CTET 2012 : HIMACHAL PRADESH (GK)

• Himachal Pradesh Popularly known as the Devbhumi ­– "Land of the Gods".
• Himachal Pradesh is a beautiful hill state in India, nestles in north-west region of western Himalayas.
• The state is landlocked with the Tibetan plateau to the east, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, and the Punjab to the west.
• 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 as Devbhoomi

• Shiva is one of the gods of the Trinity. He is said to be the god of destruction.
• Shiva is believed to be at the core of the centrifugal force of the universe, because of his responsibility for death and destruction. But Shiva dissolves in order to create, since death is the medium for rebirth into a new life.
• So the opposites of life and death and creation and destruction both reside in his character. The other two gods are Brahma, the god of creation and Vishnu, the god of maintenance.
• The three gods represent the three fundamental powers of nature which are manifest in the world viz. creation, destruction and maintenance.
• These powers exist perpetually. Creation is going on all the time. So is destruction and maintenance. All three powers are manifest at all times.
• They are inseparable. Creation and destruction are like two sides of a coin. And maintenance is an integral part of the processes of creation and destruction. For example, morning dies to give birth to noon. Noon dies when night is born.
• In this chain of birth and death the day is maintained. To indicate that these three processes are one and the same, the three gods are combined in one form of Lord Dattatreya. Lord Dattatreya has the faces of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
• Himachal Pradesh is called the ‘Apple State’ because the country’s first apples were cultivated here. It was also the first Indian state to process potatoes.
• Asia’s largest fruit-processing plant and the world’s highest cricket grounds are located at Parwanoo and Chail (near Shimla) in Himachal Pradesh.
• The state is located in altitudes ranging from 450 meters to 6500 meters above sea level.
• It is veiled from the plains by the Shivalik range of mountains. (Shivalik literally means the tresses of Lord Shiva).
• There is a general increase in elevation from west to east and from south to north.
• The physiographic divisions from south to north are (1) The outer Himalayas or the Shivaliks (2) The lesser Himalayas or the central zone (3) The great Himalayan and Zaskar or the northern zone.
• Himachal has 49 cities and towns.
• The smallest town is Naina Devi and the largest is Shimla with a population of about 6,17,404.
• Urban population is only 7.5% of the total population.
• The state of Himachal Pradesh has an area of 55,673 sq. km. and a population of 6.08 million.
• There are 12 districts, 77 blocks and 20118 villages.
• The State has population density of 109 per sq. km. (as against the national average of 312).
• The decadal growth rate of the state is 17.54% (against 21.54% for the country) and the population of the state is growing at a slower rate than the national rate.
• Himachal Pradesh way back in the ninth century. In 1009 AD, Himachal Pradesh saw the invasion of Mahmud Ghazni, who had looted the wealth from the temples in north India.
• Himachal Pradesh was also no exception to his plunders.
• After the independence of India in 1947, Himachal Pradesh became a centrally administered territory with the integration of 31 hill provinces.
• Some additional regions were integrated into the ambit of Himachal Pradesh in 1966. In 1956, Himachal Pradesh became a union territory, and it was elevated to the status of statehood on 25 January 1971.

  · The state of Himachal Pradesh was called 'Deva Bhoomi ' or the Land of the Gods. There are evidences of the existence of the pre-historic humans in this region.

  · The earliest history of Himachal Pradesh dates back to the period between 2250 and 1750 BC when it was inhabited by the people of Indus valley civilization.

  · These people pushed the original inhabitants of Ganga plains who were known as Kolorian people towards north.

  · The first race to enter Himachal Pradesh was Proto-Australoid followed by Mongoloid and the Aryan.

  · The Rig Veda mentions about Dasyus and Nishads living in this region and their powerful king Shambra who had 99 forts.

  · From the early period of its history, tribes like the Koilis, Halis, Dagis, Dhaugris, Dasa, Khasas, Kinnars and Kirats inhabited it.

  · In the Vedas they (people of Himachal) have been referred to as Dasas, Dasyus and Nishadas while in later works they have been called Kinnars, Nagas and Yakshas.

  · The small kingdom enjoyed a large degree of independence till the eve of the Muslim invasions in northern India

  · . The states of the foothills 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 manybattles.
  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.

  · The Gurkhas who migrated from Nepal captured the area and devastated it . Gradually the Gorkhas annexed Sirmour and Shimla. With the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa, Gorkhas laid siege to Kangra.