Formation of Himachal and Aryan invasion. By PK Nirala

 Formation of Himachal Pradesh

This is a history of about 5o million years back when earth was a very very hot molten planet and all the molten lava rotates vigorously inside the heart of the earth. Outer part which was in touch with the atmosphere gets cool down and becomes a hard crust which floats over the molten lava; This hard crust forms plates and several of such plates sometimes get attached with each other or sometimes detached and floats here and there.It is same as the ice floats on the water surface. The Himalayan mountain range and Tibetan plateau have formed as a result of the collision between the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate which began 50 million years ago and continues today. Himalayan mountains are formed when the land between the inter-junctions of these two plates gets raised up.

                                Northward migration of India

Note that this figure is a simplification and does not take into account the huge amount of crustal shortining that would have occurred in both the Eurasian and Indian plates. Before collision, both plates would have extended much further than their current boundaries: some 2500 km of India’s continental crust was either subducted beneath Asia or squashed and stacked up into the Himalaya. Timings on the diagram therefore correspond accurately to the known position of the Indian continent over the past 71 Ma but not the timing of collision between the continents which began around 50 Ma.

225 million years ago (Ma) India was a large island
situated off the Australian coast and separated from
Asia by the Tethys Ocean. The supercontinent Pangea
began to break up 200 Ma and India started a northward
drift towards Asia. 80 Ma India was 6,400 km south of
the Asian continent but moving towards it at a rate of
between 9 and 16 cm per year. At this time Tethys
Ocean floor would have been subducting northwards
beneath Asia and the plate margin would have been a
Convergent oceanic-continental one just like the
Andes today.

As seen in the animation above not all of the Tethys Ocean
floor was completely subducted; most of the thick
sediments on the Indian margin of the ocean were
scraped off and accreted onto the Eurasian continent in
what is known as an accretionary wedge .
These scraped-off sediments are what now form the
Himalayan mountain range.

From about 50-40 Ma the rate of northward drift of the
Indian continental plate slowed to around 4-6 cm per
year. This slowdown is interpreted to mark the beginning
of the collision between the Eurasian and Indian
continental plates, the closing of the former Tethys
Ocean, and the initiation of Himalayan uplift.

The Eurasian plate was partly crumpled and buckled
above the Indian plate but due to their low density/high
buoyancy neither continental plate could be subducted.
This caused the continental crust to thicken due t too folding
and faulting by compressional forces pushing up the
Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau. The continental
crust here is twice the average thickness at around
75 km. The thickening of the continental crust marked
the end of volcanic activity in the region as any magma
moving upwards would solidify before it could reach
the surface.

The Himalayas are still rising by more than
1 cm per year as India continues to move northwards
into Asia, which explains the occurrence of shallow
focus earthquakes in the region today. However
weathering and erosion are lowering the Himalayas
at about the same rate. The Himalayas and Tibetan
plateau trend east-west and extend for 2,900 km,
Maximum elevation of 8,848 metres
(Mount Everest – the highest point on Earth).

Early Inhabitants and the invasion of Aryans and Khasas.

1. When Himalayas were formed then early aborigines of Himalayas were called the Dasyus Nishad and kiratas by Vedic Aryans. When Aryan enter in indian subcontinent, they devastated Indus valley civilization. The people of Indus Valley Civilization were pushed to the indo- gangetnic plain. They withdraw from their Australoid or Munda speaking Kaloroian people from gangetic Plains to the central India and hills of Northen India .In the past, Vedic period they were called yakshas nagas and kinnar. The last two Yakasa and Naga were Mystic people and now disappeared from the history and known only in the myths and Legends. Last kinnars now the inhabitants of Kinnaur.
2. Evidence of kols PRESENT DAY KOLI settled in Himalayan also found in sculpture on the rocks of chandreshwar Someshwar and Chattis of Kumayun, similar kind of work is also found in Kangra. Their primitive faith and belief appeared from such structure that they believe in the worshiping of naga and Ganesha.
3.  Present day KOLI ,DAGGI, DOMES, HAALI,  are the descendant of KOLS (Present day kolis, however present day kolis are not intrinsic KOLS).
4.  Another important type of people which live pre Aryan Era was KIRATA , who's  king SAMBRA fought against Aryan King DIVODASA (Devodas). Kirats were ruled in the area of lower Shivalik Hills.
5. Chief counselor of Devodas was Rishi Bhardwaj.
6. Aryans King wants to conquer the area which was occupied by the KIRATA king Shambar,   So a 40 year war was took place between Devodas and Shambar which also been described in Rig Veda by Vashista and Vamveda
7.  99 forts of kirata were destroyed by the Aryans. Sambar and his Ally VIRICHHI were killed at a place named udubraj.
8.  Aryans were able to conquer Kirata and his ally Virchhi because of better military organisation  and help of chief Councillor Rishi Bhardwaj. They have conquer the entire area in the lower Shivalik region.
9.  After acquiring area of lower Shivalik Hills Aryans could not go further in the inner Himalayas or the interior of The Hills because the area was not hospitable to them. Devodas and Rajpurohit his Counselor Rishi Bhardwaj were died and SUDAS succeeded the Devodas and Vashishtha replaces Bhardwaj.
10. A little story of DASSRAGA (Fight between 10 Kings) also described in Rigveda, which is the the opposition faced by the SUDASA by 10 Aryan Chief.
11.  It is the battle of ten Kings. In this battle SUDASA won and kicked all the opponents in the inner of HIMLAYAN.  Aryan could enter in the inner Himalaya but confined to the fertile Plains only. Their culture impact, Nomadic life and the ways of worship could not influence the hilly people except sacrifice ceremony of animals which is performed in many celebrations. 
12. The KHasa which were akin of Aryan and lived in Central of Asia. 
13. The Aryans denigrated khasa to the position of SUDRA as they did not deserve Aryan rites and manners of worship.
14. The real story ends that Aryan left the hilly area and left the area for the reminent of Kirata and khasas.
15. Khasas win over Kirat and kinnars and push them to the in accessible and interior of Hills.
16. Nagand yaksha lost from history which mearly described in Mahabharata and remains in the tales of fairies and Demons.
17. Khasa follows three fold worship system 1. isht Devta 2. kuldevta 3. gramadevata. Khasas of lower himachal were closely contacted with Aryans so they have more close worship system of veda  while upper Hills khasas were less vedic and their  marriage ceremonies are less Vedic generally elope kind of marriage.
18. Many Sant and saint visited Himalayan in the past for the search of peace and learning.
19. Aryan Kings influenced with such yogi and consider themselves as the Gurus and ancient saint who visited Hills were rishi Vyasa jamdagni Parshuram.
20. The Aryan king in the plains had political relationship with khasasa as mentioned in Mahabharata and later in the Panini ashtadhyayi beside trade and Commerce they had political relations too.
21. In Mahabharata battle between Pandavas and Kauravas, King Susharma of TRIGRTA was from  the side of Kourva in the battle of Mahabharata.
22. Arjuna visited Kulluta(Kullu), Trigarta(Kangara) and kulinda(area between sirmour and shimla) republics.
23. Bheem of Mahabharata married Hidimba a princess during his conquest of Manali during Rajsuya yagya.
24. At this time entire area were devided into four republics. 1. Adumbra 2. Trigrta 3.Kuluta 4. Kulinda.
25. According to Mahabharata Adumbra were  the descendant of rishi Vishwamitra Kaushik gotra.
26. Adumbra was a powerful tribe, it seen therefrom the fact that their coins were found in the Pathankot Jwalamukhi region of Kangra and Hoshiarpur District. They were living in the fifth century BC.
27. Legends inscribed on their coins Brahmini and kharosti and coins were made of copper and silver coins.
28. Trigrta was mentioned in Mahabharat purana and in the works of Panini.
29. Kulut is mentioned in Mahabharata Ramayana and Vishnu purana.
30. Kulindad find mentioned in Mahabharata and purana it was the region between Beas and yamuna. This area of Beas and Yamuna  is probably now the region between Shimla and Sirmour.
31. Present day kannet are the decedent of kunindas.
32. Alexandra on September 326 BC reached right bank of hyphasia (Beas river).
33. His troops kneel down and not ready to move further as they were exhausted.
34. Alexander accepted the decision in favour of troops and said Omen is not favourable to the further proceeding
35. He erected 12 altars each 50 cubic feet highand were constructed on the northen bank of river . Such Altars constructed where river flows from east to west between indoura and mirtal.

Image: from This Dynamic Earth, by Kious and Tilling. Courtesy of the US Geological Survey.

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The Himalayan mountain range and Tibetan plateau have formed as a result of the collision between the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate which began 50 million years ago and continues today.

The Himalayan mountain range and Tibetan plateau have formed as a result of the collision between the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate which began 50 million years ago and continues today.