nathji, who is in a way
their suzerain.

[Illustration: Fig. 92. Religious Fair in Kulu.]

Kangra proper is bounded on the north by the lofty wall of the Dhaula
Dhar and separated from Kulu by the mountains of Bara Bangahal. It
consists of the five _tahsils_ of Kangra, Palampur, Nurpur, Dera, and
Hamirpur. The first two occupy the rich and beautiful Kangra Valley.
They are separated from the other three _tahsils_ by a medley of low
hills with a general trend from N.W. to S.E. They are drained by the
Bias, and are much more broken and poorer than the Kangra Valley. The
tea industry, once important, is now dead so far as carried on by
English planters. The low hills have extensive _chir_ pine forests. They
have to be managed mainly in the interests of the local population, and
are so burdened with rights that conservation is a very difficult
problem. In 1911 the population of the five _tahsils_ amounted to
645,583. The most important tribes are Brahmans, Rajputs, and
hardworking Girths. The hill Brahman is usually a farmer pure and
simple.

[Illustration: Fig. 93. Kulu Women.]

[Illustration: Fig. 94.]

[Sidenote: Area, 2247 sq. m.
Cultd area,
1128 sq. m.
Pop. 918,569;
54 p.c. H.
Land Rev.
Rs. 14,22,527
= L494,835.]

~Hoshyarpur~ became a British possession in 1846 after the first Sikh
War. It is a typically submontane district. A line of low bare hills
known as the Solasinghi Range divides it from Kangra. Further west the
Katar dhar, a part of the Siwaliks, runs through the heart of the
district. Between these two ranges lies the fertile Jaswan Dun
corresponding to the Una _tahsil_. The other three _tahsils_,
Garhshankar, Hoshyarpur, and Dasuya, are to the west of the Katar dhar.
Una is drained by the Soan, a tributary of the Sutlej. The western
_tahsils_ have a light loam soil of great fertility, except where it has
been overlaid by sand from the numerous _chos_ or torrents which issue
from the Siwaliks. The denudation of that range was allowed to go on for
an inordinate time with disastrous results to the plains below. At last
the Panjab Land Preservation (_Chos_) Act II of 1890 gave the Government
power to deal with the evil, but it will take many years to remedy the
mischief wrought by past inaction. The rainfall averages about 32 inches
and the crops are secure. The population has fallen off by 93,000 in 20
years, a striking instance of the ravages of plague. The chief tribes
are Jats, Rajputs, and Guj