UDHAM SINGH NAGAR, Uttarakhand

Main Attraction: Nanak Matta Gurudwara

Nanak Matta is an important pilgrimage centre for the Sikhs situated at a distance of 56 km. from Rudrapur (District Headquarter) on the Rudrapur-Tanakpur motor route. It is believed that the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev had visited this place on his way to Kailash Parvat in 1515 A.D. Being a sacred place to the Sikh community this place is visited by thousands of pilgrims throughout the year. The town is also known for the huge Nanak Matta Dam built across river Saryu, which adds up to the beauty of Nanak Matta. This is in itself a beautiful picnic spot where one can enjoy boating and fishing. The serene air and still lake waters had made it a much sought after tourist spot. The nearest airport is located at Pant Nagar

Brief History

District Udham Singh Nagar was created on 29th September 1997 by carving out tarai belt of district Nainital. It is named after the famous martyr Udham Singh. The extensive archaeological remains discovered in the vicinity of the village of Ujhain, about 1.6 km to the east of the town of Kashipur, indicate that this locality must have been an important and flourishing cultural as well as political centre during the first millennium prior to the Christian era. 

From the archaeological remains in Ujhain, it is evident that this place represents the site of an important city which was probably the capital of the country called Govishana visited by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang, in the 7th century A.D. In Kashipur region, it is said on the basis of a tradition recorded in Chand - that about 714 A.D. Ram Parmar, the paramount sovereign and lord of Ujhain (near Kashipur) gave lands to the members of thirty six Rajput clans and Katechr (modern Rohilkhand) to one Kehar. It appears that during the confusion that prevailed after the death of Harsha, the Parmar ruler of Ujhain became independent and gradually acquired considerable power.

Until 1948 this region remained neglected due to dense forest and adverse climatic condition. Due to marshy land, severe hot climate, excessive rainfall, natural habitat of wild and ferocious animals, prevalence of diseases and lack of communication, this part had negligible human habitation by then. Historians believe that centuries ago, a devotee of lord Rudra or some chieftain of a Hindu tribe established Rudrapur village, which with the passage of time has developed into a thriving town. During the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1588 this part of tarai was gifted as jaghir (hereditary assignment of land) to the Raja Rudra Chand of Chand dynasty. To bring in stability in the tarai region from regular attacks being perpetrated from plain area, Raja Rudra Chand established a permanent army camp at Rudrapur. 

This was the beginning of the rise of Rudrapur and prompted human habitation around Rudrapur. It is also said Rudrapur is named after Raja Rudra Chand. The early history of the district is little known. The ruined fort of Ujhain near the town of Kashipur is well known. A tank in the neighbourhood, known as Drona-Sagar, is popularly believed to have been made by the five Pandava brothers for their teacher, Drona. The tarai tract including the present tahsils of Kichha and Khatima of the district had sometimes been claimed by the rulers of the Kumaon hills in the north and some times by those of Rohilkhand in the south. The ancient sub-montane trade highway is also said to have passed through a part of the tarai in the district. Politically, this area has always, except for a couple of centuries in the later mediaeval period, formed part of the region known variously as North Panchala, Kalehar and Rohilkhand.

Tarai belt remained in the domain of Chand rajas of Kumaon. At the reign of Garur Gyan Chand (1374-1419), the plains including the tarai passed out of the possession of the Chand rajas. Garur Gyan Chand is said to have, proceeded to Delhi and petitioned the Sultan for the grant of the tract laying along the foot of the hills, that is, the bhabar and tarai areas. The Sultan was pleased with the skill of him shooting down a flying vulture on a hunting expedition and he bestowed upon the raja, the title of Garur and granted his prayer to hold and possess the land lying along the foot of the hills as far as Ganga, which thus included the entire bhabar and tarai tract. This Sultan may have been Mahmud Tughlaq who is known to have come to the tarai on a hunting expedition in 1410 or 1412 A.D.

During the reign of Rudra Chand who is traditionally assigned to 1565-1597 A.D., a contemporary of the great Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605 A.D.), the eastern parts of the bhabar and tarai tracts are said to have been temporarily occupied by the Muslims, probably under Husain Khan Tukariya. It is said that after the death of Husain Khan Tukariya, the raja himself marched to the tarai and expelled the Muslims from that region. The Mughal emperor gave tarai parganas to the raja at a grant. The portion of the tarai that came into the raja’s direct and legal possession was called the Chaurasi Mal. The period thereafter is the history of upheaval, which saw the ownership of the tarai region changing from one hand to another. 

In the year 1815, this region along with Kumaon came under the British rule. After the creation of district Naini Tal in 1861, during 1864-65, entire tarai and bhabar areas were declared under the British Crown through the ‘Tarai and Bhabar Government Act.’ During the following decades of the 19th century the history of the area covered by the district is almost uneventful. With the beginning of the 20th century the people of the district began to be gradually conscious of their civic rights and of their exploitation by the colonial government. The growing dissatisfaction of the public began to find expression in different ways. The people of this district took active part in the freedom struggle. The sacrifice of freedom fighters did not go in vain. 

The country ultimately became independent in 1947. The development of tarai region began after 1948. After the partition of the country, grave problem of refugee settlement came before the government of India. Large number of displaced persons, from northwestern and eastern side was rehabilitated in the vast area of this district under colonization plan. Individual were distributed land. Thus group of people from Kashmir, Punjab, Bengal, Kerala, Garhwal, Kumaon, Haryana, Rajasthan and Nepal were settled in this district with different languages, religions, occupations and cultures making it a ‘mini Hindustan’.