Shimla

Overview

Shimla is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Situated in the north-western Himalayas at an average elevation of about 2,200 metres, the city served as the summer capital of British India from 1864 until the end of colonial rule in 1947. Today it is a major administrative centre, an educational hub, and one of the most visited hill stations in northern India.

Etymology

The name Shimla is generally traced to Shyamala, a local name associated with the goddess Kali, whose shrine is said to have stood on Jakhoo hill or near the present Kali Bari temple. The British rendered the name as "Simla", a spelling used officially until it was changed to "Shimla".

Geography and climate

Shimla is built along a ridge and a series of spurs in the lower Himalayas, with the city extending across hills such as Jakhoo, Prospect Hill, Observatory Hill, Elysium Hill, Summer Hill and Bantony Hill. The surrounding region is forested with deodar, oak, pine and rhododendron. The climate is subtropical highland: mild summers, a south-west monsoon from late June to September, and cold winters with regular snowfall between December and February.

History

Pre-colonial period

Before the early nineteenth century, the area now occupied by Shimla consisted of small villages within hill states of the Punjab Hills. After the Anglo-Gorkha War (1814–1816) and the Treaty of Sugauli, the region came under British influence, and the British began acquiring land for cantonments and residences.

Colonial development

The first permanent British house in Shimla, Kennedy House, was built in 1822 by Captain Charles Pratt Kennedy. The settlement quickly grew as a fashionable retreat for officers of the East India Company. In 1864, Viceroy John Lawrence formally designated Shimla the summer capital of British India; from that date until 1939, the entire central government shifted to Shimla every summer. The city was also the headquarters of the British Indian Army's Commander-in-Chief.

Major colonial-era institutions and structures

• Viceregal Lodge (now the Indian Institute of Advanced Study), built in 1888 on Observatory Hill during the viceroyalty of Lord Dufferin.
• Christ Church on the Ridge, consecrated in 1857, the second oldest church in northern India.
• Gaiety Theatre on the Mall, opened in 1887.
• Town Hall, Railway Board Building, and the Gorton Castle secretariat.
• Kalka–Shimla Railway, a 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge line opened in 1903, inscribed by UNESCO in 2008 as part of the "Mountain Railways of India" World Heritage Site.

Political significance

Shimla was the venue of several decisive events in modern Indian history:

• The Simla Conference of 1945, convened by Viceroy Lord Wavell at Viceregal Lodge to discuss self-government.
• Talks preceding the partition plan of 1947.
• The Shimla Agreement of 2 July 1972, signed between Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after the 1971 war, establishing principles for India–Pakistan bilateral relations.

After 1947

On Indian independence, Shimla became part of the chief commissioner's province of Himachal Pradesh and briefly served as the capital of East Punjab before Chandigarh was built. With the formation of the present state of Himachal Pradesh and its elevation to full statehood on 25 January 1971, Shimla was confirmed as the state capital.

Civic administration

The city is administered by the Shimla Municipal Corporation, headed by a directly or indirectly elected Mayor. Shimla is also the headquarters of Shimla district and the seat of the Government of Himachal Pradesh, including the Vidhan Sabha (Council Chamber) and the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which is housed in the historic Ravenswood building.

Economy

The city's economy is dominated by government administration, tourism, education and trade. Tourism contributes substantially through hotels, transport and handicrafts. Apple cultivation in the surrounding Shimla district makes the city an important market and trading hub for horticultural produce.

Education and research

• Indian Institute of Advanced Study, housed in the former Viceregal Lodge.
• Himachal Pradesh University, established in 1970 at Summer Hill.
• Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur and several state institutions have campuses in or near the region.
• Bishop Cotton School (founded 1859) and St Edward's School, among the older residential schools in India.
• Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital.

Transport

Shimla is connected by National Highway 5 (formerly NH-22) to Chandigarh, Kalka and onward to the Hindustan–Tibet road. The Kalka–Shimla Railway links the city to the broad-gauge network at Kalka. Shimla Airport at Jubbarhatti, about 22 km from the city, has limited operations; most travellers use Chandigarh International Airport. Within the city, taxis, local buses and a series of public lifts—including the well-known Ridge–Cart Road lift—are the principal modes of transport, since much of the central area is closed to private vehicles.

Landmarks and tourism

• The Ridge and Mall Road, the social and commercial heart of the city.
• Christ Church on the Ridge.
• Jakhoo Temple, dedicated to Hanuman, atop the city's highest peak.
• Viceregal Lodge on Observatory Hill.
• Gaiety Theatre and the surrounding heritage precinct.
• Kufri, Mashobra, Naldehra, Chail and Tattapani in the immediate vicinity.
• Annandale, historically used for cricket and polo, now an army-managed ground.

Culture

Shimla's cultural fabric blends Pahari traditions of the surrounding hill regions with strong colonial-era English influences seen in its architecture, churches, schools and cuisine. The city has been a setting in works by Rudyard Kipling, including parts of Kim and the Plain Tales from the Hills, and continues to be a frequent location for Indian literature and cinema.

Significance

As the political capital of Himachal Pradesh and a former summer capital of the Raj, Shimla holds an unusual dual importance: it is both an active administrative centre and one of India's most architecturally distinctive heritage cities. The Kalka–Shimla Railway, the Mall, and the cluster of nineteenth-century public buildings give it a unique colonial townscape preserved within an Indian Himalayan setting.

Related topics

• Himachal Pradesh
• Kalka–Shimla Railway
• Shimla Agreement
• Indian Institute of Advanced Study
• Mall Road, Shimla
• Hill stations of India
• Summer capitals of British India

References

• Wikidata entity Q83786.
• UNESCO World Heritage List: Mountain Railways of India.
• Government of Himachal Pradesh, official portal.
• Shimla Municipal Corporation, official records.