For Kumaoni/Kumauni People see Kumauni People
Kumaon (or Kumaun) kumaun is one of the two regions and administrative divisions of Uttarakhand, a mountainous state of northern India, the other being Garhwal. It includes the districts of Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar. It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Nepal, on the south by the state of Uttar Pradesh, and on the west by the Garhwal region. The people of Kumaon are known as Kumaonis. It is home to a famous Indian Army regiment, the Kumaon Regiment. Important towns of Kumaon are Haldwani, Nainital, Rudrapur, Almora, Pithoragarh, Mukteshwar and Ranikhet. Nainital is the administrative centre of Kumaon Division.
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Geography
The Kumaon region consists of a large Himalayan tract, together with two submontane strips called the Terai and the Bhabhar. The submontane strips were up to 1850 an almost impenetrable forest, given up to wild animals; but after 1850 the numerous clearings attracted a large population from the hills, who cultivated the rich soil during the hot and cold seasons, returning to the hills in the rains. The rest of Kumaon is a maze of mountains, part of the Himalaya range, some of which are among the loftiest known. In a tract not more than 225 km in length and 65 km in breadth there are over thirty peaks rising to elevations exceeding 5500 m. The rivers like Gori, Dhauli , Kali etc rise chiefly in the southern slope of the Tibetan watershed north of the loftiest peaks, amongst which they make their way down valleys'of rapid declivity and extraordinary depth. The principal are the Sharda (Kali), the Pindari and Kailganga, whose waters join the Alaknanda. The river Sharda (Kali) forms the international boundary between India and Nepal. The pilgrim route currently used to visit Kailash-Mansarovar, goes along this river and crosses into Tibet at Lipu Lekh pass.
The chief trees are the Chir Pine, Himalayan Cypress, Pindrow Fir, alder, sal or iron-wood, and saindan. Limestone, sandstone, slate, gneiss and granite constitute the principal geological formations. Mines of iron, copper, gypsum, lead and asbestos exist; but they are not thoroughly worked. Except in the submontane strips and deep valleys the climate is mild. The rainfall of the outer Himalayan range, which is first struck by the monsoon, is double that of the central hills, in the average proportion of 2000 mm to 1000 mm. No winter passes without snow on the higher ridges, and in some years it is universal throughout the mountain tract. Frosts, especially in the valleys, are often severe.
History
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 of Nepal which was a part of Uttarakhand then), divided into eight different princely states i.e., Baijnath-Katyuri, Dwarhat, Doti, Baramandal, Askot, Sira, Sora, Sui (Kali kumaon). Later on, in 1581 AD after the 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 as kumaon.
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.
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 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 Kingdom 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/Shahi (not known but he was ruling Sira as Malla and Doti as Shahi), Bhupati Malla/Shahi (1558 A.D.), Sagaram Shahi (1567 A.D.), Hari Malla/Shahi (1581 A.D. Last Raikas King of Sira and adjoining part of Nepal ), Rudra Shahi (1630 A.D.), Vikram shahi (1642 A.D.), Mandhat shahi (1671 A.D.), Raghunath shahi (1690 A.D.), Hari shahi (1720 A.D.), Krishna Shahi (1760 A.D.), Deep shahi (1785 A.D.), Prithivi pati Shahi (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 initially 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.
Martial Race
Kumaonis have been famous for their valour, their courage was legendary, their honour indomitable. The Kumaonis were never fully subjugated by the powerful Muslim dynasties of Delhi. Kumaonis were observed by the British , their valour was thus given recognition by the British and were included in the British Army. It is interesting to note that the 3rd Gorkha Rifles was known as the Keemaon battalion when it was formed and it included Kumaonis as well as the Garhwalis along with the Gorkhas. The Kumaonis, once accepted as a martial race, were themselves to be recruited in the Hyderabad regiment and displace the native troops, ultimately becoming the Kumaon Regiment after Independence of India. The Kumaon Regiment is one of the most decorated regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment traces its origins with the British Indian Army and has fought in various campaigns including the two world wars. After independence, the regiment has fought in all major conflicts involving India. They showed their exceptional courage in the Indo-Chinese War, the Battle of Rezang La has been proverbial for valour.
Language
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.
Dialects of Kumaon region
Almost all people who can speak and understand Kumaoni can speak and understand Hindi also. This is one of the dialects which is shrinking very rapidly and becoming out of fashion. Most of the educated people who live in cities hardly speak Kumaoni and in most cases parents still speak and understand Kumaoni but their children cannot. In many cases children can understand it well but cannot speak it. A very common scenario in Kumaon is that a person from older generation communicates to a young fellow from two generations younger in Kumaoni and he or she gets reply in Hindi. Middle generation communicates in both Kumaoni and Hindi. Although it is easy to write Kumaoni in Devnagri script, there is not much literature available in Kumaoni and whatever is available is not popular.
In all, there are 20 dialects spoken in the Kumaon region, including, Johari, Majh Kumaiya, Danpuriya, Askoti, Sirali, Soryali, Chaugarkhyali, Kumaiya, Gangola, Khasparjia, Phaldakoti, Pachhai, and Rauchaubhaisi. These dialect are also available in audio form in online radio called bedupako.
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 district of Nepal
- Dotiyali of Doti in Nepal
Etymology
Kumaon is believed to have been derived from "Kurmanchal", meaning land of the Kurmavatar (the tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver according to Hindu mythology). The region of Kumaon is named after as such.
See also
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- A New History of Uttrakhand by Dr. Y.S. Kathoch
External links
- Official site of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) for tourist information
- Brief History of kumaon
- Information on Kumaon Region and Community
- Trip to Binsar and the Kumaon Region
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