Pangi is a tehsil in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India. Situated at the northern extreme of the state, it is an isolated valley bordered by the Zanskar Range to the north and the Pir Panjal Range to the south. According to the 2011 census of India, the Pangi Valley has a total population of 18,868.Editor-Director, 2013. Faunal Diversity of Pangi Valley, Chamba District, (Himachal Pradesh), Himalayan Ecosystem Series, 3 : 1-120, Plates I-XVI (Published by the Director, Zool Surv. India, Kolkata)https://archive.org/details/dli.zoological.ess.022/page/n1/mode/2up?view=theater It shares boundaries with Lahaul and Spiti on the eastern side and with Jammu and Kashmir on the northern and northwestern side. Chandrabhaga cuts across the terrain in a deep narrow gorge before entering Paddar region of Jammu and Kashmir. With its deep river gorges and barren mountain peaks, it offers a wide range of scenery and vegetation.Editor-Director, 2013. Faunal Diversity of Pangi Valley, Chamba District, (Himachal Pradesh), Himalayan Ecosystem Series, 3: p. 3. 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.THAKUR SEN NEGI IAS, State Editor, District Gazetteers, HIMACHAL PRADESH https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.08235/page/5/mode/2up?view=theaterEditor-Director, 2013. Faunal Diversity of Pangi Valley, Chamba District, (Himachal Pradesh), Himalayan Ecosystem Series, 3: pp. 3-4Dr.J. Hutchison, GAZETTEER OF THE CHAMBA STATE PART A-1904 p.3 https://archive.org/details/ChambaState/page/3/mode/2up?view=theater
History The history of Pangi is documented through local inscriptions, oral traditions, and folklore. Prior to the establishment of princely state rule, the region was governed by local chieftains. Local legends also indicate that the area's population historically migrated from neighboring regions like Kashmir, Lahaul and Chamba.अमर सिंह रणपतिया,पांगी p.22 https://archive.org/details/2010-haacl-pangi-lok-sanskriti-evam-kalayen/page/1/mode/2up?view=theater 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.J.Ph.Vogal, Antiquities of Chamba state part-1 p. 17 https://ignca.gov.in/Asi_data/43280.pdf
Earliest known written evidence of human settlements comes from the stone inscriptions at LujJ.Ph.Vogal, Antiquities of Chamba state part-1 p.202 https://ignca.gov.in/Asi_data/43280.pdf and salhi.J.Ph.Vogal, Antiquities of Chamba state part-1 p.216 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.अमर सिंह रणपतिया,पांगी pp.22-23
The inscription at salhi reveals that the stone was established in the 27th year of King Lalit Varman's reign by a rana named Rajanaka Ludarpal. 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 1143 CE, and his 27th year corresponds to 1170 CE. On that stone, Pangi was referred to as "पंगति", while in the local language, people called it "पैंगइ".अमर सिंह रणपतिया,पांगी p.23 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.J.Ph.Vogal, Antiquities of Chamba state part-1 p. 118
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.THAKUR SEN NEGI IAS, State Editor, District Gazetteers, HIMACHAL PRADESH p. 126अमर सिंह रणपतिया,पांगी p.24 https://archive.org/details/2010-haacl-pangi-lok-sanskriti-evam-kalayen/page/1/mode/2up?view=theater Prithvi Singh divided Pangi ilaqa into 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.अमर सिंह रणपतिया,पांगी p.24 https://archive.org/details/2010-haacl-pangi-lok-sanskriti-evam-kalayen/page/1/mode/2up?view=theaterJ.Ph.Vogal, Antiquities of Chamba state part-1 p. 16 A little farther down near the village of Phindru before the temple of Sidh baba 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.J.Ph. Vogal, Antiquities of Chamba state part-1 p.24 The temple of Malasni Devi at Porthi village also bears an inscription of Prithvi Singh dated Sastra-Samvat 27 (A.D.1651).
Chatar Singh, Prithvi Singh's successor, also visited Pangi to extend his influence over the region. He led his army lower down the Chandrabhaga Valley, invading Paddar. There, he removed the local Ranas and appointed his own officials. He also founded a town on the plain, naming it Chatargarh. This town was later renamed Gulabgarh when the Dogra forces invaded it in 1836.THAKUR SEN NEGI IAS, State Editor, District Gazetteers, HIMACHAL PRADESH p. 130
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 singh in Samvat 1 (A.D.1725).J.Ph.Vogal, Antiquities of Chamba state part-1 p. 16
After the defeat of Sikhs in Punjab the area opened up to the British. In 1864, major Blair Reid who was British superintendent to chamba state convinced the Raja to transfer the management of forests of chamba state including the forests of Pangi to the British Government. This was formalized through a lease agreement dated 10 September 1864 for a duration of 99 years, with provisions for revision every 20 years. Under the terms of the lease, the British Government agreed to pay the state an annual amount of Rs. 22,000. As a result, the forests of the valley were placed under the direct control of the Imperial Forest Department.The British extensively felled trees from the forests in the region, employing large-scale logging practices. The timber was floated downriver to the plains, where it was extracted and utilized for various purposes, including the construction of railway infrastructure and other projects.Dr.J. Hutchison, GAZETTEER OF THE CHAMBA STATE PART A-1904 p. 110 There was a famine in the valley in 1878–79 due to the early arrival of winter and the destruction of crops. Grain had to be imported from curah. Potatoes were introduced to the valley in 1878 by R.T. Burney, then superintendent of Chamba State.Dr.J. Hutchison, GAZETTEER OF THE CHAMBA STATE PART A-1904 p.204
J. Ph. Vogel played a crucial role in deciphering the recorded history of the Pangi Valley by documenting and translating the region's epigraphic heritage. Vogel analyzed major stone inscriptions across the villages of Salhi, Luj, Sach, Purthi, and Phindru, though he was unable to examine the fountain stone at Hudan as it had been destroyed by an avalanche. In addition to stone epigraphs, he deciphered two significant copper-plate inscriptions of the Mindhal temple issued by Raja Sangram Varman and Raja Prithvi Singh Varman regarding royal land grants to the temple.
Owing to its geographical isolation, seasonal inaccessibility, economic underdevelopment, and distinct cultural characteristics, the Pangwalas were recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in 1966, and Pangi tehsil was subsequently notified as a Scheduled Area under the Scheduled Areas (Himachal Pradesh) Order, 1975.
Pangi Valley experienced a catastrophic avalanche disaster during the first and second weeks of March 1979. Unseasonal snowfall of 4.5–6 meters was received, burying villages and destroying crops. A total of 232 people were killed, and 523 were reported missing in Lahaul and Pangi areas.Disastrous weather events 1967-1979 https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/dwe_1967-79.pdf
Geography
The Pangi Valley is characterized by extremely difficult and rugged terrain with harsh climatic conditions. The landlocked Pangi is squeezed between two sub-systems of the Himalayas, the Zanskar Range and the Pir Panjal Range, resulting in a predominantly mountainous landscape dotted with numerous valleys. The valley's altitudinal range varies from approximately 2,000 meters at Sansari Nallah to over 6,000 meters, encompassing the lofty peaks near the Zanskar Range. Several peaks within this valley remain unclimbed to date. Pangi features several beautiful sub-valleys, including the Sural Valley, Hudan Valley, Saichu Valley, and Parmar Valley, many of which provide routes leading to the Zanskar Range.
From a biogeographical perspective, the Pangi region lies in the transition zone between the Himalayas and the Trans-Himalayas. This is reflected in the region's faunal composition, which exhibits a blend of elements from both zones. This unique combination makes the Pangi Valley one of the most faunistically diverse areas in the western Himalayas and a priority region for conservation. Editor-Director, 2013. Faunal Diversity of Pangi Valley, Chamba District, (Himachal Pradesh), Himalayan Ecosystem Series, 3 : 1-120, Plates I-XVI (Published by the Director, Zool Surv. India, Kolkata) p.4 https://archive.org/details/dli.zoological.ess.022/page/n1/mode/2up?view=theater
The river Chandrabhaga flows through the entire length of the valley, covering a distance of nearly 85 kilometers from Karru Nallah to Sansari Nallah. The river originates from the mountains of the Baralacha Pass. The Chandrabhaga divides the Pangi Valley into two unequal parts: the larger right bank, which gradually rises to the Zanskar range, and the narrow left flank, which ascends steeply towards the Pir Panjal range. The main tributaries of the Chandrabhaga in the Pangi Valley are Karru Nallah and Saichu Nallah. The Saichu Nallah joins the Chandrabhaga from the right near the settlement of Cherry Bungalow. The Saichu Nallah is further fed by several tributaries, the chief among which are Twan, Saichu, and Chasak, which converge at Saichu village. Several small streams originating from the Zanskar Range feed the river on its right bank. The waters of the Chandrabhaga are grey in color during summer due to the melting snow from its numerous sources. Editor-Director, 2013. Faunal Diversity of Pangi Valley, Chamba District, (Himachal Pradesh), Himalayan Ecosystem Series, 3: pp. 4-5
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