ANTECEDENTRY SURVEY

ANTECEDENTRY SURVEY:- Lahoul is situated where the three states of Ladhak, Chamba and Kullu meet, and from ancient times it has been under the control and supremacy of one or more of these states. In absence of proper records, one has to depend on traditions and whatever little writings are available. To have a connected and coherent past of the area is very difficult. It is true, that it has been a home of sturdy people who endure and withstand the rigorous of nature , loved solitude and hard life of mountains. Their existence were so bare that no outsider was tempted to establish and make any account. Faint traces of history of Lahoul, mainly discovered through a study of languages, go back to about 2,000 B.C., but the first authentic recorded material dates back to no earlier than A.D. 635. It is very uncertain that how much of Lahoul was under Chamba, Kullu and Ladhak. The A.H.Francke, opines that upper Lahoul - that is the valleys of the Chandra and Bhaga - was under Kullu from very ancient times, while the main valley, from the junction of these rivers, was tributary to Chamba. Ladhak also may have exercised some influence in upper Lahoul. There is an account of Kullu- Chamba rulers war, described in the History of Panjab Hill States by Hutchinson and Vogel. The Chamba forces most probably advanced through Lahoul, over the Rohtang Pass, and were met by the Kullu chief, who was defeated and killed. The successors of Kullu ruler remained at the Bushar as political refugees. It means entire Lahoul for a long time was under Chamba till the Kullu rulers regained their position. In the end of 8th century Kullu ruler regained the lost kingdom from Chamba. Now Lahoul was again under Kullu rulers. Santokh Pal, Kullu ruler conquered the area from Gondhla to Geymur and other portions probably in Ladhak. Uttich Pal, kullu ruler, invaded Tibet but after his death, the Raja of Lhasa invaded Kullu and forced him to pay tribute or dues, such as mdzos, iron etc. Mdzos is the name of well known cross breed between yak and cow. There are no mdzos in Kullu,' but, as Lahoul was apparently under Kullu in those days, the Lahoulis may have been ordered by their Kullu masters to send mdzos to Ladhak. In the 10th century, Ladhak ruler Skyid Lde Nima divided his empire among his sons. The youngest one was given the southern province, including Zanskar, Spiti and Spi- lchogs, of which the last in Franck's opinion may be Lahoul. In about A.D. 1532-60, probably during Sidh Singh or Bahadur Singh, Ladhak ruler Tsewang Namgyal conquered Kullu and with it apparently, also Lahoul. The invasion is refered in the chronicals of Kolong in Lahoul. Lahoul was goverened by its titular rulers called 'Jos'. They were virtual rulers here but paying a kind of tribute to its sovereign power, be it Kullu, Chamba or Ladhak.In 1840, Maharaja Ranjit Singh took over Lahaul along with Kulu and ruled over it till 1846 when the area came under the sway of the British. From 1846 to 1940, Lahaul formed part of the Kulu sub-division of Kangra district and was administered through the local jagirdars/ thakurs. One of the thakurs was designated as Wizier of Lahaul & was invested with judicial and executive powers. Another thakur was given the powers of a Revenue Officer. These functionaries exercised traditional as well as other power conferred by the Government. The Assistant Commissioner Kulu used to visit the area once a year for a month or so. In the late thirties the influence of the Wizier of Lahaul gradually started declining. The inadequacy was soon noticed by the Government which considered the extension of the regular system of administration. Accordingly in 1941, a separate sub-tehsil comprising Lahaul & Spiti was formed and a naib-tehsildar was posted at Keylong thereby divesting the thakurs of their powers. The system remained in vogue till June, 1960 when Lahaul & Spiti district came into being. Simultaneously, Lahaul was constituted into a separate tehsil, and, later on it was formed a sub- division.

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