Formerly the known as the Punjab Hill States, Himachal Pradesh is mostly a mountainous state in northwest India. Its neighboring regions are Tibet to the east, Jammu and Kashmir to the north and northwest, Punjab to the southwest, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the south and Uttaranchal to the southeast.
With an area of 55,658 square kilometers, Himachal is one of the smaller states of the India and holds the 17th rank in the list of States and Union Territories.
Shimla, previously British India's summer capital under the name Simla, is the state capital. Other major towns are Dharamsala, Kangra, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Hamirpur, Dalhousie and Manali. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were tribes called Dasas and later on, Aryans came and integrated with them.The later centuries saw the hill chieftains accepting suzerainty of the Mauryan Empire, the Kaushans, the Guptas and Kanuaj rulers.
The Rajas of the hill states made some mutually agreed arrangements governing their relations during the Mughal period. During the 19th century, Ranjit Singh subjugated many of the states and when the British came, the Gorkhas were defeated and entered into treaties with some Rajas.
Until 1974, the situation more or less remained. When independence was achieved, 30 princely states of the area were united, forming Himachal Pradesh April 15, 1948 and became a full-fledged state on January 25, 1971.
| Related Information to Himachal Pradesh |
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| Himachal Pradesh Travel Tourism Guide |
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