Keonthal State, covering an area of 482 km², was one of the Princely states of India during the period of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Its capital was Junga. Keonthal acceded to India on 15 April 1948. Currently, it is part of the Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

History

According to tradition there was a predecessor state founded around 765 AD. The state of Keonthal was founded before the 19th century. It was ruled by Rana Raghunath Sen until its occupation by Nepal under General Amar Singh Thapa from 1803 to 1814. After the occupation, Sansar Sen ruled as the Rana from 1814 until 24 July 1858 when he took the title of Raja. After the Gurkha War in 1815, a portion of Keonthal, which had been occupied by the Gurkhas, was sold to the maharaja of Patiala, the remainder being restored to its hereditary chief. Keonthal's first capital was Koti, 9 kilometres from the hill station of Chail after which the capital was shifted to Junga.

Rulers

The heads of the state bore the title '

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star Films * Rana (2012 film), an Indian Kannada-language action drama * Rana, a 1998 Telugu-language action film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy * R ...

' until 1858.

Ranas

*.... – .... Bhup Sen *1801–1803 Raghunath Sen (1st time) (d. 1831) *1803–1814 occupied by Nepal *1814–1831 Raghunath Sen (2nd time) (s.a.) *1831 – 24 July 1858 Sansar Sen (died 1862)

Rajas

*24 July 1858 – 1862 Sansar Sen *1862–1882 Mahendra Sen *1882–1901 Balbir Sen *1901–1916 Bije Sen *2 February 1916 – 15 August 1947 Hemendra Sen (born 1905)

References

External links

Keonthal Princely State
History of Himachal Pradesh States and territories disestablished in 1948 Rajput history 18th-century establishments in India 1948 disestablishments in India Princely states of Himachal Pradesh {{HimachalPradesh-geo-stub