Tehri Garhwal

Tehri Garhwal is a district in the State of Uttarakhand in India. The district lies between the parallels of 30°3' - 30°53' north latitude and 77°56' - 79°04' east longitude. It is bounded by Uttarkashi in the north, Rudraprayag in the east, Pauri Garhwal in the south and Dehra Dun in the west. On the western front Yamuna river separates it from Jaunsar Pragana of the Dehra Dun district while Bhagirathi rising from the north of the Gangotri in the district Uttarkashi touches the district near village Nagun.

Total area of the district is 4421 sq km.

The district headquarter is located at New Tehri Town since 1.4.1989, Earlier Narendranagar was the district headquarter.

History

History of the area begins from the time immemorial. It finds mention in various Hindu scriptures of the ancient days.

The name of the district is formed by two words Tehri and Garhwal. Tehri is the corrupted form of the word 'Trihari' which signifies a place that washes away all the three types of sins, namely sins born out of thought (Mansa), word (Vacha) and deed (Karmana), the other part 'Garhwal' means a land of 'garhs' (country forts).

Prior to 888, the whole of the Garhwal region was divided into small `garhs` ruled by separate independent kings known as Rana, Rai or Thakur.

It is said that the prince Kanakpal who hailed from Malwa visited Badrinath ji (presently in Chamoli district) where he met the then mightiest king Bhanu Pratap. King Bhanu Pratap was impressed with the prince and got his only daughter married to him and also handed over his kingdom. Gradually Kanakpal and his descendents extended their empire by conquering all the garhs. Thus up to 1803 i.e. for 915 years the whole of the Garhwal region remained under their control.

Gorkhas invaded the area in 1803 when King Pradumn Shah was the ruler. King Pradumn Shah was killed in the battle in Dehra Dun but his only son (Sudarshan Shah was minor at that time) was cleverly saved by the trusted courtiers. With the victory of Gorkhas in this battle their dominion was established in Garhwal region. Later on their kingdom extended up to Kangara and they ruled over this region continuously for 12 years before they were thrown away from Kangara by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. On the other hand Sudarshan Shah could manage help from East India Company and got his kingdom freed from Gorkha rulers. The East India Company merged Kumaon, Dehra Dun and east Garhwal in the British Empire and the west Garhwal was given to Sudarshan Shah which was then known as Tehri Riyasat.

King Sudarshan Shah established his capital at Tehri town and afterwards his successors Pratap Shah, Kirti Shah and Narendra Shah established their capital at Pratap Nagar, Kirti Nagar and Narendra Nagar respectively. Their dynasty ruled over this region from 1815 to 1949. During the Quit India Movement people of this region actively participated for the independence of the country. Ultimately when the country was declared independent in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat started their movement for getting themselves freed from the clutches of Maharaja. Due to the movement the situation became out of his control and was difficult for him to rule over the region. Consequently the 60th king of Pawar Vansh Manvendra Shah accepted the sovereignty of Indian Government. Thus in 1949 Tehri Riyasat was merged in Uttar Pradesh and was given the status of a new district. On 24th February 1960 the U.P. Government separated its one tehsil which was given status of a separate district named Uttarkashi.

After formation of Uttarakhand, the district is now part of the State of Uttarakhand.

Politics

Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) constituencies and their areas after delimitation order of 2008

9 Ghanshali Vidhan Sabha Constituency (SC) - KC Chamiyala, PCs 4-Paukhal, 5-Pilkhi, 6-Thela, 7-Holta, 8-Muyalgaon, 9-Dhangi, 10-Maigadhar, 11-Akhori, 12-Dhaunikhal, 13-Pakh, 14-Kathur-Hindaw, 15-Chanji, 16-Pangriyana of Dangi KC & Bhilangna Range P-3 of 1-Ghanshali Tehsil.

10 Deoprayag Vidhan Sabha Constituency - KCs Kirtinagar, Chandrabadni, Deoprayag NA, PCs 37-Lalathpatoun, 38-Lalurikhal, 39-Birakot, 40-Hindolakhal, 41-Aamni, 42-Mahar & 43-Bhatkot of Deoprayag KC of 2-Deoprayag Tehsil; PCs, 180-Paurikhal, 181 Gaumukh, 182-Raurdhar & 183-Jagdhar of Jakhnidhar KC of Jakhnidhar Tehsil.

11 Narendranagar Vidhan Sabha Constituency - 5-Narendranagar Tehsil; PCs 34-Kurn, 35-Baunth, 36-Bachelikhal, 44-Bharpur & 45-Dansara of Deoprayag KC of 2-Deoprayag Tehsil.

12 Pratapnagar Vidhan Sabha Constituency - 3-Pratapnagar Tehsil; PCs 106-Bhaldiyana, 107-Kandikhal, 108-Kafal Pani, 109-Pali, 110-Sirain & 111-Padiyar Gaon of Udaypur KC of Tehri Tehsil; PCs 1-Mandar, 2-Devtadhar & 3-Chandreshwarsain of Dangi KC of Ghansali Tehsil.

13 Tehri Vidhan Sabha Constituency - KC Chamba, Tehri Nagar Palika & Chamba NA of 4-Tehri Tehsil; PCs 173-Nandgaon, 174-Gadoliya, 175-Jakhnidhar-Koti, 176-Nawakot, 177-Khandogi, 178-Anjanisain & 179-Garakot of Jakhnidhar KC of 7-Jakhnidhar Tehsil.

14 Dhanolti Vidhan Sabha Constituency - 6-Dhanolti-Tehsil; PCs 95-Katkhet, 96-Laluri, 97-Bayargaon, 98-Maindkhal, 99-Lawani, 100-Kandarkhal, 101-Chham, 102-Bangiyal, 103-Kailar, 104-Kamand, 105-Thauldhar of Udaipur-KC & Tehri Range of 4-Tehri Tehsil.

Places of interest
BUDA KEDAR, DEVPRAYAG, KHATLING GLACIER, NARENDRA NAGAR, SEM-MUKHEM, CHAMBA, DHANOLTI, KUNJAPURI, NEW TEHRI, SURKANDA DEVI, CHANDRABADANI, KEMTI FALL, NAGTIBBA