Badrinath and Other Places

British Administration in Garhwal   -153

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History of British Rule/Administration over Kumaun and Garhwal (1815-1947) -173

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            History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon and Haridwar) -1007

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                              By: Bhishma Kukreti (History Student)

 At the right hilly area of Alaknanda  (Hamilton used Vishnu Ganga) there is  Badrinath . There were 20-30 huts. Temple priests and workers lived on those huts. The temple was famous all over India and there were villages for income to the temple. However, the temple architect was a simple one. The height was 40-50 feet. The top was ‘Amalak’ was small and was surrounded by bronz plates with a small top by gold. Hamilton wrote with sarcasm that the temple was made by eternal power and when there was earth quake in 1803 human hands had to protect it. Daulat Rav Sindia rebuilt the temple.

               Hamilton informed that 50000 annual pilgrims used to visit the temple in summer. However, Trail stated that the numbers was 27000 in 1820 and income was 15750 rupees excluding gold and silver and the other income was from 170 Garhwal villages and 56 Kumaon villages.

                                                Other Places

       There were a few huts in Rudraprayag.

          There were 6-8 houses in Karna Prayag. Karna idol was there in a Math.

     In 1820, Nandprayag was a barren place. The traders used to come there temporarily. People used to show a couple of idols on stones to pilgrims.

     There were 150 houses in Mana village. The houses were built by stone with wooden roofs. Mana people used to migrate in south valleys in winter.  There were 22 villages in Dhaulaghati and villagers used to come down in winter.

         Gamsalo, Malari and Niti were main villages. There were 40 houses in Gamsalo. Houses were built by stone with wood logs. A couple of houses were four story. Roof were wooden. Domestic animals were tagged on ground floors. Balconies were made by wood with engraved idols of Ganesh or other deities. Those inhabitants were called Marchha or Dobasa.

  Kotdwara was known for police post. Doggadda and Lansdowne were in established at that time.

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References  

1-Shiv Prasad Dabral ‘Charan’, Uttarakhand ka Itihas, Part -7 Garhwal par British -Shasan, part -1, page- 332-456

2 Hamilton, Description of Hindustan, Vol 2, page 639-48

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Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti Mumbai, India,bjkukreti@gmail.com 11/8/201710History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -1008

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*** History of British Rule/Administration over British Garhwal (Pauri, Rudraprayag, and Chamoli1815-1947) to be continued in next chapter

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(The History of Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar write up is aimed for general readers)

Forest settlement , History of British Rule, Administration , Policies, Revenue system,  over Garhwal, Kumaon, Uttarakhand ; Forest settlement , History of British Rule , Administration , Policies Revenue system  over Pauri Garhwal, Udham Singh Nagar Kumaon, Uttarakhand; History of British Rule, Administration, Policies ,Revenue system  over Chamoli Garhwal, Nainital Kumaon, Uttarakhand; Forest settlement ,  History of British Rule, Administration, Policies ,Revenue system  over Rudraprayag Garhwal, Almora Kumaon, Uttarakhand; History of British Rule, Administration, Policies ,Revenue system  over Dehradun , Champawat Kumaon, Uttarakhand ; History of British Rule, Administration, Policies, ,Revenue system  over Bageshwar  Kumaon, Uttarakhand ; Patwari , Civil Police History of British Rule, Forest settlement,  Administration, Policies, Revenue system over Haridwar, Pithoragarh Kumaon, Uttarakhand;