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General
Information
History of
Shimla started from Stately Windsor Castle where the "Widow
of Windsor" reigned in lonely, isolated splendour after the
death of her beloved consort, Prince Albert, to the small, but
ancient temple surrounded by thick woods where the himalayan
Goddess, Shamla, a synonym of Kali, reigned her celestial realm
on earth is indeed, distant cry, but for well over a century,
the two places, almost inter-linked, ruled the destiny of this
sub-continent. In the year 1818, when Queen Victoria's uncle,
William IV, was King of England, Lord William Bentick, the
Governer General, had transformed the Company's dominion in
India to the Dominion of India, and it was accurate to speak of
Britain's Indian Empire. The frontier ran from bengal to
Kathiawar, to the north it ran through the Thar desert and along
the Sutlej nearly to the Himalayan range. The great hills were
the northern boundary except for the Gurkha state of Nepal.
Beyond this line lay the Punjab, Kashmir and the kingdom of
Afghanistan. In 1814, the Nepalese king brought about the first
war with Nepal over Sikkim, the Gurkhas had marched into Sikkim,
whose ruler appealed, to the East India Company for help. The
Sikkim ruler was installed and his territorial status was
guaranteed but during the conflict the British discovered the
beauties of Darjeeling and accidentally also the thickly wooded
spot, abode of the goddess Shamla, and a part of the Kingdom of
Nepal. When war broke afresh in 1819, the British took the place
with its cool and healthy climate. Shimla is capital of
Himachal Pradesh.
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