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Himachal
Pradesh History |
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Himachal Pradesh has been inhabited by
human beings since the dawn of civilization. It has a rich and
varied history which can be divided into several distinct
eras. |
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Prehistory and Protohistory
About 2 million years ago man lived in the foothills of
Himachal Pradesh, viz in the Bangana valley of Kangra,
Sirsa valley of Nalagarh and Markanda valley of Sirmour.
The foothills of the state were inhabited by people from
Indus valley civilization which flourished between 2250
and 1750 B.C. People of Indus valley civilization pushed
the original inhabitants of Ganga plains who were known
as Kolorian people towards north. They moved to the
hills of Himachal Pradesh where they could live
peacefully and preserve their way of life. In the Vedas
they have been referred to as Dasas, |
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Dasyus and
Nishadas while in later works they have been called Kinnars,
Nagas and Yakshas. The Kols or Mundas are believed to be the
original migrants to the hills of present day Himachal. The
second phase of migrants came in the form of Mongoloid people
known as Bhotas and Kiratas. Later on came the third and most
important wave of migrants in the form of the Aryans who left
their Central Asian home. These laid the base of history and
culture of Himachal Pradesh.
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. |
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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 |
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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
century. 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 Bushahrs acted in a manner hostile to the interests
of British. However it is not clear whether they actually
aided the rebels or not. |
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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 the form of men and materials. Amongst these
were the states of Kangra, Siba, Nurpur, Chamba, Suket,
Mandi and Bilaspur.
Freedom Struggle 1914 to 1947 |
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The people of
the hill also participated in the freedom struggle. Praja
Mandal launched agitations against the British yoke in areas
under direct British Rule. In other princely states agitations
were launched for social and political reforms. However these
were directed more against the princes than against the
British and as such were mere extensions of freedom movement.
The Mandi conspiracy was carried out in 1914-15 under the
influence of the Gadhr party. Meetings were held in Mandi and
Suket states in December 1914 and January 1915 and it was
decided to murder the Superintendent and Wazir of Mandi and
Suket, to loot the treasury, blow to up the bridge over Beas
river. However conspirators were caught and sentenced to long
terms in prison. The Pajhota agitation in which the people of
a part of Sirmour state revolted is regarded as an extension
of the Quit India Movement of 1942. Important freedom fighters
of this state during this period included Dr. Y.S. Parmar,
Padam Dev, Shivanand Ramaul, Purnanand, Satya Dev, Sada Ram
Chandel, Daulat Ram, Thakur Hazara Singh and Pahari Gandhi
Baba Kanshi Ram. The Congress party was also active in the
freedom movement in the hill state particularly in Kangra.
Post-Independence Period
The Chief Commissioner's province of H.P. came into being on
15th April, 1948. H.P. became a part C state on 26th January,
1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India.
Bilaspur was merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1st July, 1954.
Himachal Pradesh became Union Territory on 1st November, 1956.
Kangra and most of the other hill areas of Punjab were merged
with H.P. on 1st November, 1966 though its status remained
that of a Union Territory. On 18th December, 1970 the State of
Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new
state came into being on 25th January, 1971. Thus H.P. emerged
as the eighteenth state of Indian Union. Himachal Pradesh has
come a long way since then. It has seen a number of
full-fledged governments which have led the state towards
economic self-reliance. |
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