The People of H.P.

1.    The Khasas were democratic in nature. They organized themselves into families and villages and elected ‘Mavi’ / ‘Mavana’ meaning a strong person among themselves.

2.    Poltu and Siddu are special dishes of Khasas.

3.     Biyah, Praino and Gadar – are three forms of marriage in Khasas.

4.     Khoond -  a warrior group in Khasas.

5.    Swangla is a ST exclusively living in the Pattan Valley along the Chandra Bhaga in L &S. There are two types of languages spoken by the Swanglas namely ‘Manchhad’ and ‘Chinali’. ‘Bhoti’ is also prevalent but only spoken by the Bodh inhabitants of the valley. ‘Chang’ (local drink) is consumed almost daily by Swangla men.

6.     ‘Garu’ and Mundro’ are the two groups of Swangla which are believed to have come as a result of the Rajput marrying a Bodh and Rajput marrying a girl socially belonging to the lower strata.  ‘Chheti’ ( giving money to the bride) was prevalent in the community. The property is inherited in the male line with all the sons inheriting the father’s property equally. This is known as the law of Pagwand.. A separate room called ‘man’  is kept for worshipping ancestors. The two famous temples of Swanglas are – Triloknath & Markual at Udaipur. Their main sacred centre is Manimahesh in Bharmaur.

7.     Sehna is the chief of Swangla traditional council.

8.      Those professing the Buddhist faith in Swangla community belong to Gelugpa sect.

9.    Gaddis are ‘Seminomadic,’ ‘semi pastoral’, & ‘semi agricultural’ tribe. N.T. Exam – 2009 H.P.P.S.C.

10.  Raja Sansar Chand fell in love with ‘Nokhu’, a pretty Gaddi girl and made her his queen.

11.  Gugga is associated with cattle and is considered the protector of cattle.

H.P.- The People

The People – H.P.

1.    The word Kinner originated from the two Sanskrit words: Kim + Nara, means what kind of strange persons are they? The look of the Kinnaura is that of a ‘halfman and half horse’ means the people with ‘Ashwamukha’.  According to the legend , Pradumna, son of Lord Krishna was the earliest king of the  Kinner.  In his book ‘kumarsambhava’  Kalidas has mentioned about Kinner.

2.    Kinnaur is called as ‘Khunu’ by Tibetans.  Kinners are said to be inhabitants of the Mahand mountains.

3.    In Kinnaur , when ceremonial friendship occurs between a man and a woman, it is called Jokheya, and when it occurs between two women it is called Konech.

4.    Darosh is a kind of marriage. It means to drag forcefully. Darosh is also known as Rakshasas vivah.

5.    Damchalshish – means to have a real relation – starts with love affair and boys and girl elopement resulted in marriage.

6.    Fyayaz is an ornament of forehead of the bride given by boy’s side.

7.    Among the Kinnauras, the property is inherited according to the jathong and kanchhong rules.

8.    In Ropa valley all families blessed with sons offer a goat collectively to the village deity on Ukhyang festival.

9.    Jads are Buddhist. They have occupied the area of Pangi and Chamba. Unmarried girls in the region are known as ‘Jomo’.

10. ‘Parvatia Adim Jati Sevak Sangh’  was founded in 1956 to extend welfare activities among the Gujjars tribe.

11. The Bhairvi classic, ‘Kiratarjuniya’ is woven round the historical battle,  that took place between the Kirata King and Arjuna. Later on, Kiratas came to be known as ‘Mavanas’ or Mavies’. The Kirata’s powerful king was ‘Shambar” , who fought against the Aryan King ‘Divodas’. Rishi Bharadawaj was the advisor of the Aryan King’ Divodas’ . The war between the two lasted for 40 years and has been discussed in the Rig Veda by Rishi Vashishta and Vamdeva. Shambar and his ally, Verchi were killed at a place named ‘Udubraj’. Divodas was succeeded by his son ‘Sudas’ and Bharadwaj by Rish Vashishta.

12. Mansa Devi is the goddess of Snakes.

13. Thoda – martial bow and arrow N.T. Exam – 2011 H.P.P.S.C.

14. The ancestral property is divided among all the sons of the family in Khasa but the eldest, and in some cases, the youngest so gets the additional share of a field and an ancestral house. This is called ‘jethong’ for the eldest brother and ‘Kanishong’ for the youngest brother.  N.T. Exam – 2011 H.P.P.S.C.

15. The Khasas were democratic in nature. They organized themselves into families and villages and elected ‘Mavi’ / ‘Mavana’ meaning a strong person among themselves.

Historical Facts about H.P.

1. Izzuddin Khalid Khani translated 1300 books taken into possession by Feroz Shah Tughaq from Jawalamukhi temple, into Persian and named after the sultan & called ‘Dalail-i-Firozshahi’.

2. 6th Guru Hargovind established the town of Kirtapur.

3. 9th Gugu Teg Bahadur established the town Anandpur.

4. Sikhs were organised into 12 groups popularly known as misals.

5. Jasa Singh Ramgarhia first sikh chief to invade hill territory in 1770 AD. Kangra, Kullu and Chamba were made tributary to the Ramgarhia.

6. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was defeated in 1775AD by Jai Singh Kanhaiya and assumed the sovereignty of the Kangra group of states.

7. An alliance formed in 1783 between Maha Singh Sukerchakia and Raja Sansar Chand assisted by Jassa Singh Ramgarhia defeated Jai Singh Kanhaiya.

8. Raja Sansar Chand got the possession of Kangra fort in 1786.

9. Raja Mahan Chand invited Amar Singh Thapa to defeat Sansar Chand.

10. Kullu Dashehra: - The famous idol of Lord Raghunath was brought from Ayodhya in July
1651 by Damodar Dass and was installed in Kullu by Raja Jagat Singh.

11. Lavi : - the most ancient trade fair held in early November every year at Rampur Bushahr.

12. The idea of ‘Nalwari fair” was by W. Goldstein.

13. Suhi fair of Chamba, only woman and children can take part in the fair. Suhi fair is celebrated in the memory of Rani Naina Devi who sacrificed herself and was instrumental in bringing water to Chamba town.

14. Over 30 distinct dialects have been counted to be in existence in H.P.

15. The dialect spoken in the Rampur Bushahr, Kumarsain and Kotgarh regions and in the nearby parts of the Satluj valley is called Kochi.

16. The kinnauri dialect, called ‘Homskad’ is the mother tongue of nearly 75% of the population of Kinnaur.

17. The ‘Tankari’ is a modified form of the Sharda script.

18. Panj-Patra and ‘Devku’ are the popular songs of Mandi whereas Gangi and Mohana are the popular songs of Bilaspur.

19. Dharam Chand Natak was written in 1562 AD by Manik Chand.

20. Koti, Theog, Madhan, Ghund and Ratesh were tributaries of Keonthal.

21. Khaneti and Deilath were tributaries of Bushahr.

22. Rawin and Dhadi were tributaries of Jubbal.

Some Facts about H.P.

1. Trout Fish was introduced for the first time in Pabar and Andhra stream in 1838-39 by – Mr. Glover.

2. Kinner Kailash also known as Raldang has an altitude of 6500m.

3. Kalsi, which is known for rock inscription by Ashoka, is at the confluence of the Tons and the Yamuna in the Jaunsar Bawar region.

4. King Ashoka sent his daughter Charumati to Nepal and Majjhima to the Himalayan region.

5. The Mudrarakshasa mentions that Chandragupta was opposed by a coalition of five kings among whom the name of Chitravarma of Kuluta is mentioned.

6. Hiuen-Tsang stayed in India from A.D. 630-644.

7. Chandra was the ruler of Trigarta, an ally of Gujara (Gujrat) when Shankaravarma of Kashmir attacted Gujara.

8. Thakurais of Koti, Madhan, Ghund, Theog and Ratesh were part of Keonthal State.

9. Raja Hira Chand of Bilaspur, Raja Shyam Singh of Chamba and Raja Bijai Sen of Mandi attended the Delhi Darbar in 1877 A.D.

10. Raja Amar Prakash of Sirmaur, Raja Amar Chand of Bilaspur,Raja Bijai Sen of Keonthal, Raja Bhim Sen of Suket, Raja Bhuri Singh of Chamba, Rana Bhagat Chand of Jubbal and Rana Dalip Singh of Bhagat attended the Coronation Darbar in December 1911.

11. The principle of deposing the ruler in case of mis-management or oppressive rule was applied in the hills only in case of Suket (Raja Ruder Sen) & Bhajji (Rana Bir Pal Singh).

12. A permanent consultative body of the princes known as Chamber of Princes, also known as Narendra Mandal came into existence in 1921.

13. Raja of Kangra who orgainsed a confederation of all the hill chiefs between Jammu and Kangra in 1588-89A.D. against the supremacy of the Mughal Emperor Akabar – Bidhi Chand.

14. The people of Suket revolved against the ruler and his minister Narotam in the year – 1876.

15. The people of Nalagarh revolved against the atrocities of Ghulam Qadir Khan in the year - 1876.

16. Bhoomi Bandobast Abhiyan’ in Bilaspur – 1930.

17. All India State Peoples Conference was held at Ludhiana in the year – 1939.

18. A meeting of Shimla Hill States Praja Mandal was held under the chairmanship of Bhag Mal Sautha on 13^th July, 1939.

19. Himalayan Riyasti Praja Mandal was organised in December, 1939.

20. Yashwant Singh Parmar resigned from the post of District and session judge in the year 1941, owing to political differences with Raja Rajendra Prakash.

21. Sirmaur Association was organised by Y.S. Parmar in 1943-46 in Delhi to mobilise Sirmauris to fight for their democratic rights.

22. Himalayan Hill States Regional Council was established with its headquarters at Shimla.

23. Himalayan Prant Provisional Government headed b Shivanand Ramaul, was established with headquarters at Shimla.

Important Facts about Capital of H.P. - Shimla

1.Lt. Ross set up first British residence- a mere cottage of wood.

2. Lt. Charles Patt Kennedy- erected the first pucca house in 1822 A.D. He was C.O. of ‘Nasiri Battalion.

3. The first fun fair was held in Annadale in Sept 1833. Annadale’s legacy to Indian sport was the annual Durand Football Tournament – inaugurated by Sir Mortimer Durand in 1888.

4. The credit to introduce potato cultivation in Shimla Hills goes to Major Kennedy.

5. Jutogh was made a cantonment of British infantry in 1843.

6. Dagshai was made a cantonment of British infantry in 1847.

7. LAWRENCE ASYLUM was founded in Sanawar near Kasauli in 1847.

8. First Commander –in – chief of the Indian Army to visit Shimla – Lord Combermere in 1828.

9. Hindustan Tibet Road was constructed – by Lord Dalhousie in 1850-51.

10. Shimla was made Summer Capital of the RAJ in – 1864.

11. A.O.Hume founded INC in 1885 at the ‘Rothney Castle’.

12. The Town Hall was completed in 1888.

13. The Gaiety Theater was opened in 1887.

14. Kalka Shimla railway was completed under the supervision of the Chief Engineer – Mr.
H.S.Harringston. The longest tunnel was the “Barog Tunnel”- being 1143.61m in length. The railway line was opened for traffic on 31st March 1891 and passenger train was flagged off only on 9th November 1903.

15. Shimla’ Municipal Committee was first constituted in 1852. It was given the status of a first class municipality under the Act of 1867.

16. Octroi was levied for the first time in Shimla in 1875.

17. RIPPON HOSPITAL was designed by Henry Irwin and completed in 1885 and declared open by Lord Dufferin on May 14,1885.

18. Shimla Municipal Committee was replaced by Municipal Corporation in 1978.

19. Mahatma Gandhi first visited to Shimla on 11th May, 1921 and stayed at ‘Shanti Kutir” at Summer Hill. He was accompanied by Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya and Lala Lajpat Rai.

20. Samuel Evans Stokes wrote a book – Satyakam in 1927.

21. Gandhi came to Shimla in 1931 along with Nehru, Patel, Dr. Ansari and Frontier Gandhi.

22. Gandhi was greeted by Shimla with black flags in 1945.

23. Petterhoff- The High Court of Punjab- a former residence of the Viceroys- venue of trial of Gandhi’s killers. Destroyed in 1981.

24. Ellersile- Secretariat of Punjab Government – now Secretariat of Himachal Pradesh Govt. Indo – Pak Summit after 1971 war. Formal and informal meetings were held between the two delegations at the Ellersile and the Barnes Court (Himachal Bhawan).- served as the residence of Commander-in-Chief of the imperial Army.

Important Places / Institutes / Events in H.P

1. Famous: - Institute/ Museums/ Places/ Events
(i) Linton Memorial: - Nahan (Sirmaur)
(ii) Quila Lohgarh: - Paonta Sahib (Sirmaur)
(iii) Rishi Kalpi Memorial: - Paonta Sahib.
(iv) Mahima Library: - Nahan
(v) Rajban Cement Factory: - Rajban Srimaur
(vi) Nahan Foundary Ltd. : - set up by Raja Shamshar – 1875.
(vii) Suketi Fossil Park: - Sirmaur.
(viii) Lion Safari: - Renuka
(ix) Subhash Baoli: - Dalhousie
(x) Bhuri Singh Museum: - Chamba
(xi) Sardar Ajit Singh’s Memorial: - Panjpulla (Dalhousie)
(xii) Sheep breeding Farm : - Sarol
(xiii) Indian Institute of Advanced Study: - Summer Hill Shimla.
(xiv) Central Potato Research Institute: - Kufri
(xv) IGMC: - Shimla
(xvi) H.P. Institute of Public Administration: - Fair Lawns.
(xvii) State Museum: - Shimla founded on 26 January,1974.
(xviii) Army Public School: - Dagshai
(xix) Mohan Meakin Ltd. : - Solan
(xx) Fish Breeding Farm : - Dyoli
(xxi) St. Jones Church: - Dharamsala – Lord Eligin II was cremated.
(xxii) Arjun Guffa , Rahla fall, Nehru Kund: - Manali.
(xxiii) Rudra Nag: - Bhunter
(xxiv) Apsara Kund: - Ajagar.
(xxv) Sati Pillar: - Mandi.
(xxvi) Agriculture co-operative Staff Training Institute: - Sangti.
(xxvii) Farmer’s Training Institute: - Sunder Nagar.
(xxviii) Regional Bee Research Centre: - Kangra
(xxix) Dhaulkuan: - Katasan Devi temple where Raja Jagat Singh defeated Gulam Quadir Rohilla.
(xxx) Ki- Monastery – Oldest & biggest monastery of Spiti.
(xxxi) Dankar Gompa: - Spiti.
(xxxii) Kalpa :- remain distt. H.Q. but in 1992 was shifted to Recong Peo.

2. Kamru : - Located in Baspa valley i.e. Sangla valley

3. Chitkul: - last & highest village in the Baspa valley.

4. Trilokinath & Udaipur are located in Pattan Valley. At Trilokinath there is a six armed images of Avalokiteshvara Bhoddisattava. Mrikula Devi temple is located at Udaipur.

5. Keylong:- Kardang :& Shashur Monastry

6. Shastra Dhara:- Confluence of river Yamuna & tons.

7. Quila Lohgarh: - Capital of Baba Banda Bahadur Bairagi.

8. Battle of Bhangani: - Guru Govind Singh defeated Raja Fateh Singh of Srinagar & ally.

9. Nahan was founded by Raja Karam Prakash in 1621.

10. Mahamay Bala Sundri Temple built by Raja Dip Prakash at Trilokipur.

11. Andretta: - home of Sardar Sobha Singh & Norah Richards.

12. Chinmaya Tapovan or Sandeepani Himalaya : - near Dharamsala.

The Little Lahasa of India : - Dharamsala.