The Princely State of Kuthar, also known as Kothar, was amongst the major native states during the rule of the British Empire in India. During the early 19th century, the region was appointed as one of the princely states of India under the indirect rule of the British administration. The territory covered a total area of 21 sq miles and comprised of a total population of 4,970 in the year 1941. The state of Kuthar was one of the 18 Simla Hill States. The land was bounded by the borders of the princely state of Mahlog in the north and west; by the princely state of Patiala in the southeast and northeast; by the British territory of Baraoli in the east; and by the region of Bija in the south.
The Princely State of Kuthar included around 99 villages and was incorporated as a part of Punjab States Agency, which was a political office of the British Government of India that managed a collection of princely states of India.
History of Princely State of Kuthar
The Chandravanshi Rajputs were the ruling family of the princely state of Kuthar. The ancestor of the ruling family, Surat Chand, originally came from Rajaori or Kishtwar in Kashmir. Kuthar was a tributary of the state of Nalagarh and later of Bilaspur state. In the year 1803, during the Nepalese invasion, the region was a feudatory of Keonthal. The territory was restored as an autonomous state after the culmination of the Gurkha War in 1815. The Princely State of Kuthar was ranked 12th among the Shimla Hill States, until the abolition of the separate agency in 1936 and its inclusion in the Punjab States Agency. The native rulers of the state, who held the title of Rana, took charge of the administration of the state and supervised the internal affairs. The Political Agent, also known as a resident of British India, managed the associations of the state with other princely states and the British administration.
The Rana of Kuthar state exercised full ruling powers with the general restrictions in cases of death sentences. The region was segregated into 5 different parganas. The native state of Kuthar was one of the original constituent members of the Chamber of Princes, whoch was a number of smaller states indirectly represented by 12 princes who were elected periodically by them. According to the Attachment Scheme of 1943, the princely state of Kuthar was attached to the princely state of Nalagarh, under the plan proposed by the Resident of British India for the Punjab States on April 17, 1944.
The last native ruler of the state of Kuthar acceded the princely state to the Dominion of India, also known as Union of India, after the country gained independence from the British Dominion in the year 1947. Later in the year 1948, the region was incorporated as a part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
