Ouline of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh, also called Devbhumi Himachal Pradesh, Himbhumi, or simply Himachal, is a land-locked mountainous Indian state covering about 55,673 km2 area of land. HP is the 18th largest state of India by area and the 21st largest state of India by population. Apart from being the northern-most state of India, the state is also home to some of the most exotic scenic places known to humans.

The official website of Himachal Pradesh is himachal.nic.in.

Himachal Pradesh has about 0.57% of India's total population and is about 1.69% of the India's total geographical area.

Read also: Genesis of Himachal Pradesh.

Etymology

Him, aanchal and pradesh are the Hindi-translated words for snow, cover, and state/province, respectively. Himachal Pradesh literally means "Abode or province of Snow" or "Snow-laden Land".

Capitals of Himachal Pradesh

Shimla

Shimla (city) is the summer capital and the largest city of Himachal Pradesh. After the Independence of India, when HP was not yet formed, Shimla also served as the capital of Punjab from 1948 to 1960 when the capital of Punjab was finally shifted to Chandigarh. Major tourist attractions of Shimla city include the Viceregal Lodge (Indian Institute of Advanced Studies), Jakhoo Temple, Shree Hanuman Statue (Jakhoo Temple), The Mall Road.

Dharamshala

Dharamshala is the winter capital and 2nd largest city of Himachal Pradesh. It acts as the administrative headquarter of the most populous district of the state, Kangra. The word Dharamshala literally means "the place of righteousness". On 19th January 2017, Virbhadra Singh, the former CM of HP, declared Dharamshala as the second capital of the state. The city is also home to McLeod Ganj that hosts the Tibetan Government-in-exile and the supreme spiritual leader of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso).

Boundry

Himachal is bordered by a total of 2 Union Territories, 3 Indian states, and 1 International state or country. The UTs Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are to the north. Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana in southeast, south, and west, respectively. And, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China is to the east of HP.

Divisions

Himachal is divided into 3 divisions - Kangra, Mandi, and Shimla. Kangra division includes Chamba, Kangra, and Una districts. Mandi division include Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kullu, Lahual-Spiti and Mandi. Shimla division is composed of Kinnaur, Shimla, Solan, and Sirmaur.

Mandi is the largest division by area, and Kangra is the largest division by population.

Districts

Himachal comprises of a total of 12 districts namely:

• Bilaspur - hpbilaspur.nic.in
• Chamba - hpchamba.nic.in
• Hamirpur - hphamirpur.nic.in
• Kangra - hpkangra.nic.in
• Kinnaur - hpkinnaur.nic.in
• Kullu - hpkullu.nic.in
• Lahaul-Spiti - hplahaulspiti.nic.in
• Mandi - hpmandi.nic.in
• Sirmaur - hpsirmaur.nic.in
• Shimla - hpshimla.nic.in
• Solan - hpsirmaur.nic.in
• Una - hpuna.nic.in

Extra

The demonym/adjectival used for people of Himachal is Himachali(s).

The name Himachal was given and suggested by Acharya Diwakar Dutt Sharma for the state. Acharya Diwakar Dutt Sharma was a renowned Sanskrit scholar who lived in Mashobra, Shimla.

References

• Thumbnail Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Timothy A. Gonsalves