Himachal Pradesh, State, northern India. Area: 21,495 sq mi (55,673 sq km). Population: (2011) 6,856,509. Capital: Shimla. Located in the western Himalayas, it is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Jammu and Kashmir union territory, Ladakh union territory, and the states of Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Punjab. The area’s history dates to the Vedic period, when Indo-European speaking peoples entered the region and gradually assimilated the indigenous peoples. It was exposed to successive invasions through the centuries, ending with British domination in the 19th century. Between 1948 and the achievement of statehood in 1971, it underwent various changes in size and administrative status. It is one of the least-urbanized states in India, and most of the people are subsistence farmers.
