Uttaranchal
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. |
Uttarakhand Audio file "Uttarakhand.ogg" not found (Hindi: उत्तराखंड), known as Uttaranchal from 2000 to 2006, became the 27th state of the Republic of India on November 9, 2000. Uttarakhand borders Tibet (China) to the north and Nepal to the east, while its neighbour states are Himachal Pradesh to the west and Uttar Pradesh (of which it formed a part before 2000) in the south. The region is traditionally referred to as Uttarakhand in Hindu scriptures and old literature, a term which derives from the Sanskrit for Northern Country or Section. In January 2007, the name of the state was officially changed from Uttaranchal, its interim name, to Uttarakhand, according to the wishes of a large section of its people. The provisional capital of Uttarakhand is Dehra Dun which is also a rail-head and the largest city in the region. The small hamlet of Gairsen has been mooted as the future capital owing to its geographic centrality but controversies and lack of resources have led Dehra Dun to be the provisional capital. The High Court of the state is in Nainital.
Recent developments in the region include initiatives by the state government to capitalise on the burgeoning tourist trade as well as tax incentives to lure high-tech industry to the state. The state also has big-dam projects, controversial and often criticised in India, such as the very large Tehri dam on the Bhagirathi-Bhilangana rivers, conceived in 1953 and about to reach completion.
Meaning of Name and History
Uttarakhand is both the new and traditional name of the state that was formed from the hill districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Uttarakhand is also the ancient Puranic term for the central stretch of the Indian Himalayas containing some of Hinduism's most sacred pilgrimage spots. Literally North Country or Section in Sanskrit, its peaks and valleys were well known in ancient times as the abode of gods and source of the Ganges River.
The region was dominated by the two kingdoms of Garhwal in the west and Kumaon in the east during the medieval period. In 1791, the expanding Gurkha Empire overran Almora, the seat of the Kumaon Kingdom. In 1803, the Garhwal Kingdom also fell to the Gurkhas. With the conclusion of the Anglo-Nepalese War in 1816, the Garhwal Kingdom was reestablished from Tehri, and eastern British Garhwal and Kumaon retained as part of the Treaty of Sugauli.
In the post-independence period, the Tehri princely state was merged into Uttar Pradesh state, where Uttarakhand composed the Garhwal and Kumaon Divisions. Until 1998, Uttarakhand was the name most commonly used to refer to the region, as various political groups including most significantly the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Uttarakhand Revolutionary Party est. 1979), began agitating for separate statehood under its banner. Although the erstwhile hill kingdoms of Garhwal and Kumaon were traditional rivals with diverse lingual and cultural influences due to the proximity of different neighbouring ethnic groups, the inseparable and complementary nature of their geography, economy, culture, language, and traditions created strong bonds between the two regions. These bonds formed the basis of the new political identity of Uttarakhand, which gained significant momentum in 1994, when demand for its autonomy with India achieved almost unanimous acceptance among the people as well as the national political parties.
However, the term Uttaranchal came into use when the BJP-led central government initiated a new round of state reorganization in 2000 and imposed its preferred name. Chosen for its allegedly less separatist connotations, the name change generated enormous controversy among the rank and file of the separate state activists who saw it as a political act, however they were not quite as successful as Jharkhand state that successfully thwarted a similar move to impose the name Vananchal. Nevertheless, the name Uttarakhand remained popular in the region, even while Uttaranchal was promulgated and popularized through official usage.
From 1st January, 2007 Uttrakhand got its original name. So this hill state is now known as Uttrakhand not as Uttaranchal.
In August 2006, India's Union Cabinet assented to the four-year-old demand of the Uttaranchal state assembly to rename Uttaranchal state as Uttarakhand. A legislation to that effect was passed by the State Legislative Assembly in October 2006, and the Union Cabinet brought in the bill in the winter session of Parliament. The bill was passed by Parliament and signed into law by the President in December 2006. Since then, Uttarakhand denotes a state in the Union of India.
People
The native people call themselves Garhwali/Kumaoni and more than 90% of them are Hindus. Many also colloquially call themselves Pahari meaning "hill person" to distinguish themselves from Desis of the rest of India. Most identify themselves as upper caste, however the scheduled caste section of the population preceded the later migrants in settling the hills. The upper castes can be further subdivided into two Indo-Aryan groups, the original Khas tribes that arrived in the hills by the Vedic era and later migrants from North-Central India that arrived in the medieval period. Admixture and caste mobility has reduced the distinction between the two groups, although some areas such as Jaunsar-Bawar are believed by anthropologists to represent pure Khas group.
Other ethnic communities in the region include the Jadh, Marcha, Tolcha, and Shauka (Rung) of the Indo-Tibetan frontier, collectively known as the Bhotiya, the Buksha and Tharu tribal people of the southeastern Terai region, the Raji or Vanrawats of Askot in Pithoragarh district, and nomadic cattle herders known as Gujjar in the southwestern Terai. Many Punjabis arrived after the partition of India, and along with migrants from the adjoining plains, make up the majority of the Terai population. Nepalis, Bengalis, and Tibetans of Eastern Tibet region (KHAMPA) have also settled in the state.
Kumaoni and Garhwali dialects are spoken is Kumaon and Garhwal region respectively. Jaunsari and Bhotiya is also spoken in the region by some tribal communities. In various regions a mixture of both Kumaoni and Garhwali is also spoken. The city population however converse mostly in Hindi.
The majority of people in this state are Rajputs.
Geography
Uttarakhand is a region of outstanding natural beauty. Most of the northern parts of the state are part of Greater Himalaya ranges, covered by the high Himalayan peaks and glaciers, while the lower foothills were densely forested till denuded by the British log merchants and forest contractors after independence. Recent efforts in forestation, however, have been successful in restoring the situation to some extent. The unique Himalayan ecosystem plays host to a large number of animals (including bharal, snow leopards, leopards and tigers), plants and rare herbs. Two of India's mightiest rivers, the Ganga and the Yamuna take birth in the glaciers of Uttarakhand, and are fed by myriad lakes, glacial melts and streams in the region.
Uttarakhand lies on the south slope of the mighty Himalaya range, and the climate and vegetation vary greatly with elevation, from glaciers at the highest elevations to tropical forests at the lower elevations. The highest elevations are covered by ice and bare rock. The Western Himalayan Alpine Shrub and Meadows ecoregion lies between 3000-3500 and 5000 meters elevation; tundra and alpine meadows cover the highest elevations, transitioning to Rhododendron-dominated shrublands below. The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests lie just below the tree line; at 3000-2600 meters elevation they transition to the Western Himalayan broadleaf forests, which lie in a belt from 2,600 to 1,500 meters elevation. Below 1500 meters elevation lies western end of the drier Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands belt, and the Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests. This belt is locally known as Bhabhar. These lowland forests have mostly been cleared for agriculture, but a few pockets remain.
Indian National Parks in Uttarakhand include the Jim Corbett National Park (the oldest national park of India) at Ramnagar in Nainital District, Valley of Flowers National Park and Nanda Devi National Park in Chamoli District, Rajaji National Park in Haridwar District, and Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi District.
Berinag and Chaukori are tiny, pristine hill stations with spectacular views of the Himalaya peaks.
Statistics
| State animal | Musk Deer |
| State bird | Monal |
| State tree | Rhododendron |
| State flower | Brahma Kamal |
- Total Geographical area: 51,125 km²
- Hill Area: 92.57%
- Plain Area: 7.43%
- Area Covered By Forest: 63%
- Total Population: 7,050,634 (Male : Female = 1000 : 976)
- Male: % 51.91
- Female: % 48.81
- Rural Population: 76.90%
- Urban Population: 23.10%
- Other Minorities: 2.0%(approx)
- Primary ethnic group: Indo-Aryans
- Literacy Rate: 72%
- Villages: 15620
- Cities and Urban Areas: 81
- Railway Stations: Kotdwar, Dehradun, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Haldwani, Lalkuan, Kathgodam, Ramnagar, Tanakpur
- Airports: Jolly Grant, Pantnagar, Nainisain, Gauchar (Helipad)
- Major Peaks (height in metres above sea level)
- Nanda Devi (7816), Kamet ( 7756), Badrinath (7140), Chaukhamba (7138), Trishul (7120), Dunagiri (7066), Panch Chhuli ( 6910), Nanda Kot (6861), Gangotri (6614), Gauri Parvat (6590)
- Major Passes
- Mana La (5450), Niti La (5070), Lipu Lekh La ( 5122), Lumpia Dhura (5650)
- Tourism, Hydroelectricity Production, Dairy, Agriculture, Horticulture, Floriculture, Sugar, Manufacturing, and other small scale industries
- Festivals
- Uttarani, Nanda Devi Mela, Holi, Diwali, Dasara, Kandali, Hilljatra, Bikhoti, Bagwal, Harela, Ghugutee
- Events
- Sardotsav, Basantotsav, Nanda Devi Raj Jat, Chipla Kedar Jaat, Kedarnath Yatra, Badrinath Yatra, Kumbh Mela, Ardh Kumbh Mela, Ramleela, Uttarakhand Mahotsav (Dehradun)
- Trade Centers
Districts
Uttarakhand is divided into 13 districts: Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pauri (Pauri Garhwal), Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri (Tehri Garhwal), Udham Singh Nagar, and Uttarkashi. These districts form two divisions; Garhwal division includes Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Tehri, and Uttarkashi districts, and Kumaon division includes Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar.
Economy
Uttarakhand's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $6 billion in current prices. Born out of partition of Uttar Pradesh, the new state of Uttarakhand produces about 8% of the output of the old Uttar Pradesh state. Consolidated Finvest and Holdings, a S&P CNX 500 conglomerate has its corporate office in Uttarakhand. It reported a gross income of Rs.137 million for 2005. [citation needed]
Tourism
The tourism industry is a major contributor to the economy of Uttarakhand, with the Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve and the nearby hill-stations of Nainital and Bhimtal and several other hill-stations like Mussoorie, Almora and Ranikhet being among the most frequented destinations of India. To this region, aptly called "land of the Gods" (Devbhoomi), also belong some of the holiest Hindu shrines, and for almost 2000 years now, pilgrims have been visiting the temples at Haridwar, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Jageshwar in the hope of salvation and purification from sin. Rishikesh near Haridwar has the major spiritual and yoga centers of India. Gangotri and Yamunotri, the sources of the Ganges and Yamuna also fall in this region and are revered by many. Besides these most popular pilgrim centers, the state has an abundance of temples and shrines, references to most of which can be found in Hindu scriptures and legends. The architecture of most of these temples is typical of the region and slightly different from other parts of India, the ancient temples at Jageshwar being the most popular for their architectural importance.
Education
Uttarakhand has educational institutions of major importance to India and the world. It is home to the oldest engineering college of the country, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (formerly University of Roorkee). Other universities of prime importance include the G. B. Pant University and Kumaon University. Historically, Uttarakhand is believed to be the land where the Vedas and the Shastras were composed and the great epic, the Mahabharata, was written. Today, Rishikesh (near Hardwar) is widely considered the Yoga capital of the world.
The current literacy rate in Uttarakhand is 72% which is higher than the National Literacy rate.
External links
- Government of Uttarakhand Official site
- Music of Uttarakhand Collection of music from Uttarakhand
- Cuisine of Uttarakhand Authentic recipes from kitchens of Uttarakhand
- Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand Conversion Providing assistance for name conversion to Uttarakhand
- Uttarakhand Maps
- Uttarakhand Home Page Earliest web site that traces the history of the separate state movement that gave birth to the state
- Uttarakhand Community Largest Uttarakhand online community, http://www.uttaranchal.ws
- The Young Uttarakhand The Largest Community of Uttarakhandis on Web.
- Uttarakhand Online An informative site for Uttarakhand
- Images from Uttarakhand Claude Renault
- Uttarakhand Roads on Google Earth
- [http://www.hamarauttaranchal.com A complete bi-lingual site on Uttarakhand