History of District Mandi - Himachal Pradesh General Knowledge

In our previous posts, we talked about Caste system in Himachal Pradesh, Tribes of Himachal Pradesh and History of Himachal Pradesh.

In this post, we talk about the important historical moments of District Mandi of Himachal Pradesh.

Kindly point out the mistakes, if any, in the comment section.

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• Mandi Town was founded by Raja Ajbar Sen in 1527 A.D.

• The present District Mandi was formed with the merger of two princely states of ‘Mandi’ and ‘Suket’ on 15 April 1948.

• ‘Kamlahgarh’ fort (Sarkaghat) was built by Raja Suraj Sen in 1625 A.D.

• Gur Sen brought the image of God from Jagnath in the seventeenth century which is preserved in temple.

• Shama Kali temple was built in sixteenth century by Shyam Sen brother of Suraj Sen in the District Mandi.

• In 1678 A.D. Raja Sidh Sen built the temple Sidh Genesh & Triloknath.

• In 1685 A.D. Guru Gobind Singh visited Mandi. He has been imprisoned at Sultanpur by Raja Raj Singh chief of Kullu.

• After the death of Raja Man Sen in 1779 A.D., Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra carried Ishwari Sen son of Raja Man Sen to Kangra and kept him at ‘Nadaun’ as prisoner for twelve long years.

• In October 1871 A.D. Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India visited Mandi.

• In 1877 A.D. Raja Bijai Sen attended Delhi Darbar. He built the Victoria Suspension Bridge over the River Beas at Mandi.  

• In September 1899 A.D. Mandi town was visited by Lord Elgin on his way to Kullu from Dharmsala.

• The last Raja of the Mandi was Jogender Sen.

Suket State:

• Suket is also a part of Mandi District founded by Bir Sen in 765 A.D.

• Rani-ka-kot was built by Semant Sen in twelfth century A.D.

• The old name of Suket was Purana Nagar.

• Sundernagar was earlier known as Baned founded by Garur Sen and it became a capital of state during the reign of Bikram Sen (1791 A.D. - 1838 A.D.).

• William Moorcraft was the first European to visit Suket, on his way to Kullu in 1820 A.D.

• In 1839 A.D. a traveler Mr. Vigne visited Suket on his way back from inner Himalayas.

• Bhim Sen (1908 A.D. – 1919 A.D.) built motor road from Suket to Mandi.

• The last ruler of Suket was Laxman Sen from 1919 A.D to 1948 A.D.

Other important information about District Mandi:

• Headquarter:  Mandi

• Altitude of Mandi: 1044 meters

• Area of Mandi: 3951 sq.km. (1525 sq. miles)

• Language spoken: Mandyali, Suketi and Hindi.

• District Mandi is Situated between 31°-13’-50” and 32°-04’-30” North Latitude and 77°-23’-15” East Longitude.

• District Mandi receives highest rainfall in the Himachal Pradesh with an average annual precipitation of 2029 mm.

• District Mandi has many famous hill ranges. Some of them are Dhauladhar, Ghoghar Dhar, Sikandar Dhar (Kamlah Dhar and Lindi Dhar) and Vairkot Dhar (Starts form Rewalsar towards Sundernagar).

• The River Beas and Satluj passes through the District Mandi.

• River Beas enters the District Mandi at Bajaura and leaves it at Sandhol.

• River Satluj enters the District Mandi at Firnu village in Chawasigarh and leaves it at Dehar.

• The Plum varities found in the District Mandi are Sentaroza and Merycozo.

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Author: Karun