himachal pradesh

 Himachal Pradesh (Hindi: हिमाचल प्रदेश, Punjabi: ਹਿਮਾਚਲ ਪ੍ਰਦੇਸ਼, pronounce [hɪmaːtʃəl prəd̪eːʃ] is a state in north India.It is spread over 21,629 sq mi (56,019 km²) 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, China on the east. The literal meaning of Himachal Pradesh is Region of snowy mountains.

Himachal Pradesh was also known as Deva Bhumi (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 part of Punjab, except the Siba State of Punjab Hills which was under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh until 1857. In 1950 Himachal was declared as a union territory but after the State of Himachal Pradesh Act 1971, Himachal emerged as the 18th state of the Indian Union.

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. The economy of the state is highly dependent on three sources: hydroelectric power, tourism and agriculture.

Hindus make up 95% of the state population, making it the most Hindu state (proportionally), in India. According to a 2005 Transparency International survey, Himachal Pradesh is ranked the second-least corrupt state in the country after Kerala.

History

The history of the area that now constitutes Himachal Pradesh dates back to the time when the Indus valley civilisation flourished between 2250 and 1750 BCE. Tribes such as the Koilis, Halis, Dagis, Dhaugris, Dasa, Khasas, Kinnars and Kirats inhabited the region from pre-histotic era. During the Vedic period, several small republics known as "Janapada" existed which were later conquered by the Gupta Empire. After a brief period of supremacy by king Harshavardhana, the region was once again divided into several local powers headed by chieftains, including some Rajput principalities. These kingdoms that enjoyed a large degree of independence were devastated by Muslim invaders a number of times. 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 Several hill states acknowledged Mughal suzerainty and paid regular tribute to the Mughals.

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. 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. However,Raja Ram Singh,Raja of Siba State re-captured the fort of Siba from the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Samvat 1846.

This led to the Anglo-Sikh 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 the British gradually emerged as the paramount powers. 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.People of the hill states were not as politically active as the people in other parts of the country. 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, Jaswan, Datarpur, Guler, Nurpur, Chamba, Suket, Mandi and Bilaspur.

After independence the Chief Commissioner's Province of H.P. came into being on 15 April, 1948. The province comprised the hill districts around Shimla and southern hill areas of the former Punjab region. Himachal became a part C state on 26 January, 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India. Himachal Pradesh became a Union Territory on 1 November, 1956. 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.

Geography and climate

Himachal is situated in the western Himalayas. Covering an area of 55,780 kilometres (34,660 mi) Himachal Pradesh is a mountainous state with elevation ranging from about 350 metres (1,148 ft) to 6,000 metres (19,685 ft) above the sea level.

he 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. Himachal Pradesh provides water to both the Indus and Ganges basins 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.

There is great variation in the climatic conditions of Himachal due to extreme variation in elevation. The climate varies from hot and sub-humid tropical in the southern tracts to cold, alpine and glacial in the northern and eastern mountain ranges with more elevation The state has areas like Dharamsala 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 28 °C (82 °F) to 32 °C (90 °F). Winter lasts from late November till mid March. Snowfall is common in alpine tracts (generally above 2,200 metres (7,218 ft) i.e. in the Higher and Trans-Himalayan region).

Flora and fauna

According to 2003 Forest Survey of India report, legally defined forest areas constitute 66.52% of the area of Himachal Pradesh, although area under tree cover is only 25.78% Vegetation in the state is dictated by elevation and precipitation. The southern part of the state which is at lower elevation has both tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. A part of the Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests, the vegetation is 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. 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 stateThis includes the leopards, ghoral, snow leopard, musk deer (the state animal) and Western Tragopan (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.

Subdivisions

Himachal Pradesh is divided into 12 districts namely, Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi, Bilaspur, Una, Chamba, Lahul and Spiti, Sirmaur, Kinnaur, Kullu, Solan and Shimla. The state capital is Shimla which was formerly British India's summer capital under the name Simla.

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. Each district is subdivided into Sub-Divisions, governed by a sub-divisional magistrate, and again into Blocks. Blocks consists of panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities. 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.

Demographics

The population of Himachal in 2001 stood at 6,077,248 as per the provisional results of the Census of India 2001.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.In terms of population it holds the same position (twenty first) among States and Union territories as at the previous census. The population of the State rose by 17.53% between 1991-2001 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 Total literacy of the State rose to 77.13% from 63.94% in 1991. Himachal Pradesh has a Total Fertility Rate of 1.9, one of the lowest in India, and below the TFR, of 2.1, required to maintain a stable population.

The main communities are Brahmins, Rajputs, Gujjars, Rathis, Gaddis, Girth(choudhary), Kannets, and Kolis.The Girth(choudhary)community is found in mainly distt.Kangra. Himachal also has a sizeable population of Tibetans Himachal Pradesh has the highest proportion of Hindu population in India (95%). Other religions that form a small percentage are Buddhism and Sikhism. The Lahaulis of Lahaul and Spiti region are mainly Buddhists. Sikhs mostly live in towns and cities, and are mostly descended from the refugees from West Punjab (now Pakistan), who settled in what became Himachal Pradesh

The major spoken languages include Hindi, Punjabi, Mahasui, Kulluyi, Lahauli, Kinnauri, Chambyali, Sirmauri, Gojri (by Gujjars), Bilaspuri, Pahari, Dogri, Kangri.

The life expectancy at birth in Himachal Pradesh is 62.8 years (higher than the national average of 57.7 years) for the period 1986–1990. The Infant mortality rate stood at 62 in 1999 and crude birth rate has declined from 37.3 in 1971 to 22.6 in 1998, below the national average of 26.5 in 1998. The crude death rate was 7.7 in 1998. Himachal Pradesh's literacy rate grew by 34.65% between the period 1981 and 2001.

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).

Culture

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. It 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 Hindu caste communities residing in Himachal include the Brahmins, Rajputs,"Girth(choudhary)," Kannets(come under RAJPUTS), Rathis and Kolis. There are also tribal population in the state which mainly comprise Gaddis, Kinnars, Gujjars, Pangawals, Sulehria, and Lahaulis.
The state is well known for its handicrafts. The carpets, leather works, shawls, 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. Extreme cold winters of Himachal necessitated wool weaving. Nearly every household in Himachal owns a pit-loom. Wool is also considered as pure and is used as a ritual cloth. The well known woven object is the shawl, ranging from fine pashmina to the coarse desar. Kullu is famous for its shawls with striking patterns and vibrant colours.

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

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. Some of the specialities of Himachal include Pateer, Chouck, Bhagjery, Patrode, Sidku, Beduan, chutney, madra, khatti dal, khatta and ambua.

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), the third Supreme Court chief-justice and former prime minister of Kashmir in 1947 Mehr Chand Mahajan, 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), former general of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and current President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai who both studied here.