The history of the Chib Rajputs, from their Katoch origins to Bhimber and beyond.
The Chibs descend from the Katoch rajas of Kangra, one of the oldest royal houses of the Himalayas. Around 1400 Raja Partab Chand, son of Raja Megh Chand, founded the Chib state of Bhimber, and his son Chib Chand gave the clan and the land of Chibhal their name.
Raja Shadab Khan, also called Sandeep Chand or Raja Dharam Chand and remembered as Baba Shadi Shaheed, was the first Chib ruler to embrace Islam. Every Muslim Chib family traces its descent from him, and his shrine near Bhimber is the spiritual heart of the clan.
For three centuries the Mughal emperors passed through Bhimber on their way to Kashmir. The Chib capital stood at the foot of the hills, where the imperial road began its climb, and the ruins of the imperial sarai still stand above the town.
In 1812 Raja Sultan Khan held the heights above Bhimber against a Sikh army sent under Prince Kharak Singh and forced it to retreat: the proudest victory in the history of the Chib rajas.
Raja Sultan Khan defended Bhimber against the Sikh kingdom of Lahore for more than a decade. Imprisoned, released and finally killed at Jammu, he was the last independent ruler of the Chibs.
