The state of Himachal Pradesh was called 'Deva Bhoomi ' or the Land of
the Gods. There are evidences of the existence of the pre-historic
humans in this region. It is generally believed that large inhabitants
of this region had actually migrated from Central Asia and the Indian
plains from time to time. The first race to enter Himachal Pradesh was
Proto-Australoid followed by Mongoloid and the Aryan. The Rig Veda
mentions about Dasyus and Nishads living in this region and their
powerful king Shambra who had 99 forts. From the early period of its
history, tribes like the Koilis, Halis, Dagis, Dhaugris, Dasa, Khasas,
Kinnars and Kirats inhabited it.
The Aryan influence over this area dates back to the period before the
Rig Veda. The Aryans with their superior war tactics defeated the local
tribes and settled here permanently. The period also saw the
establishment of small Janapadas or Republics in Himachal Pradesh. They
maintained a good relationship with the Mauryans so that they can remain
independent for a long time. They lost their independence with the rise
of the Guptas in the North Gangetic plains. After the decline of the
Guptas, several small kingdoms ruled this hilly state and established
their power in its different regions. Sankar Varma, the king of Kashmir
exercised his influence over the regions of Himachal Pradesh in about
883 AD.
This region witnessed the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1009 AD. In
about 1043 AD, the Rajputs ruled over this territory. The Mughal rulers
erected several works of art as an admiration of this land. The Rajputs,
under the leadership of Sansar Chand owned this region in 1773 AD, till
the attack by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1804 AD, which crushed the Rajput
power here. The Gurkhas conquered this area and ravaged it.
In about the early 19th century AD, the British exercised their
influence and annexed the areas of Shimla after the Gurkha War of
1815-16. The British established many hill stations in this region to
protect themselves from the extreme heat and dust of the northern plains
in the summer. Shimla became the summer capital of India and even today,
many old houses and buildings tell the story of English grandeur.
Himachal Pradesh was made a centrally administered territory in 1948
with the integration of 31 hill states and obtained additional regions
in 1966. It had the status of a union territory after independence till
it was granted statehood in 1971.
Early History up to Harsha 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.
Rajput Period 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.
Mughal Rule
The small hill kingdom enjoyed a large degree of
independence till the eve of Muslim invasions in northern India. States
of the foothills were devastated by Muslim invaders from time to time. Mahmud Ghaznavi conquered Kangra at the begining of the 10th centuary.
Timur and Sikander Lodi 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 Katoch rulers of Kangra availed of this
opportunity and Kangra regained independence status under Maharaja
Sansar Chand who ruled for nearly half a centuary. He was one of the
ablest administrators of the region. After he took formal possession of
Kangra fort, Sansar Chand began to expand his territory. The states of
Chamba, Suket, Mandi, Bilaspur, Guler, Jaswan, Siwan and Datarpur came
under the direct or indirect control of Sansar Chand.
Anglo-Gorkha and Anglo-Sikh War: 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,
Gorkhas laid siege to Kangra. 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. They came into direct
conflict with the English along the tarai belt after which the English
expelled them from the hill states east of the Satluj. Thus British
slowly emerged as the paramount powers in this tract.
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.
Revolt of 1857: The revolt or first Indian war 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 Bushars acted in a manner hostile to the interests of
British. However it is not clear whether they actually aided the rebels
or not.
British Rule 1858 to 1914: 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 the first World War, virtually all
rulers of the hill states remained loyal and contributed to the British
war effort both in thr form of men and materials. Amongst these were the
states of Kangra, Siba, Nurpur, Chamba, Suket, Mandi and Bilaspur.
RAIL - Only few places in Himachal Pradesh are connected by
trains, as the construction of new lines are very difficult in the
rugged, high altitude regions. The longest railway line is from
Pathankot in Punjab to Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh. Other railway
tracks touch Shimla, Solan, and Una.
Air: The state has three airports at Bhuntar, Gaggal, and
Jubbarhatti, which connect the state to Delhi and Chandigarh via regular
flights by Indian Airlines. There is no international airport in
Himachal Pradesh. Rail: Only few places in Himachal Pradesh are
connected by trains, as the construction of new lines are very difficult
in the rugged, high altitude regions. The longest railway line is from
Pathankot in Punjab to Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh. Other railway
tracks touch Shimla, Solan, and Una.
Road: Despite problems in constructing new roads and maintaining
them, most of the important places in the state are connected with a
good road network. Some of the roads are closed during the winter and
monsoon seasons due to the heavy snowfall and landslides that occur
regularly in this region.
Later on as the Mughal dynasty began to break up; the rulers of the hill
states took full advantage. The Katoch rulers of Kangra availed of this
opportunity and Kangra regained independence status under Maharaja
Sansar Chand who ruled for nearly half a centuary. He was one of the
ablest administrators of the region. After he took formal possession of
Kangra fort, Sansar Chand began to expand his territory. The states of
Chamba, Suket, Mandi, Bilaspur, Guler, Jaswan, Siwan and Datarpur came
under the direct or indirect control of Sansar Chand.
