Ichhi (also Ichhi Khas) is a village and a Village Panchayat in Kangra district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Ichhi village is 8 kilometres from Kangra. Near to it 10 km Dharamshala has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission. Description Ichhi is a village in the reaches of the Kangra Valley and is surrounded by fields and trees. The suburbs include Jhikli Ichhi, Ansoli, Patola, Mastpur, Zamanabad Road ICHHI. Etymology Ichhi (Devanagari: इच्छी ; ITRANS: is a Hindi word (derived from Sanskrit) In common Hindi usage, the word इगेतेश्वर refers to god Shiv. Ichhi History Before the Raj Until the British Raj, Dharamshala and its surrounding area was ruled by the Katoch Dynasty of Kangra, a royal family that ruled the region for two millennia. The royal family still keeps a residence in Dharamsala, known as 'Clouds End Villa'. Under the British Raj, the regions were part of undivided province of Punjab, and was ruled by the governors of Punjab from Lahore. The Katoch dynasty, although highly regarded culturally, had been reduced to status of jargidars (of Kangra-Lambagraon) under the Treaty of Jawalamukhi, signed in 1810 between Sansar Chand Katoch and Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Sikh Empire. The indigenous people of the Dharamshala area (and the surrounding region) are the Gaddis, a predominantly Hindu group who traditionally lived a nomadic or semi-nomadic transhumant lifestyle. Due to the lack of permanent settlements in the area, some Gaddis lost their seasonal pastures and farmland when the British and the Gurkhas arrived to settle. Settlement "Ichhi village lies on a spur of the Dhaola Dhār, 6 miles north-east of Kāngra, in the midst of wild and picturesque scenery. "Before the earthquake of 1905, it was very well populated. In 1905, the Kangra valley suffered a major earthquake. On 4 April of that year, the earth shook, demolishing much neighbouring city of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh . Altogether, the 1905 Kangra earthquake killed 20,000 people. "1,625 persons perished at Dharamsāla alone." Geography Ichhi Village is located in the Kangra Valley, in the shadow of the Dhauladhar mountains. The main crops grown in the valleys below are rice, wheat and vegetables. Major suburbs Ichhi Khas Ichhi Upparli Connections Dharamshala town is reached by Dharamshala Gaggal Airport codes|DHM|VIGG, about 12 km to the town's south and about