HIMACHAL PRADESH

Himachal Pradesh pronunciation formerly the Punjab Hill States, is a mostly mountainous state in northern India. Punjab to the southwest, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the south and Uttaranchal to the southeast. Himachal is one of the smaller states of the country and holds the 17th rank in the list of States and Union Territories of India.

The state capital is Shimla (formerly British India's summer capital under the name Simla), other major towns are Solan, Dharamsala, Kangra, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Hamirpur, Dalhousie and Manali. The western Himalaya lies in the north and east and the smaller Shiwalik (or Shivalik) range in the south.

Himachal Pradesh has five major rivers. These are Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Yamuna.

Himachal Pradesh is bounded by beautiful Jammu and Kashmir in the north, Punjab in the west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the south and Tibet in the east. It nestles in the great Himalayan range. 
For tourists coming to Himachal Pradesh, there is plenty to see and do. The monasteries, temples and forts speak volume of a rich historical and cultural heritage. On the other hand, mountains, passes, valleys, lakes, springs, waterfalls and wildlife destinations are the natural gems of the state. The tribals of the state preserve their customs and traditions with a genuineness that is simple yet striking. These tribals, too have a distinct place in the state.

For those who do not like a relaxing vacation and have to have a dose of adventure every now and then to keep them happy and contented, Himachal has many options to choose from. Right from land sports like trekking, rock climbing, mountaineering, camping to water sports like rafting, kayaking and canoeing - Himachal offers all. In addition, aero sports like hang gliding and paragliding, too, will make such adventurous soul happy.

For lovers of art and craft too, Himachal has much to offer. Woven craft, wooden craft, stone craft, jewellery, metal craft and paintings of the state will instantly capture your imagination.


History
Himachal Pradesh came under British control in the middle of the 19th century. The British annexed Kangra District, which includes present-day Kangra, Kullu, Hamirpur, and Lahul and Spiti districts, in 1846 at the conclusion of the First Anglo-Sikh War. The remainder of Himachal Pradesh was made up of a number of princely states; see Hill States.

Under the British Raj, Kangra District was part of the British province of Punjab, and the princely states, then known as the Simla Hill States, were under the authority of Punjab until the early 1930's, when the Punjab States Agency was created, under the direct authority of the Governor-General of India. The Punjab Hill States Agency, which included most of the princely states in present-day Himachal Pradesh, was separated from Punjab States Agency in 1936.


Himachal became a Part C State under a Lieutenant Governor, with a Legislative Assembly of 36 members and a Cabinet of three ministers in 1951. On July 1, 1954, Bilaspur, another Part C State, was integrated with Himachal Pradesh by an act of the Indian Parliament and the strength of the Assembly was raised to 41 members. In 1956, the States Re-organization Commission recommended the unification of Himachal Pradesh with Punjab. But the people of Himachal Pradesh opposed and the proposal was overruled.

Economy
The Himachali economy is mainly dependent on tourism and apples. Kullu, Manali, Shimla, Palampur and Dharamshala are famous tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh. There are also some natural minerals in the state. There are two large cement factories catering not only to the people of Himachal but also selling in other states.

Moreover, Himachal has got significant service class and is one of highest per capita income states in India.

Demographics
The population of Himachal in 2001 stood at 6,077,248 as per the provisional results of the Census of India 2001. The population of Himachal Pradesh includes estimated population of entire Kinnaur district, where the population enumeration of Census of India, 2001 could not be conducted due to natural calamity. In terms of population it holds the same position (twenty first) among States and Union territories as at the previous census. The population of the State rose by 17.53% between 1991-2001. The sex ratio (i.e., the number of females per thousand males) of population was recorded as 970, which has declined from 976 in the previous census. Total literacy of the State rose to 77.13% from 63.94% in 1991.

Transport
The geography of Himachal presents considerable challenge to the development of transport infrastructure. Himachal at present has the highest road density among all the hill states of India. Although Himachal also has three airports and two narrow gauge rail tracks, roads remain the main mode of transport in Himachal.

Roads

In addition to the National Highways, Himachal also a large mesh of state highways and village roads. Most tourist spots in Himachal such as Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala etc. are well connected through roads.

Some of the roads in Himachal are seasonal and get closed during winters and monsoons due to heavy snowfall, landslides and washouts. The Manali-Leh road for example remains closed for most part of the winters.

The government-owned Himachal Road Transport Corporation runs a network of buses across the state and Himachal Pradesh being a major tourist destination, there is no dearth of private buses and taxis.

Railway

Himachal has two narrow gauge rail tracks.

The Kalka-Shimla Railway track has a length of 96 kilometers. It passes through 102 tunnels and crosses 864 bridges. The track has been in existence for over a century now. Panoramic Kalka-Shimla Railway known to be a engineering marvel of British India. The level of difficulty in laying of tracks could be judged by a journey in the route.

The Pathankot-Jogindernagar track has a length of about 113 kilometers.

Air

The three airports in Himachal Pradesh are: Jubbarhatti near Shimla, Gaggal near Kangra and Bhuntar near Kullu. The flights operate only seasonally due to extreme weather conditions, especially during winters. All these airports have runways shorter than 4000 ft and therefore allow the operation of only the smaller aircraft such as the 18-seater Dornier, which is the most common aircraft operating on these runways.