Mandi State was a native state within the Punjab, later the Punjab States Agency, with the town of Mandi as its capital. The state of Mandi, which included two towns and 3,625 villages, was part of the States of the Punjab Hills. It was located in the Himalayan range, bordering to the west, north, and east on the British Punjabi district of Kangra; to the south, on Suket; and to the southwest, on Bilaspur. As of 1941, population of Mandi State was 232,598 and area of the state was 1,139 square kilometres (440 sq mi).

The Punjab Province was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the British East India Company on 29 March 1849; it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British control. In 1858, the Punjab, along with the rest of British India, came under the rule of the British Crown. It had a land area of 358,355 square kilometers.