Himachal Reorganization

Fifty two years back, this day the Punjab Reorganization Act 1966 came in to force . As a result a new state Haryana was carved out, Chandigarh was declared a Union Territory and Shimla, Kangra, Kullu and Lahaul –Spiti along with Nalagarh, Una Tehsil were merged with Himachal Pradesh, due to which, Himachal Pradesh grew enormously in size. As a 12 year old student of 8th class then , I did not know much about the implications . However, I do recall that that some people from these merged areas did not relish being merged with Himachal as they were happy being with Punjab or loved their Punjabi identity, for the reasons best known to them or perhaps more rightly that some of these areas constituted backward areas of Punjab with attendant benefits. I particularly recall the coining of word ‘KHADU’- a ram in Mahasuvi- Pahadi dialect , for persons belonging to upper areas of Shimla as a reaction . The word somehow carried negative connotations though later on it became a symbol of identity for Shimla people so much so that it became a matter of pride to be called a KHADU, may be due to the prosperity brought about by apple boom.However all this is a thing of the past and I just want to share this with my friends who I hope will not read much into what I have said. Our Himachal Pradesh has since taken long strides and made progress in every field , all Himachalis having contributed to it in different ways.