Kangra district

Kangra is known for having one of the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch of the Kangra State.^[7] In 1758, Raja Ghamand Chand was appointed nazim or governor of Jullundur Doab under the Afghans. Ghamand Chand was a brave and strong ruler who restored the prestige of Kangra. As he was unable to capture Kangra Fort, he built another fort at Tira Sujanpur on the left bank of the Beas, almost opposite to Alampur on a hill overlooking the town. He died in 1774 and was succeeded by his son, Tegh Chand, who died too soon in 1775.^[8] Ghamand Chand's grandson, Raja Sansar Chand (r. 1775–1823) established the supremacy of Kangra over all the surrounding hill states. During his reign, Kangra became a major centre for the arts and several palaces were built.^[9]

In 1805, the neighbouring hill states rebelled, with the aid of the Gurkha army. Raja Sansar Chand was forced to seek the help of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire. The Gurkha army was expelled but Ranjit Singh also annexed the most fertile part of the Kangra valley, reducing the Katochs of Kangra as well as the neighbouring rajas to the status of vassals.^[9] Kangra was annexed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire in 1810.

Kangra became a district of British India in 1846, when it was ceded to British India at the conclusion of the First Anglo-Sikh War.^[10] The British district included the present-day districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Kullu, and Lahul and Spiti. Kangra District was part of the British province of Punjab. The administrative headquarters of the district were initially at Kangra, but were moved to Dharamshala in 1855.^[11][12]

In Jainism

Kangra was once an important center of Jainism.^[13] According to a local legend, King Suśarmācandra, after hearing the importance of Mount Shatrunjaya, took a vow to not eat or drink anything until he pays homage to Rishabhanatha at Palitana temples. Pleased by his devotion and to save him from starvation, demigoddess Ambika created a temple of Rishabhanatha at the king's fort. After paying homage to the idol, the king broke his fast.^[14]

Within the premises of Kangra Fort lies an idol of Rishabhanatha. The inscription on the pedestal of the idol is in Śāradā script. It mentions that the idol was consecrated by Śvetāmbara monk Amalacandra, a disciple of Ācārya Abhaycandra of the Rājakula Gachha in 854 CE.^[13] The granite idol of Rishabhanatha is seated in Padmāsana posture. An icon of bull carved on its pedestal indicates that the idol is of Rishabhanatha. However, another important trait of this idol is that it does not feature a waistband and a waistcloth, as most commonly found in Śvetāmbara icons of Tirthankaras after Bappabhattisuri's era.^[15][16] Locks of hair carved on both sides of the head of the idol as well as an inscription from 854 CE, however, make it clear that the idol and the temple is of the Śvetāmbara sect of Jainism as noted by archaeologist Sir John Marshall.^[13][17] Once a thriving Jaina center, it soon went unnoticed after migration of Jainas out of the town. The idol of Rishabhanatha was found in the Indreśvara Temple. Later on, efforts to reinstall the idol were made by Śvetāmbara Jaina nun Mrugavati, a disciple of Ācārya Vijayavallabhsuri. In 1978, the idol was installed in an independent shrine within Kangra Fort. Currently, the idol is under the care of the Archeological Survey of India, but Jainas are given the right to worship the idol.^[14][18]

Dr. K. N. Sitaram, on his tour to Kangra Valley in 1930, discovered numerous remains of Jaina idols and temples. He also noted that several Jaina idols and temples were appropriated by the Hindus under different names of Hindu deities.^[18]

In 1916, Muni Jinavijaya published Vijnaptitriveni, which is a detailed report about the author's pilgrimage to Nagarkot and Kangra. It explains the journey of pilgrims from Faridpur to Nagarkot. It also highlights that the pilgrims return from Nagarkot to Faridpur through another route. It also describes a war between Yasoratha, a Khokhar chief and Sikandara, a Muslim ruler.^[19]

According to the 2011 census, Kangra district had a population of 1,510,075. The district has a population density of 263 inhabitants per square kilometre (680/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.77%. 5.71% of the population lives in urban areas. Kangra district has a sex ratio of 1012 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 85.67%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 21.15% and 5.60% of the population respectively.^[21]: 18

District highlights of 2011 Census^[21]

• Kangra district has the highest number of 3,869 villages among the 12 district of the state.
• Kangra district stands 1st position in terms of its working force having total workers of 675,170 persons against 3,559,422 working persons of the state.
• Kangra district occupies 1st rank among the districts of the state in terms of literate population. It has a literate population of 1,152,640 persons.
• The economy of Kangra district is mainly depends on agriculture. It has returned 303,007 persons as cultivators and holds the 2nd position among the districts of the state
• All the inhabited villages of the district enjoy the facility of electricity and potable drinking water.
• Kangra district is also known for its attractive tourist destinations. Dharamsala, Kangra, Palampur, Baijnath, Jawalamukhi and Masroor are the famous places of tourist interest in the district. McLeodganj in Dharamsala is a seat of the Dalai Lama has become a place of international fame since 1966.
• Central University of Himachal Pradesh at Dharamsala in Kangra district was established on 20 March 2009 under the Central University Act 2009(No.25 of 2009) of Indian Parliament.

The native people are the Kangri people and the native language is Kangri, which is very similar to Dogri. The majority of the people are Hindu, although many Tibetans and others who follow Buddhism have also settled here recently. There are also other minorities such as Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians.

Jhamakda is a folk dance of Kangra. It is exclusively performed by women. It features percussion instruments and songs.^[22]

Religion

More information Religion, Percent ...

Religions in Kangra district (2011)^[23]

Religion			Percent
Hinduism			96.76%
Islam			1.31%
Buddhism			0.96%
Sikhism			0.59%
Other or not stated			0.42%
Distribution of religions

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Religion in Kangra District

Religious group	2011[23]
	Pop.	%
Hinduism	1,461,140	96.76%
Islam	19,797	1.31%
Buddhism	14,511	0.96%
Sikhism	8,929	0.59%
Christianity	3,023	0.2%
Jainism	194	0.01%
Others	2,481	0.16%
Total Population	1,510,075	100%

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More information Religious group, Pop. ...

Religious groups in Kangra District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1881[24][25][26]		1891[27]		1901[28]		1911[29][30]		1921[31]		1931[32]		1941[33]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Hinduism [a]	687,635	94.09%	715,607	93.78%	722,554	94.07%	725,156	94.13%	722,277	94.28%	752,098	93.86%	846,531	94.12%
Islam	39,148	5.36%	39,709	5.2%	39,672	5.16%	38,859	5.04%	38,263	4.99%	40,483	5.05%	43,249	4.81%
Buddhism	2,860	0.39%	5,768	0.76%	4,176	0.54%	3,992	0.52%	3,019	0.39%	5,663	0.71%	8	0%
Sikhism	738	0.1%	1,461	0.19%	1,220	0.16%	1,910	0.25%	2,083	0.27%	2,396	0.3%	4,809	0.53%
Christianity	327	0.04%	343	0.04%	385	0.05%	386	0.05%	363	0.05%	576	0.07%	788	0.09%
Jainism	133	0.02%	140	0.02%	113	0.01%	81	0.01%	56	0.01%	94	0.01%	101	0.01%
Zoroastrianism	4	0%	2	0%	4	0%	2	0%	4	0%	2	0%	3,890	0.43%
Judaism	—N/a	—N/a	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	1	0%
Total population	730,845	100%	763,030	100%	768,124	100%	770,386	100%	766,065	100%	801,312	100%	899,377	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.

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Religion in the Tehsils of Kangra District (1921)^[31]

Tehsil	Hinduism		Islam		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[b]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Kangra Tehsil	110,804	93.61%	7,270	6.14%	192	0.16%	104	0.09%	0	0%	4	0%	118,374	100%
Dehra Tehsil	119,197	95.63%	4,787	3.84%	647	0.52%	7	0.01%	0	0%	0	0%	124,638	100%
Nurpur Tehsil	78,504	82.23%	16,540	17.32%	419	0.44%	7	0.01%	0	0%	0	0%	95,470	100%
Harimpur Tehsil	162,608	96.5%	5,504	3.27%	339	0.2%	0	0%	53	0.03%	0	0%	168,504	100%
Palampur Tehsil	133,456	97.38%	3,077	2.25%	441	0.32%	78	0.06%	0	0%	0	0%	137,052	100%
Kulu Tehsil	117,708	96.46%	1,085	0.89%	45	0.04%	167	0.14%	3	0%	3,019	2.47%	122,027	100%
Note: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

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More information Tehsil, Islam ...

Religion in the Tehsils of Kangra District (1941)^[33]

Tehsil	Hinduism [a]		Islam		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[c]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Kangra Tehsil	129,089	92.98%	8,574	6.18%	833	0.6%	214	0.15%	0	0%	130	0.09%	138,840	100%
Dehra Tehsil	141,009	95.64%	5,370	3.64%	1,035	0.7%	28	0.02%	0	0%	2	0%	147,444	100%
Nurpur Tehsil	83,565	80.12%	18,659	17.89%	2,067	1.98%	12	0.01%	0	0%	1	0%	104,304	100%
Harimpur Tehsil	194,801	96.76%	6,067	3.01%	362	0.18%	1	0%	97	0.05%	3	0%	201,331	100%
Palampur Tehsil	166,397	97.73%	3,207	1.88%	398	0.23%	231	0.14%	0	0%	23	0.01%	170,256	100%
Kulu Tehsil	131,670	95.97%	1,372	1%	114	0.08%	104	0.08%	4	0%	3,938	2.87%	137,202	100%
Note1: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labelled as "Indian Christians" on census. Does not include Anglo-Indian Christians or British Christians, who were classified under "Other" category.

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• Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya
• Central University of Himachal Pradesh
• College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah
• Government College of Teacher Education Dharamshala
• Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education
• Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur
• National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kangra^[36]

• G. S. Bali - Indian politician
• Captain Vikram Batra, PVC - Indian army officer, recipient of Param Vir Chakra
• Didi Contractor - architect
• Chandrarekha Dhadwal - writer
• Captain Saurabh Kalia - Indian Army
• The 14th Dalai Lama - spiritual and religious leader of Tibetan people
• Kishan Kapoor - Indian politician
• Major General Siri Kanth Korla, PVSM, DSO, MC - Indian Army officer
• Chander Kumar - Indian politician
• Shanta Kumar - Indian politician
• Major Somnath Sharma, PVC - Indian Army officer, recipient of Param Vir Chakra
• Anuj Sharma - Singer, second Indian Idol runner-up
• Shriya Sharma - Film actress
• Sobha Singh - painter
• Jemadar Lala, VC - British Indian Army soldier, Victoria Cross awardee
• Tenzin Palmo - Buddhist nun
• Shivya Pathania - Television actress
• Dr. Salig Ram - Rajya Sabha MP and two-term minister in the Himachal Pradesh government
• Nora Richards - Irish playwright
• Sudhir Sharma - Indian politician
• General Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC - 14th Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army
• Brigadier Sher Jung Thapa, MVC - Indian Army officer, recipient of Maha Vir Chakra, known as "Hero of Skardu"
• Gautam Chand Sharma 'Vyathit' - writer and folklorist