Una is a district in the south-western part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Forming the gateway to the state from the plains of Punjab, it is one of the lowest-lying and most industrially active districts of Himachal Pradesh. The district headquarters is the town of Una.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| State | Himachal Pradesh |
| Headquarters | Una |
| Region | Shivalik foothills, south-western Himachal Pradesh |
| Major river | Swan |
| Adjoining state | Punjab |
| Official language | Hindi |
| Common regional language | Punjabi, Pahari |
Una district lies in the Shivalik (outer Himalayan) foothills and consists largely of valley land drained by the Swan river, a tributary of the Sutlej. The district is bordered by Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh and by the Punjab districts of Hoshiarpur and Rupnagar. Compared with most of Himachal Pradesh, Una has a relatively low elevation, and its climate is warmer, with hot summers and mild winters more typical of the adjoining plains.
The Swan, historically prone to flash floods during the monsoon, has been the focus of long-running channelisation and embankment works to reclaim agricultural land in the valley.
Una district is administered by a Deputy Commissioner. For revenue and development administration it is divided into sub-divisions, tehsils and sub-tehsils, with development blocks for the implementation of rural development programmes. Important towns in the district include Una, Mehatpur–Basdehra, Daulatpur Chowk, Gagret, Amb, Haroli and Santokhgarh.
The district forms part of the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency and contains several Vidhan Sabha (state legislative assembly) segments, including Una, Kutlehar, Gagret, Chintpurni and Haroli.
The area now comprising Una district has historically been associated with the Kutlehar princely state and with parts of the erstwhile Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. After the reorganisation of the Punjab states, the territory was transferred to Himachal Pradesh. Una was carved out as a separate district on 1 September 1972, when the Government of Himachal Pradesh reorganised the districts of the state, separating Una from Hamirpur–Una and creating it as an independent unit.
Una has a mixed economy of agriculture, horticulture and industry. Wheat, maize and paddy are the principal crops, while mango cultivation is significant in the lower valley. The district hosts one of the largest concentrations of industry in Himachal Pradesh, with industrial areas at Mehatpur, Gagret, Amb and Tahliwal, covering pharmaceuticals, food processing, plastics, packaging and engineering goods. The proximity to Punjab and to the broadgauge railway has made Una an important entry point for industrial and trading activity in the state.
Una is connected to the rest of India by a broad-gauge railway line that terminates at Una Himachal railway station, with through services to Delhi, Amritsar and other cities. National highways and state highways link Una with Hoshiarpur, Nangal, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Dharamshala. The district has also been chosen as the Himachal Pradesh terminal of a high-speed rail link from Anandpur Sahib/Nangal area, and a new line under the Bhanupali–Bilaspur–Beri project passes through adjoining districts.
Una is notable for several religious sites of regional importance. The town of Chintpurni, in tehsil Amb, is the seat of the Chintpurni Devi temple, one of the major Shakti shrines of north India and a significant pilgrim destination. The district also contains Dera Baba Bharbhag Singh at Mairi, an important Sikh shrine, and various Hindu and Sikh historical sites associated with the Punjab–Himachal cultural continuum. Local culture, cuisine and dialect (a form of Pahari with strong Punjabi influence) reflect the district's position on the boundary between hill and plain.
Una hosts a number of higher education institutions, including a campus of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Una (IIIT Una), set up under the public–private partnership scheme of the Government of India. The district also has government degree colleges, polytechnics, industrial training institutes and a network of senior secondary schools.
The population of Una district is predominantly Hindu, with a significant Sikh minority, reflecting its closeness to Punjab. Hindi is the official language, while Punjabi and the local Pahari dialect are widely spoken. Compared with the higher hill districts, Una has a higher population density owing to its plains-like terrain and intensive agriculture.