User:Kanwar pushpender

The Princely House of Kumharsain Parihar

The former state of Kumharsain was one of the larger Hill States with an area of 217.6 square kilometres. It was bounded by Khaneti, Bushahr, Kotkhai, Ghund, Theog, Keonthal, Bhajji and Sangri. The capital of the state was Kumharsain situated on the left bank of the Satluj River, about 76 kilometres from Shimla, just North of Narkanda, and the largest town in the state.

The former ruling family of Kumharsain are of the Ghor clan of the Surajbansi Rajputs, and are by tradition descended from a certain Kirti Singh, who was an office holder and Jagirdar at the court of Raja Narayan Pal of Gaya in Bihar, who reigned from 1038 to 1055. With his two brothers, Katar Singh and Prithvi Singh, Kirti Singh left Gaya for the hills. They established themselves in the area around Karangla-Kumharsain. The area was divided into many small Thakurai states which were easily subdued. The younger brother, Prithvi Singh, subsequently established his independence at Delath (see Delath), whilst the other two consolidated their possessions around Karangla and Kumharsain.

Kirti Singh reigned for about thirty seven years. He was succeeded by his son, Ugarn Chand, also known as Pahar Singh. A minor at the death of his father, his uncle Katar Singh acted as Regent and effective ruler. Ugarn Chand had three sons. The eldest, Sansar Chand succeeded him, whilst the two younger brothers, Savir Chand and Jai Singh took the area of Khaneti, Kotkhai and Kotgarh as their fiefdom. Sometimes known as Kotgaru this area was administered jointly by the two branches for five generations. In the sixth generation two surviving brothers, Dooni Singh, and Shimal Singh, divided the territories into Khaneti and Kotkhai-Kotgarh respectively.

Ugarn Chand was followed by: Pratap Singh; Nadev Singh; Nahar Singh; Jaidev Singh and Jorawar Singh. The latter was a contemporary of Raja Sumair Prakash of Sirmur (1239-1248). He had a daughter who married Raja Suraj Prakash (1248-1259), and a son Dalbhajon Singh, who succeeded him. Rana Dalbhajon Singh was followed by: Randhir Singh; Vishan Pal; Madhan Singh; Jai Singh; Narayan Singh; Shamsher Singh; Kahan Singh; Chattar Singh; Guja Singh; Ganpat Singh; Narbai Singh; Satdhari Singh; Tegh Singh; Vikram Singh; Swat Singh; Devi Singh; Jaimal Singh; Jagdish Singh; Gildhari Singh; Surat Singh; Jowahar Singh; Tapdhari Singh; Karam Singh; Jati Singh; Dharm Singh; Jalim Singh; Kewal Singh; Dalip Singh; Dalel Singh; Tilak Singh; Prithvi Singh; Golal Singh; Kishan Singh; Roop Singh; Rattan Singh; Shiv Singh; Fateh Singh; Shakht Singh; Chattar Singh and Ajmeri Singh of whom we treat.

Ajmeri Singh was the forty-ninth ruler of Kumharsain, who, early in his reign seized the fort of Shari in the Sangri part of the Kullu kingdom. The Raja of Kullu, Man Singh, incensed by this incursion into his territory gathered his forces and pursued the invaders, but he was defeated at Karangla and Nagi and forced to retreat back across the Satluj. A knave attacked him and killed him whilst he was smoking his pipe under a tree near Ursu; this act of regicide was not looked upon favourably by Ajmeri Singh, who had the man mutilated, cutting off his hands and feet. Ajmeri’s son and successor, Anoop Singh, was a mild man, and through the marriage of his daughter to the Raja of Bushahr he secured that state’s protection; a situation which continued up until the arrival of the Ghurkhas.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Kumharsain was overlord of Balsan, Bharauli and Madha, but all were lost in the settlement of 1815. When the Ghurkhas invaded the land they deposed Rana Kehar Singh and imprisoned him near Kumharsain. However, he was able to escape and proved invaluable to the British, providing local information to a hilly and inhospitable region. The British restored Rana Kehar Singh to the gadi and ended its feudatory relationship to Bushahr. Rana Kehar Singh died without male issue, and thus the British lapsed the state. However, it proved politic to place on the gadi the late Rana’s cousin, Pritam Singh. Rana Pritam Singh earned the respect of the British during the Sikh wars, when he led his own army to attack the Sikh garrison holding the Kullu fort of Srigarh.

Little is known of the internal affairs of the Kumharsain state until the reign of Rana Hira Singh. As the eldest son, Hira Singh succeeded his father in 1874, but at the time he was, as the British so indelicately put it, an ‘imbecile’ and so from 1874 until 1904 there was a council of regency. The council was abolished in 1904 due to its own incompetence and blatant corruption, and the whole state was placed under the management of British officials until 1910, when it was turned over to state officials once more. Rana Hira Singh died in 1914, when he was succeeded by his younger son, the elder having died the year before.

Rana Vidyadhar Singh was a strong and exceptionally talented ruler who did much to improve the well-being of his people and transform his state. The Rana benefited from the close proximity of the Shimla to Rampur trunk road. The Rana’s early death in 1945 came as a great shock to the people of Kumharsain, who now looked to his young son to guide them through the troubles ahead.

The late Rana Someshwar Singh succeeded to the gadi at the tender age of only fifteen, but took full part in the negotiations between the other Hill Chiefs and the Union Government of India. The state was administered by Kanwar Baldev Singh during the Rana’s minority. The Rana Sahib signed the merger treaty with the Union Government in 1948. Rana Someshwar Singh married a Rana Princess, a granddaughter of His Majesty King Prithvikram Shah of Nepal, and in his latter years spent most of his time in Nepal; where he died in 1996, leaving only daughters.

The heir to the title of Rana of Kumharsain is the late Rana’s second cousin, Surinder Singh, but so far he has declined to assume the title. He lives quietly on his farm near Kotla, with his wife and two sons.

The ruling prince is the Rana and is styled Rana Sahib. The consort of the Rana is the Rani and is styled Rani Sahiba. The Heir Apparent is the Tikka. Younger sons of a ruling prince are styled Kanwar. The succession to the gadi is governed by male primogeniture.

17	 -1725		Ajmeri Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in ?, succeeded to the gadi in ?, and died in battle 1725, having had issue, 1. Anoop Singh, who succeeded his father. (See 	below) Rana Ajmeri Singh, was succeeded by his son,

1725-1755	Anoop Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in ?, succeeded to the gadi in 1725, m (1), n.n (dau.of ?), and, m (2), n.n (dau.of ?), and died in 1755, having had further issue, and had issue, 1. Daleep Singh (s/o 1st wife), who succeeded his father. (See 	below) 2. Daughter (d/o 1st wife), m Raja Ram Singh of Bushahr (son of Raja Udai Singh; died in 1761). (See Bushahr) 3. Ram Singh (s/o 2nd wife), Wazir to his nephews Gobardhan and Kehar, and died in 1812, having had issue, 1. Pritam Singh, who succeeded to the gadi in 1839. (See below) 4. Daughter (d/o 2nd wife), m Raja of Bilaspur ? 5.Surat Singh. Rana Anoop Singh, was succeeded by his eldest son,

1755-1789	Daleep Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in ?; succeeded to the gadi in 1755, and died in 1789, having had issue, 1. Gobardhan Singh, who succeeded his father. (See below) 2. Kehar Singh, who succeeded his elder brother. (See below) Rana Daleep Singh, was succeeded by his eldest son,

1789-1803	Gobardhan Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in ?; succeeded to the gadi in 1789, and died in 1803, without having had issue, when he was succeeded by his younger brother,

1803-1839	Kehar Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in ?, succeeded to the gadi in 1803, he was deposed and imprisoned by the Ghurkhas, escaped to the British, who granted him a sanad 7th February 1816, and died in 1839, without having had issue.

The British lapsed the state of Kumharsain on the death of Rana Kehar Singh, but eventually awarded the state to his cousin, Kanwar Pritam Singh.

1839-1858 Pritam Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in ?; succeeded to the gadi in 1839; and died in 1858, having had issue, 1. Bhawani Singh, who succeeded his father. (See below) 2. Daughter, m as his 2nd wife, Ram Saran Singh Rana of Kotkhai (son of Kanwar Jaswant Singh of Kotkai; died in 1891). (See Kotkhai) 3. Daughter, m as his 3rd wife, Ram Saran Singh of Kotkhai (son of Kanwar Jaswant Singh of Kotkhai; died in 1891). (See Kotkhai) Rana Pritam Singh was succeeded by his only son,

1858-1874 Bhawani Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in ?, succeeded to the gadi in 1858, and died in 1874, having had issue, 1. Hira Singh, who succeeded his father. (See below) 2. Indar Singh, m Janki Devi of Delath (dau.of the Thakur of Delath), and died in 1907, having had issue, 1.Baldev Singh, born 1900, Capt. and ADC to H.H. Maharaja of Patiala 1928-1943, a Jagirdar of Kotla village, m Henavati Kanwar (dau.of Kanwar Mahendra Singh, who was the son of Prakram Singh of Suket), and died 24th January 1980, having had issue, (1). Surinder Singh, who succeeded his second cousin. (See below) (2). Ramarani Kumari, born 20st March 1932, m Col. Devinder Singh Pathania (son of Jaswant Singh Pathania of Reh in Kangra; died in 2001), 	and died in 2002, having had issue. 1a. Maheshwar Singh Pathania, Maj. 2a. Himant Singh Pathania, Merchant Navy, resides in Malaysia. (3). Mahamaya Kumari, born 19th March 1948, m 28th November 1964 Kanwar Prakritibushn Singh of Balsan (son of Rana Ran Bahadur Jaindev Singh, bh.2nd wife, Vidya Wati, daughter of Rana Jai Singh of Kotkhai; born 10th January 1945 at Balsan), and have issue, a son. (See Balsan) (4). Mrigainder Singh, born 11th September 1949, m 1st May 1986, Sunita Kanwar (dau.of Kanwar Surat Singh of Baghi, near Narkhanda, bhw., Sandhya Devi, daughter of Duni Chand of Samroti, Kotgarh; born 13th September ), and have issue, 1a. Pushpender Singh, born 16th February 1987; educated at Trinity Public School, Kullu, and B.Pharm from Bangalore University, unm. (5). Sharda Devi, born 4th October 1953 in Kotla-Kumharsain, m 13th April 1976, Capt. Romesh Katoch (son of Raghunath Chand Katoch, bhw., Sansar Dei from Jalari in Nadaun, and grandson of Risaldar Maj. Thakur Chand Katoch; 37th Cavalry; born 23rd September 1942; died 15th December 1988), and have issue, 1a. Trigun Chand Katoch, born 11th February 1978 in Jammu, educated at Army Public School, Dagshai; m in June 2004, Shambhavi Kumari (Surender Sherma from Chandigarh, bhw., Ravinder Devi from Moga, Punjab; 3rd December 1979), and have issue, 1b. Siddidatri Kumari, born 16th July 2005. 2a. Richa Katoch, born 4th January 1981, educated at Army Public School, Dagshai, m June 2003, Arun Singh (younger son of Kanwar Krishen Singh of Koti, bhw., Druba Devi from Hoshiarpur, born 30th May 1974 in Barari, serving officer in IA). (See Koti) Kanwar Baldev Singh had two further 	children, (6). Raobir Singh, born 6th April 1946, m November 1984, Minakshi Devi (dau.of Negi Gopind from Rampur), and have issue, 1a. Varun Singh, born April 1986. (7). Anjuni Kumari, born 3rd March 1955, m June 1980, Dr. Vipin Chandra. Rana Bhawani Singh was succeeded by his eldest son,

1874-1914 Hira Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in 1849, succeeded to the gadi in 1874, and died 24th August 1914, having had issue, 1. Bedar Singh, Tikka of Kumharsain, died 	1913, 	sp. 2. Vidyadhar Singh, who succeeded his father. (See below) Rana Hira Singh was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son,

1914-1945 Vidyadhar Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born in 1895, succeeded to the gadi 24th August 1914, educated at Aitchison’s Chief’s College in Lahore, installed 12th November 1915, and granted full ruling powers March 1920, m (1) 1913, n.n (dau.of Rana Durga Singh of Bhajji, and died 1917), m (2) 1st February 1918, Pratibha Devi (dau.of Raja Dhian Singh of Baghal, bh.3rd wife, a daughter of Thakur Bishan Chand of Madhan; died in 1989), and had issue, 1. Son, died young of measles. 2. Son, died young of measles. Rana Vidyadhar Singh, m (3) in 1929, n.n (dau.of a Mian Pratap Singh of Baghal; born in Basantpur; and died of pneumonia, late December 1936), and he died 21st November 1945, having had further issue, 3. Someshwar Singh, who succeeded his father. (See below) 4. Shashi Kumari, born December 1936, m as 	his first wife, May 1951 in Kathmandu, Jagadish Shum Sher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal, and 	have issue, two sons and three daughters. (See Nepal – Rana) Rana Vidyadhar had an illegitimate daughter, 5. Daughter, died young of dysentery. Rana Vidyadhar Singh was succeeded by his only son,

1945-1996	Someshwar Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. He was born 24th March 1930, educated at Aitchison’s Chief’s College, Lahore, MA, succeeded to the gadi 21st November 1945 under the Regency of Kanwar Baldev Singh, m Ishwari Devi (dau.of Sur Shum Sher Jung Bahadur Rana, bhw., HRH Suman (Shahansha ) Raje Laxmi Devi Shah, daughter of H.M. King Prithivikram Shah of Nepal), and died 1996 in Nepal, having had issue, 1.	Pratiama Kumari educated at Tara Hall, Shimla, m 1968, Narayan Shum Sher Thappa of Nepal (son of Gehendra Shum Sher Thappa, sometime Consul-General in Calcutta, bhw., Purna Kumari; born in Kathmandu, 8th December 1943; educated at Calcutta University and John Hopkins and Georgetown Universities, USA; sometime Ambassador to Saudi Arabia plus other Middle Eastern States, and Benelux; Foreign Secretary 2000-2001), and have issue, 1 Suman Shum Sher Thappa; m with issue. 2 Son. 2. Rajeshwari Kumari educated at Tara Hall, Shimla, m Nokh Jung Thappa (son of Netra Jung Thappa, ggs of Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal), and have issue, 1 Amrit Jung Thappa, born 15th March 1973; educated at Lawrence School, Sanawar, and Wheeling University, West Virginia; drowned Chitwan, 31st May 1996, unm. 2 Pratigya Thappa, m 14th December 2008, Clifford R Vorster (USA). Rana Someshwar Singh was succeeded by his second cousin,

1996-		Surinder Singh, Rana of Kumharsain. (Kanwar Sahib Surinder Singh) He was born 25th February 1944, and succeeded to Kumharsain being the closest living male heir (in the male line) of Rana Someshwar Singh in 1996; educated at High School, Kumharsain, and Degree College, Rampur-Bushahr; IAF; m 22nd July 1967, Sita Devi, (dau.of Shyam Singh of Sangri, bhw., Padam Prabha, daughter of Diwan Singh Sen from Suket state; born 27th March 1949), and have issue, 1.Kamalender Singh, Tikka of Kumharsain, born 27th May 1971; educated in High School, Kumharsain, and Degree College, Rampur-Bushahr; m 24th November 2003 at Kumharsain, Kusum Kumari (dau.of Kewal Ram Thakur from village Doza, near Narkhanda, bhw., Subhadra Devi, daughter of Duni Chand Thakur; born in 26th June 1977 at Doza; educated at Kotkhai High School, and RKMV College, Simla) 1. Chitranda Kumari, born 12th September 2004 in Simla. 2. Sanigdha Kumari, born 8th May 2009 in Simla. 2. Vimalender Singh, born 21st November 	1972; educated at High School, Kumharsain, and Degree College, Rampur-Bushahr; m 21st June 2006; Suniti Kumari (dau.of Jogender Singh Thakur from Bago, near Theog, bhw., Sharda Devi, daughter of Dhani Singh Rathore from Matiana; born 5th March 1982; educated at DHU Theog).

Residence:	Former residence - The Palace, Kumharsain, Himachal Pradesh (a Government School). Salute:					Ranked 6th in Order of 													Precedence in the Shimla Hill 										States - GOI - 5th October 1935.