Subdivisions
Main article: Districts of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is divided into 12 districts namely, Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi,Bilaspur, Una, Chamba, Lahul and Spiti, Sirmaur, Kinnaur, Kullu, Solan andShimla. The state capital is Shimla which was formerly British India's summer capital under the name Simla.
A district of Himachal Pradesh is an administrative geographical unit, headed by aDeputy Commissioner or District Magistrate, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service. The district magistrate or the deputy commissioner is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Himachal Administrative Service and other Himachal state services. Each district is subdivided into Sub-Divisions, governed by a sub-divisional magistrate, and again into Blocks. Blocks consists ofpanchayats (village councils) and town municipalities. A Superintendent of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Himachal Police Service and other Himachal Police officials.
[edit]Government
Main article: Government of Himachal Pradesh
The Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh has no pre-Constitution history. The State itself is a post-Independence creation. It came into being as a centrally administered territory on 15 April 1948 from the integration of thirty erstwhile princely states.[21]
Himachal Pradesh is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy, a feature the state shares with other Indian states. Universal suffrage is granted to residents. The legislature consists of elected members and special office bearers such as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker who are elected by the members. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker in the Speaker's absence. The judiciary is composed of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and a system of lower courts. Executive authority is vested in the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, although the titular head of government is the Governor. The Governor is the head of state appointed by thePresident of India. The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Legislative Assembly is appointed as the Chief Minister by the Governor, and the Council of Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers reports to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is unicameral with 68 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).[22] Terms of office run for 5 years, unless the Assembly is dissolved prior to the completion of the term. Auxiliary authorities known as panchayats, for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs.
Governments have seen alternates between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC), no third front ever has become significant. In 2003, the state legislative assembly was won by the Indian National Congress and Virbhadra Singh was elected as the chief minister of the state. In the assembly elections held in December 2007, the BJP secured a landslide victory. The BJP won 41 of the 68 seats while the Congress won only 23 of the 68 seats. BJP's Prem Kumar Dhumal was sworn in as Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on 30 December 2007.
[edit]Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh
[edit]Economy
Main article: Economy of Himachal Pradesh
| Year | Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 7,940 |
| 1985 | 13,720 |
| 1990 | 28,150 |
| 1995 | 66,980 |
| 2000 | 135,900 |
| 2005 | 230,240 |
| 2007 | 254,350 |
The era of planning started in Himachal in 1948 along with the rest of India. The first five year plan allocated .5.27 crore to Himachal. More than 50% of this expenditure was incurred on road construction since it was felt that without proper transport facilities, the process of planning and development could not be carried to the people, who mostly lived an isolated existence in far away areas. Himachal now ranks fourth in respect of per capita income among the states of the Indian Union.[8]
Agriculture contributes over 45% to the net state domestic product. It is the main source of income and employment in Himachal. Over 93% of the population in Himachal depend directly upon agriculture which provides direct employment to 71% of its people. The main cereals grown are wheat, maize, rice and barley.
Himachal has a rich heritage of handicrafts. These include woolen and pashminashawls, carpets, silver and metal ware, embroidered chappals, grass shoes, Kangra and Gompa style paintings, wood work, horse-hair bangles, wooden and metal utensils and various other house hold items. These aesthetic and tasteful handicrafts declined under competition from machine made goods and also because of lack of marketing facilities. But now the demand for handicrafts has increased within and outside the country.
Himachal is extremely rich in hydro electric resources. The state has about 25% of the national potential in this respect. It has been estimated that about 20,300MW of hydro electric power can be generated in the State by constructing various major, medium, small and mini/micro hydel projects on the five river basins. The state is also the first state in India to achieve the goal of having a bank account for every family.[8]
As per the current prices, the total GDP was estimated at 25,435 crore ( 254,350,000,000), as against 23,024 crore ( 230,240,000,000) in the year 2004–05, showing an increase of 10.5%.[23]
[edit]Transport
Main article: Transport in Himachal Pradesh
Roads are the major mode of transport in the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh. The state has road network of 28,208 km (17,528 mi),[24] including eight national highways (NH) that constitute 1,234 km (767 mi).[24] Some roads get closed during winter and monsoon seasons due to snowfall and landslides. Regular bus services connect Shimla with Chandigarh, Kullu,Manali, Delhi, Mandi, Pathankot, Ambala, Chail and Dehradun. Local taxis are the major local transport here. District Hamirpur has got the highest road density in the country.[25]
Railway track is accessible only to a few places in Himachal Pradesh. ThePathankot–Jogindernagar line connects Punjab with Himachal Pradesh. The other railway tracks pass through Shimla, Solan and Una. Shimla is connected with Kalka by a narrow gauge railway line, which in turn is connected with the major cities in India. Himachal has two narrow gauge rail tracks. The Kalka-Shimla Railway track has a length of 96 kilometres. It passes through 102 tunnels and crosses 864 bridges.[26][27]
There are three domestic airports in the state—Shimla Airport, Bhuntar Airport serving Kullu and Manali, and Gaggal Airport servingKangra and Dharamsala. The air routes connect the state with Delhi and Chandigarh. There are no international airports in Himachal Pradesh. Deccan, Air India, MDLR has flights from Delhi, Chandigarh to Kullu and back. Jagson Airlines has flights from Delhi toShimla.[28]
[edit]Demographics
| [show]Population Growth |
|---|
Himachal Pradesh has a total population of 6,856,509 including 3,473,892 males and 3,382,617 females as per the provisional results of the Census of India 2011, which is only 0.57 per cent of India's total population, placing the state at 21st position and recording a growth of 12.81 per cent.
Himachal Pradesh has a literacy rate of 83.78 per cent and gender ratio at 974/1000, according to the 2011 Census figures.
Census wise, the state is placed 21st on the population chart followed by Tripura at 22nd place. Kangra district was top ranked with a population strength of 1,507,223 (21.98 %), Mandi district 999,518 (14.58 %), Shimla district 813,384 (11.86 %), Solan district 576,670 (8.41 %), Sirmaur district 530,164 (7.73 %), Una district 521,057 (7.60 %), Chamba district 518,844 (7.57 %), Hamirpur district 454, 293 (6.63 %), Kullu district 437,474 (6.38 %), Bilaspur district 382,056 (5.57 %), Kinnaur district 84,298 (1.23 %) and Lahaul Spiti 31,528 (0.46 %).
Himachal Pradesh has a literacy rate of 83.78 per cent and gender ratio at 974/1000, according to the 2011 Census figures.
Census wise, the state is placed 21st on the population chart followed by Tripura at 22nd place. Kangra district was top ranked with a population strength of 1,507,223 (21.98 %), Mandi district 999,518 (14.58 %), Shimla district 813,384 (11.86 %), Solan district 576,670 (8.41 %), Sirmaur district 530,164 (7.73 %), Una district 521,057 (7.60 %), Chamba district 518,844 (7.57 %), Hamirpur district 454, 293 (6.63 %), Kullu district 437,474 (6.38 %), Bilaspur district 382,056 (5.57 %), Kinnaur district 84,298 (1.23 %) and Lahaul Spiti 31,528 (0.46 %).
The main communities are Brahmins, Gujjars, Rathis, Jats, Rajputs Gaddis, Ghirth(choudhary), Kanets, and Kolis.The Ghirth(choudhary)community is found in mainly distt.Kangra. Himachal also has a sizeable population of Tibetans[30] Himachal Pradesh has the highest proportion of Hindu population in India (95%). Other religions that form a small percentage are Buddhism and Sikhism. The Lahaulis of Lahaul and Spiti region are mainly Buddhists. Sikhs mostly live in towns and cities. For example they form 10% of the total population in Una District adjoining the state of Punjab and 17 % in Shimla,the state capital. The Buddhists are mainly natives and tribals from Lahaul and Spiti,where they form majority of 60% and Kinnaur where they form 40%, however the bulk are refugees from Tibet.[31]
The major spoken languages include Hindi, Punjabi, Mahasui, Kulluyi, Lahauli, Kinnauri, Chambyali, Sirmauri, Gojri (by Gujjars), Bilaspuri, Pahari, Dogri, Kangri.[30]
The life expectancy at birth in Himachal Pradesh is 62.8 years (higher than the national average of 57.7 years) for the period 1986–1990. The Infant mortality rate stood at 62 in 1999 and crude birth rate has declined from 37.3 in 1971 to 22.6 in 1998, below the national average of 26.5 in 1998. The crude death rate was 7.7 in 1998. Himachal Pradesh's literacy rate grew by 34.65% between the period 1981 and 2001.[32]
Languages of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Himachal Pradesh are the Sunam language 558 (1998), Gahri language 4,000 (1997), Jangshung language 1,990 (1998), Kanashi language 1,400 (2002 Chauhan), Kinnauri language 48,778, Kinnauri Bhoti language6,000 (1998), Chitkuli language 1,060 (1998), Pattani language 11,000 (1997), Shumcho language 2,174 (1998) and the Tukpa language723 (1998).[33]
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