Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand is one of the most beautiful and
inspiring regions of north India (and beyond). It is a
land of outstanding natural beauty. Most of the northern part of the
state of Uttarakhand is covered by the  Himalaya ranges
and glaciers, while the lower parts of the state are densely
forested. The Himalayan ecosystem plays host to a large number of
animals, plants and rare herbs.
Uttarakhand is a perfect place for hiking, walking
or trekking. One can find many well used trails, with many others
well documented, as well as long lone walks through meadows, hills
and mountains. For the less adventurous ones it is good to know
there is an entensive network of roads to bring you to many places
in the state.
Two of India's mightiest rivers, the Ganga (Ganges river) and
the Yamuna find their
source in the glaciers of Uttarakhand, and are fed by myriad lakes,
glacial melts and the many streams in the region.
To Uttarakhand also belongs some of the holiest Hindu shrines, and
for centuries pilgrims have
been visiting the temples of the 4 Dham: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and  Kedarnath in
the hope of salvation and purification from sin.
Uttarakhand has traditionally been divided into two
parts, the western half known as Garhwal and the
eastern region as Kumaon. Uttarakhand
derives from the Sanskrit for North Country.
Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic
of India on November 9,
2000 after a struggle by its people in the 1970-1990s.
Tibet lies to the
north and the Terai to the
south.The provisional capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun which is
also a rail-head and the largest city in the region. The small
village of Gairsen has good
changes in becoming the future capital owing to its geographic
centrality. The state is bordering Himachal
Pradesh in the north-west and Uttar Pradesh in the South.
The Mahakali River,
running along its eastern boundary, forms the Indo-Nepal
international border. The MahaKali River and its valley are prominent in Kumaon.
In earlier times, the Kali Valley was the standard trade
route from India to Tibet, crossing
over the Lipu Lekh pass. The Mahakali originates north of the main Himalaya range, curves its way through the Greater Himalayas and merges with
the Ganga (Ganges river)
in the plains.
The tourism industry is a major contributor to the economy of
Uttarakhand, with the Raj era hill-stations at Mussoorie, Almora, Ranikhet and Nainital being
some of the most frequented destinations.
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 plays host to some of the worst
conceived big-dam projects in India such as the monstrously large Tehri dam on the Bhagirathi and Bhilangana rivers, conceived in 1953 and still incomplete.
Uttarakhand finds mention in the ancient Hindu
scriptures as Kedarkhand, Manakhand and Himavat. The Kushanas,
Kudinas, Kanishka, Samudra, Gupta, the Pauravas, Katuris, Palas, the
Chandras and Pawaras and the British have ruled in turns.
In the early 9th Century Shri
Shankaracharya was almost entirely responsible for the revival
of Hinduism. At
the time that he set out on his reformist mission, Uttarakhand was a
land of mystic cults, naga worship, tantric rites and animistic
faith. He established a series of dhams and maths, seats of Hindu religion, at
elevated sites in the middle of the Himalayas. At Jyotirmath, now
known as Joshimath, he set
up an institution of Hindu learning and instruction, a tradition
that remains till this day. At Badrinath, he installed the
image of Lord Vishnu near the source of the Alaknanda River, and at Kedarnath he chose to
enshrine Lord Shiva himself. He died in 820 A.D. at Kedarnath and
his samadhi (memorial) behind the temple lures thousands of pilgrims till
today.
The Devine Land
Words fail to describe the awesome charm and
striking beauty of this magical land. Pictures do never tell the
whole story ofcourse. The splendor and the beauty of the land is to
be seen and and felt. Blessed with magnificent glaciers, sparkling
and joyful milky rivers, gigantic and ecstatic Himalayan peaks,
natural biospheres, valleys full of flowers, skiing slopes and dense
forests, this abode of Gods includes many shrines and places of
pilgrimage. This is the land where Vedas and Shastras were
composed and where the great Indian epic Mahabharatha was written. The land has always been the source of inspiration for
nature lovers and seekers of peace and spirituality.
Uttarakhand is a newly formed state in th e nearth
western part of India. The state was formed in 2000 and initiall got
the name Uttaranchal. In January 2007, the name of the state was
officially changed from Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand, according to the
wishes of a large section of its people.
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 Himalaya 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 Ganga (Ganges River).
The region was dominated by the Garhwal Kingdom in
the west and the Kumaon Kingdom in the east during the medieval
period. In 1791, the expanding Gurkha Empire, current Nepal, overran Almora,
the seat of the Kumaon Kingdom. In 1803, the Garhwal Kingdom also
fell to the Gurkhas and became a part of Nepal. With the conclusion
of the Anglo-Nepalese War in 1816, the Garhwal Kingdom was
reestablished from Tehri, and eastern British Garhwal and Kumaon ceded to the British 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 separate statehood (within the Union of India)
achieved almost unanimous acceptance among the local populace as
well as political parties at the national level.
map of Uttarakhand, still carying the
'old' name Uttaranchal.
However, the term Uttaranchal came into
use when the BJP-led central government
initiated a new round of state reorganization in 2000 and introduced
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
through official usage.
In August 2006, India's Union Cabinet assented to
the four-year-old demand of the Uttaranchal state assembly and
leading members of the Uttarakhand movement to rename Uttaranchal
state as Uttarakhand. 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.
See Also
|
