Viewing page 169 of 197

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

RAJAH OF MUNDI AND MINISTERS.
(220)

Mundi, signifying a market-place, is a township situated in lat. 31˚ 43', long. 76˚ 58', on the left bank of the Beeas river; and although the site of the town itself is only 2,557 feet above the sea, it is hemmed in by mountains more than 7,000 feet high. Mundi is the capital town of the Mundi state; but in troubled times the chiefs took refuge in the stronghold of Kumlagurh, which consists of a chain of fortresses, partly of masonry, and partly constructed out of the rock, surmounting a range of almost perpendicular mountains, between 4,000 and 5,000 feet high. The Rajahs of Mundi claim to be descended from a Rajpoot chief, who emigrated, many centuries ago, from the plains of Hindoostan, and established for himself the principality of Mundi. In its main features the history of this chiefship is similar to that of Kangra, as given under No. 216 - that is, during the long period of Mahomedan ascendancy, the Rajahs of Mundi maintained themselves in a condition of semi-rude independence; thus they built forts, made war upon rival chiefs, and exercised the functions of petty sovereigns. When, however, the authority of Maharajah Runjeet Sing became paramount in the Kangra hills, the Rajah of Mundi became his tributary; and in A.D. 1820, when Mr. Moorcroft, the English traveller, attempted to pass through Mundi, he was not allowed to do so, because the sanction of Maharajah Runjeet Sing had not been obtained. At that time Rajah Toree Sain was Rajah of Mundi. On his death, in A.D. 1826, he was succeeded by his brother, Zalim Sain, who died in 1839, when Rajah Bulbyr Sain, a natural son of Rajah Toree Sain, was appointed his successor. When, in 1846, under the treaty of Lahore, the Jullundur Doab and the Kangra hills passed into the hands of the British, Rajah Bulbyr Sain was the reigning chief, and he was confirmed in the possession of his principality, subject to the annual payment of one lakh of rupees (£10,000), as tribute to the British Government. From the state of Mundi, which has a population of 11,309, a revenue is obtained of above three lakhs of rupees per annum (£30,000), of which one lakh is derived from mines of salt at Goorna and Drung. Although