Examine critically the Mughals and Hill states relations between the period 1605 A.D. to 1658 A.D. (HPAS Mains Question Paper 2022 – GS 1, Q.23)
1. Babur: In 1525 A.D., Babur established his outpost ( Chowki ) at Malout near Kangra.
2. Akbar: The natural onset of a concrete relation between the Mughals and this hill state started with the rule of Akbar. In 1526 A.D., Akbar sent his army to hill state to capture Sikandar Shah ( nephew of Sher Shah Suri ). Sikandar Shah also had a friendship with Bakht Mal of Nurpur. At the same time, Akbar got suspicious about Raja of Kangra Raja Jai Chand and kept him as hostage. So Bidhi Chand, son of Jai Chand, rebelled against the Mughals, so Akbar sent Birbal with Quli Khan to suppress the rebellion. Bidhi Chand was defeated but had to leave his son Trilok Chand as hostage in the Mughal court. Akbar appointed his revenue minister, Todar Mal, to establish a royal estate in the hill state. It consisted of 66 villages in Kangra and Rehlu areas, Pathiar and Dharon areas of Chamba
3. Jahangir: In 1615, Jahangir sent his allies Raja Surajmal of Nurpur and Sheikh Farid Murtaza Khan to capture Kangra, but some controversy broke down. Again, in the year 1617 A.D., Jahangir sent his ally Raja Suraj Mal of Dhameri (present-day Nurpur ) but could not capture him due to the rebellion by Suraj Mal with Mughal. Suraj Mal fled to Chamba, and there, Pratap Singh Varman asked him to surrender, but before anything could happen, he died. Finally, Raja Jagat Singh, brother of Raja Suraj Mal, helped the Mughals to capture Kangra Fort in 1620 A.D. Jahangir visited Dhameri in 1622 A.D. and renamed Dhameri as Nurpur before the name of his wife, Nur Jahan.
4. Shah Jahan: The first Mughal Kiledar of Kangra fort was Nawab Ali Khan. During the reign of Shah Jahan, Nawab Assad Ullah Khan and Coach Quli Khan succeeded in possessing the defence. Raja Mandhata Prakash of Sirmaur was a contemporary of Shah Jahan. He helped the Mughal ruler many times on his Garhwal campaigns
5. Aurangzeb: The reign of Aurangzeb Kangra fort was successfully held by Mughal Kiledars Sayyid Husain Khan, Hasan Abdullah Khan Pathan and Nawab Sayyid Khalil Ullah Khan. The last killer of Kangra Fort was Nawab Saif Ali Khan, appointed in 1740 during the closing reign of the Mughal Empire. Raja Chattar Singh of Chamba refused to demolish the temple when ordered by Aurangzeb. Meanwhile, Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded Punjab and, in his invasions, destroyed Mughal authority in Punjab.
