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Know Your Himachal

A history of Himachal Pradesh

How the state came together — from the republican tribes and the hill kingdoms through Mughal, Sikh and British rule to statehood in 1971, plus the history of each district.

The short version

  1. c. 1st c. BCE – 2nd c. CE

    Republican tribes — the Audumbaras, Trigartas and Kulindas — issue their own coins in the hills.

  2. 6th–12th c.

    Rajput clans found the hill states: Chamba, Kangra under the Katoch, Bushahr, Mandi, Suket, Sirmaur, Kahlur (Bilaspur) and others.

  3. 1009

    Mahmud of Ghazni raids the temple at Nagarkot (Kangra).

  4. 16th–17th c.

    The hill states pay tribute to the Mughals, who garrison Kangra Fort.

  5. 1803–1815

    Gurkha armies from Nepal overrun the hills east of the Sutlej.

  6. 1814–16

    The Anglo-Gurkha War ends with the Gurkhas ceding their hill conquests to the British.

  7. 1846

    After the First Anglo-Sikh War the British annex Kangra, Kullu and Spiti and take the other states under protection.

  8. 1864

    Shimla becomes the summer capital of British India.

  9. 15 April 1948

    Himachal Pradesh is formed as a Chief Commissioner's province from about thirty princely states.

  10. 1956 / 1966

    Himachal becomes a Union Territory, then absorbs the hill areas of the former Punjab.

  11. 25 January 1971

    Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th state of India.

Overview

Overview

A short history of Himachal Pradesh

From the republican tribes and the hill states through Mughal, Sikh and British rule to statehood in 1971 — the whole arc in one read.

Medieval hill states

Dynasty

The Katoch dynasty and the kingdom of Trigarta

One of India's oldest ruling houses: the Katoch of Kangra, Kangra Fort, Sansar Chand's rise, and the Sikh takeover of 1809.

Hill state

Chamba: one of India's longest-ruling dynasties

From Bharmour in 550 CE to accession in 1948 — an unbroken line, the move to Chamba town, Pahari painting and the Bhuri Singh Museum.

Hill state

Bushahr: the Sutlej valley state and the road to Tibet

Kamru Fort, the capital at Rampur, the Lavi trade fair, and the Hindustan–Tibet Road that opened Kinnaur.

Hill state

Mandi and Suket: the sister states on the Beas

The Sen dynasty, the founding of Mandi town in 1526, Raja Sidh Sen and the temples of 'Chhoti Kashi'.

Hill state

Kahlur (Bilaspur): the state beneath the reservoir

The Chandel dynasty, Bilaspur town founded in 1654, accession in 1948, and the old capital lost under Gobind Sagar.

Hill state

Sirmaur: Nahan, Paonta Sahib and the Gurkha years

The Prakash dynasty, the founding of Nahan in 1621, Guru Gobind Singh at Paonta, and the war that ended Gurkha rule.

Fort

Kangra Fort: 1,000 years on one rock

The largest fort in the Himalaya — temple treasure, the Mughal siege of 1620, the Sikh garrison, and the 1905 earthquake.

Colonial

Event

The Anglo-Gurkha War and the making of British Himachal

1814–16: how the war with Nepal ended Gurkha rule east of the Sutlej and set the pattern of princely states and British hill stations.

Event

Shimla, summer capital of British India

For eighty years the Government of India moved to a hill town each summer — the Viceregal Lodge, the toy train, and the conferences held on the Ridge.

Statehood

Event

The making of Himachal Pradesh, 1948–1971

Thirty princely states in 1948, a Union Territory in 1956, the Punjab hill areas in 1966, and full statehood on 25 January 1971.

District histories

Each district page carries its own history — the hill state it belonged to, and how it reached its present shape.

Written by the Know Your Himachal team from widely documented sources (Wikipedia, Wikidata and district gazetteers). Kept general and non-time-sensitive; tell us about anything that looks wrong.