Kangra-Lambagraon

Kangra-Lambagraon was a princely estate in British India,with a Privy Purse of Rs 70,000/-. Lying in the present-day state of Himachal Pradesh, the estate was ruled by the ancient Katoch dynasty. Trigarta Trigarta Kingdom, Jalandhar and Multan were other names by which the state was known in former times. In 1947, the estate comprised 437 villages, encompassed an area of 324 km², and enjoyed a revenue of approx. Rs.1,76,000/-.

History

The Katoch dynasty are reputed to have ruled the town of Kangra and its vicinity since time immemorial. Several very extended interregnums are however acknowledged, most significantly the period c.1620-1783, when the area was placed under the control of a Mughal garrison. As the Mughal power waned, many former officers of the Mughal empire took autonomous charge of their areas of control, and this situation obtained in Kangra. Meanwhile (in 1758), Ghamand Chand, a supposed scion of the dispossessed family, attained a position of power in the Punjab plains, being appointed governor of Jalandhar by Ahmed Shah Abdali. Building upon this ascendency, Ghamand Chand's grandson Sansar Chand rallied an army, ousted the then ruler of Kangra, Saif Ali Khan, and gained possession of his patrimony. This came to pass in 1783, and Sansar Chand was aided by the Kanhaiya misl, one of several informal but armed militias of Sikhs that roamed the Punjab in that era.

During the campaign, Raja Sansar Chand and his mercenary force overran other nearby...
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