'Himachal Pradesh' (
Panjabi: ਹਿਮਾਚਲ ਪਰਦੇਸ਼,(
Hindi: हिमाचल प्रदेश, ) is a state in the north-west of
India. Himachal Pradesh is spread over
[ Statistical Facts about India ] and is bordered by the Indian states of
Jammu and Kashmir on north,
Punjab on west and south-west,
Haryana and
Uttar Pradesh on south,
Uttarakhand on south-east and by
Tibet area of
China on the east. The literal meaning of Himachal Pradesh is ''Land of snowy mountains''.
[ Literal meaning of Himachal Pradesh ]
Himachal Pradesh was also known as ''Deva Bhoomi'' (the land of the gods). The Aryan influence in the region dates back to the period before the
Rigveda. After the Anglo Gorkha war, the
British colonial government came into power. It was initially in Punjab under the rule of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh till 1857.
[ History section ]
In 1950 Himachal was declared as the union territory but after State of Himachal Pradesh Act 1971 Himchal emerged as the 18th state of
Indian Union.
The state is located in altitudes ranging from to above sea level. The state capital is
Shimla (formerly British India's summer capital under the name Simla); other major towns include
Solan,
Dharamsala,
Kangra,
Mandi,
Kullu,
Chamba,
Hamirpur,
Dalhousie and
Manali.
Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest per capita incomes of any state in India. Due to the abundance of perennial rivers, Himachal also sells hydro electricity to other states such as
Delhi,
Punjab &
Rajasthan.
[1] The economy of the state is highly dependent upon three sources i.e. Hydel power, tourism and agriculture.
[1][3][4]
90% of the state population constitutes of
Hindus. The major communities are of Brahmins, Rajputs, Kannets, Rathis and Kolis.
[5] As per the survey conducted in 2005 by
Transparency International Himachal Pradesh is ranked second least corrupt state in the country after
Kerala.
[6]
History
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. Tribes that inhabited region include the ''Koilis'', ''Halis'', ''Dagis'', ''Dhaugris'', ''Dasa'', ''Khasas'', ''Kinnars'' and ''Kirats''. The foothills of the state were inhabited by people from
Indus valley civilization which flourished between the time period of 2250 and 1750 B.C.
[ Pre and proto history ]
The small
kingdom enjoyed a large degree of
independence till the eve of the
Muslim invasions in northern
India.
[ Mughal rule ] The states of the foothills were devastated by Muslim invaders a number of times.
[ Mughal rule ] Mahmud Ghaznavi conquered
Kangra at the beginning of the 10th century.
Timur and
Sikander Lodi also marched through the lower hills of the state and captured a number of
forts and fought many
battles.
[ Mughal rule ]
The ''
Gorkhas'', a
martial tribe came to power in
Nepal in the year 1768.
[ Anglo Gorkha war ] They consolidated their
military power and began to expand their
territory.
[ Anglo Gorkha war ] Gradually the Gorkhas annexed
Sirmour and
Shimla. 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 ''provincial chiefs''. However ''Gorkhas'' could not capture
Kangra fort which came under
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1809. After the defeat the ''
Gorkhas'' began to expand towards the south of the state.
[ Anglo Gorkha war ]
This led in 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.
[ Anglo Gorkha war ] Thus British gradually emerged as the paramount powers.
[ Anglo Gorkha war ]
The revolt of 1857 or first
Indian war of independence resulted due to the building up of political, social, economic, religious and military grievances against the British government.
[ Revolt of 1857 ] People of the hill states were not politically alive as the people in other parts of the country.
[ Revolt of 1857 ] They remained more or less inactive and so did their rulers with the exception of ''Bushahr''.
[ Revolt of 1857 ] 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.
[ Revolt of 1857 ]
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.
[ 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 the form of men and materials. Amongst these were the states of
Kangra, Siba, Nurpur,
Chamba, Suket,
Mandi and
Bilaspur.
[ British rule ]
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.
[ Post independence ] 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 Indian Union.
[ Post independence ]
Geography
Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh located at an altitude of 10,900 feet (lying in outer himalyas)
Beas River in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal is situated in the interiors of western
Himalayas. The state is bordered by
Jammu and Kashmir in the North,
Uttar Pradesh in the South-East,
Haryana in the South and
Punjab is in the west. Himachal is situated between 30"22' and 30"12' north latitude and between 75"47' and 79"4' east
longitude.
[7]
The state covers an area of
[ Statistical Facts about India ].
It is a mountainous state with elevation ranging from about to above the
sea level.
[7] Shimla is the state capital.
There is great variation in the climatic conditions of Himachal due to extreme variation in elevation i.e. to
[7] The climate varies from hot and sub-humid tropical ( to ) in the southern tracts, warm and temperate ( to ), cool and temperate ( to ) and cold alpine and glacial ( to ) in the northern and eastern mountain ranges with more elevation.
[10]
The state has areas like
Dharamshala that receive very heavy rainfall, as well as those like
Lahaul and Spiti that are cold and almost rainless. Broadly Himachal experience three seasons; hot weather season, cold weather season and rainy season. Summer lasts from mid April till the end of June and most parts become very hot (except in
alpine zone which experience mild summer) with the average
temperature ranging from to .
[11] Winter lasts from late November till mid March.
Snowfall is common in alpine tracts (generally above i.e. in the Higher and Trans-Himalayan region).
[11]
The
drainage system of Himachal is composed both of
rivers and
glaciers. Himalayan rivers criss-cross the entire mountain chain. In fact the rivers are older than the mountain system.
[13]
Himachal Pradesh provides water to both the
Indus and
Ganges basins.
[14] The drainage systems of the region are the Chandra Bhaga or the
Chenab, the
Ravi, the
Beas, the
Sutlej and the
Yamuna. These rivers are
perennial and are fed by snow and rainfall. They are protected by an extensive cover of natural vegetation.
[14]
Flora and fauna
White Leopard (HP wildlife)
Barking deer (HP wildlife)
It has been estimated that 68% of the land area is covered with forests.
[16] The southern tracts are dominated by
sal, sisham, chir
pine, dry
deciduous and moist broad-leafed forests. The temperate region grows
oaks,
deodar, blue
pine,
fir and
spruce. In the uppermost region, trees are sturdy with a vast network of roots.
Alders,
birches,
rhododendrons and moist
alpine scrubs are there as the regional
vegetation. The
rhododendrons can be seen along the hillsides around
Shimla from March to May.
Himachal is also said to be the fruit bowl of the country with orchards scattered all over the place.
[16] Meadows and pastures are also seen clinging to steep slopes. After the winter season, the hillsides and orchards bloom with wild flowers, while
gladiolas,
carnations,
marigolds,
roses,
chrysanthemums,
tulips and
lilies are carefully cultivated. The state government is gearing up to make Himachal Pradesh as the flower basket of the world.
Himachal Pradesh is a well known habitat to a variety of animals. There are around 1200 bird and 359 animal species in the state.
[18]
This includes the
leopards, ghoral,
musk deer (the state animal) and
monal, (the state bird). It has 12 major national parks and sanctuaries – the largest number in the Himalayan region. The
Great Himalayan National Park in
Kullu district was created to conserve the flora and fauna of the main Himalayan range, while the
Pin Valley National Park to conserve the flora and fauna of the
cold desert.
[16]
Economy
| 'Gross State Domestic Product at Current Pricesfigures in millions of Indian Rupees |
| Year | Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 7,940 |
| 1985 | 13,720 |
| 1990 | 28,150 |
| 1995 | 66,980 |
| 2000 | 135,900 |
| 2005 | 230,240 |
| 2007 | 254,350 |
The era of planning started in Himachal in 1948 along with the rest of
India. The first
five year plan allocated Rs.5.27
crore to Himachal. More than 50% of this expenditure was incurred on road construction since it was felt that without proper transport facilities, the process of planning and development could not be carried to the people, who mostly lived an isolated existence in far away areas. Himachal now ranks fourth in respect of per capita income among the states of the
Indian Union.
[1]
Agriculture contributes over 45% to the net state domestic product. It is the main source of income and employment in Himachal. Over 93% of the population in Himachal depend directly upon agriculture which provides direct employment to 71% of its people.
The main cereals grown are
wheat,
maize,
rice and
barley.
Himachal has a rich heritage of
handicrafts. These include woolen and
pashmina shawls,
carpets,
silver and metal ware, embroidered chappals, grass shoes, Kangra and Gompa style paintings, wood work, horse-hair bangles, wooden and metal utensils and various other house hold items. These aesthetic and tasteful handicrafts declined under competition from machine made goods and also because of lack of marketing facilities. But now the demand for handicrafts has increased within and outside the country.
Himachal is extremely rich in
hydel resources. The state has about 25% of the national potential in this respect. It has been estimated that about 20,300MW of hydel power can be generated in the State by constructing various major, medium, small and mini/micro hydel projects on the five
river basins.The state is also the first state in
India to achieve the goal of having a back account for every family.
[1]
As per the current prices, the total GDP was estimated at Rs 25,435
crore, as against Rs 23,024
crore in the year 2004-05, showing an increase of 10.5%.
[22]
Culture
Tribal women in traditional dress during the 'Ladarcha' tribal fair in Kaza, Himachal Pradesh.
Himachal was one of the few states that had remained largely untouched by external customs, largely due to its difficult terrain. With the technological advancements the state has changed very rapidly.
Himachal Pradesh is a multireligional, multicultural as well as multilingual state like other Indian states. Some of the most commonly spoken languages includes
Hindi,
Punjabi,
Pahari,
Dogri,
Kangri and
Kinnauri.
[ The people and tribes ] The
Hindu caste communities residing in Himachal include the ''
Brahmins'', ''
Rajputs'', ''Kannets'', ''Rathis'' and ''
Kolis''. There are also tribal population in the state which mainly comprise
Gaddis, ''
Kinnars'',
Gujjars, ''Pangawals'' and ''Lahaulis''.
[23]
Himachal is well known for its handicrafts. The carpets, leather works, shawls, paintings, metalware, woodwork and paintings are worth appreciating. Pashmina shawl is one of the product which is highly in demand not only in Himachal but all over the country. Himachali caps are also famous art work of the people.
Local music and dance reflects the cultural identity of the state. Through their dance and music, they entreat their gods during local festivals and other special occasions.
Apart from the fairs and festivals that are celebrated all over India, there are number of other fairs and festivals also that are of great significance to Himachal Pradesh.
Shimla, the state capital is home to Asia's only natural Ice skating rink
[24].
The day to day food of ''Himachalis'' is very similar to the rest of the north
India. They too have
lentil,
broth,
rice,
vegetables and
bread. As compared to other states in north India non vegetarian is more preferred.
Some of the specialities of Himachal include ''Pateer'', ''Chouck'', ''Bhagjery'', ''Patrode'', ''Beduan'' and ''chutney'' of Til.
Famous people associated with Himachal include English author
Rudyard Kipling, Indian film personalities
Dalip Singh Rana,
Anupam Kher,
Preity Zinta,
Amrish Puri (who studied here), and
Prem Chopra (brought up here), economist and former vice-president of
World Bank Shahid Javed Burki,
Satyananda Stokes who introduced apple in the region, writer
Idries Shah,
ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume (had his home here), and former general of
Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who studied here.
Government
The Himachal Pradesh
Legislative Assembly has no pre-
Constitution history. The State itself is a post-Independence creation. It came into being as a centrally administered territory on
15 April 1948 from the integration of thirty erstwhile princely states.
[25]
Himachal Pradesh is governed through a
parliamentary system of
representative democracy, a feature the state shares with other Indian states.
Universal suffrage is granted to residents.
The
legislature, consists of elected members and special office bearers such as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, that are elected by the members. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker in the Speaker's absence. The
judiciary is composed of the
Himachal Pradesh High Court and a system of lower courts.
Executive authority is vested in the Council of Ministers headed by the , although the titular head of government is the
Governor. The Governor is the
head of state appointed by the
President of India. The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Legislative Assembly is appointed as the Chief Minister by the Governor, and the Council of Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers reports to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is
unicameral with 68
Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs,
[ Legislative Assembly ] Terms of office run for 5 years, unless the Assembly is dissolved prior to the completion of the term. Auxiliary authorities known as ''
panchayats'', for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs.
In 2003, the state legislative assembly was won by the
Indian National Congress. The main opposition is the
Bharatiya Janata Party. Governments have seen alternates between BJP & Congress all the times. No third front ever has become significant.
Subdivisions
Himachal Pradesh is divided into 12 districts namely,
Kangra,
Hamirpur,
Mandi,
Bilaspur,
Una,
Chamba,
Lahul and Spiti,
Sirmaur,
Kinnaur,
Kullu,
Solan and
Shimla.
A district of Himachal Pradesh is an administrative geographical unit, headed by a
Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate, an officer belonging to the
Indian Administrative Service. The district magistrate or the deputy commissioner is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Himachal Administrative Service and other Himachal state services.
A
Superintendent of Police, an officer belonging to the
Indian Police Service is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Himachal Police Service and other Himachal Police officials.
Transport
The geography of Himachal acts as a constrain on the development of transport infrastructure. But the state has made significant progress in road connectivity in the last few decades. Himachal at present has the highest road density among all the hill states of India.
There are three
airports in the state of Himachal Pradesh. They are at ''Bhuntar, Gaggal'' and ''Jubbarhatti''. The air routes connect the state with
Delhi and
Chandigarh. There are no international airports in Himachal Pradesh.
Jagson Airlines has flights from
Delhi to
Shimla.
[ Transportation in Himachal Pradesh ]
KSR diesel locomotive 148 at Kalka
Himachal Pradesh is not very well connected by railways. The
Pathankot-
Jogindernagar line is the longest
railway line connecting
Punjab with Himachal Pradesh. The other railway tracks pass through
Shimla,
Solan and
Una.
Shimla is connected with
Kalka by a narrow gauge railway line, which in turn is connected with the major cities in
India.
Himachal has two narrow gauge rail tracks. The
Kalka-Shimla Railway track has a length of 96 kilometers. It passes through 102 tunnels and crosses 864 bridges.
[26][27]
Most of the important places of Himachal Pradesh are well connected with the roadways. Eight national highways (NH) pass through the state with a total length of 1235 km. Few of the roads get closed during
winters and
monsoon seasons due to
snowfall and
landslides. Regular bus services connect
Shimla with
Chandigarh,
Kullu,
Manali,
Delhi,
Mandi,
Pathankot,
Ambala,
Chail and
Dehradun. Local taxis are the major local transport here. District
Hamirpur has got the highest road density in the country.
[ Hamirpur road density ]
Demographics
Gaddi man at Dharamkot, Himachal Pradesh, 2004
The population of Himachal in 2001 stood at 6,077,248 as per the provisional results of the Census of India 2001.
[ Ethnic composition ] The population of Himachal Pradesh includes estimated population of entire
Kinnaur district, where the population enumeration of Census of India, 2001 could not be conducted due to natural calamity.
[ Ethnic composition ] In terms of population it holds the same position (twenty first) among States and Union territories as at the previous census.
[ Ethnic composition ] The population of the State rose by 17.53% between 1991-2001.
[ Ethnic composition ] The sex ratio (i.e., the number of females per thousand males) of population was recorded as 970, which has declined from 976 in the previous census.
[ Ethnic composition ] Total
literacy of the State rose to 77.13% from 63.94% in 1991.
[ Ethnic composition ]
The tribal population of the state comprise of the
Gaddis, Kinnars,
Gujjars, Pangawals, Lahaulis and Spitians.
[ The people and tribes ] The Gaddis are the traditional shepherds who migrate from the alpine pastures to the lower regions during the winters. The Kinnars are the inhabitants of the Kinnaur region and have traditionally practiced polyandry and polygamy. The Gujjars are nomads who rear buffalo herds. Himachal also has a sizeable population of Tibetans
[ The people and tribes ]
About 95.4% of the population of Himachal Pradesh consists of Hindus, Muslims 2.0%, Sikhs 1.2% and Buddhists 1.2%
[28]. There main communities are Brahmins, Rajputs, Kannets, Rathis and Kolis. Himachal Pradesh has the highest proportion of Hindu population in India. Other religions are
Sikhism and
Buddhism. The Lahaulis of Lahaul and Spiti region are mainly Buddhists.
[ Ethnic composition ]
The major spoken languages include
Hindi,
Punjabi, Mahasui, Kulluyi, Lahauli, Kinnauri, Chambyali, Sirmauri, Bilaspuri,
Pahari,
Dogri,
Kangri.
[ The people and tribes ]
Some of the achievements in human development by the state are listed below
[ Highlights of Himachal Pradesh HDR (2002) ]-
★ The
life expectancy at birth was 62.8 years (higher than the national average of 57.7 years) for the period 1986–1990.
[ Highlights of Himachal Pradesh HDR (2002) ]
★ The
Infant mortality rate has fallen down from 118 in 1971 to 62 in 1999.
★ The crude
birth rate has declined from 37.3 in 1971 to 22.6 in 1998 i.e. below the national average of 26.5 in 1998.
★ The crude
death rate has declined from 15.6 in 1971 to 7.7 in 1998.
★ The
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined from 4.7 to 3.6.
★ Overall literacy grew by 34.65% between the period 1981 and 2001.
Kullu district is leading with the value of 0.534 in Human development index (HDI)
[ Highlights of Himachal Pradesh HDR (2002) ]
Languages of the
Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Himachal Pradesh are the
Sunam language 558 (1998),
Gahri language 4,000 (1997),
Jangshung language 1,990 (1998),
Kanashi language 1,400 (2002 Chauhan),
Kinnauri language 48,778,
Kinnauri Bhoti language 6,000 (1998),
Chitkuli language 1,060 (1998),
Pattani language 11,000 (1997),
Shumcho language 2,174 (1998) and the
Tukpa language 723 (1998)
[ Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayish, Tibeto-Kanauri, Western Himalayish, Kanauri. ]
.
Education
Computer Science and engineering Block, NIT Hamirpur
Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest literacy rates in India.
[29] Hamirpur District is among the top districts in the country for literacy.
[29] Education rates among women are quite encouraging in the state.
[29]
The standard of education in the state has reached to a considerably high level as compared to other states in
India.
[29] The state has several reputed educational institutes for higher studies.
The
Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) and the
NIT,
Hamirpur are some of the pioneer institutes located in the state.
Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry has earned a unique distinction in India for imparting teaching, research and extension education in horticulture, forestry and allied disciplines.
[29]
The government is working constantly to prepare various plans and projects in order to strengthen the education system of the state. Recently, the State Government has decided to start three nursing colleges to develop the health system in the state.
There are over 10,000 primary schools, 1,000 secondary schools and more than 1,300 high schools in Himachal.
[34]
The state government has decided to start up with 3 major nursing colleges to develop the health system in the state.
[35]
In meeting the constitutional obligation to make primary education compulsory, Himachal has now became the first state in
India to make elementary education accessible to every child in the
state.
[36]
Media and communication
Though situated in a remote part of the country, Himachal Pradesh has an active community of journalists and publishers. Several newspapers and magazines are published in more than one language, and their reach extends to almost all the
Hindi speaking states. Radio and TV have permeated significantly. Judging by the number of people writing to these media, there is a very large media-aware population in the state.
''
The Telegraph'', ''
The Statesman'', ''
Asian Age'', ''
Hindustan Times'', ''Punjab Kesari'' and ''
The Times of India'' are the newspapers published here. Vernacular newspapers such as those in
Hindi,
Punjabi and
Nepali are also read by selected readership.
Doordarshan is the state-owned television broadcaster.
Multi system operators provide a mix of Nepali, Hindi,
English, and international channels via
cable.
All India Radio is a public radio station. Private
FM stations are also available in few cities like
Shimla.
BSNL,
Reliance Infocomm,
Tata Indicom,
Hutch and
Airtel are available
cellular phone operators.
Broadband internet is available in select towns and cities and is provided by the state-run BSNL and by other private companies.
Dial-up access is provided throughout the state by BSNL and other providers.
References
1. Economy of Himachal Pradesh
2. Economy of Himachal Pradesh
3. Power
4. Agriculture
5. Ethnicity
6. India Corruption Study - 2005
7. Himachal at a glance
8. Himachal at a glance
9. Himachal at a glance
10. Climate of Himachal Pradesh
11. Climate of Himachal Pradesh
12. Climate of Himachal Pradesh
13. Rivers in Himachal Pradesh
14. Rivers in Himachal Pradesh
15. Rivers in Himachal Pradesh
16. Flora and Fauna
17. Flora and Fauna
18. Fauna
19. Flora and Fauna
20. Economy of Himachal Pradesh
21. Economy of Himachal Pradesh
22. Current GDP
23. Culture of Himachal Pradesh
24. Ice-skating rink completes 100 sessions again
25. Himachal Pradesh (gov) Introduction
26. Hughes, H., (1994) ''Indian Locomotives Part 3, Narrow Gauge, 1863-1940.'' The Continental Railway Circle, Harrow, UK. ISBN 0-9521655-0-3
27. MapsOfIndia article on Kalka-Shimla Railway
28. http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/ 2001 Indian Census Data
29. Educational Profile of Himachal Pradesh
30. Educational Profile of Himachal Pradesh
31. Educational Profile of Himachal Pradesh
32. Educational Profile of Himachal Pradesh
33. Educational Profile of Himachal Pradesh
34. Factual source on Education in Himachal
35. Educational Profile of Himachal Pradesh
36. Educational updates- Himachal
External links
★
★
Official website of Himachal Pradesh Government
★
Census 2001
★
Himachal Pradesh Development Report
★
Himachal Tourism Website
★
Himachal tourism department Co.
★
Himachal tourism overview
★
Himachal's Daily news website
★
A site on Himachal Covering Jobs,matrimony,Tourism and other issues of region.
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