PREFACE
Himachal Pradesh, otherwise identified as the eighteenth state of India, is an integral part of, as well as a beautiful outpost of the Himalayan Ranges. The Himalayas are an epochal embodiment of pristine beauty, while snow-clad Himachal Pradesh is an ever-growing arm of it. The territory has seen the evolution of human existence and the light of civilisation spreading from the Indian subcontinent across the world. Hence, German scholar Hans-Hasso Ludolf Martin von Veltheim-Ostrau aka Veltheim decreed the Himalayas as the habitation of early humans. Long before him, Lord Krishna pronounced in the Bhagavad Gita, 'I am within the mountain and the Himalayas'. The mesmerising mention by the divine, of this sublime, natural, and spiritual Himalaya, right from the Vedas, Vedantas, Brahmana scriptures and Puranas, to old and new branches of literatures of knowledge and power, establishes it as the Devbhoomi or Devdhara in the real sense. The Himalaya is a manifestation of Lord Shiva and all the spellbinding forms of ceaseless vastness of Lord Narayana. It is the natural and animated source of Aadi Shakti. Its unmatched territory as the origin of human consciousness makes it the unparalleled landmass of Brahma, the originator. No place or a country can claim to match it. It provides all the worldly and astral necessities to humanity.
It will not be an overstatement to exclaim that, if a state can represent the diverse identities in its oneness, of olden Aryavrata or India or medieval Hindustan or modern-day India, it is Himachal Pradesh only. If you just pronounce its name, you will feel the impulse of India with all its consciousness and it will materialise into concrete form before you like a being. Himachal has the distinction of being a representative of India and appears as its most embracing fundamental form while other states represent one or other historical, cultural, religious or political feature of India. The Himalayas and Himachal are one and the same - two utterances of the same adjective.
On 15 April, 1948, a part of the western Himalayas became a new member of the Indian republic as Himachal Pradesh. It was formed after amalgamating 30 princely states -26 mountainous princely states and 4 princely states of Punjab. It acquired full statehood on 25 January, 1971. The state celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021 which was the golden jubilee year of the journey of Himachal as a democratic state. This occasion was the culmination of ceaseless struggles to save Himachal's most fundamental identity, preserving its core values and also decorate it with the pride of victory. The Himachal of today is a testament to it, as the passage of time could not deviate it from its path. Universal spiritualism and the darshana of all-embracing humanity, coupled with natural dynamism towards inclusive materialistic gains for society, forms its core. Its judicial outlook is based on unity, people-centrism, and in accordance with changing times. It needs to remain a welfare-centric state, embracing within it the values of family, society, institution and governance. From this point of view, the long journey of the last more than five decades of Himachal, in a way, offers an opportunity to review its entire journey.
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