Order of arrival of different people into Garhwal
- The most ancient of the people residing in the Garhwal region were the "Tangan"s and "Pulind"s who would later come to be known as "Dom"s. These are a minor part of Garhwal now, constituting less than 10th of the population.
- The next people to arrive were the Khasas who defeated them and reduced the "Dom"s to lower caste.
- As Islamic invasions begin to start and with the general upheaval in the Indian subcontinent during that time period a gradual migration happened from the rest of the subcontinent into the hills. Some of these people mixed with the original inhabitants and others formed their own communities.
- This is the point where caste roles begin to solidify in Garhwal. With the influx of Brahmins and Rajputs from the subcontinent and the desire to achieve higher prestige, powerful Jatis begin to adopt the caste system prevalent in the subcontinent.
Evolution of the religion of the people of Garhwal
- The indigenous religion seems to have been "Pon", a sister religion similar to the Tibetan "Bon".
- Over time and after the campaigns of Samrat Ashok, Buddhism spread to this region.
- Even later, with campaigns of Adi Shankaracharya, the rest of the schools of thought of Hinduism resurfaced.
- In modern day, most of the Garhwalis are Hindus with some tribes, especially on the Garhwali-Tibetan border like Bhotias, following Buddhism. Although, both these major religions have a very large influence of the Pon religion which distinguishes them from the rest of the subcontinent.
- For example, in mainland Hinduism, eating meat is forbidden for Brahmins, but in Uttarakhand (Garhwal + Kumaon + Jaunsar), Brahmins not only eat meat but also are the ones to perform animal sacrfices. Another example is the Jagar tradition of Uttarakhand and Doti.
Brief Political History of Garhwal
- Skipping throug a large section of history, fall of the ancient Kuninda kingdom, establishment of three kingdoms, their decline, rise of Kartikeypura dynasty, their replacement by the Katyuri dynasty and their subsequent fall.
- By the 11th to 12th century, Garhwal was a relatively prosperous region but disunited, divided into 52 petty Garhs/forts.
- Constant raiding went on. The Tibetans would raid the "kingdoms" on thier borders who would in place raid the Garhs south to them. A Garhpati did not have enough power to punish the raiders from another kingdom and could not punish his own people for raiding. Over time, this lead to a growing distrust and animosity among these people.
- One thing to be kept in mind is there was not much common between these people. A person from Garhtang Garh and Dasholi Garh would definitely not have considered each other to be belonging to the same people.
- Among these was a garh names Chandpur, relatively south in the Garhwal region.
Chandpur Garh is situated at the top of a hill in Chandpur Pargana, there were secret tunnels, methods to raise water from the river in case of a siege and many such classic features one could hope to find in an average Garh.
This particular Garh was relatively more powerful than its neighbours and held a religious significance as its kings were called the "King of Badrinath". This seemed to have spared them from a lot of raiding and also helped the Garh establish and maintain
alliances.
- Panwar/Pamar/Pal clan was established here after Kanak Pal inherited this kingdom from his father-in-law, Bhanupratap, in 688 CE.
- Most of the kings between Kanak Pal and the 37th ruler of this dynasty, Ajay Pal are shrouded in mystery and we only have their names and the years they ruled.
- Now, having established a bit of a background, we arrive in the year 1337. Chandpur Garh has consolidated a bit. The no. of independent Garhs is 49! So not a whole lot of improvement. Just 7 years earlier, Anant Pall II has been coronated the king. Not much is known about him except for that he produced a eally great heir, Raja Ajay Pal the Great.
Raja Ajay Pal the Great
Raja Ajay Pal, in my opinion, is one of the greates kings that the world, and by extension Garhwal, have ever seen. Said to have been brave and knowledgable in philosophy/religion and diplomacy from a young age. Just as he ascended the throne in 1358, the Kumaonis (who were in fact united) besieged the border province of Badhan. The king attempted to relieve the siege but was defeated. The king is then said to have meditated on top of a mountain where Shiva appeared in front of him, transformed to his giant form with the king sitting on his shoulder. As Shiva continued to grow and grow, at one point even the brave king got scared and asked to be put back. Shiva then said to him that wherever till his gaze reached would be conquered by him. Bolstered by this, king attacked the Kumaonis once again, this time defeating them and chasing them back to Champawat and in the resulting peace managed to annex a few bits of Kumaon as well.
This was a big deal and would definitely have boosted his confidence as well. From this point onward, Ajay Pal would attack, conquer and assimilate a handful of Garhs each year, juggling alliances and giving Jagirs and important positions to the conquered clans to pacify them.
God knows Ajay would have loved EU4, OE and AE truly were just a number for him!
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