Kumaon

Origin and Foundation of the Kashipur Branch

The history of the Kumaon Zamindari of Kashipur is deeply intertwined with the fall of the sovereign Kumaon Kingdom and the displacement of its ruling dynasty. The lineage traces its immediate origin to Raja Mahendra Chand (referred to in British colonial records as Raja Mahendra Singh), the last independent ruler of the Chand Dynasty of Kumaon.

In 1790, the Gurkha forces of Nepal invaded the hills of Kumaon. Raja Mahendra Singh and his uncle, Lal Singh, defended their territory but were ultimately defeated at the Battle of Havalbagh. Following this defeat, the royal family was deposed and forced to flee into the plains of Rohilkhand and the swampy Tarai region to seek refuge.

Settlement in the Tarai and British Negotiations

Following their displacement, provision was made by the British East India Company and local authorities for the exiled royal family to retain some land holdings in the Tarai for their subsistence, though under a highly doubtful and precarious tenure. Raja Mahendra Singh initially retired to Rudrapur and subsequently relocated to Kilpuri. However, due to administrative mismanagement and the notoriously waterlogged, malarial environment of the region, the Kilpuri pargana rapidly degenerated into an uninhabitable swamp.

Recognizing the dire situation, the representatives of the family petitioned the British Government for an exchange of territory. This petition was granted, and their possession of Kilpuri was exchanged for the confirmation of the taluqa of Chachait, located in the neighboring Pilibhit district. This marked the formal transition of the former Kumaon royalty into prominent landholders (Zamindars) in the plains of Northern India.

Internal Disputes and the Kashipur Estate

As the family established itself in the plains, internal rivalries emerged over the control of the remaining ancestral assets and British grants. Kunwar Partab Singh, the son of Raja Mahendra Singh, initiated a legal suit against his uncle, Lal Singh, claiming a share in the lucrative Chachait estate. However, the British authorities dismissed Partab Singh's claims, recognizing Lal Singh as the sole head of the family and confirming his possession of the estate.

To settle the dispute and provide for the deposed prince, the British Government granted Kunwar Partab Singh a monthly pension of 250 Rupees in 1820. Partab Singh also laid claim to the territory of Bazpur, but this claim was similarly denied by the colonial administration. Lal Singh successfully maintained his grip over the family's primary estates, eventually consolidating what would be known as the Kashipur estate.

Though historically descended from the Chandravanshi Chand dynasty of Kumaon, genealogical and regional accounts, such as those maintained by regional Rajput historians, also connect the descendants of this branch to the Rathore clan, possibly through later socio-political alignments and marriage alliances during their integration into the plains of Uttar Pradesh.

Post-Independence and Modern Era

Following India's independence in 1947, the princely privileges and large land estates across the nation were systematically dismantled. With the implementation of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act in 1950, the extensive taluqas and zamindari holdings of the Kashipur family were integrated into the newly formed state of Uttar Pradesh (and later carved into Uttarakhand).

Today, Kashipur is a prominent industrial and historical hub located in the Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand. The legacy of the Kumaon royal family and their transition from the peaks of Almora to the plains of Kashipur remains an important chapter in the regional history of Uttarakhand and the broader Himalayan foothills.