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Bilaspur State (princely state)

Princely state of British India

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ860407
Source-derived summary

Bilaspur State (or Kahlur State) was a kingdom (697–1815) and later a princely state (1815–1948) under the Punjab States Agency of British India. The state was earlier known as Kahlur and was later renamed Bilaspur. It covered an area of 1,173 km2 (453 sq mi) and had a population of 100,994 according to the 1931 Census of India. The last ruler of Bilaspur State acceded to the Indian Union on 12 October 1948. Bilaspur State remained Bilaspur Province in independent India until 1950 when the province was briefly renamed "Bilaspur State" before it was merged with Himachal Pradesh state as a district in 1954.

History

According to local oral tradition and records during the reign of Raja Harihar Chand, a new state was founded around 697 CE by his son First Ruler Raja Bir Chand (697–730). He was born in the Chandel Rajput dynasty, who claimed to be a descendant of Sisupala from the Chandravansha. After Raja Kahal Chand (890–930) had built Kahlur Fort the state was named Kahlur (probably from Kahal-pur) and the ruling Chandel dynasty of Kahlur was also known as Kahluria.

Initially the capital of the state was at a place named Jandbari (now in Punjab, India) and then it was transferred to Kahlur Fort, but was later moved permanently to present town Bilaspur by Dip Chand, the 32nd Raja of Kahlur (reigned 1663–1665).

Raja Bhim Chand who succeeded Raja Deep Chand fought Battle of Nadaun against Mughals and came out victorious.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Bilaspur State (princely state)” is princely state of British India. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Bilaspur, State and princely, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1815, 1948, 1931, 1950—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 0697. For this dossier, Bilaspur, State and princely is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “princely state of British India” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q860407. VIAF identifies the subject as 138729735. Authority coordinates are 31.317, 76.833. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1815, 1948, 1931 and 1950.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
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  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Bilaspur State (princely state)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Bilaspur State (princely state) primary sources, Bilaspur State (princely state) archive and Bilaspur research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Bilaspur State (princely state)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.