Bashahr

Bashahr ( Bushahr, Bussahir ) was one of the princely states in the then belonging to Punjab foothills of the Himalayas near Shimla in British India. The capital of Bashahr was Sarahan (today: " Bushahr Sarahan ," in contrast to " Kullu Sarahan " in the nearby Outer Saraj, which belongs to Kullu ).

According to legend was Pradhuman, a son of Lord Krishna, the founder of the principality. The history calls the danbar Rana Singh, a Rajput, who came from the Deccan in 1412. Bashahr was occupied in 1803 by Nepal, in 1815 freed during the Gurkha War by the British. 1815-1947 Principality was the British protectorate; the ruler bore the title of Raja. In 1898 the British took over the administration of the principality, although the Raja still nominally ruled.

Bashahr in 1941 had an area of ​​8907 km ² and 115,000 inhabitants and joined on 15 April 1948 as the largest of the principalities with 30 other small principalities to the confederation Himachal Pradesh together. All principalities were disbanded on 1 November 1956. Raja Virbhadra Singh (1947-1956) was active from 1962 in Indian politics. In 1976 he was deputy minister of tourism and civil aviation, 1976/77 Minister of State for Industry and from 1983 several times and even today, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Bashahr 1895-1901 had its own country with its own postal stamps.

The region has historically been an important transit area of caravans on the "Great Hindustan Tibet Road " to Tibet and is now connected by the National Highway 21 to the state capital Shimla. The former territory now forms approximately the district Rampur Rampur Bushahr with ( 920m ) in the Sutlej Valley as the administrative headquarters. Traditionally, social and spiritual center today is the Bhima Kali Temple at Sarahan Bushahr ( 2160m ), one of the most important temples of the western Himalayas.