People:
- The district has a overwhelming Hindu population. However, a small fraction of Muslims, Sikhs, Jains and Christians also live in the district.
- Of the majority of Hindus, Rajputs and Brahmins population is predominant. Caste/community-wise dispersion of the population in the entire district is almost even.
- There are no exclusive pockets of this or that caste.
- The Rajputs of the district take pride in enrolling themselves in the army.
- This, indeed, has been the tradition since ancient days when all the Rajputs used to serve in the army of the princes of Kangra.
- Ever-since, the tradition has been maintained even till today and the district has the maximum representation in the army, but still more is the tradition of maintaining the distinction of being warrior.
- This is amply borne out by the Victoria Crosses the soldiers of the district had won during the imperial days and number of various other Medals won during the post independence period.
Art and Folklore:
- The people inherit rich folk literature which is occasionally exhibited in the marriage, fairs and festivals.
- In ‘Jatras’ young girls sing folk songs and a group folk song by men which is commonly known ‘Jheras’ which literally means battle or fight.
- The most common ‘Jhera’ being ‘Googa Chauha’- a legendry hero who was supposed to have lived in olden days in Rajasthan area and saved many Hindus against the atrocities of Mohammadan invaders and the snake-bites by his supernatural power.
- Men in the group of 5 to 10 sing songs of ‘Googa’ from door to door in the villages from ‘Raksha Bhandan’ onwards till Googanavami.
- Other ‘Jheras’ sung in the district are Raja Sansar Chand, Raja Bhangal and Raja Sirmaur.
- It is generally the elderly people who narrate the folk tales to the youngsters during the winter, sitting around the hearth even till today.
- Other folk dances worth-mentioning are Gidha of women folk and Chanderwali dance of men folk.
The artistic talent of the district is very much exhibited in the construction of various temples, old
houses and palaces of the old capital town of Tira Sujanpur.
Raja Sansar Chand was considered to be the passionate lover of art right from his childhood and it was under his passionate patronage that Kangra paintings flourished during his time.
He constructed his palace at Tira Sujanpur with 22 gates meant for the entrance of 22 chiefs who used to pay tribute to him.
The temples of Narvdeshwar, Gaurishankar, and Murlimanohar built by him are some of the living examples of the artistic talent of the people of the district.
Above all, the world-famous Kangra paintings, indeed, were patronized by no other than by Raja Sansar Chand of Tira Sujanpur. It is because of these paintings that even till today the obscure places like Tira Sujanpur and Nadaun scintillate in the annals of the history of pahari paintings.
Language:
- Bulk of the people speak pahari which, indeed, is akin to other dialects spoken in Mandi and Bilaspur areas and the Kangri spoken in Kangra district.
- The accent of the language vary after every 10-15 kms. even within the district. Hamirpur, as the highest literate district, its bulk of the population fluently speak Hindi.
- There is no such language like community language and all castes who live in the district speak the same language.
Dress:
- The common dress of the district is Kameez and pyjama.
- Mostly elderly people use turban as headgear or Gandhi cap.
- The women wear Kameez Salwar and Chadroo.
- But, with the spread of education and consequent greater mobility in society, there is a tremendous outside influence on the dress of the people.
Among the younger population, it is common to find the latest modern dresses of the cities. Ladies still have the liking for ornaments of which most common are ‘NATH’ and ‘TIKKA’.
Food Habits:
- Rural population is mainly dependent on agriculture and grow various crops such as wheat, barley, gram, masur in ‘Rabi’ season.
- Maize, paddy, black grams and kulth etc. in the ‘Kharif’ season.
- People like wheat, rice as well as maize ‘roties’ with ‘lassi’, and ‘sarson-ka-sag’.
- They also like curry. Some people also eat meat and drink.
- Fish is easily available in the rivers, khads and nallahs which flow through the district.
- Population living in rural area keep goats and sheep and some people in rural as well as in urban areas are also running poultry farms which easily meet the demand of district.
- To meet the heavy demand of the fish in the urban areas, Fishery Department also imports the fish from neighbouring districts of Bilaspur and Una.
- The population of district is mixed of vegetarian and non-vegetarian.
Contribution of the district in the form of any historical figure:
- The district is called “The Land of Bravemen”. A large number of youths of District are serving in the Indian Army.
- The famous ancient Sidh Baba Balak Nath Temple is situated in the district.
- The district occupies top position with a literacy rate of 88.15 percent in the state.