British Rule (1815 to 1947) :

In 1811, Sudarshan Sah, the deposed ruler of Garhwal, had promised to give the British the Dehradun valley and Chandi if they drive the Gurkhas out of Garhwal. When the Gurkhas moved out of the region, Sudarshan Sah was living in great poverty in Dehradun.

In the year 1815, W. Fraser was authorised to hand over to the Raja the parts of Garhwal situated to the west of the Alaknanda river, except Dehradun valley and Rawain pargana lying between the rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. As a result, in July that year, Fraser directed the inhabitants of the area lying to the east of the Mandakini river as far as Rudraparyag, and to the east of the Mandakini river above that point, to consider themselves under the authority of the commissioner of Kumaon.

G.W. Traill, an assistant commissioner, was sent to Garhwal to introduce British authority in that province and to conclude a settlement of the land revenue. In 1818, Traill complained of the disorderly state of the Rawain pargana, the inhabitants having been relieved of their fear of both the Gurkhas and the British being accused of having taken to their old occupation of plundering the pilgrims to Gangotri and Kedarnath. The area was formally annexed to Tehri in 1824, though attempts to control the inhabitants were not very successful till a later period.

In the meanwhile, there arose a boundary dispute between the states of Bushahr and Tehri-Garhwal over the claim to Undra Kunwar taluka which had been included in the grant made to the Raja of Garhwal by Fraser. On the other hand, Pritam Sah, the uncle of the Raja, after his release from prison in Nepal through the good offices of Gardiner, claimed the zamindari rights in the parganas of Garhwal and Dehradun ceded to the British by the Gurkhas.

Traills' administration of Garhwal came to an end in 1835. His tenure was acknowledged by the English historians to have been marked by a just and progressive administration though many decisions were taken on an arbitrary basis.There were also charges of misuse of power by the officials. On the whole, this period was one during which the foundations of the present style of development in Garhwal were laid.

After Traill's departure from the scene, there came a brief period of wavering uncertainty and comparative misrule. According to Bird (as cited by Walton, 1910), "The system of government had been framed to suit the particular character and scope of one individual.

Traill left the province orderly, prosperous and comparatively civilized but his machinery was not easily worked by another hand. There was no law and the law giver had been withdrawn. The Board of Commissioners and the Government, who had remained quiescent while the province was in the hands of an administrator of tried ability and equal to all emergencies found it necessary to reassert their control and to lay down specified rules."

Batten succeeded Traill in 1836 and remained in charge till 1856. In the year 1839, the province of Kumaon was divided into two districts of (British)Garhwal and Kumaon, each under a senior assistant commissioner having the same powers as the collector has in the plains.

Beckett was in charge of Garhwal district when the Great Revolt broke out in 1857. However, it did not have a significant impact on this peaceful region. The passes into the hills and entrances to the valleys were carefully guarded. Forces were sent wherever there was likelihood of any disturbance. Some freedom fighters tried to take over Srinagar but were quickly overpowered by a company of Gurkhas sent from the garrison at Almora.