History
The Kashmiri king, Sankar Varma ,exercised an influence over Himachal Pradesh way back in the ninth century .In 1009 AD, Himachal Pradesh saw the invasion of Mohammed Ghazni, who had looted the wealth from the temples in north India. 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. Himachal Pradesh was ruled by the Rajputs from 1043 AD to 1804 AD ,till the Maharaja Ranjit Singh crushed the Rajput empire in 1804. During the late 1760s, the Gorkhas, a tribe with special martial arts prowess, came to power in Nepal .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. The Gurkhas conquered this area and ravaged it.
In the early 19th century AD, the British exercised their influence and annexed the areas of Shimla after the Gurkha War of 1815-16.The British established many hill stations in this region to protect themselves from the extreme heat and dust of the northern plains in the summer. 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.