The hill states in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

also participated in the freedom struggle (1914–1947) against the British colonial rule.

Highlights of the struggle

# '' Praja Mandal'' launched agitations against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

yoke in the areas which were under the direct British control. # In other princely provinces agitations were launched for

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

reforms. However, these were directed more against the princes than against the colonial government. # The Mandi conspiracy was carried out in between the time period of 1914 to 1915 powered by the ''Gadhr party''. Number of meetings were organised in Mandi and

Suket State Suket State was one of the Princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The capital of the state was Pangna. Its last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 15 April 1948. Formerly it belonged to the States of th ...

in December 1914 and January 1915 and it was decided to assassinate the Superintendent and the Wazir of Mandi and Suket, to loot the treasury. However, conspirators were caught and imprisoned. # The ''Pajhota agitation'' in which the people of Sirmour revolted is considered as an extension of the Quit India Movement of 1942. # Freedom fighters of the state included ''Dr. Y.S. Parmar, Padam Dev'', ''Shivanand Ramaul'', ''Purnanand, Satya Dev'', ''Sada Ram Chandel'', ''Daulat Ram'', ''Thakur Hazara SinghPahari Gandhi Baba Kanshi Ram, and Comrade Amin Chand # The

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

party was also active in the freedom struggle in the state particularly in Kangra.

Post independence

# The Chief Commissioner's province of Himachal came into existence on 15 April 1948. #

Himachal Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

became a part C state on 26 January 1951 with the empowerment of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

. # Bilaspur merged with

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

on 1 July 1954. #

became the Union territory on 1 November 1956. # Kangra and many hill areas of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

were merged with

on 1 November 1966 though its status remained that of a Union territory, in effect this was separated with the rest of the divided

East Punjab East Punjab (known simply as Punjab from 1950) was a province and later a state of India from 1947 until 1966, consisting of the parts of the Punjab Province of British India that went to India following the partition of the province betwee ...

province, that included

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

. # On 18 December 1970 the

Act was passed by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and the new state came into being on 25 January 1971. Thus,

emerged as the eighteenth state of the Indian union. # Now,

has become economically a self-reliant state of

References

{{History HP History of Himachal Pradesh Indian independence movement