{{short description|Town in Himachal Pradesh, India}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Kumarsain | native_name = | nickname = | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = {{Photomontage |photo1a = Kumarsain.jpg |photo2a = Tanni Jubbar Lake.jpg |photo2b = Christ Church in Kotgarh village.jpg |photo3a = A meadow near Derthu Peak.jpg |photo3b = Himalayas as seen from Kumarsain.jpg |photo4a = Koteshwar Mahadev Temple Mandholi.jpg |size = 250 |position = center |spacing = 1 |color = white |color_border = white }} | image_alt = photomontage | image_caption = Clockwise from top:<br />View of Kumarsain town from a nearby village, St. Mary's Church at Kotgarh village, View of Dhauladhar mountain range from Kumarsain, Koteshwar Mahadev Temple at Mandholi village, A meadow on the way to Derthu Mata Temple, Tani Jubbar Lake | pushpin_map = India Himachal Pradesh#India | pushpin_label_position = right | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Himachal Pradesh, India | coordinates = {{coord|31.318145|N|77.446189 |E|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|India}} | subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Himachal Pradesh]] | subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Shimla district|Shimla]] | established_title = <!-- Established --> | established_date = | founder = | named_for = | government_type = | governing_body = | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = | area_rank = | area_total_km2 = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 1762 | population_total = 5461 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_rank = | population_density_km2 = 2711 | population_demonym = | population_footnotes = | demographics_type1 = Languages | demographics1_title1 = Official | demographics1_info1 = [[Hindi language|Hindi]] | demographics1_title2 = Regional | demographics1_info2 = [[Mahasu Pahari]] (Shodochi)<ref>{{cite web| website=Literary Herald |title=Language and dialect of Himachal Pradesh |url=https://tlhjournal.com/uploads/products/35.shradha-shandil-article.pdf?utm_}}</ref> | timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]] | utc_offset1 = +5:30 | postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]] | postal_code = 172029 | area_code_type = | area_code = | registration_plate = [[List of RTO districts in India#HP.E2.80.94Himachal Pradesh|HP-95]] | footnotes = }} '''Kumarsain''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|pron|k|u|m|æ|r|s|æ|ɪ|n}}; {{IPA|hi|kʊmaɾsain|lang|Kumarsain Pronunciation.wav}}), also known as '''Kumharsain''', is a town in [[Shimla District]] in the [[States and territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Himachal Pradesh]]. Formerly under the [[British Raj]], it was the capital of [[princely state]] of Kumharsain, which was one of the several states of the [[Punjab States Agency]].<ref>{{cite book |title=John Hutchison and JP Vogel, History of Punjab Hill States Lahore 1933| isbn=9788120609426 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3btDw4S2FmYC| last1=Hutchison | first1=John | last2=Vogel | first2=Jean Philippe | year=1994 | publisher=Asian Educational Services }}</ref> It is about 80 km from [[Shimla]] and famous for [[apple]] and [[cherry]] [[orchard]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/unusually-warm-weather-takes-toll-on-cherry-crop-in-himachal-101650664291080.html|title=Apple and Cherry cultivation in Himachal Pradesh}}</ref>
Kumarsain was founded in the [[11th century]] A.D. as the capital of Kumharsain State. It was occupied by [[Nepal]] from 1803 to 1816, and by [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]] from 1839 to 1840.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indian states before 1947 K-W |url=https://www.rulers.org/indstat2.html |access-date=2019-08-25 |website=www.rulers.org}}</ref> Kumarsain lies 1 km beside [[National Highway 5 (India)|National Highway 5]] from Bharara village, which is 20 km from [[Narkanda]] towards [[Rampur Bushahr]].
== Geography == [[File:Jogini Temple, Mandholi, Kumarsain.jpg|thumb|'''Jogini Temple, Mandholi, Kumarsain'''|361x361px]] Kumarsain is located at {{coord|31.318145|N|77.446189|E|}} and has an average elevation of 1,675 metres (5,495 ft). It is situated above the [[Satluj]] river in the North-West [[Himalayas]], about 80 km from [[Shimla]] towards interior ranges. Kumarsain has many villages within its boundary namely Mateyog, Damali, Lathi, Bharara, Bai and Dethal.
[[File:Panaromic view after sunset as sewn from Kumarsain.jpg|thumb|240px|Scenic view after sunset as seen from Kumarsain]]
[[File:Snowfall in Kumarsain.jpg|thumb|250px|Kumarsain during Snowfall]]
Tourist attractions around Kumarsain include [[Narkanda]], [[Kotgarh]]-Thanedhar, [[Hatu peak|Hatu Peak]], Tani Jubbar Lake, Derthu Mata Temple [[File:Deodar forest .jpg|thumb|230px|[[Cedrus deodara|Himalayan cedar]] forest around Kumarsain]]
== Government == Kumarsain was a [[Constituency]] of [[Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] and had a separate election seat until 2008 [[Delimitation Commission of India|delimitation]], when it was merged with [[Theog (Himachal Pradesh Assembly constituency)|Theog Assembly constituency]]. Veteran Congress Minister [[Vidya Stokes]] was elected 2 times as [[Member of Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]] in 2003 <ref>{{cite news| url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/statisticalreports/SE_Feb_2003/StatReport2003_HP.pdf |title=Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly election, 2003 |accessdate=25 October 2013}}</ref> and 2007 <ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.shimlatimes.in/2012/11/results-of-hp-state-assembly-elections_6.html | title=Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly election, 2007 | accessdate=25 October 2013 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031932/http://www.shimlatimes.in/2012/11/results-of-hp-state-assembly-elections_6.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> from [[Kumarsain (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Kumarsain Assembly Constituency]]. Kumarsain is a [[tehsil]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hpshimla.nic.in/tehsil/|title=Tehsils in Shimla District}}</ref> as well as a [[Subdivision (India)|sub-division]] and comes under Narkanda [[Community development blocks in India|Block]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hpshimla.nic.in/subdivision-blocks|title=Subdivisions & Blocks in Shimla District}}</ref>
== Demographics== As of 2011 India [[census]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archivedate=2004-06-16|title= Census of India 2011: Data from the 2011 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)|accessdate=2008-11-01|publisher= Census Commission of India}}</ref> Kumarsain had a population of 5,461. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Kumarsain has an average literacy rate of 97.8%, much higher than the national average of 74.04% male literacy is 97%, and female literacy is 89%. In Kumarsain 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
== History == Kirat Singh, also known as Kirti Singh (later Rana Kirat Chand), who was an office holder and Jagirdar at the court of Raja Narayan Pal of [[Gaya, India|Gaya]] in [[Bihar]], founded Kumharsain State in the [[11th century]] AD. He along with his two brothers (Kartar Singh and Prithvi Singh) was driven away from [[Gaya, India|Gaya]], by the fear of [[Mahmud of Ghazni|Mahmud Ghaznavi]] and settled around Kumharsain. They conquered the country from a local chief named Bhambu Rai of Delath.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgZFhkVINvkC&q=karangla&pg=PA48|title=Wooden Temples of Himachal Pradesh|isbn=9788173870941|last1=Singh|first1=Mian Goverdhan|year=1999|publisher=Indus }}</ref> Later on Kirat Singh gave a tract called Karangla to his brother Kartar Singh. Descendants of Kartar Singh founded the states of Khaneti and [[Kotkhai]]. The younger brother, Prithvi Singh, established his independent state at Delath. Since the [[15th century]], Kumharsain was a feudatory of [[Bashahr|Bushahr State]], but was declared independent after the expulsion of the [[Gurkhas]] in 1815, by a ''sanad'' dated February 1816, but at the same time lost its own tributary states of Bharauli, Balsan and Madhan. The Rana maintains a military force of 45 infantry and 1 gun (as of 1892).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indianrajputs.com/view/kumharsain|title=Kumharsain (Princely State)|date=1755 }}</ref> Kumharsain State was ranked 6th in [[Order of precedence]] in the [[Hill States of India|Shimla Hill States]] and 11th amongst the [[Punjab Hill States]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ayYbAvECXQwC&q=Kumharsain&pg=PA225|title=The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh|isbn=9788173871634|last1=Brentnall|first1=Mark|year=2004|publisher=Indus }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpWloqN5LTAC&q=order+of+precedence+in+shimla+hill+states&pg=PA53|title=The Emergence of Himachal Pradesh: A Survey of Constitutional Developments|isbn=9788173870354|last1=Verma|first1=V.|year=1995|publisher=Indus }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=British Library (Online Gallery) |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019wdz000002375u00000000.html}}</ref>
[[File:Kumarsain State Symbol.jpg|thumb|250px|Kumarsain State Symbol]]
[[File:Water colour painting of Kumharsain.jpg|thumb|280px|Watercolour painting of Rana's house at Kumharsain by [[Baden Henry Powell]], c.1872]]Kumarsain's famous '''Hira Mahal''' (named after the 56th Rana of Kumharsain, "''Hira Singh''"), which served as the home to the Ranas of this princely state, was burnt because of an accidental fire that took place in the mahal on 25 December 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/300-yr-old-palace-in-hp-reduced-to-ashes/story-CoZYVHHlxAwHGFHj92sVVJ.html|title=300 years old palace in HP reduced to ashes}}</ref>
[[File:Hira Mahal Kumarsain.jpg|thumb|250px|Hira Mahal in 2005[[File:Rajgaddi Bhawan of Kumarsain Royal Household.jpg|thumb|Rajgaddi Bhawan of Kumarsain Royal Household]]]]
Also the first American apple tree grown in India was at [[Kotgarh]] (a village in Kumharsain tehsil), which was planted by an American immigrant [[Satyanand Stokes]] in 1916.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/himachal-farmers-want-stokes-birthday-memorialised-as-apple-day-101629123508883.html|title=Kotgarh "The apple bowl of India"}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=map+Kumarsain&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x390585bba826eceb:0x798d4a66798efe44,Kumarsain,+Himachal+Pradesh&gl=in&ei=IUaaUNmjIZHb4QTo84CoDQ&ved=0CCEQ8gEwAA Kumarsain on Google Maps]
[[Category:Princely states of Himachal Pradesh]] [[Category:Princely states of Punjab]] [[Category:Agencies of British India]] [[Category:Historical regions in India]] [[Category:Cities and towns in Shimla district]] [[Category:Tehsils of Himachal Pradesh]]