative centre of Kumaon Division. There is evidence that the hills of Kumaon have been inhabited by mankind for a millennia, and the people of Kumaon today are the descendants of different waves of migration to these hills which took place over centuries.

1.1 In the ancient period between 1300 A.D. to 1400 A.D, after the disintegration of Katyuri kingdom of Uttarakhand, eastern region of Uttarakhand (Kumaon and Far-Western Region of Nepal which was a part         of Uttarakhand then), divided into eight different princely states i.e., Baijnath-Katyuri, Dwarhat, Doti, Baramandal, Askot, Sira, Sora, Sui (Kali kumaon). Later on, in 1581 AD after the defeat of Raika Hari Mall (maternal uncle of Rudra chand) with the hand of Rudra Chand all these disintegrated parts came under King Rudra chand and the whole region was as kumaon.

2 The Katyuri dynasty was of a branch of Kunindas origin and was founded by Vashudev Katyuri. Originally, from Joshimath, during their reign they dominated lands of varying extent from the 'Katyur' (modern day Baijnath) valley in Kumaon, between 7th and 11th centuries AD, and established their capital, at Baijnath in Bageshwar district, which was then known as Kartikeyapura and lies in the centre of 'Katyur' valley.Brahmadev mandi in Kanchanpur District of Nepal was established by Katyuris king Brahma deo.

2.1 At their peak, the Katyuri kingdom extended from Nepal in the east to Kabul, Afghanistan in the west, before fragmenting into numerous principalities by 12th century. They were displaced by the Chand Kings in 11th century AD. Architectural remains of the Katyur dynasty's rule can be found in Baijnath and Dwarahat.

2.2 The Rajbar dynasty of Askot in Pithoragarh, was set up in the 1279 AD., by a branch of the Katyuri Kings, headed by Abhay Pal Deo, who was the grandson of Katyuri king, Brahm Deo. The dynasty ruled the relion till, it became part of the British Raj through the treaty of Sighauli in 1816.

3 Katyuri Kings (कत्यूरी नरेश) were a medieval ruling clan of Uttarakhand are believed to have descended from Shalivahan ruler from Ayodhya thus links them with Suryavanshi Rajputs. However, many historians have placed them with Kuninda rulers and also of Khasa origins, who ruled over the Kumaon region between the 6th and 11th centuries C.E.

3.1 The Katyuri kings are also thought to be of Shaka ancestory, as Shalivahana, the king, is considered to be of Shaka stock. However, historians like Badri Dutt Pandey believe that the Katyurs came from Ayodhya. They called their state Kurmanchal, the land of Kurma, the second avatar of Vishnu, which gives the region its present name, Kumaon.

4 Chand Kings (चंद नरेश) were a medieval Raghuvanshi Rajput ruling clan of Kumaon region of the Uttarakhand state of India, which ruled the region after the decline of Katyuri Kings in 11th century AD., and continued till the rise of the British in 18th century.

4.1 The Chand kingdom was established by Som Chand, who came here from Kannuaj near Allahabad, sometime in the 10th century [1], and displaced the Katyuri Kings (कत्यूरी नरेश), originally from Katyur valley near Joshimath, who had been ruling the area from 7th century AD. He continued to call his state Kurmanchal, and established its capital in Champawat in Kali Kumaon, called so, due to its vicinity to        river Kali. Many temples built in this former capital city, during the 11th and 12th century exist today, this include the Baleshwar and Nagnath temples.

4.2 They had brief stints with the Rajput clans in Gangoli and Bankot then predominant there the Mankotis of Mankot, the Pathanis of Attigaon-Kamsyar, Kalakotis and many other Khas Rajput Clans of the region. However they were able to establish their domain there. One of most powerful ruler of Chand dynasty was Baz Bahadur (1638-78) AD., who met Shahjahan in Delhi, and in 1655 joined forces with him to attack Garhwal, which was under its king, Pirthi Sah, and subsequently captured the Terai region including Dehradun, which was hence separated from the Garhwal kingdom. Baz Bahadur extended his territory east to karnali river. In 1672, Baz Bahadur, started a poll tax, and its revenue was sent to Delhi as a tribute. Baz Bahadur also built the Golu Devata Temple, at Ghorakhal, near Bhimtal, after Lord Golu, a general in his army, who died valiantly at war. He also built famous Bhimeshwara Mahadev Temple at Bhimtal.

4.3 Later their capital was shifted to Almora by Raja Kalyan Chand in 1563, when he laid the foundation of a town name 'Alam Nagar', which was also called, 'Rajapur', a name that still used and has been found inscribed on a number of copper plates of the time.

4.4 Mughal historians mention that Chand ruler, Gyan Chand, visited Delhi Sultanate and received the regions of Bhabhar- Terai up to the Ganga as a grant from then Sultan. The lower hills remained under local chieftains; it was Kirti Chand (1488-1503), who first ruled the entire of Nainital district, along with the rest of Kumaon.

4.5 In 1581, the Chand King, Rudra Chand (1565-1597), son of Raja Kalyan Chand seized Sira defeating Raika king Hari Malla and attacked the Garhwal Kingdom for the first time, though this attack was repulsed by then king, Dularam Sah [5], and so were his subsequent attacks. Rudra Chandra was a contemporary of Akbar, and even paid him a visit in Lahore in 1587, as a mark of his obeisance. Akbarnama mentions him as "one of the great landlords of India", and further talks about about his initial hestitation in approaching the court of Akbqr, it was only Raja Todar Mal himself, sent his son Kalyan Das to assure him, did his proceed to meet Akbar. Subsequently, the two met and agreed on a concord [6], and thus Ain-e-Akbari, written during period of Akbar, also mentions the Sarkar of Kumaon, containing 21 Mahals (a geographical unit of the times) and the revenue collected.

4.6 Towards the end of 1600s, Chand Rajas again attacked Garhwal kingdom, and in 1688, Udyot Chand, erected several temples at Almora, including Tripur Sundari, Udyot Chandeshwer and Parbateshwer, to mark his victory over Garhwal and Doti, the Pabateshwar temple was renamed twice, to become the present Nanda Devi temple. Later, Jagat Chand (1708-20), defeated the Raja of Garhwal and pushed him away from Srinagar, and his kingdom was given to a Brahmin. However, a subsequent king of Garhwal, Pradip Shah (1717-72), regained control over Garhwal and retained Doon till 1757, when Rohilla leader, Najib- ul-Daula, established himself there, though he was ousted soon by Pradip Shah.

5. Kumaonis have been famous for their valour, their courage was legendary, their honour indomitable. The Kumaonis were never fully subjugated by the powerful Muslim dynasties of Delhi. Kumaonis were observed by the British, their valour was thus given recognition by the British and were included in the British Army. It is interesting to note that the 3rd Gorkha Rifles was known as the Keemaon battalion when it was formed and it included Kumaonis as well as the Garhwalis along with the Gorkhas. The Kumaonis, once accepted as a martial race, were themselves to be recruited in the Hyderabad regiment and displace the native troops, ultimately becoming the Kumaon Regiment after Independence of India. The Kumaon Regiment is one of the most decorated regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment traces its origins with the British Indian Army and has fought in various campaigns including the two world wars. After independence, the regiment has fought in all major conflicts involving India. They showed their exceptional courage in the Indo-Chinese War, the Battle of Rezang La has been proverbial for valour.

6. DASILA communities are originally from Tahsil Didihat. It is one of the Tahsil of District Pithoragarh of Uttarakhand state of Indian union. Didihat is bounded, on the north by tahsil Munsyari, on the east by tahsil Dharchula and the river Kali which separates it from Nepal on the south and west by tahsil Pithoragarh and on the north-west by district Almora.

6.2. Didihat has been the headquarters since 1960, of the tahsil of the same name. Before the formation of the district the place was known as Digtar which was simply a halting place on the way to        Kailash. The name Didihat appears to have been derived from the illages Digtar and Hat. Near the place are also found the remains of a fort, Sherakot, which is said to have been built by a Gorkha king, who ruled here and who was later conquered by Puru Pant. Being on the top of a hill, Sherakot presents a wide and beautiful view of the Himalayas. Adjacent to the fort there is an old and renowned temple of Malayanath, dedicated to Siva, which is visited by persons from places far and near. Fairs, attended by about 1,000 persons, are held at the temple on the occasions of Rakshabandhan and Sivaratri when goats are sometimes sacrificed. About 8 km. from the place, there is Narain Nagar, a small but attractive locality, by one Narain Swami. It has a temple, dedicated to the deity of Narayana.

6.1 Presently DASILA community are inhabitant of : Didihat Vill Rungri, Ganai Gangoli Vill Basikhet, Near Bankot Vill Sheraghat

5.2 Rungri, Basikhet and Sheraghat falls within the Gangolihat (pargana Gangoli, tahsil Pithoragarh)

7 The Gangoli derives its name from the name of the pargana and Hat, a name by which the place is locally called. It has a temple of Mahakali, which is said to be of great antiquity and is situated in the midst of a dense deodar forest. It is alleged that during the reign of the Chand rajas, human beings were, at times, offered in sacrifice at this temple, but the practice was stopped in the last century. Goats and buffaloes still continue to be sacrificed, particularly during the Navaratris of Chaitra and Asvina. The place also has the remains of a small fort built by a regent of the Chand rajas. In patti Bherang, about 8 km. from the village, there is an ancient temple of Patal Bhubaneshvar, dedicated to Siva, which is located inside a long and dark tunnel and attracts a large number of devotees.

8 PITHORAGARH, the district is named after its headquarters town, Pithoragarh. Tradition has it that during the reign of the Chand rajas of Kumaon, one Piru, also called Prithvi Gosain, built a fort here and named it Prithvigarh which in, in course of time, got changed into Pithoragarh. According to another local legend, Pithora, a Gurkha raja, constructed a fort here and called the place Pithoragarh. The Pithoragarh district forms the north-eastern part of the Kumaon Division and lies between Lat. 29º27´ N. and 30º49´N. and Long. 79º50´ E. and 81º3’ E., the length from north to south, being about 151 Km. at its maximum, and the breadth from east to west, reaching its maximum at about 119 Km. It is bounded by Tibet on the north, Nepal on the east, district Almora on the south and the districts Almora and Chamoli on the west.

9 According to the Manasa-khand section of the Skanda Puran it would seem to lie in the Manasa-khand, one of the five division of the Himalayan region, which is said to have extended from the Kailash mountain in the north to the Bhabhar and Tarai in the south. The Manasa-khand also gives the route to the Mansarowar lake, which passed through this district and on which lay some of the important holy places of this area, like Patal Bhubaneshwar (Tahsil Didihat) where the pilgrim should worship Siva for three days, while observing a complete fast, Baleshwar on the Ramganga, the Paban mountain (Tahsil Didihat), the Pataka or Dhaj (Dhwaj) peak (Tahsil Pithoragarh), the confluence of the Gori and the Kali(near Askot) where the pilgrim should take a bath, Chaturdanushtra (Tahsil Dharchula), Vyasa Ashram (Tahsil Dharchula), the source of Kali, the Kerala or Chhechhala mountain where he should worship Devi, the Puloman peak (on the range dividing Byans from Darma) on the foot of which is the sacred lake Man Talab also called Byankshiti, the Taraka mountain, the confluence of the Tarani and the Sarda where he should take the sacred dip, behold the caves, worship the gods, shave his beard, keep fast and perform shraddha (obsequies), and lastly the Gori mountain where the pilgrim passes out of the district and goes direct to the Mansarowar lake.

10 The principal language prevalent among the hill-folk of Pithoragarh district is Kumauni which belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages and is a form of Central Pahari which itself is a form of Western Hindi.

11 Kumaoni is one of the 325 recognized Indian languages, and is spoken by over 2,360,000 (1998) people of Indian states of Uttarakhand - Almora, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Champawat, Rudrapur (Udhamsingh Nagar) districts; Assam; Bihar; Delhi; Madhya Pradesh; Maharashtra and Punjab, besides being spoken in some regions of Himachal Pradesh and Nepal.

12 Amongst its dialects, the Central Kumauni is spoken in Almora and northern Nainital, Northeastern Kumauni is in Pithoragarh, Southeastern Kumauni is in Southeastern Nainital, Western Kumauni is west of Almora and Nainital.

13 UNESCO’s Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger designates Kumaoni as language in the ''unsafe category and which requires consistent conservation efforts. »http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206 '' Bold text--Dasila (talk) 09:55, 7 January 2011 (UTC) 14 Dialects of Kumaon Region. In all, there are 20 dialects spoken in the Kumaon region, including, Johari, Majh Kumaiya, Danpuriya, Askoti, Sirali, Soryali, Chaugarkhyali, Kumaiya, Gangoli, Khasparjia, Phaldakoti, Pachhai, and Rauchaubhaisi. Name of the language Kumaoni (en) Alternate names Kumauni; Kamaoni; Kumau; Kumawani; Kumgoni Vitality vulnerable Number of speakers 2,003,783 (Census 2001, but 2360000 in Ethnologue ) Location(s) Uttarakhand, also in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Bihar; also in Nepal Country or area India - Nepal Coordinates lat = 29.4778; long = 79.8486 References Corresponding ISO 639-3 code(s): kfy Record number: 01910