nagar panchayat
A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...
in
Shimla district
Shimla is a district in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. Its headquarters is the state capital of Shimla. Neighbouring districts are Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, Uttarakhand in the southeast, Solan to the ...
in the Indian state of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peak ...
.The name Kotkhai is derived from Hindi and Urdu language where the name "Kot" means Kings Palace and "Khai" means depth, therefore "Kotkhai" means "Kings palace situated in depth".
It is a tehsil with around 40 villages under its administration. The whole tehsil is known for quality apple production. Kotkhai is also known for its fairs and traditional values, people of Kotkhai are really devotional towards Devtas where each villages believes in different forms of Devtas (also known as Dev Bhoomi).
History
Initially Kotkhai was a
princely state
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 ...
of the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Q ...
and was founded around the 12th century AD, by the descendants of Kartar Singh (younger brother of Rana Kirat Singh, "founder of Kumharsain state"). Kartar Singh along with his two brothers (Kirat Singh and Prithvi Singh), was driven away from
Gaya
Gaya may refer to:
Geography Czech Republic
*Gaya (German and Latin), Kyjov (Hodonín District), a town
Guinea
* Gaya or Gayah, a town
India
*Gaya, India, a city in Bihar
**Gaya Airport
*Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya
*Gaya district, Bi ...
in Bihar, by the fear of Muslim invaders in the 11th century AD. In the beginning, Khaneti, Kotkhai and
Kotgarh
Kotgarh is a village and a sub-tehsil in Kumarsain subdivision of Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Formerly under the British Raj, it was the capital of Kotkhai-Kotgarh princely state, which was later shifted to Kiari ...
was jointly ruled by the descendants of Kartar Singh for five generations, until Dooni Singh and Shimal Singh divided the territories into Khaneti and Kotkhai-
Kotgarh
Kotgarh is a village and a sub-tehsil in Kumarsain subdivision of Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Formerly under the British Raj, it was the capital of Kotkhai-Kotgarh princely state, which was later shifted to Kiari ...
respectively. Before 19th century AD, Kotkhai was a tributary of Kumharsain State and Princely family of Kotkhai is a junior branch of Princely family of Kumharsain. Kotkhai was incorporated into
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
in January 1828 and later to
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 ...
in 1947.
Places to visit in Kotkhai
Kiala Forest:
This forest is a tourist attraction in Kotkhai. The forest is filled with green vegetation and indigenous animals. The peaceful and cool climate environment attracts visitors throughout the year.
Kotkhai Palace:
This palace is located in the valley of Kotkhai on hilltop. It was built by King Rana Sahab. Local people popularly call this palace as 'Bussa'. This palace was constructed in a Tibetan architectural style. This palace shows Pagoda style constructions with wooden carvings.
Garawog:
It is a tourist spot of Kotkhai valley. It is picnic spot center decorated with apple gardens and lush green pastures. Photographers especially enjoy this site for its panoramic views. The river giri ganga flows there.
HPCA stadium Gumma:
The newly made cricket stadium is near the
River Giri Ganga Giri River is a tributary of the Yamuna river that flows in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India.Pahari but Hindi and English are also spoken.