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The earliest known
inhabitants of the region were tribals called Dasas. Later, Aryans
came and they assimilated in the tribes. In the later centuries,
the hill chieftains accepted suzerainty of the Mauryan empire, the
Kaushans, the Guptas and Kanuaj rulers.
During
the Mughal period, the Rajas of the hill states made some mutually
agreed arrangements which governed their relations. In the 19th
century, Ranjit Singh annexed/subjugated many of the states. When
the British came, they defeated Gorkhas and entered into treaties
with some Rajas and annexed the kingdoms of others. The situation
more or less remained unchanged till 1947.
After
Independence, 30 princely states of the area were united and Himachal Pradesh was formed on 15th April, 1948. With the
recognition of Punjab on 1st November, 1966, certain areas
belonging to it were also included in Himachal Pradesh. On 25th
January, 1971, Himachal Pradesh was made a full-fledged State.
The State is bordered by Jammu & Kashmir on North, Punjab on West
and South-West, Haryana on South, Uttar Pradesh on South-East and
China on the East. |