Pakistan is a paradigm example of a failed state that has undergone an extremely dangerous form of radical Islamisation.
Himachal Pradesh
There are evidences of the existence of the
pre-historic humans in this region. The first race to enter Himachal Pradesh was
Proto-Australoid followed by Mongoloid and the Aryan. The Rig Veda mentions
about Dasyus and Nishads living in this region and their powerful king Shambra
who had 99 forts. From the early period of its history, tribes like the Koilis,
Halis, Dagis, Dhaugris, Dasa, Khasas, Kinnars and Kirats inhabited it. The
Aryans with their superior war tactics defeated the local tribes and settled
here permanently. They lost their independence with the rise of the Guptas in
the North Gangetic plains. After the decline of the Guptas, several small
kingdoms ruled this hilly state and established their power in its different
regions. Sankar Varma, the king of Kashmir exercised his influence over the
regions of Himachal Pradesh in about 883 AD.
This region witnessed the invasion of Mahmud of
Ghazni in 1009 AD. In about 1043 AD, the Rajputs ruled over this territory. The
Mughal rulers erected several works of art as an admiration of this land. The
Rajputs, under the leadership of Sansar Chand owned this region in 1773 AD, till
the attack by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1804 AD, which crushed the Rajput power
here. In about the early 19th century AD, the British exercised their influence
and annexed the areas of Shimla after the Gurkha War of 1815-16. Shimla became
the summer capital of India and even today, many old houses and buildings tell
the story of English grandeur. Himachal Pradesh was made a centrally
administered territory in 1948 with the integration of 31 hill states and
obtained additional regions in 1966. It had the status of a union territory
after independence till it was granted statehood in 1971.
