After independence of India, Himachal was declared as Union territory but later on its status was raised to part 'C' state till 1966 when some hilly areas of Punjab wre merged in this due to re-organzation of Punjab state. However, it was declared a fullfledged state on 25.1.71 with 12 districts. It is larger in area than Punjab, Haryana and Kerala. It is located in the north-west of India in the lap of Himalaya. It is surrounded by Jammu-Kashmir in the north, Uttar Pradesh in the south-east, Haryana in the south and Punjab in the south-west. In the east it has borders with Tibet. It has an elevation from 450 to 6800 mts. and can be divided into southern and northern regions. Southern region is warm in summer and the northern is extremly cold with heavy snow.