Pangi Valley

For other uses, see Pangi.

Pangi Valley (Killar)
Tehsil
Clockwise from top left: View of the valley, Chandrabhaga River, A meadow, Sach Pass, Shiva Peak
Pangi Valley (Killar) Location in Himachal Pradesh, India Pangi Valley (Killar) Pangi Valley (Killar) (India)
Coordinates: 33.084014°N 76.406980°E / 33.084014; 76.406980
Country	India
State	Himachal Pradesh
District	Chamba
Government
• Body	Government of Himachal Pradesh
• Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly	Janak Raj
• Member of parliament	Kangana Ranaut
Area
• Total	1,601 km2 (618 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	18,868
• Density	12/km2 (31/sq mi)
Demonym	pangwal
Languages
• Official	Hindi
• local	Pangwali
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	176323
Vehicle registration	HP 45

Pangi is a tehsil of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India. According to 2011 census of India Pangi valley has a total population of 18868. It is an administrative subdivision of the Chamba district situated in the northern extreme of the state. Sandwiched between two mighty mountain ranges, the zanskar range in the North and the Pir Panjal Range in the South it is an isolated valley. In southern side it shares boundaries with Lahaul and Spiti and in eastern side with Jammu and Kashmir. Chandrabhaga cuts across the terrain in a deep narrow gorge before entering Doda region of Jammu and Kashmir. With its deep river gorges and barren mountain peaks, it offers a wide range of scenery and vegetation. Till recently, this valley was the remotest Tribal area of Himachal Pradesh where road access to the rest of the state was established only in the mid 1990s. So forbidding was this snowy range regarded in former times of the Princely regime, that every State official proceeding to Pangi on duty was granted a special allowance, under the head of ‘‘funeral expenses”, as his return, alive or dead, was not taken at all to be a matter of certainty or even of high expectation.

History

The history of Pangi can be inferred from some inscriptions, legends, and traditions. There are a few scattered pieces of evidence that, when gathered, reveal the pages of Pangi's history. Before the rule of the princely states, there must have been a period of local governance, as is evident from the Caste system . There are also some legends that suggest the Pangwal tribal people migrated here from neighboring areas.It is possible that occasionally ,owing to political influence,part of central Asian trade deviated from its original course and followed the less accessible valley of Cinab,but under ordinary circumstances it must always have returned to its natural channels.

Earliest known evidence of human settlements comes from the stone inscriptions at Luj and salhi. The inscription at Luj was erected by some local Rana of that time. It contains a verified description of the year when King Jasht Varman of Chamba ascended the throne. The inscription clearly states that this stone was erected during the first year of King Jasht Varman's reign. The establishment year is noted as samvat 8, which corresponds to the year 1105 AD. From this year onward, the chronology of the Chamba kings became accurate.The inscription suggests that At that time, the kingdom of Chamba extended up to the village of Luj in Pangi.

Luj village stone inscription

The inscription at salhi reveals that the stone was established in the 27th year of King Lalit Varman's reign. The year of establishment is given as Shastra Samvat 46, which was in use in the Chamba kingdom at that time. Upon calculating the timeline, King Lalit Varman's reign is determined to have started in 48 CE, and his 27th year corresponds to 70 CE. Therefore, this stone was established in 70 CE by Rana Ludarpal. On that stone, Pangi was referred to as "पंगति", while in the local language, people called it "पैंगइ".These stone inscriptions suggest that local ranas ruled the area under the suzerainty of the kings of Chamba. The descendants of these ranas still live humble peasant lives in the area.

Rana family at Salhi.

Next king to take complete control of Pangi valley was Prithvi Singh.Prithvi singh's father was dethroned by Jagat Singh of Nurpur. Prithvi Singh asked and obtained help in money and troops from the rajas of Mandi and Suket, to enable him to recover his kingdom. Passing through kullu, he crossed the Rohtang Pass into Lahaul and advanced into Pangi. He visited Mindhala temple and presented an inscription on a copper plate to the temple. Thereafter he crossed the Chanaini Pass and moved through Churah, and regained his throne at Chamba , expelling the Nurpur officials from the state.Prithvi singh divided Pangi ilaqa in three parganas with their chief places at Sach,Killar and Dharwas.He also ordered the construction of State Kothis at these places and appointed state representatives at these Kothis.A little farther down near the village of Phindru the path has been partly hewn out of the solid rock. This was probably done in the reign of Prithvi Singh, as appears from rock-inscription containing the name of him and dated sastra 18 corresponding to A.D. 1642-3.The temple of Malasni Devi at Porthi village also bears an inscription of Prithvi Singh dated Sastra-Samvat 27 (A.D.1651).

Other royal inscriptions in Pangi include two fountain stones at Porthi which were constructed in the reign of Ugar Singh in Sastra Samvat 1 (A.D.1725). The state Kothi at Sach also has an inscription in Takri recording the foundation of building by Raja Ugar Chand in Samvat 1 (A.D.1725). After the defeat of Sikhs in punjab the area opened up to the British empire.

Geography and climate

The Pangi valley has extremely difficult and rugged terrain with indifferent climatic conditions. The land locked Pangi is squeezed between two sub- systems of the Himalaya, the Zanskar and Pir Panjal Range and hence the landscape is mostly tough, mountainous, dotted with a number of valleys. The lowest altitudinal limit of Pangi is approx 2000m at Sansari Nala and ranges over to 6000 m comprising the lofty peaks adjacent to the Zanskar range. There are several peaks within this valley that have never been climbed. There are some beautiful sub valleys in Pangi such as Sural Valley, Hudan Valley, Saichu Valley and Parmar Valley, the way through which leads to Zanskar range. Bio gegraphically, Pangi region falls in the transition zone of the Himalayas and the Trans-himalayas. This is very much evident in the faunal composition of the area which exhibits an assortment of elements from both the zones. This makes Pangi valley one of the most faunistically diverse areas in western Himalaya and also a priority area from conservation point of view.