History of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in the north-west of India. Himachal Pradesh was also known as “Deva Bhoomi” (the land of the gods). Himachal Pradesh has been inhabited by human beings since the dawn of civilization. It has a rich and varied history which can be divided into several distinct eras. Himachal Pradesh is spread over 55,780 square kilometers. Himachal Pradesh is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on north, Punjab on west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on south, Uttarakhand on south-east and by “Tibet” on the east. The Aryan influence in the region dates back to the period before the Rig-Veda. About 2 million years ago man lived in the foothills of Himachal Pradesh, viz in the Bangana valley of Kangra, Sirsa valley of Nalagarh and Markanda valley of Sirmour. The foothills of the state were inhabited by people from Indus valley civilization which flourished between 2250 and 1750 B.C. People of Indus valley civilization pushed the original inhabitants of Ganga plains who were known as Kolorian people towards north. They moved to the hills of Himachal Pradesh where they could live peacefully and preserve their way of life.
According to the Mahabharta the tract which forms the present day Himachal Pradesh was made up of number of small republics known as Janpadas each of which constituted both a state and cultural unit.
Audumbras: The were the most prominent ancient tribes of Himachal who lived in the lower hills between Pathankot and Jwalamukhi. They formed a separate state in 2 B.C.

Trigarta: The state lay in the foothills drained by three rivers, i.e. Ravi, Beas and Satluj and hence the name. It is believed to have been an independent republic.

Kuluta: The kingdom of Kilita was situated in the upper Beas valley which is also known as the Kully valley. Its capital was Naggar.

Kulindas: This kingdom covered the area lying between the Beas, Satluj and Yamuna rivers, i.e. the Shimla and Sirmour hills. Their administration resembled a republic with members of a central assembly sharing the powers of the king.

Gupta Empire: Chandragupta slowly subdued most of the republics of Himachal by show of strength or use of force though he usually did not rule them directly. Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta extended his boundaries to the Himalyan region. He introduced Buddhism to this tract. He built many stupas one of which is in the Kullu valley.

Harsha: After the collapse of Gupta empire and before the rise of Harsha, this area was again ruled by petty chiefs known as Thakurs and Ranas. With the rise of Harsha in the early 7th century, most of these small states acknowledged his overall supremacy though many local powers remained with the petty chiefs.

A few decades after Harsha's death (647 A.D.) many Rajput states ascended in Rajsthan and Indus plains. They fought amongst themselves and the vanquished moved to the hills with their followers, where they set up small states or principalities. These states were Kangra, Nurpur, Suket, Mandi, Kutlehar, Baghal, Bilaspur, Nalagarh, Keonthal, Dhami, Kunihar, Bushahar, Sirmour.

After Rajput The small hill kingdom enjoyed a large degree of independence. Mahmud Ghaznavi occupied Kangra at the begining of the 10th centuary. Timur and Sikander also marched through the lower hills and captured several forts and fought many battles. Later on as the Mughal dynasty began to break up; the rulers of the hill states took full advantage.

The Gorkhas, a martial tribe came to power in Nepal in the year 1768. They consolidated their military power and began to expand their territory. Gradually the Gorkhas annexed Sirmour and Shimla hill states. With the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa, They managed to defeat Sansar Chand, the ruler of kangra, in 1806 with the help of many hill chiefs. However Gorkhas could not capture Kangra fort which came under Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1809. After this defeat the Gorkhas began to expand towards south. This resulted in the Anglo-Gorkha war.

After the Anglo-Gorkha war the common border of the British domain and Punjab became very sensitive. Both the Sikh and English wanted to avoid a direct conflict, but after the death of Ranjit Singh, the Khalsa army fought a number of wars with the British. In 1845 when the Sikhs invaded the British territory by crossing the Satluj, the rulers of many hill states sided with the English as they were looking for an opportunity to settle scores with the former. Many of these rulers entered into secret communication with the English. After the first Anglo-Sikh war, the British did not restore the hill territory vacated by Sikhs to their original owners.

The revolt or first Indian war (1857) of independence resulted due to the building up of political, social, economic, religious and military grievances against the British. People of the hill states were not politically alive as the people in other parts of the country. They remained more or less aloof and so did their rulers with the exception of Bushahr. Some of them even rendered help to the Britishers during the revolt. Among them were the rulers of Chamba, Bilaspur, Bhagal and Dhami. The rulers of Bushahr acted in a manner hostile to the interests of British. However it is not clear whether they actually aided the rebels or not.

The British territories in the hill came under British Crown after Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858. Shimla was the Summer capital of Britisher.The people of the hill also participated in the freedom struggle. Praja Mandal launched agitations against the British repression in areas under direct British Rule. The Mandi conspiracy was carried out in 1914-15 under the influence of the “Gadhr Party”. Meetings were held in Mandi and Suket states in December 1914 and January 1915 and it was decided to murder the Superintendent of Mandi and Suket. However conspirators were caught and sentenced to long terms in prison. The “Pajhota” agitation in which the people of a part of Sirmour state revolted is regarded as an extension of the Quit India Movement of 1942. Important freedom fighters of this state during this period included Dr. Y.S. Parmar, Padam Dev, Shivanand Ramaul, Purnanand, Satya Dev, Sada Ram Chandel, Daulat Ram, Thakur Hazara Singh and Pahari Gandhi Baba Kanshi Ram. The Congress party was also active in the freedom movement in the hill state particularly in Kangra.

After Independence of India The Chief Commissioner's area of H.P. came into being on 15th April, 1948. H.P. became a part C state on 26th January, 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India. Bilaspur was merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1st July, 1954. Himachal Pradesh became Union Territory on 1st November, 1956. Kangra and most of the other hill areas of Punjab were merged with H.P. on 1st November, 1966 though its status remained that of a Union Territory. On 18th December, 1970 the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new state came into being on 25th January, 1971. Thus H.P. emerged as the 18^th state of Indian Union. Himachal Pradesh has come a long way since then.

Himachal Pradesh has seen a number of full-fledged governments which have led the state towards economic self-reliance. Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest per capital incomes of any state in India. Due to the abundance of constant rivers, Himachal also sells hydro electricity to other states such as Delhi, Punjab & Rajasthan The economy of the state is highly dependent upon “Hydel Power, Ttourism and Agriculture.

Padam Palace is one of the most attractions at Rampur Bushahr in Shimla. This building is proximity 83 years old, bailed (1919-1925) at the time of Bushahr State. Raja Padam Singh, a planner of stature in his own kingdom, assigned the task of building the palace to his chief engineer, Mr. Bir Chand Shukla. It took six years for the building to take shape and named after the Raja. This building is witness of the merger of Bushahr State with the India.

The Padam Palace is reflecting the glorious past of the Bushahr State, the palace is an outstanding example of the taste, style and architecture of the former hill states, and a tribute to local craftsmen who toiled to carve out its beauty.
The two-storey building is done with wood and stone, there is a slanting tin roof with spiral projections. There is a big lawn, which was used for festivities and public functions. At one end of the lawn there is a Hawa Mahal, a masterwork with wood and stone. This was used for seating the royal family during the celebrations. The Hawa Mahal was designed by Mr. Gurjit Singh Fishta and the woodwork done by the father-and-son team of Mr. Gurmail Singh and Mr. Gurdev Singh.
Stones for the building were quarried at Khaneri and the wood was brought down from the jungles of Munish. Black gram paste was used for cementing the stone blocks. The stone arches of the lower floor and woodwork of the upper storey mark a striking contrast. The tipper storey wooden screen has floral and figurine designs so as to partially admit light without exposing those inside.

Satluj River

Satluj River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. It is located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and east of the Central Makran range in Pakistan. Sutlej is sometimes known as the Red River

Satluj rises from beyond Indian borders in the South slopes of the Kailash Mountain near Mansarover Lake. It is the largest among the five rivers of Himachal Pradesh. It enters Himachal at Spiti (6,608 meters). In Himachal Pradesh it flows in the South-Westerly direction through Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Solan, Mandi and Bilaspur districts. It leaves Himachal Pradesh to enter the plains of Punjab at Bhakhra, where the world's highest gravity dam has been constructed on this river. Its total caught up area in Himachal Pradesh is 20,000 sq. km. Its total length is 1,448 km. Its Vedic name is Satudri and Sanskrit name Shatadru. The Satluj finally drains into the Indus in Pakistan. The upper tracts of the Satluj valley are under a permanent snow cover. The prominent human settlements that have come on the banks of the Satluj River are Namgia, Kalpa, Rampur Bushahr, Tattapani, Suni and Bilaspur.

Main Tributaries of river Satluj:

Baspa River: Baspa is an important tributary of the river Satluj in its. The Baspa is joined by many smaller channels draining snow melt waters. The Baspa River has cut across the main Himalayan range. Baspa River empties itself into the river Satluj in district Kinnaur. Baspa originates from the Baspa hills, joins it from the left bank near Kalpa. Satluj river leaves Kinnaur district in the West near Chauhra and enters Shimla district.

Spiti River: The Spiti River originates from Kunzum range. Water draining the famous Pin valley area are part of the Spiti river system. After flowing through Spiti valley, the Spiti River meets Satluj at Namgia in Kinnaur district. Its length approximately 150 km. The main settlement along the Spiti River and its tributaries are Hansi and Dhankar Gompa.

Soan River: The Soan river rises from the Southern slopes of the Shivalik range also known as Solasinghi range in the tract to the East of the Beas gap across the Southern periphery of the Kangra valley. It joins the boundary of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.