History Of Kumaon

The region was originally settled by Kols, an aboriginal people of the austro-asiatic physical type who were later joined by Indo-Aryan Khas tribes that arrived from the northwest by the Vedic period. The Khas are typically thought to be descendants of the ancient Kamboj people who being of Iranian origin. The Khas are also believed to have arrived from Tajikistan and share some physical traits with the Tajik population. Indo-Iranian traits exhibited by many Khas include yellow complexion, generally tall or medium stature with glowing facade and development of a gray hairline at young age. Modern Tajiks also exhibit some of these hallmark traits.

However the Khasas were ultimately overwhelmed and assimilated by the subsequent Rajput and Brahmin migration from rest of India.A small section of the existing inhabitants of Kumaon belong to the ancient Khasa or Khasiya race though they speak Kumaoni.

Katyuri Raj

The Katyuri dynasty was of a branch of Kunindas origin and was founded by Vashudev Katyuri. Originally, from Joshimath, during their reign they dominated lands of varying extent from the 'Katyur' (modern day Baijnath) valley in Kumaon, between 7th and 11th centuries AD, and established their capital, at Baijnath in Bageshwar district, which was then known as Kartikeyapura and lies in the centre of 'Katyur' valley.Brahmadev mandi in Kanchanpur District of Nepal was established by Katyuris king Brahma deo. At their peak, the Katyuri kingdom extended from Nepal in the east to Kabul, Afghanistan in the west, before fragmenting into numerous principalities by 12th century. They were displaced by the Chand Kings in 11th century AD. Architectural remains of the Katyur dynasty's rule can be found in Baijnath and Dwarahat. The Rajbar dynasty of Askot in Pithoragarh, was set up in the 1279 AD., by a branch of the Katyuri Kings, headed by Abhay Pal Deo, who was the grandson of Katyuri king, Brahm Deo . The dynasty ruled the relion till, it became part of the British Raj through the treaty of Sighauli in 1816.

Defeat of the Tughlaq Invasion of Karajal(Kumaon)

Ferishta in his memoirs writes of the invasion of Muhammad bin Tughluq ,Sultan of Delhi's armies directed towards the mountain of Karajal which lies between the territories of Hind and those of China. [1] The capture of this mountain was somehow to aid Muhammad in his still-cherished designs on Khurasan. Ibn Batuta states that Karajal was 10 stages from Delhi. Historians suggest that Karajal was reference to the Kumaon hills it is also stated that the invasion was successfully repulsed and according to Ibn Batuta only 3 horsemen came back to tell of the disaster wreaked upon them by the hill-tribes of Kumaon(Karajal). Later through diplomacy a successful treaty was drawn up and the tribes became tributaries and trading partners of the Sultanate.

Disintegration of the Katyuris

In the ancient period between 1300 A.D. to 1400 A.D, after the disintegration of katyuri kingdom of uttarakhand, eastern region of Uttarakhand (Kumaon and Far-Western Region Nepal|Far-Western Region of Nepal which was a part of Uttarakhand then), divided into eight different princely states i.e., 1.Baijnath-Katyuri, 2.Dwarhat, 3. Doti , 4.Baramandal, 5.Askot, 6.Sira, 7.Sora, 8.Sui (Kali kumaon). Latter on, in 1581 A.D after had a defeat of Raika Hari Mall (maternal uncle of Rudra chand) with the hand of Rudra Chand all these disintegrated parts came under King Rudra chand and the whole region was named as Kumaon .

Chand Raj

The Chand kingdom was established by Som Chand, who came here from Kannuaj near Allahabad, sometime in the 10th century [1], and displaced the Katyuri Kings (कत्यूरी नरेश), originally from Katyur valley near Joshimath, who had been ruling the area from 7th century AD. He continued to call his state Kurmanchal, and established its capital in Champawat in Kali Kumaon, called so, due to its vicinity to river Kali. Many temples built in this former capital city, during the 11th and 12th century exist today, this include the Baleshwar and Nagnath temples. They had brief stints with the Rajput clans in Gangoli and Bankot then predominant there the Mankotis of Mankot, the Pathni/Pathanis of Attigaon-Kamsyar, Kalakotis and many other Khas Rajput Clans of the region. However they were able to establish their domain there. One of most powerful ruler of Chand dynasty was Baz Bahadur (1638-78) AD., who met Shahjahan in Delhi, and in 1655 joined forces with him to attack Garhwal, which was under its king, Pirthi Sah, and subsequently captured the Terai region including Dehradun, which was hence separated from the Garhwal kingdom. Baz Bahadur extended his territory east to karnali river. In 1672, Baz Bahadur, started a poll tax, and its revenue was sent to Delhi as a tribute. Baz Bahadur also built the Golu Devata Temple, at Ghorakhal, near Bhimtal [1], after Lord Golu, a general in his army, who died valiantly at war [9]. He also built famous Bhimeshwara Mahadev Temple at Bhimtal [10]. Towards the end of 1600s, Chand Rajas again attacked Garhwal kingdom, and in 1688, Udyot Chand, erected several temples at Almora, including Tripur Sundari, Udyot Chandeshwer and Parbateshwer, to mark his victory over Garhwal and Doti, the Pabateshwar temple was renamed twice, to become the present Nanda Devi temple [11]. Later, Jagat Chand (1708-20), defeated the Raja of Garhwal and pushed him away from Srinagar, and his kingdom was given to a Brahmin [12]. However, a subsequent king of Garhwal, Pradip Shah (1717-72), regained control over Garhwal and retained Doon till 1757, when Rohilla leader, Najib-ul-Daula, established himself there, though he was ousted soon by Pradip Shah.

Raikas Of Doti

Niranjan Malldeo was the founder of Doti Kingdom around 13th century after a fall of Katyuris Kingdom. He was the son of Last Katyuris of united Katyuris kingdom. Kings of Doti were known as Raikas. Latter on Raikas, after overthrow Khas Malla of Karnali Zone, were able to form a strong Raikas Kindom in Far Western Region and Kumaun which was called Doti. So far, the historical evidence of following Raikas have been discovered;Niranjan Malldev (Founder of Doti Kingdom), Nagi Malla (1238 A.D.), Ripu Malla (1279 A.D.), Nirai Pal (1353 A.D. may be of Askot and his historical evidence of 1354 A.D has been found in Almoda), Nag Malla (1384 A.D.), Dhir Malla (1400 A.D.), Ripu Malla (1410 A.D.), Anand Malla (1430 A.D.), Balinarayan Malla (not known), Sansar Malla (1442 A.D.), Kalyan Malla (1443 A.D.), Suratan Malla (1478 A.D.), Kriti Malla(1482 A.D.), Prithivi Malla (1488 A.D.), Medini Jay Malla (1512 A.D.), Ashok Malla (1517 A.D.), Raj Malla (1539 A.D.), Arjun Malla/Sahi (not known but he was ruling Sira as Malla and Doti as Sahi), Bhupati Malla/Sahi (1558 A.D.), Sagaram Sahi (1567 A.D.), Hari Malla/Sahi (1581 A.D. Last Raikas King of Sira and adjoining part of Nepal ), Rudra Sahi (1630 A.D.), Vikram sahi (1642 A.D.), Mandhat sahi (1671 A.D.), Raghunath sahi sahi (1690 A.D.), Hari sahi (1720 A.D.), Krishna Sahi (1760 A.D.), Deep sahi (1785 A.D.), Prithivi pati Sahi (1790 A.D., 'he had fought against Nepali ruler with British in 1814 A.D')

Gorkha Rule and its Defeat

For some time the region was ruled by the Gorkhas. But People of Kumaon fought them valiantly with their courage, wisdom and their ever indomitable spirit. The people of Kumaon sued the British many times to help them overthrow the Gorkha rule. According to folklore when a British official was saved from the prison of the Tibetan Jongpong(Governor)of Taklakot in Tibet by some Kumaonis he pursued their case with the Resident at Delhi and convinced him to attack the Gorkhas in Kumaon. 4000 Kumaoni braves under Harakh Dev Joshi a chieftain of the Chand King (who was initailly held responsible for the Gorkha invasion) joined the British. The British had so far been severely routed by the Gorakhas at several places (like the Battle of Jaithak and Malaun). But now the joint forces of Kumaonis and British struck the Gorkhas. Battle of Syahidevi resulted in a complete route of the Gorkhas at the hands of the British assisted by the Kumaonis, , the Gorkha Subba(Governor) fled and so did their commanders, Almora was liberated The Gorkhas, who earlier seemed invincible , were finally defeated and the way for the liberation of Garhwal from the oppressive Gorkha rule was opened. The British realised through this war the potential of military expertise of these hilmen. Inspired by their bravery the British granted on the people of Kumaon the title of martial race.They heavily recruited from them and the result was the Kumaon Regiment (Earlier the Hyderabad Regiment which consisted mostly of Kumaonis).

British Raj

Later, the region was annexed by the British in 1815, and was governed for seventy years on the non-regulation system by three administrators, Mr. Traill, Mr J. H. Batten and Sir Henry Ramsay.

In 1891 the division was composed of the three districts of Kumaon, Garhwal and the Tarai; but the two districts of Kumaon and the Tarai were subsequently redistributed and renamed after their headquarters, Nainital and Almora.

Gandhiji's advent sounded a death knell for the British in Kumaon. People now aware of the excesses of British Raj became defiant of it and played an active part in the Indian Struggle for Independence.

Gandhiji was revered in these parts and on his call the struggle of Saalam Salia Satyagraha led by Ram Singh Dhoni was started which shook the very roots of British rule in Kumaon. Many people lost their lives in the Saalam Satyagraha due to police brutality. Gandhiji named it the Bardoli of Kumaon an allusion to the Bardoli Satyagrah

All movements of Indian Independence had a considerable participation by Kumaoni people and freedom fighters like Govind Ballabh Pant, B.D. Pandey, Jyotiram Kandpal, Indra Singh Nayal, Chandra Singh Pathani (associate of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru when he imprisoned by British in Almora), Sher Singh Karki are testimony to this.

Many Kumaonis also joined the Azad Hind Fauj led by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Language of  Kumaoni
 
Their Kumaoni language forms the Central subgroup of the Pahari languages.Kumaoni is one of the 325 recognized Indian languages, and is spoken by over 2,360,000 (1998) people of Indian states of Uttarakhand - Almora, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Champawat, Rudrapur (Udhamsingh Nagar) districts; Assam; Bihar; Delhi; Madhya Pradesh; Maharashtra and Punjab, besides being spoken in some regions of Himachal Pradesh and Nepal.

Amongst its dialects, the Central Kumauni is spoken in Almora and northern Nainital, Northeastern Kumauni is in Pithoragarh, Southeastern Kumauni is in Southeastern Nainital, Western Kumauni is west of Almora and Nainital.

UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger designates Kumaoni as language in the unsafe category and which requires consistent conservation efforts. [2]

Dialects of Kumaon region

In all, there are 20 dialects spoken in the Kumaon region, including, Johari, Majh Kumaiya, Danpuriya, Askoti, Sirali, Soryali, Chaugarkhyali, Kumaiya, Gangoli, Khasparjia, Phaldakoti, Pachhai, and Rauchaubhaisi.

 Dialects of Kumaoni Language

    * Kali Kumaon, Central Kumaoni
    * North-Eastern Kumaoni
    * South-Eastern Kumaoni
    * Western Kumaoni
    * Askoti of Askot
    * Bhabhri of Rampur
    * Chaugarkhiyali
    * Danpuriya of Danpur
    * Gangoli of Ganai-Gangoli
    * Johari of Malla and Talla Johar
    * Khasparjiya of Almora
    * Kumaiyya
    * Pachhai of Pali-Pachhau
    * Pashchimi
    * Phaldakotiya of Phaldkot
    * Rhau-Chaubyaisi of Upper Himalayan Valleys
    * Sirali of Sirakot
    * Soriyali of Sor Valley (Pithoragarh)
    * Baitada of Baitadi , Darchula and parts of Bajhang District in Nepal
    * Dotiyali of Doti in Nepal

Scholars also consider the heavy influence of Kumaoni on the Palpa language of Nepal.

    * Tibeto-Burman (NOT dialects of Kumaoni; these non-Indo-European languages are indeed spoken in Kumaon)
          o Rang or Rung
          o Darmyali
          o Bangbani

Spoken in Upper Reaches of Kumaon Himalayas.