Tehri Garhwal District
Encyclopedia
Tehri Garhwal is one of the largest districts in the hill state of Uttarakhand
, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 604,747 (2001 census), a 16.15% increase over the previous decade. It is surrounded by Rudraprayag District
in the east, Dehradun District
in the west, Uttarkashi District in the north, and Pauri Garhwal District in the south.
means fort.
for the next 915 years, up to 1803.
Tehri Garhwal or Garhwal Kingdom, was a princely state
, ruled by the Panwar (Shah) dynasty. Later, it became a part of the Punjab Hill States Agency
of British India, which consists of the present day Tehri Garhwal District and most of the Uttarkashi district. In 1901, it had an area of about 4,180 m²/11,655 km² and a population of 268,885. The ruler was given the title of raja, but after 1913, he was honoured with the title of maharaja. The ruler was entitled to salutes of 11 guns and had a privy purse
of rupees 300. The princely state acceded to India on 1 August 1949.
, Saharanpur, Kangada and Shimla and later on extended their kingdom up to Kangara.
From 1787 to 1812, the Gorkhas captured nearly 200 villages which were under the control of the East India Company. The British argued with the king of Nepal but to no avail. Finally, the Gurkha War
(Anglo-Nepalese War) began in 1814, when an army of 8,000 under Major General Marley attacked Kathmandu. Four thousand soldiers under Major General Wood started an operation from Gorakhpur
and 3,500 soldiers attempted to take over Dehradun under Major General Zileswy, where a Gorkha army of 300–400 was led by Balbhadra Thapa. The Gorkhas fought a fierce battle and crushed the British, who were reinforced by soldiers and cannons. Finally, the British army captured Dehradun on 30 November 1814.
The British Army then moved towards Kumaon. After a fierce battle, the Gorkha commanders Hastidal and Jayrakha were killed at Vinayathal. The war ended with the Sugauli Treaty
, signed on 2 December 1815 and ratified on 4 March 1816 by Gorkha supreme commander Bamshah and thus, British rule started in the hills. The East India Company then merged Kumaon, Dehradun and east Garhwal into British Empire while west Garhwal was given to Sudarshan Shah which then became known as Tehri Riyasat.
and Narendra Nagar
, respectively. Their dynasty ruled over this region from 1815 to 1949. During the Quit India Movement people of this region actively worked for the independence of the country. Ultimately, when the country was declared independent in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat (Tehri State) started their movement to free themselves from the clutches of the maharaja.
Due to this movement, the situation became out of his control and it was difficult for him to rule over the region. Consequently the 60th king of Pawar Vansh, Manvendra Shah, accepted the sovereignty of the Indian government. Thus, in August 1949, Tehri Riyasat was merged into Uttar Pradesh
and was given the status of a new district, the Rudraprayag district
. Subsequently, on 24 February 1960, the state government separated its one tehsil
which was given the status of a separate district named Uttarkashi
.
named Tehri Garhwal one of the country's 250 most backward districts
(out of a total of 640
). It is one of the three districts in Uttaranchal currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
has a population
of 616,409 , roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands
or the US state of Vermont
. This gives it a ranking of 520th in India (out of a total of 640
). The district has a population density of 169 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate
over the decade 2001-2011 was 1.93 %. Tehri Garhwal has a sex ratio
of 1078 females
for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate
of 75.1 %.
Hindus number 596,769; Muslims 6,390 (1.05%); and Sikhs 561
to form the Rudraprayag district
.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 604,747 (2001 census), a 16.15% increase over the previous decade. It is surrounded by Rudraprayag District
Rudraprayag District
Rudraprayag district, is a district of Uttarakhand state of northern India. The district occupies an area of 2439 km². Rudraprayag town is the administrative headquarters of the district....
in the east, Dehradun District
Dehradun district
There are five railway stations in Dehradun:* Raiwala* Rishikesh* Doiwala* Harrawala* DehradunAirport...
in the west, Uttarkashi District in the north, and Pauri Garhwal District in the south.
Etymology
The name Tehri has been derived from Trihari, signifying a place that washes away the three types of sins - sins born out of Mansa, Vacha and Karmana or thought, word and deed, respectively. Garh in HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
means fort.
Early
Prior to 888 AD, the region was divided into 52 garhs which were ruled by independent kings. These garhs were brought into one province by Kanakpal, the prince of Malwa. Kanakpal, on his visit to Badrinath, had met the then mightiest king Bhanu Pratap who later married his only daughter to the prince and handed over his kingdom to him. Kanakpal and his descendants gradually conquered all the garhs and ruled the whole of Garhwal KingdomGarhwal Kingdom
Garhwal Kingdom was a princely state in north-western Uttarakhand, India, ruled by the Panwar dynasty. It was founded in 888 AD and existed until it was annexed by the Gorkhas in 1803...
for the next 915 years, up to 1803.
Garhwal Kingdom
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
, ruled by the Panwar (Shah) dynasty. Later, it became a part of the Punjab Hill States Agency
Punjab Hill States
The Punjab Hill States Agency was an administrative unit of British India. The agency was created in 1936, and was composed of a number of princely states in the present-day Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand...
of British India, which consists of the present day Tehri Garhwal District and most of the Uttarkashi district. In 1901, it had an area of about 4,180 m²/11,655 km² and a population of 268,885. The ruler was given the title of raja, but after 1913, he was honoured with the title of maharaja. The ruler was entitled to salutes of 11 guns and had a privy purse
Privy Purse
The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's remaining private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £13.3 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2009. The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres held in trust for the Sovereign since 1399. It also has...
of rupees 300. The princely state acceded to India on 1 August 1949.
Gorkha menace
In 1803, the Gorkhas took over Garhwal. The Gorkha warriors Subba Amar Singh, Hastidal Chautariya, Bamshah Chautariya and Ranjor Thapa commanded a huge army in the crusade against King Pradyumna Shah and his sons Kuwar Parakrama Shah and Kuwar Pritam Shah. A 12,000-strong army fought with the Gorkhas at Khurhbure where the king was killed. Gradually, the Gorkhas captured DehradunDehradun
- Geography :The Dehradun district has various types of physical geography from Himalayan mountains to Plains. Raiwala is the lowest point at 315 meters above sea level, and the highest points are within the Tiuni hills, rising to 3700 m above sea level...
, Saharanpur, Kangada and Shimla and later on extended their kingdom up to Kangara.
Gurkha War
The Gurkha War , sometimes called the Gorkha War or the Anglo–Nepalese War, was fought between the Kingdom of Nepal and the British East India Company as a result of border tensions and ambitious expansionism...
(Anglo-Nepalese War) began in 1814, when an army of 8,000 under Major General Marley attacked Kathmandu. Four thousand soldiers under Major General Wood started an operation from Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
and 3,500 soldiers attempted to take over Dehradun under Major General Zileswy, where a Gorkha army of 300–400 was led by Balbhadra Thapa. The Gorkhas fought a fierce battle and crushed the British, who were reinforced by soldiers and cannons. Finally, the British army captured Dehradun on 30 November 1814.
The British Army then moved towards Kumaon. After a fierce battle, the Gorkha commanders Hastidal and Jayrakha were killed at Vinayathal. The war ended with the Sugauli Treaty
Sugauli Treaty
The Sugauli Treaty was signed on December 2, 1815 and ratified by March 4, 1816, between the British East India Company and Nepal, which was a kingdom during that era. This ended the second British invasion of the Himalayan kingdom during the Anglo-Nepalese War...
, signed on 2 December 1815 and ratified on 4 March 1816 by Gorkha supreme commander Bamshah and thus, British rule started in the hills. The East India Company then merged Kumaon, Dehradun and east Garhwal into British Empire while west Garhwal was given to Sudarshan Shah which then became known as Tehri Riyasat.
New capital
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, KirtinagarKirtinagar
Kirtinagar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.-Demographics: India census, Kirtinagar had a population of 1040. Males constitute 57% of the population and females 43%. Kirtinagar has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national...
and Narendra Nagar
Narendra Nagar
Narendra Nagar is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.-Geography:Narendra Nagar is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,326 metres .-Demographics:...
, respectively. Their dynasty ruled over this region from 1815 to 1949. During the Quit India Movement people of this region actively worked for the independence of the country. Ultimately, when the country was declared independent in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat (Tehri State) started their movement to free themselves from the clutches of the maharaja.
Due to this movement, the situation became out of his control and it was difficult for him to rule over the region. Consequently the 60th king of Pawar Vansh, Manvendra Shah, accepted the sovereignty of the Indian government. Thus, in August 1949, Tehri Riyasat was merged into Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and was given the status of a new district, the Rudraprayag district
Rudraprayag District
Rudraprayag district, is a district of Uttarakhand state of northern India. The district occupies an area of 2439 km². Rudraprayag town is the administrative headquarters of the district....
. Subsequently, on 24 February 1960, the state government separated its one tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
which was given the status of a separate district named Uttarkashi
Uttarkashi
Uttarkashi, meaning Kashi of the north, is a holy town in Uttarakhand, India. It is the district headquarter of Uttarkashi district. Uttarkashi is situated on the banks of river Bhagirathi at an altitude of 1352 m above sea level. Uttarkashi is home to a number of ashrams and temples and also to...
.
Economy
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati RajMinistry of Panchayati Raj
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a branch of the Government of India looking after the ongoing process of decentralization and local governance in the States....
named Tehri Garhwal one of the country's 250 most backward districts
Poverty in India
Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of 1.25 a day...
(out of a total of 640
Districts of India
A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. Districts are further subdivided, in some cases into Sub-Divisions, and otherwise directly into tehsils or talukas.District officials include:...
). It is one of the three districts in Uttaranchal currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Administrative setup
The district of Tehri Garhwal is divided into two subdivisions: Kirti Nagar and Tehri-Pratap Nagar. It has seven tehsils, one sub-tehsil, nine blocks, two municipalities and four town area committees. The district covers 76 nyaya panchayats and 928 gram panchayats. It has 1,847 revenue villages and 2,508 clusters.| Particulars | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Subdivisions | 2 |
Kirti Nagar and Tehri-Pratap Nagar |
| Tehsils | 7 |
Deoprayag, Ghansali, Narendra Nagar Narendra Nagar Narendra Nagar is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.-Geography:Narendra Nagar is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,326 metres .-Demographics:... , Pratap Nagar, Tehri, Jakhanidhar and Dhanolti |
| Sub-Tehsil | 1 |
Gaja |
| Blocks | 9 |
Bhilangana, Chamba, Deoprayag, Jakhanidhar, Jaunpur, Kirtinagar, Naredranagar, Pratapnagar and Thauldhar |
| Municipalities | 2 |
Tehri and Narendra Nagar |
| Town area committees | 4 |
Chamba Chamba, Uttarakhand Chamba is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tehri Garhwal district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is situated at the junction of roads leading from Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Tehri Dam/ Lake and New Tehri.... , Deoprayag, Kirtinagar Kirtinagar Kirtinagar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.-Demographics: India census, Kirtinagar had a population of 1040. Males constitute 57% of the population and females 43%. Kirtinagar has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national... and Muni Ki Reti Muni Ki Reti Muni Ki Reti is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It lies close to pilgrimage town of Rishikesh, and is most known for a host of ashrams in the area, including the Shri Shivananda Ashram of Swami Sivananda, the founder of Divine Life... |
Major towns
- New Tehri
- Narendra NagarNarendra NagarNarendra Nagar is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.-Geography:Narendra Nagar is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,326 metres .-Demographics:...
- ChambaChamba, UttarakhandChamba is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tehri Garhwal district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is situated at the junction of roads leading from Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Tehri Dam/ Lake and New Tehri....
- Lamgaon
- GhansaliGhansaliGhansali is a small town situated at a distance of 36 K.M form New Tehri and is an important market for adjacent areas. This small town is situated at bank of Bal Ganga and Bhilangana River and also a confluence point of these two river at the height of 976 Meters from sea...
- Khandikhal
- Chamiyala
- lambgaon
Demographics
According to the 2011 census2011 census of India
The 15th Indian National census was conducted in two phases, houselisting and population enumeration. Houselisting phase began on April 1, 2010 and involved collection of information about all buildings...
has a population
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
of 616,409 , roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
or the US state of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. This gives it a ranking of 520th in India (out of a total of 640
Districts of India
A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. Districts are further subdivided, in some cases into Sub-Divisions, and otherwise directly into tehsils or talukas.District officials include:...
). The district has a population density of 169 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate
Family planning in India
Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. In the 1965-2009 period, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved , but the national fertility rate is still high enough to cause long-term population growth...
over the decade 2001-2011 was 1.93 %. Tehri Garhwal has a sex ratio
Sex ratio
Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of mature organisms....
of 1078 females
Women in India
The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful...
for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate
Literacy in India
Literacy in India is key for socio-economic progress, and the Indian literacy rate grew to 74.04% in 2011 from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947. Although this was a greater than sixfold improvement, the level is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%, and India currently has the...
of 75.1 %.
Hindus number 596,769; Muslims 6,390 (1.05%); and Sikhs 561
Modern developments
In the 60s, Tehri Garhwal extended much farther east than it currently does. In 1997, much of the eastern portion of Tehri Garhwal was detached and merged with portions of the Pauri Garhwal district and the Chamoli districtChamoli District
Chamoli district is a district of Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Garhwal to the southwest, Rudraprayag to the west, and Uttarkashi to the northwest...
to form the Rudraprayag district
Rudraprayag District
Rudraprayag district, is a district of Uttarakhand state of northern India. The district occupies an area of 2439 km². Rudraprayag town is the administrative headquarters of the district....
.