Kahlur (Bilaspur): the state beneath the reservoir

Kahlur — better known by the name of its capital, Bilaspur — was the hill state that controlled the Sutlej where it leaves the mountains. In the 20th century most of its valley floor disappeared under a reservoir, which makes its history unusually visible: the old capital is literally underwater.

The state of Kahlur

The ruling house was a branch of the Chandel Rajputs, and tradition dates the founding of the state to Bir Chand around 697 CE. The capital moved several times before Raja Dip Chand laid out Bilaspur town on the banks of the Sutlej in 1654. The hilltop temple of Naina Devi, one of the Shakti Peethas, lay within the state and drew pilgrims from across the plains.

Gurkha and British periods

Kahlur was drawn into the Gurkha wars and came under British protection after 1815. It remained a princely state, one of the Simla Hill States, until Independence.

Accession and the Bhakra Dam

Bilaspur acceded to India on 12 October 1948. For a few years it was administered as a separate small state before being merged into Himachal Pradesh as a district on 1 July 1954. By then work was already under way on the Bhakra Dam downstream. As the Gobind Sagar reservoir filled through the 1950s, the old town of Bilaspur was abandoned and its people resettled; a new town was built on higher ground above the water, and the dam was completed in 1963.

Sources

• Wikipedia — Bilaspur State
• Wikipedia — Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh
• Wikipedia — Bhakra Dam