The Princely State of Darkoti was one of the native states of India during the rule of the British Empire in India. During the 19th century, the territory was appointed as one of the princely states of India under the indirect rule of the British Government. The state covered a total area of 5 sq miles and consisted of a total population of 632 in the year 1941. Darkoti state was the smallest of the 18 Shimla Hill States. The territory shaped like a small triangle and had its base in the east, where it was bounded by Jubbal. The former state was entirely bounded on all other sides by the British territory of Kot Khai, which was a part of the district of Shimla. The Princely State of Darkoti was incorporated as a part of Punjab States Agency.
History of Princely State of Darkoti
The Chand Rajputs were the original ruling family of the princely state of Darkoti. The native rulers belonged to the region of Marwar. It is considered that Durg Singh was the founder of the ruling family of Darkoti state and he belonged to the Kachhawah family of Jaipur. The family ruled over the region for 26 generations. During the Middle Ages, in the cis-Himalayan region, there was a collection of small states which were managed by petty chiefs, who held the titles Thakurs and Ranas. These rulers were engaged in constant conflict and combat. Eventually, these small states surrendered to Rajput rulers who infiltrated the western Himalayas and set up authoritative principalities. Some of the major principalities were Baghal, Kutlehar, Hindur, Kahlur, Mandi, Suket, Kulu, Chamba, Nurpur, Datarpur, Siba, Guler, Jaswan and Kangra.
Most of the area between the Jamna and the Sutlej was held by Sirmur and Bashahr. The rest of the territory was distributed among petty chiefs, known as Bara Thakurais (Baghal, Bharauli, Beja, Mangal, Koti, Mahlog, Bhajji, Dhami, Kunihar, Kuthar, Baghat and Keonthal) and Athara Thakurais, in the river valleys (Dodra Kawar, Sangri, Dhadi, Tharoch, Darkoti, Kotkai Kotgarh, Karangla, Delath, Khaneti, Kumharsain, Theog, Madhan, Ghund, Ratesh, Balsan, Rawingarh, Sari and Jubbal). Most of these states accepted nominal authority of successive empires. During the decline of the Mughal Dynasty, the Chand rulers of Katoch forced their domination over the Hill states. They entered into warfare with the Gurkhas and the Katoch rulers were defeated in the year 1806. Ranjit Singh of Lahore supported Sansar Singh of Katoch and took advantage of the situation to take over many of the states, including Kangra.
The Princely State of Darkoti was ranked 16th among the Shimla Hill States, until the abolition of the separate agency in 1936 and its inclusion in the Punjab States Agency. The native ruler of the princely state, who held the title of Rana, took charge of the administration of the state. The state was segmented into 2 parganas. As the native state was rather small in size, Darkoti state was excused from paying tribute. The princely state of Darkoti is one of the original constituent members of the Chamber of Princes, a number of smaller states indirectly represented by 12 princes who were elected periodically by them. According to the Attachment Scheme of 1943, Darkoti state was attached to the princely state of Jubbal, under the plan proposed by the Resident of British India for the Punjab States on April 17, 1944.
The last native ruler of the princely state of Darkoti 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.
