History
Dass tribals are the earliest known inhabitants of the region. After them, Aryans came and 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 April 15, 1948. With the recognition of Punjab on November 01, 1966, certain areas belonging to it were also included in Himachal Pradesh.
On January 25, 1971, Himachal Pradesh was made a full-fledged State.
