History of Gorkha rule in Uttarakhand
In the history of Uttarakhand, after the defeat of the Garh states to the Gorkhas, Gorkha rule emerged in the entire Uttarakhand. The main reason for this was the weak leadership of the Chand dynasty rulers in 1790 AD. Chand dynasty ruler Mahendra Chand tried his best to stop the Gorkhas but ultimately he was defeated. The Gorkhas entered the capital of Almora in 1790, entered the Chaumahal of Chand, and took their wives and daughters with them.
Seeing this cruel attitude of the Gorkhas, there was panic among the people and no one dared to raise their head in front of them. Taking advantage of the fear spread among the people, the Gorkhas first attacked Kumaon and then Garhwal conquered the Garh states and established their own umbrella rule in it. Which lasted till the Anglo-Nepal War of 1816.
Gorkha rule in Uttarakhand for 25 years was similar to Yamraj rule. Due to the cruel administrative and judicial practices of the Gorkhas, there was always a state of fear among the people of Uttarakhand. Many types of taxes were imposed on the public and Brahmins and those who could not pay the tax were caught and forcibly sold.
Gorkhas respected only their two Brahmins. They were Pandey and Upadhyay. Apart from this, everyone was made to work by flogging, or tax was collected. During his rule, a special tax was imposed on Brahmins called Kushahi.
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The cruel rule of the Gorkhas on Uttarakhand continued till the year 1816, which was signed during the Anglo-Nepal War. On March 4, 1816, Uttarakhand and the rest of the Indian territories were liberated from the Gorkhas by the Treaty of Sigauli.
Some important information during Gorkha rule in Uttarakhand
• The official languages of Gorkhas were Gorkhali and Newari.
• The present-day Gorakhpur and the hill named Gorakh in Nepal were named after Guru Gorakhnath. Due to this Gorakh Hill, residents came to be known as Gorkha. Gorkha rule in Uttarakhand
• Under the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa, in 1790, taking advantage of the weakness of a few rulers of Kumaon, the Gorkhas attacked Kumaon.
• The Gorkha army crossed the Kali River and proceeded towards Almora via two routes.
• The first team reached Gangolighat and Seraghat from Jhulaghat via Sor and the second team entered Almora via Bisung.
• He conquered Kumaon and made Joga Malla Shah the Subba of Kumaon.
• After Joga Mall Shah, Qazi Nar Shahi, Ajab Singh Thapa, Bam Shah, Rudraveer Shah, Dhonkal Sahi, Qazi Gareswar Pandey, Riturat Thapa, and in 1806 again Bam Shah became the Subba of Kumaon.
• After taking control of Kumaon in 1790, he camped at Langurgarh fort of Garhwal with the help of Harakdev but was unsuccessful.
• In February 1803, Gorkhas again attacked Garhwal under the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa and Hastidal Chaturia.
• After a year-long conflict between the Gorkhas and King Pradyumna Shah of Garhwal, Pradyumna Shah finally died in the battle of Khudbada in 1804 and the entire Kumaon Garhwal came under the control of the Gorkhas.
• During this time, the Gorkhas searched for Sudarshan Shah, son of Pradyumna Shah, but he somehow escaped and went to the British.
• Baleshwar temple of Champawat was renovated by Subedar Mahavir Thapa.
• Ranjor Thapa, son of Amar Singh Thapa, had special blessings. At that time Molaram was also given a pension by the Gorkha government.
• During the Gorkha rule in Uttarakhand, a special tax was also imposed on Brahmins. Which was called Kushahi.
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• At that time Brahmin slaves were called Kathuva.
• The cruel rule of Gorkhas over Uttarakhand at that time was called Gorkhali.
• Gorkha craftsmen were called Kami, goldsmiths were called Sunwar, barbers were called Nau and judges were called Vichari.
• During the Gorkha rule, there were three types of justice systems which were called Gola Deep, Kadhai Deep, Taraju ka Deep, and Ghat ka Deep.
• The main weapon of Gorkha soldiers was Khukri.
• Pradyumna Shah's son Sudarshan Shah sought help from the British against Gorkha's rule but at that time the British did not help him.
• But due to the Gorkhas capturing 200 villages of Gorakhpur, which was also called the province of Butwal. War was declared between the Company and the Gurkhas.
• The province of Butwal was under the jurisdiction of the Company at that time.
• During the Anglo-Nepal War (1814-1816), India was ruled by Governor General Lord Hastings.
• Four generals got the command to surround Nepal - Major General Marley (from Bihar), Major General J.S. Budd (from Gorakhpur), Major General Gillespie (Dehradun), and Major General October Loni (West of Nepal) attacked the Gorkhas.
• First of all the British attacked the Gorkhas at the forts of Kalunga and Nalapani.
• But in the battle of Khalunga, 500 Gorkhas killed 3500 soldiers of Major General Gillespie.
• The same situation happened with Major General Marley and Major General J.S.Wood.
• Attacked the western border of Nepal with 6 thousand soldiers of Major General October Loni.
• Due to being involved in all-out war from all sides, Nepal could not fight for long and finally Nepal had to surrender in 1815.
• The king of Nepal asked for help from China but China was surrounded by civil war at that time.
• In the war between Amar Singh Thapa and Captain Loni in 1815, when the British Major General won the fort of Malav from Amar Singh Thapa, the Nepalese fighters had to lay down their arms.
• On 28 February 1815, the Treaty of Sangauli was signed between the Gorkhas and the British in Champaran district of Bihar.
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• Sangauli Treaty
Under the Sangauli Treaty, all the areas occupied by the Gorkhas will have to be left. A regiment of the company will be formed in Nepal and soldiers from Nepal will be recruited in the company's army.
• But considering the Sangauli Treaty as an insult to them, the Gorkha soldiers were not at all ready to lay down their arms and accept the conditions of the British. This situation could not be cleared till 1816 and the Gorkhas again took up arms to teach a lesson to the British.
• Seeing this, in February 1816, the British again invaded Nepal and defeated the Gorkhas near Kathmandu and ultimately the Gorkhas had to accept the Treaty of Sangauli.
• On March 4, 1816, the Treaty of Sangauli was officially signed between the British and the Gorkhas. After the Anglo-Nepal War, the British established the Gorkha Regiment after seeing the fighting skills of the Gorkhas.
• Due to the treaty between Kumaon's Commissioner E. Gardner, and Nepal's Chamu Bhandari, Bamshah, and Jashamdan Thapa, the treaty between Nepal and the British, the power of Kumaon had to be handed over to the British.
So in this way, the Gorkha rule in Uttarakhand ended and the Garh state was divided into two parts, British Kumaon-Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal.
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