Chamba State

Not to be confused with Champa.

Chamba State was one of the oldest princely states in present-day Republic of India^{[citation needed]}, having been founded during the late 6th century. It was part of the States of the Punjab Hills of the Punjab Province in India from 1859 to 1947. Its last ruler signed the instrument of accession to the Indian Union of 15 April 1948.^{[citation needed]}

Chamba State चम्बा रियासत
?–1948
Flag Coat of arms
1911 map of the Princely States of the Shimla Hills showing the boundaries of Chamba State.
Capital	Bharmour (580-920) And Chamba (920-1948)
History
• Established	?
• Accession to the Indian Union	1948
Area
1892	8,329 km2 (3,216 sq mi)
Population
• 1892	115,773
Succeeded by India
Today part of	Himachal Pradesh, India
Chamba Princely State

Painting of an early 18th century Chamba princess

Gopal Singh, Raja of Chamba (ruled 1870–1873)

History

According to tradition, the ancient name of Chamba was Champa, and its predecessor state was known as Brahmpur. This site later became Bharmour around 550 AD when Raja Maru Verman came from Kalpagram to the Chamba Hills. Around 920 CE, the capital was shifted from Bharmour to present day Chamba Town. The rulers of Chamba State patronized artists of the Pahari painting style.^[1] Between 1809 and 1846 Chamba was tributary to Sikh Empire & come under its The Kangra hills province of lahore durbar.^[2] In 1821, Chamba annexed Bhadrawah State.^{[citation needed]}

After the First Anglo-Sikh War, the British gained a large amount of land from the Sikh Empire through the Treaty of Lahore. This treaty gave the British all land between the Sutlej and Beas rivers, along with several hilly areas, including Kashmir and Hazara, as part of the payment for war expenses. Later in 1846, by the Treaty of Amritsar, the British sold Kashmir, Hazara, including Chamba to Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu for a payment of 75 lakh rupees. However, questions came up about whether the entire Chamba region, on both sides of the Ravi River, was meant to go to Gulab Singh. At that time, he already controlled Lakhanpur, which the British had actually taken under the Treaty of Lahore.^[3]

At the same time, the Raja of Chamba said that the Bhadrawah area rightfully belonged to him, since it had been granted to him earlier by Maharaja Ranjit Singh,But it was now under gulab singh's control. The Raja of Chamba, who had earlier paid tribute to the Sikh empire, also did not want to become a subject of Gulab Singh.^[3]

By Treaty of Amritsar Chamba was initially intended to be incorporated into Jammu territory. However, this outcome was averted due to the timely intervention of Wazir Bhaga, who travelled to Lahore and presented Chamba's case to Sir Henry Lawrence. in 1847 With Lawrence's support, Chamba retained its autonomy, though Bhadrawah was ceded to Kashmir.^[4]

This settlement clarified the status of Chamba as a princely state under British protection, separate from Kashmir & lahore.

Rajas

Raja Shahil Verman, around 920 AD, shifted his capital from Bharmaur to present-day Chamba Town. It is believed that King Shahil Varman ruled until 940 AD. From then onwards the State of Chamba continued to be ruled by different kings of the Mushana Rajput Dynasty from their capital at Champavati, which later came to be known as Chamba. Following are some of more famous kings of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh:

The Akhand Chandi palace in Chamba town. This erstwhile palace of the rulers of Chamba state is presently used as a government college.

Rajas of Chamba State

Ruler	Portrait	Timeline
Raja Maru		~550 AD
Raja Jaistambh		After Maru’s death
Raja Shahil Varman		Beginning of 10th century AD
Raja Yugakar Verman		After 940 AD
Raja Vidagdha Verman		After Yugakar Verman
Raja Dodaka Verman		After Vidagdha Verman
Raja Vichitra Verman		After Dodaka Verman
Raja Dhariya Verman		After Vichitra Verman
Raja Salavahana Verman		After Dhariya Verman
Raja Soma Varman		After Salavahana Verman
Raja Asata Varman		After Soma Varman
Raja Jasata Verman		After Asata Varman
Raja Dhala Verman		After Jasata Verman
Raja Udayan Varman		After Dhala Verman
Raja Anand Verman		After Udayan Varman
Raja Ganesa Verman		After Anand Verman
Raja Pratap Singh Verman		1559 to 1586
Raja Vir Vahnu Verman		1586 to 1589
Raja Balbhadra Verman		1589–1641
Raja Prithvi Raj Singh		1641–1664
Raja Chattar Singh		1664–1694[5]
Raja Udai Singh		1694–1720
Raja Ugar Singh		1720–1735
Raja Dalel Singh		1735–1748
Raja Umed Singh		1748–1764
Raja Raj Singh		1764–1794
Raja Jit Singh		1794–1808

Demographics

Religious groups in Chamba State (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1901[6]		1911[7][8]		1921[9]		1931[10]		1941[11]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Hinduism [a]	119,327	93.35%	126,269	92.93%	130,489	91.98%	135,254	92.09%	155,910	92.3%
Islam	8,332	6.52%	8,750	6.44%	10,529	7.42%	10,839	7.38%	12,318	7.29%
Sikhism	80	0.06%	141	0.1%	242	0.17%	112	0.08%	107	0.06%
Christianity	70	0.05%	81	0.06%	63	0.04%	94	0.06%	190	0.11%
Buddhism	22	0.02%	627	0.46%	541	0.38%	568	0.39%	383	0.23%
Jainism	3	0%	5	0%	3	0%	3	0%	0	0%
Zoroastrianism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Judaism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Total population	127,834	100%	135,873	100%	141,867	100%	146,870	100%	168,908	100%
Note: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

See also

• Political integration of India
• Pahari painting

Further reading

• The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh V. 1, by Mark Brentnall. Published by Indus Publishing, 2006. ISBN 81-7387-163-9.

Notes

1. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis