Doti ( ne, डोटी), also known as Doti region, Dotigarh (डोटीगढ़) as used in the Jagar (folk tales; जागर), in the Farwestern region of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

(Sudurpashchim Province), is a region situated between River Kali bordering

Kumaon division Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

in the west and the Karnali river on the east. Doti was one of eight different princely states of the Katyuri Kingdom.

Districts

Doti division covers the nine districts of

Sudurpashchim Province Sudurpashchim Province ( ne, सुदूरपश्चिम प्रदेश, ''Sudurpashchim Province'') (''Far-West Province'') is one of the seven provinces established by the new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September ...

. They are: *

Darchula District Darchula District ( ne, दार्चुला जिल्ला , a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the nine districts of province and one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Khalanga ( Mahakali Municipality) ...

Baitadi District Baitadi District ( ne, बैतडी जिल्ला ), historical name “Bairath” (बैराथ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. It is a Hill district. Baitadi, with Dasharathchand as its he ...

Dadeldhura District Dadeldhura, a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Dadeldhura as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 126,162 in 2001 and 142,094 in 2011. The regio ...

Kanchanpur District Kanchanpur District ( ne, कञ्चनपुर जिल्ला ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province in the Terai plain, is one of seventy seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Bhimdatta as its district headquarters, covers an area ...

Doti District Doti District ( ne, डोटी जिल्ला ), part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. This district, with Silgadhi as its headquarters, covers an area of with a population of 207,066 in 2001 and increasin ...

* Kailali District *

Bajhang District Bajhang District ( , a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Chainpur, that is part of Jaya Prithvi Municipality, as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a populati ...

Bajura District Bajura District ( ne, बाजुरा जिल्ला ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Martadi (today part of Badimalika municipality) as its district headquarters, ...

Achham District Achham ( ne, अछाम जिल्ला ) is a district located in Sudurpashchim province of Nepal. It is one of the nine districts of the province. The district, with Mangalsen as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,692 km ...

Kailali and Kanchanpur District are

Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna ...

districts and rest are hilly districts.

Etymology

The name Doti is believed to have originated from the word Doab which means the land area between the confluence of two rivers. Other view is that the original name of Doti was = + or ( meaning Hindu God and meaning the place of re-creation or the place of attaining a meditation in Sanskrit).

History

Doti was an

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

kingdom in far western region of Kumaon which was formed after the disintegration of the Katyuri

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

of Kumaon around the 13th century. Doti was one of eight different

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a ...

Katyuri Kingdom was divided into Eight for their eight Prince and became different independent Kingdom. * Baijnath-Katyur *

Dwarahat Dwarahat is a town, near Almora town and a nagar panchayat in Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Geography Dwarahat is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,510 metres (4954.068 feet). Demographics India c ...

*Doti *Baramandal *

Askot Askot or Askote ( Kumaoni:असकोट) is a small Himalayan town in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand in India. It is the part of Kanalichhina development Block and Didihat Tehsil. The place is also famous for the Askot Musk Deer Sanctua ...

* Sira *Sora *Sui (Kali kumaon) Later on, the whole land between

Ramganga Ramganga is a tributary of the river Ganges, originating in Uttarakhand state, India. Ramganga West Ramganga West River originates from Dudhatoli or Doodhatoli ranges Course The Ramganga River originates in the southern slopes of Dudhat ...

on the west ( Kumaon) and the Karnali on the east (which divides the far western region from other parts Nepal), came under the Raikas after the origin of Raikas of Katyuris in Doti. "Brahma Dev Mandi" at

Mahakali Zone Mahakali ( ne, महाकाली अञ्चल) was one of the fourteen zones located in the Far-Western Development Region of Nepal, covering an area of 6,205 km2 in the most western part of the country. It stretches along Nepal's ...

was established by Katyuri king Brahma Dev.

Raikas of Doti

Niranjan Malla Dev was the founder of Doti

around the 13th century after the fall of the Katyuri Kingdom. He was the son of Last Katyuris of united Katyuris kingdom. Kings of Doti were called Raikas (also Rainka Maharaj). Later on Raikas, after defeating the

Khas Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Histori ...

Malla of Karnali Zone, were able to establish a strong Raika Kingdom in Far Western Region and Kumaun which was Doti. So far, the historical evidences of following Raikas have been discovered: *Niranjan Malla Dev (Founder of Doti Kingdom) *Nagi Malla (1238) *Ripu Malla (1279) *Nirai Pal (1353): maybe of

his historical evidence of 1354 A.D has been found in

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of t ...

too *Nag Malla (1384) *Dhir Malla (1400) *Ripu Malla (1410) *Anand Malla (1430) *Balinarayan Malla: not known *Sansar Malla (1442) *Kalyan Malla (1443) *Suratan Malla (1478) *Kriti Malla (1482) *Prithivi Malla (1488) *Medini Jay Malla (1512) *Ashok Malla (1517) *Raj Malla (1539) *Arjun Malla/Shahi: not known but he was ruling Sira as Malla and Doti as ShahiDr. Ram Singh; A New History of Uttarakhand(2006).Mall Raikas of Sira.. *Bhupati Malla/Shahi (1558) *Sagaram Shahi (1567) *Hari Malla/Shahi (1581): last Raikas King of Sira *Rudra Shahi (1630) *Vikram Shahi (1642) *Mandhata Shahi (1671) *Raghunath Shahi (1690) *Hari Shahi (1720) *Hrishna Shahi (1760) *Deep Shahi (1785), *Prithivi pati Shahi (1790): he had fought against Nepali Ruler (Gorkhali Ruler) with British in 1814 A.D.

Mogul invasion on Far-Western Nepal

During the period of

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

's rule in the 16th century, the Moguls had attacked the Raikas of Doti. They invaded Ajemeru, capital of the Raika Kingdom. Ajemeru is now in

of far western region of

. Hussain Khan, army chief of Akbar residing in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the List of million-plus urban agg ...

had led the attack. According to `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni (c. 1540 - 1615), Indo-Persian historian during

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

Mughal Army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

chief of

, Hussain Khan, lured by the wealth and treasures of the kingdom of the Raikas, wanted to plunder the state, this being the motive behind the assault; he managed to capture some cities and after his successful campaign he returned to

Gorkha Invasion

The historic place of war between the Doti Kingdom and Nepal (

Gorkha Kingdom Gorkha Kingdom ( ne, गोरखा राज्य) was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states on the Indian subcontinent ruled by Khas people. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing s ...

) during the period of Gorkha Expansion in 1790, according to the

history of Nepal The history of Nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia and East Asia. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multi-religious, and m ...

, is ''Nari-Dang'' which lies on the bank of the

Seti River The Seti River is an important tributary of the Karnali system that drains western Nepal. Course The Seti originates from the snow fields and glaciers around the twin peaks of Api An application programming interface (API) is a way for tw ...

and Dumrakot was the base of the Doti Kingdom during the fighting against the Gorkhalis. In the war with the Gorkhalis, the Doti kingdom was defeated and Doteli King fled to

Pilibhit Pilibhit is a city and a municipal board of Pilibhit district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Pilibhit is the north-easternmost district of Bareilly division, situated in the Rohilkhand region of the sub- Himalayan Plateau belt next to ...

Khairgarh-Singhai State

Raja Deep Shahi was expelled from Nepal in 1790 A.D and on arriving to Terai of Oudh (now Lakhimpur Kheri District of Uttar Pradesh of India) he established Khairgarh-Singhai State in Khairigarh under British India.http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/k/khairigarh. Kanchanpur Praganna (now the District of Kaillali and Kanchanpur of Nepal) was also the parts of his State or ''Zamindari''. He succeeded in defeating the Banjaras rulers of Khairigarh and establishing himself not only in that Pargana but also in parts of Bhur

Geography

The Far-Western Development Region has the Mid-Western Development Region to the east,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

(

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

) to the south, Kumaon (

) to the west and the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of Ü ...

(

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) to the north. The highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

in the region is the Api Peak, with high; it is in the

Darchula Khalanga (also called Darchula) is a town and the district headquarters of the Darchula District in the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal. It is part of the Mahakali Municipality in the Mahakali Zone. The town is located on the bank of Mahaka ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. Other high mountain is

Saipal Saipal is a mountain in the Himalayas of north-west Bajhang district in Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणत� ...

, high, in the

Bajhang Bajhang District ( , a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Chainpur, that is part of Jaya Prithvi Municipality, as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a populati ...

district. The most important rivers in the Far-Western Development Region are the

Seti The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...

and the

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...

( ''Kali'' or ''Sharda'' in

) rivers; both rivers are

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Ghaghara Ghaghara, also called Karnali, is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. The Karnali cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form th ...

or Karnali river.

Demographics

It is the smallest Development Region of Nepal with an area of and also with the lowest population with 2,552,517 people living there; its population density is the second lowest of all the regions, with 130.6 persons/km². Main ethnic group are Khas/

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration fro ...

making total population of 76%.

Language and culture

The major local languages are Dotiyali and Kumauni, each spoken respectively by and people according to the 2011 census. Inhabitants of two terai districts Kailali District and

speak different languages. Rana-tharu and Dangaura-tharu speaks their own language. Language spoken by Rana-tharus is

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been d ...

Dialect and Dangaura-tharu speaks Tharu Language. Traditional dance and songs

Chholiya Chholiya (or Chhaliya; Kumaoni: ) or Hudkeli (or Hudke; ) is a traditional folk dance form originated in the Kumaon division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand and Sudurpashchim province of Nepal. It has today become a symbol of Kumaoni an ...

, Bhada, Jhora Chapeli, Rung Culture of Rung people (Sauka), Baira song, Deuda, Chait and Jagar are part of the culture. Jagara and Chait tales of bravery is most important culture in Doti since Katyuri period. Chait tales about bravery of Senapati Piri Bohara( Doti) is singing in Gaura parva . Jhusia Damai of Baskot of

(stayed in

Dharchula Dharchula is a town in Pithoragarh district in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, situated at an elevation of 940 m above sea level, surrounded by peaks from all sides and Kali river cutting through the middle, dividing the area in ...

India) was famous Jagar singer. The major festivals of Doti are mainly Gora (Gamra),

Kumauni holi Kumaoni or Kumauni may refer to: * Kumaoni people, an ethnic group of Uttarakhand, northern India * Kumaoni language, the Indo-Aryan language they speak * anything coming from or related to the following: ** Kumaon division, an administrative divisi ...

, Bishpati, Harela, Raksha Bandhab (Rakhi) Dashin, Diwali, Makar Sankranti, and others.

References

{{Uttarakhand Regions of Nepal Geography of Nepal Sudurpashchim Province Empires and kingdoms of Nepal