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Himachal Pradesh was established in 1948 as a Chief Commissioner's Province within the Union of India. The province comprised the hill districts around Shimla and southern hill areas of the former Punjab region. Himachal became a part C state on 1951 with the implementation of the Constitution of India. Himachal Pradesh became a Union Territory on 1 November 1956. On 18 December 1970 the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new state came into being on 25 January 1971. Thus Himachal emerged as the eighteenth state of the Indian Union.
In earlier times, the area was variously divided among smaller kingdoms, such as those of Chamba, Bilaspur, Bhagal and Dhami. After the Gurkha War of 1815–1816, it became part of the British India.
Some evidences have been found that nearly 2 million years ago man lived in the foothills of Himachal Pradesh. Bangana valley of Kangra, Sirsa valley of Nalagarh and Markanda valley of Sirmour are found to be the places where prehistoric man used to live.
Prior to the migration of the Aryan people to Ancient India, the Himalayan territories between the 'River Sutlej' and the 'River Yamuna' were under the administration of an ancient people called the Kiratas, their king being King Shambhar. Their kingdom was located on the crossroads between 'Tibet' and 'India'. The Kiratas were skilled in archery and warfare while also being great traders who exported plenty of trade items between 'Tibet' and 'India'. There are many ancient scriptures denoting the behaviour, appearance and territories of the Kiratas. According to the 'Kirtarjuniya', Lord Shivatook the form of a Kirata hunter to disguise himself from Arjuna. It is a local legend often told by locals of some Himalayan regions such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim and Darjeeling. The famous war between the Aryan King 'Divodas' and the Kirata King 'Shambhar' is mentioned in an ancient Hindu scripture, the ‘Rigveda’. King Shambhar had 99 forts in the Western Himalayan region of what is now regarded to be Himachal Pradesh. This war between the Indo-Aryans and Tibeto-Burman 'Kiratas' lasted for a total of 40 years sometime between 3,000BC to 2,500BC and led to the destruction of 99 of the aforementioned forts, King Shambhar and his ally Verchi were slain at a place known as 'Udubraj', supposedly where the war had taken place. This led to the demise of the Kiratas in the Western Himalayas and led to them fleeing eastwards to Nepal and North-East India. The Aryan people were able to successfully enter India after their victory against the Ancient Kiratas. Descendants of the ancient Kiratas are still found today in Modern-Day Nepal and some parts of North-East India.
The foothills of the state were inhabited by people from Indus valley civilization which flourished between the time period of 2250 and 1750 BC. Before indus valley civilization, Koli, Holi, Dooms and Chnnals used to live here.
In about 883 AD Shankar Verma, the ruler of Kashmir exercised his influence over Himachal Pradesh. The region also witnessed the invasion of Mahmud Ghazni in 1009 AD, who during that period he looted the wealth from the temples in the North India. In 1043 AD the Rajputs ruled over the territory.
The small kingdom had enjoyed a large degree of independence till the eve of the Muslim invasions in northern India. The states of the foothills were devastated by Muslim invaders a number of times. Mahmud Ghazni conquered Kangra at the beginning of the 11th century. Timur and Sikander Lodi also marched through the lower hills of the state and captured a number of forts and fought many battles.
In 1773 AD the Rajputs under Katoch Maharaja Sansar Chand possessed the region, until the attack by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1804 which crushed the Rajput power.
The Gorkha Kingdom came to power in Nepal in 1768 to the east of Kangra. They consolidated their military power and began to expand into the territory between them and Kangra, [1] annexing Sirmour and Shimla. Under the leadership of General Amar Singh Thapa, the Gorkhas laid siege to Kangra, and in 1806 defeated Sansar Chand, the Katoch ruler of Kangra.
To the west of Kangra, the Sikh Empire rose in 1799, also expanding towards Kangra. At the same time as the Gorkhas were invading Kangra from the east, the Sikhs were invading from the west. After the 1806 defeated of Katoch ruler Sansar Chand by the Gorkha, the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh allied with the Katochs, and the combined armies pushed out the Gorkhas in 1809.
This led to the Anglo-Gorkha war. They came into direct conflict with the British along the tarai belt after which the British expelled them from the provinces of the Satluj. Thus British gradually emerged as the paramount powers. In early 19th century the British annexed the areas of Shimla after the Gurkha War of 1815–16. Himachal became a centrally administered territory in 1948 with the integration of 31 hill provinces and received additional regions in 1966. [1]
The revolt of 1857 or the first Indian war of independence resulted due to the building up of political, social, economic, religious and military grievances against the British government. People of the hill states were not politically alive as the people in other parts of the country. [2] They remained more or less inactive and so did their rulers with the exception of Bushahr.
Some of them even rendered help to the British government during the revolt. Among them were the rulers of Chamba, Bilaspur, Bhagal and Dhami. The rulers of Bushars rather acted in a manner hostile to the interests of British.
The British territories in the hill came under British Crown after Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858. The states of Chamba, Mandi and Bilaspur made good progress in many fields during the British rule. During World War I, virtually all rulers of the hill states remained loyal and contributed to the British war effort both in the form of men and materials. Amongst these were the states of Kangra, Nurpur, Chamba, Suket, Mandi and Bilaspur
After independence the Chief Commissioner's province of H.P. came into being on 15 April 1948. Himachal became a part C state on 26 January 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India. Himachal Pradesh became Union Territory on 1 November 1956. On 18 December 1970 the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new state came into being on 25 January 1971. Thus H.P. emerged as the eighteenth state of Indian Union.
Under the name of Greater Nepal, some in Nepal have asked for the return of states previously usurped by Nepal that were annexed by the British East India Company. However, little support for this motion exists in these regions.
Himachal Pradesh is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterised by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks and extensive river systems. Himachal Pradesh is the northernmost state of India and shares borders with the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, and the states of Punjab to the west, Haryana to the southwest, Uttarakhand to the southeast and a very narrow border with Uttar Pradesh to the south. The state also shares an international border to the east with the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. Himachal Pradesh is also known as Dev Bhoomi or Dev Bhumi, meaning 'Land of Gods' and Veer Bhoomi which means 'Land of the Brave'.
Kangra district is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district.
Kangra-Lambagraon was a historical princely estate (jagir) of British India located in the present-day state of Himachal Pradesh.
Kangra is a city and a municipal council in Kangra district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is also known as Nagarkot.
The Hill States of India were princely states lying in the northern border regions of the British Indian Empire.
Katoch is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan with unbroken bloodline established in 4300B.C. There areas of residence are mainly in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Punjab, and Uttarakhand. Traditionally resided in Kangra Fort, Trigarta Kingdom, Jalandhar, Multan.
Trigarta kingdom was an ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom of western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. It had its capitals at Prasthala, Multan and Kangra.
The Punjab States Agency was an agency of the British Raj. The agency was created in 1921, on the model of the Central India Agency and Rajputana Agency, and dealt with forty princely states in northwest India formerly dealt with by the Province of Punjab.
Sansar Chand was a Rajput ruler of the erstwhile Kangra State in what is now the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The Kangra fort is a historic fort located in the Kangra district of the Himachal Pradesh state, India. This fort is also known as 'Nagarkot' and 'Kot Kangra'. This fort stands on a hillock between two rivers, among the foothills of the Dhauladhar range. This fort is the largest in the Indian Himalayas, and is under the protection of the Archeological Survey of India.
Chamba is a town in the Chamba district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. According to the 2001 Indian census, Chamba has a population of 20,312 people. Located at an altitude of 1,006 metres (3,301 ft) above mean sea level, the town is situated on the banks of the Ravi River, at its confluence with the Sal River.
Prior to the arrival of the Mughals in the Indian subcontinent, the first instance of Islamic conquest of the region was during the 10th century when Mahmud Ghaznavi conquered Kangra. After the entry of the Mughals into the subcontinent, the region fell to Mughal authority as well. Later, due to internal conflicts within the Mughal dynasty the rulers of the hill provinces took complete advantage. Kangra regained its independence under Maharaja Sansar Chand who ruled for nearly 50 years. He was one of the most powerful administrators of the region. After he took the formal possession of Kangra fort, Maharaja Sansar Chand began to expand his territory. The states of Chamba, Suket, Mandi, and, Guler, Jaswan, Siba and Datarpur came under the direct control of Maharaja Sansar Chand.
Sirmur was an independent kingdom in India, founded in 1616, located in the region that is now the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The state was also known as Nahan, after its main city, Nahan. The state ranked predominant amongst the Punjab hill States. It had an area of 4,039 km2 and a revenue of 300,000 rupees in 1891.
Kangra painting is the pictorial art of Kangra, named after the Kangra State, a former princely state of Himachal Pradesh, which patronized the art. It became prevalent with the fading of Basohli school of painting in mid-18th century, and soon produced such a magnitude in paintings both in content as well as volume, that the Pahari painting school, came to be known as Kangra paintings.
The Kanet is a caste found in the state of Himachal Pradesh in North India. They are generally regarded as a Thakur (noble) caste, even though they have sometimes been classified otherwise.There is the subcaste of kanets which is known as "Mukhiya".
Jaswan was a precolonial Indian state centred at Rajpur Jaswan, in modern-day Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, commanded by the Jaswal Rajput clan. It was founded in 1170 AD by Raja Purab Chand, a cadet of the Katoch lineage, ancient royal family of Kangra.
The Himachal Pradesh Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. It has one state headquarters at Shimla and 12 district headquarters in the state.
Mangal is a former princely state in north India ruled by Chandravanshi Sen Rajputs.Mangal state like Mandi State was an off shoot of Suket State. Rana Surender Singh is its present head.
The Nepal–Sikh war was a large scale military conflict in 1809 between the forces of the Kingdom of Nepal under Amar Singh Thapa and the Sikh Empire under general Dewan Mokham Chand.
The Rajputs in Himachal Pradesh are members of the Rajput community living in the North Indian Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh. They ruled a majority of kingdoms of the region and even dominate in Himachal Pradesh politics. The kingdoms of the Hill States of India were mostly in the present day state of Himachal Pradesh, and mostly had Rajput rulers. All of the Chief Ministers who served Himachal Pradesh except for Shanta Kumar belong to the Rajput caste. The Rajputs of Himachal Pradesh fought battles with Tughlaq, Mughal, and Sikh forces, most notable being the Battle of Bhangani, when the Hill States made an alliance against the Sikhs. While some Rajput kingdoms and clans have a long history in Himachal Pradesh, others were established due to the Rajput migrations to the hill regions mostly due to the Islamic invasions.