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It is surrounded by Jammu-Kashmir in the north, Uttar
Pradesh in the south-east, Haryana in the south and Punjab
in the south-west. In the east it has borders with Tibet. It
has an elevation from 450 to 6800 mts. and can be divided
into southern and northern regions. Southern region is warm
in summer and the northern is extremely cold with heavy
snow.
Himachal Pradesh has been on the path of progress since
Independence. The literacy rate of the state is 63% now and
is improving every decade. The population has almost
stabilized at about 5 million, thanks to high literacy and
effective family planning programs. Every village in the
state has electricity and drinking water now.
Himachal is literally a power house when it comes to
hydro-electricity. The state has many dams that harness the
hilly rivers to generate electric power. The electricity is
used by farmers in Punjab, Haryana and by the industries in
the northern plains. Many young men from Himachal serve the
Indian Army and have played significant role in the National
defense. Dharamsala has a war memorial dedicated to the
memory of those who lost their lives for their country.
Himachal has five mighty snow-fed rivers flowing through it
- the Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and Yamuna. Climatically,
this state is divisible into two regions - the south which
is as warm as the plains, and the north where the summers
are temperate and winters are extremely cold.
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 or Kuluta was situated in the upper
Beas valley which is also known as the Kully valley now.
Naggar was the capital of Kilita.
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.
The 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.
The Mughal Period:-
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 centaury. 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 centaury. 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.
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