Tehri Garhwal district टिह्री गड्वाळ, IPA /ti:rī gəɖuəəɭ/ |
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District | |
Location in Uttarakhand, India |
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Coordinates: 30°23′N 78°29′E / 30.38°N 78.48°ECoordinates: 30°23′N 78°29′E / 30.38°N 78.48°E | |
Country | India |
State | Uttarakhand |
Division | Garhwal |
Headquarters | Tehri |
Area | |
• Total | 4,080 km2 (1,580 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 604,747 |
• Density | 148/km2 (380/sq mi) |
Languages | |
• Official | Hindi |
• Native but not official | Gadwallis |
Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
Vehicle registration | UK |
Website | tehri |
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.
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 Hindi means fort.
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 singh and his descendants gradually conquered all the garhs and ruled the whole of Garhwal Kingdom for the next 915 years, up to 1803.
Tehri Garhwal or Garhwal Kingdom, was a princely state, ruled by the Parmar (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 square miles (10,800 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 300,000. The princely state acceded to India on 1 August 1949.
In 1803, the Gorkhas took over Garhwal. The Gorkha invader, 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 Dehradun, Saharanpur, Kangada and Shimla and later on extended their kingdom up to Kangara.