Bashahr

Bashahr was a princely state in pre-independence India, located in the hilly western Himalaya promontory in the northern part of colonial Punjab that is now the Indian republic's state of Himachal Pradesh and traversed by the Sutlej river. It had an area of 8,907 km², and its capital was Sarahan.

History

The state, which was by far the largest of the 28 Simla Hills States, was occupied by Nepal from 1803 to 1815.

In 1898, it was taken over by the British administration, although the "Râja" remained nominally in charge. There was a tax revolt by Bashahr's peasants in 1906.

Heads of State

The ruling princes of Bashahr were styled as "Râna" before the Nepalese occupation and titled "Râja" afterwards.

With a personal gun salute of 9 guns, he was the only Hills Raja amongst India's upper class of princely salute states, but not entitled (until independence in 1947) to the style of His Highness.

*Râna
**???? - 1803 : Ugar Singh
**1803 - 1815 : "Nepalese occupation"

*Râja
**1816 - 1850 : Mahendra Singh
**1850 - 1887 : Shamsher Singh
**1887 - 1898 : Raghunath Singh
**1898 - 1914 : Shamsher Singh ("return to power")
**1914 - 1947 : Padam Singh

External links

* [http://www.uq.net.au/%7Ezzhsoszy/ips/b/bashahr.html Genealogy of the chiefs of Bashahr]