Uttarakhand उत्तराखण्ड
—  State  —
Uttarakhand Rajya
Location of Uttarakhand in India
Map of Uttarakhand
Coordinates (Dehradun): 30°20′N 78°04′E / 30.33°N 78.06°E / 30.33; 78.06Coordinates: 30°20′N 78°04′E / 30.33°N 78.06°E / 30.33; 78.06
Country	India
Established	9 November 2000
Capital	Dehradun†
Largest city	Dehradun
Districts	17
Government
• Governor	Aziz Qureshi
• Chief Minister	Vijay Bahuguna (INC)
• Legislature	Unicameral (71‡ seats)
• Parliamentary constituency	5
• High Court	Uttarakhand High Court
Area
• Total	53,566 km2 (20,682 sq mi)
Area rank	18th
Population (2011)
• Total	10,116,752
• Rank	19th
• Density	190/km2 (490/sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
ISO 3166 code	IN-UT
HDI	0.628 (medium)[citation needed]
HDI rank	12th (2005)
Literacy	79.63%[1]
Sex Ratio	963
Languages spoken	Garhwali, Kumaoni, Hindi, Urdu
Official languages	Hindi, Sanskrit[2]
Website	uk.gov.in
^† Dehradun is the provisional capital of the state. The new capital has not yet been chosen. ^‡ 70 (elected) + 1 (nominated Anglo-Indian)

Uttarakhand^{[needs IPA]} (Sanskrit: उत्तराखण्डम्, Uttarākhanḍam ^?, Hindi: उत्तराखण्ड, Uttarākhanḍ ^?), formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods (Hindi: देव भूमि, Dēv bhūmi ^?) due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship. Known for its natural beauty and wealth of the Himalayas, the Bhabhar and the Terai, the state was carved out of the Himalayan and adjoining north-western districts of Uttar Pradesh on 9 November 2000, becoming the 27th state of the Republic of India.^[3] It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region on the north, the Mahakali Zone of Far-Western Region, Nepal on the east and the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south and Himachal Pradesh to the north west.

The region is traditionally referred to as Uttarakhand in Hindu scriptures and old literature, a term which derives from Sanskrit uttara (उत्तर) meaning north, and khaṇḍ (खण्ड्) meaning country or part of a country. It has an area of 20,682 sq mi (53,566 km²).

In January 2007, the name of the state was officially changed from Uttaranchal, its interim name, to Uttarakhand. The provisional capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, which is also a rail-head and the largest city in the region. The small hamlet of Gairsain has been mooted as the future capital owing to its geographic centrality but controversies and lack of resources have led Dehradun to remain 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 handloom and handicrafts, 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, the phase one of which has already been completed.^[4] Uttarakhand is also well known as the birthplace of the Chipko environmental movement,^[5] and other social movements including the mass agitation in the 1990s that led to its formation.

History[link]

A stone sculpture (Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu) depicting Bhagiratha in penance for the salvation of 60,000 of his ancestors

Princely flag of Kingdom of Garhwal.

Literally North Country or Section in Sanskrit, the name of Uttarakhand finds mention in the early Hindu scriptures as the combined region of Kedarkhand (present day Garhwal) and Manaskhand (present day Kumaon). Uttarakhand was also the ancient Puranic term for the central stretch of the Indian Himalayas. It is well known for the presence of a multitude of Hindu pilgrimage spots. The Pauravas, Kushanas, Kunindas, Guptas, Katyuris, Raikas, Palas, the Chands, and Parmaras or Panwars, Sikhs and the British have ruled Uttarakhand in turns.^[6]

The historical temples at Jageshwar, preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India

The region was originally settled by Kols, an aboriginal people of the austro- Asiatic physical type who were later joined by Indo-Aryan Khas tribes that arrived from the northwest by the Vedic period. At that time, present-day Uttarakhand also served as a haunt for Rishis and Sadhus. It is believed that Sage Vyasa scripted the Mahabharata here as the Pandavas are believed to have traveled and camped in the region. Among the first major dynasties of Garhwal and Kumaon were the Kunindas in the 2nd century B.C. who practiced an early form of Shaivism. They traded salt with Western Tibet. It is evident from the Ashokan edict at Kalsi in Western Garhwal that Buddhism made inroads in this region. Folk shamanic practices deviating from Hindu orthodoxy also persisted here. However, Garhwal and Kumaon were restored to nominal Brahmanical rule due to the travails of Shankaracharya and the arrival of migrants from the plains. Between the 4th and 14th centuries, the Katyuri dynasty of Khas origin dominated lands of varying extent from the Katyur (modern day Baijnath) valley in Kumaon. The historically significant temples at Jageshwar are believed to have been built by the Katyuris and later remodeled by the Chands. Other peoples of the Tibeto-Burman group known as Kiratas are thought to have settled in the northern highlands as well as in pockets throughout the region, and believed to be the ancestors to the modern day Bhotiya, Raji, Buksha, and Tharu peoples.^[7]

Uttarakhand as a part of the United Province, 1903

By the medieval period, the region was consolidated under the Garhwal Kingdom in the west and the Kumaon Kingdom in the east. From the 13th–18th century, Kumaon prospered under the Chand Rajas who had their origins in the plains of India. During this period, learning and new forms of painting (the Pahari school of art) developed.^[8] Modern-day Garhwal was likewise unified under the rule of Parmar/Panwar Rajas, who along with a mass migration of Brahmins and Rajputs, also arrived from the plains.^[9]

In 1791, the expanding Gurkha Empire of Nepal, 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, a rump portion of 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 Garhwal Kingdom was merged into Uttar Pradesh state, where Uttarakhand composed the Garhwal and Kumaon Divisions.^[10] 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.^[11] 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.^[12] Most notable incident during this period was the Rampur Tiraha firing case on the night of 1 October 1994, which led to public uproar.^[13] On 24 September 1998 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the 'Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill', 1998, which eventually led to the creation of the state,^[14] eventually the Parliament passed the Indian Federal Legislation - Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000, and thus on 9 November 2000,^[15] Uttarakhand became the 27th state in the Republic of India.

However, the term Uttaranchal came into use when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central and Uttar Pradesh state governments initiated a new round of state reorganization in 1998 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,^[16] 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,^[17] 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.

Under the name of Greater Nepal, some in Nepal have asked for the return of states previously usurped by Nepal that were annexed by the British East India Company. However, little support for this motion exists in these regions.

Geography[link]

Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India.

Valley of Flowers National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Uttarakhand has a total geographic area of 53,566 km², of which 93% is mountainous and 64% is covered by forest. 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 later, after independence, by forest contractors. Recent efforts in reforestation, however, have restored the situation to some extent. The 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 largest rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna originate in the glaciers of Uttarakhand, and are fed by myriad lakes, glacial melts and streams in the region.^[18]

Uttarakhand lies on the southern slope of the Himalaya range, and the climate and vegetation vary greatly with elevation, from glaciers at the highest elevations to subtropical forests at the lower elevations. The highest elevations are covered by ice and bare rock. Below them, between 3,000 and 5,000 metres (9,800 and 16,000 ft) are montane grasslands and shrublands: the western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows. Temperate coniferous forests, the western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests, grow just below the tree line. At 3,000 to 2,600 metres (9,800 to 8,500 ft) elevation they transit to the temperate western Himalayan broadleaf forests, which lie in a belt from 2,600 to 1,500 metres (8,500 to 4,900 ft) elevation. Below 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) elevation lie the Himalayan subtropical pine forests. The Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests and the drier Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands cover the lowlands along the Uttar Pradesh border. This belt is locally known as Bhabhar. These lowland forests have mostly been cleared for agriculture, but a few pockets remain.^[19]

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, which together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Rajaji National Park in Haridwar District, and Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi District.

A panorama of Garhwal Himalaya from Dhanaulti

Demographics[link]

Woman from Than Gaon in Uttarakhand, with two goat kids

A Garhwali lady in traditional attire.

Mindroling Monastery in Clement Town.

According to 2011 India census, Uttarakhand had a population of 10,116,752. The native people of Uttarakhand are generally called either Kumaoni or Garhwali depending on their place of origin in either the Garhwal or Kumaon region.

Another well known category is Gujjar, they were the rulers of a kingdom with capital at Landhaura of gurjar partihar dynasty,Hindu gurjar is power ful than other Muslim gurjar of the state landhora gurjar was a big riyasat of gurjar's in past and which covered the whole of today's Haridwar District. Gujjars King Raja Ramdayal Singh Panwar had helped the Tehri ruler against the Gorkhas and the Present MLA from Laksar in Haridwar is Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion is the descendant of that King. Gujjar is a dominant community of Haridwar District.

Kumaoni and Garhwali dialects of Central Pahari are spoken in Kumaon and Garhwal region respectively. Jaunsari and Bhotiya dialects are also spoken by tribal communities in the west and north respectively. The urban population however converses mostly in Hindi. Sanskrit has also official status in the state.

Hindus form the majority of the population at 85.0%, Muslims form 10.5%, Sikhs 2.5% and Christians, Buddhists, Jains and others about 0.5%. It has male-female ratio of .963 and has a literacy rate of 79.63%. The largest cities in the state include Dehradun (530,263), Haridwar (220,767), Roorkee (158,896), Haldwani (145,278) and Rudrapur (88,720). The state government recognizes 15,620 villages and 81 cities and urban areas.

Historians of Kumaon and Garhwal say that in the beginning there were only three castes: Rajput, Brahmin and Shilpkar. Main occupation of Rajput were Zamindari and law enforcement. Occupation of Brahmins were to perform religious rituals in temples and religious occasions. Shilpkar were mainly working for rajputs, in their lands and were expert in handcrafts. The famous surnames Pundir, Kalakoti, Chauhan, Bashera or Basera,Bhaisora(Thal,distt pithoragarh), Bisht, Bhayera, Nainwal, Rawat, Dhapola, Rautela and Negi are used by Rajputs. Bahuguna, Painuly (Panuly), Kukreti, Bhatt, Nautiyal, Naithani, Joshi, Tripathi, Pant are some of the famous Brahmin surname, also having a university by the name of Bahuguna in Pauri district of Garhwal. According to a 2007 study, Uttarakhand has the highest percentage of brahmins of any state in India, with approximately 20% of the population being brahmin.^[21]

Government and politics[link]

Bhagirathi River at Gangotri, source stream of the Ganges.

The present Chief Minister of Government of Uttarakhand is Mr.Vijay Bahuguna.He was appointed as the seventh Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.Governor Margaret Alva administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr.Bahuguna, who became the CM for the first time. The last state elections in Uttarakhand were held on 30 January 2012. The Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party with 32 seats in the 70-seat Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. Three seat short of forming a majority, the Congress have had to rely on support from the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal,three independents and the Bahujan Samaj Party to form the government. The BJP is the official opposition, holding 31 seats.

Chief ministers of Uttarakhand[link]

• Nityanand Swami, BJP, 2000–2001
• Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, BJP, 2001–2002
• Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Congress, 2002–2007
• B C Khanduri, BJP, 2007–2009
• Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, BJP, 2009–2011
• B C Khanduri, BJP,2011–2012
• Vijay Bahuguna,Congress, 2012–present

State Assembly[link]

No. of Seats = 70, General = 55, SC = 12, ST = 03

The First State Assembly for Uttarakhand was carved out from the Vidhan-Sabha of Uttar-pradesh for which elections were held in 1996. In UP Assembly, the number of seats for the area consisting of Uttarakhand were 26. The First State Assembly consisted on these 26 Seats. BJP which had won 17 Seats out of these 26 Seats formed the Government under Nityanand Swami. Swami was replaced by Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in 2001. The BJP rule was marred by severe internal factionalism which made the party unpopular.

The State Elections for Second State Assembly were held on 14th Feb,2002. A Total of 927 Candidates were in fray. Congress won the simple majority with 36 Seats and Narayan Dutt Tiwari was elected as the Chief Minister. The State clocked an impressive 14.5% growth during the Congress rule, however, there was widespread disenchantment with the style of functioning of the Chief Minister.

The State Elections for Third State Assembly were held in March-2007. None of the parties got the clearcut majority. BJP emerged as the largest party with 34 seats followed by Congress with 21 Seats. Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) made impressive gains with 07 Seats though its success was more attributed to rebels of BJP joining BSP. Uttarkhand Kranti Dal managed 3 Seats.

BJP formed the government along with Uttarakhand Kranti Dal and Maj.General B.C.Khanduri was appointed as the Chief Minister. B.C.Khanduri continued as Chief Minister till End-2009 when he was removed due to shocking defeat of BJP in all the five Lok Sabha Constituencies of Uttarakhand in May-2009. Khanduri was replaced by Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" who was a Teacher by profession. However, due to widespread disenchantment with the BJP Government's lack lustre performance under Pokhriyal's leadership, he was replaced with B.C.Khanduri in End-2011. Taking advantage of the wide spread Anna Hazare's movement against Corruption, Khanduri immediately introduced and got passed the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill in line with Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill and got kudos from the Media,Anna Hazare and people at large. This single step brought BJP in the election fray for the coming Assembly Elections in Jan-2012.

The State Elections for Fourth State Assembly of Uttarakhand were held on 30-01-2012. Total 788 Candidates were in fray. The main parties were BJP, Congress and BSP. The results were announced on 6 March 2012 and no party got a majority. The Congress emerged as the largest party with 32 seats with BJP at 31 seats. BSP got 3 seats, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal 01 Seat and Independent 3 seats. The surprising result was that although the ruling party BJP made a comeback in the elections under Chief Minister B.C.Khanduri but Khanduri himself lost his Kotdwar Seat, whereas Ramesh Pokhriyal won his Doiwala Seat. Immediately after the results were announced, both Congress and BJP started manuoveres to form the next government along with BSP and independents.

Congress party was able to secure the support of three independents and one UKD candidate and submitted its claim for forming the government. Congress was later joined by the three MLAs of BSP. The sitting MP from Tehri-Garhwal Region Vijay Bahuguna was nominated as Chief Minister by the Congress High Command.

Districts[link]

Districts of Uttarakhand

There are 13 districts in Uttarakhand which are grouped into two divisions, Kumaon and Garhwal. Four more districts namely Didihat, Ranikhet, Kotdwar and Yamunotri were declared by the then CM of Uttarakhand, Ramesh Pokhriyall on 15 August 2011. However, these districts have not been created yet.

The Kumaon division includes six districts.

• Almora
• Bageshwar
• Champawat
• Nainital
• Pithoragarh
• Udham Singh Nagar

The Garhwal division includes seven districts.

• Dehradun
• Haridwar
• Tehri Garhwal
• Uttarkashi
• Chamoli
• Pauri Garhwal (commonly known as Garhwal)
• Rudraprayag

Proposed districts[link]

• Didihat to be carved out from Pithoragarh
• Ranikhet to be carved out from Almora district
• Kotdwara to be carved out from Pauri district
• Yamunotri to be carved out from Uttarkashi

Each district is governed by a district commissioner or district magistrate. The districts are further divided into sub-divisions, which are governed by sub-divisional magistrates; sub-divisions comprise blocks containing panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities. As per the 2011 census, Haridwar, Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar are the most populous districts, each of them having a population of more than one million.

Important cities[link]

View of the 'Evening Aarti' at Brahmakund, Har ki Pauri (Haridwar)

Economy[link]

Growth story of Uttarakhand- Peeyush Sharma Doon University

Evening prayers at Har ki Pauri in Haridwar, one of the most sacred cities of Hinduism

The size of Uttarakhand's Economy as measured by its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for 2011 (Financial year ending March 2011) is estimated at 775.8 billion in current prices. Born out of the division of Uttar Pradesh, the new state of Uttarakhand produces about 12% 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 137 million for 2005.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, a new industrial policy for the state with generous tax benefits for investors was initiated that has led to a massive upsurge of capital investment. SIDCUL, the State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand has established seven industrial estates in the southern periphery of the state, while dozens of hydroelectric dams are being built in the upper reaches. However, hill development remains an uphill challenge as out migration of local peoples continues from the highland hinterlands.

State symbols of Uttarakhand^[22]

Animal	Musk Deer
Bird	Monal
Flower	Brahma Kamal
Tree	Burans

Transport[link]

Uttarakhand is well connected with Rail, Road and Air modes of transport

Airports[link]

• Jolly Grant Airport (Dehradun)
• Pantnagar Airport (Pantnagar)
• NAINI-SAINI (Pithoragarh)
• Uttarkashi
• Gochar (Chamoli)
• Agastyamuni (Heliport) (Rudraprayag)

Tourism[link]

Chota Char Dham

Kedarnath

Badrinath

Gangotri

Yamunotri

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Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib, an important pilgrimage site for Sikhs.

Leisure, adventure, and religious tourism play a prominent role in Uttarakhand's economy, with the Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve and the nearby hill-stations of Nainital, Mussoorie, Almora, Kausani, Bhimtal and Ranikhet being amongst the most frequented destinations of India. The state also contains numerous peaks of interest to mountaineers, although Nanda Devi, the highest and best-known of these, has been off-limits since 1982. Other national wonders include the Valley of Flowers, which along with Nanda Devi National Park, form a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To Uttarakhand, long called "abode of the gods" (Devbhumi), belong some of the holiest Hindu shrines, and for more than a thousand years, pilgrims have been visiting the region in the hopes of salvation and purification from sin. Gangotri and Yamunotri, the sources of both the Ganges and Yamuna fall in the upper reaches of the state and together with Badrinath (dedicated to Vishnu) and Kedarnath (dedicated to Shiva) form the Char Dham, one of Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious pilgrimage circuits. Haridwar, meaning "Gateway to God" is a prime Hindu destination. Haridwar hosts the Kumbha Mela every twelve years, in which millions of pilgrims take part from all parts of the India and the world. Rishikesh near Haridwar is known as the preeminent yoga centre of India. The state has an abundance of temples and shrines, many dedicated to local deities or manifestations of Shiva and Durga, references to many of which can be found in Hindu scriptures and legends.^[23] 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 (a complex of 124 temples in a deodar woodland) are historically the most prominent for their distinct architectural features. Uttarakhand is, however, a place of pilgrimage not only for the Hindus. Hemkund nested in the Himalayas is a prime pilgrimage center for the Sikhs. Tibetan Buddhism has also made itself felt with the recent reconstruction of Mindroling Monastery and its Buddha Stupa, touted as the world's highest,^[24] southwest of Dehradun.

The state has always been a destination for mountaineering, hiking and rock climbing in India. A recent development in adventure tourism in the region has been white water rafting and other adventures sports. Eco tourism, agritourism and rural tourism have also found new grounds in many villages of the state.

Tourist destinations[link]

Uttarakhand has many tourist spots where tourists come from all over the world, such as Nainital and Mussoorie.The other main places are:

• Kedarnath
• Nainital
• Gangotri
• Yamunotri
• Badrinath
• Almora
• Rishikesh
• Hemkund Sahib
• Nanakmatta
• Valley of Flowers
• Mussoorie
• Dehradun
• Haridwar
• Auli
• Chakrata
• Ranikhet
• Munsyari
• Bageshwar
• Bhimtal
• Kausani
• Lansdowne

Education[link]

Main (Administrative) Building, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, distant view.

Facade of St. George's College, Mussoorie, estb. 1853

Uttarakhand is home to several important educational institutions, including the oldest engineering colleges in Asia, the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee and Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology in Pantnagar.Other universities and institutes of prime importance include, Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College in Pauri and Bipin Chandra Tripathi Kumaon Engineering College, Dwarahat.

Uttarakhand is home to several reputed and prestigious day and boarding schools including G D Birla Memorial School, Ranikhet, St. Joseph's College (Nainital), The Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) (Dehradun) The Doon School (Dehradun), Welham Girls School (Dehradun), Welham Boys School (Dehradun), Summer Valley School (Dehradun), SelaQui International School (Dehradun), Brightlands (Dehradun), St. Joseph's Academy (Dehradun), Woodstock School (Landour), St. George's College (Mussoorie), Birla Vidya Mandir (Nainital), Sherwood College (Nainital), All Saints' College (Nainital), St. Mary's Convent (Nainital). Several Indian luminaries have attended these schools including former prime ministers and film stars.

Historically, Uttarakhand is believed to be the land where the Vedas and the Shastras were composed and the great epic, the Mahabharata, was written. Rishikesh is widely considered the Yoga capital of the world.

Universities[link]

Garhwal and Kumaun Universities were founded in 1973 as part of the upsurge of regional sentiment that led to the Uttarakhand statehood. The most famous universities of Uttarakhand are:

Government Engineering Colleges[link]

• Bipin Chandra Tripathi Kumaon Engineering College,Ranikhet
• Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Pauri
• Seemant Institute Of Technology,Pithoragarh
• THDC Institute of Hydropower Engineerig & Technology, Tehri

Leading Private Engineering Colleges[link]

• Dehradun Institute of Technology ,Dehradun
• College of Engineering Roorkee, Roorkee
• Birla Institute of Applied Sciences, Bhimtal
• Dev Bhoomi Institute of Technology, Dehradun
• Uttaranchal Institute of Technology, Dehradun

Entertainment industry[link]

Although the entertainment industry of Uttarakhand is in its infant stage, yet there is a rapid growth in terms of audio visual entertainment. The pure folk seems to be disappearing from villages, so is the younger generation. Still there are many options one can get close to the folk music. Recently, in the honor of all who gave Bedupako Baramaasa folk tune an international fame and also to make Uttarakhand folk available all around the world 24X7, an online radio, which is one of the only and very first on-line radio of Uttarakhand available on web, was created by the name of bedupako.

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Asia portal
	South Asia portal
	India portal
	Himalaya region portal

• Kumauni People
• Kumaoni
• Kumaon Division
• Garhwali people
• Garhwali
• Kumaon Regiment
• Baitada
• Doti
• Bengal Engineers
• Special Frontier Force
• Bedupako

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Rivett-Carnac, J. H. (1879). Archaeological notes on ancient sculpturings on rocks in Kumaon, India. Calcutta : G.H. Rouse. http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicalno00rive#page/n7/mode/2up. 
• Upreti, Ganga Dutt (1894). Proverbs & folklore of Kumaun and Garhwal. Lodiana Mission Press. http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924089930774#page/n7/mode/2up. 
• Oakley, E Sherman (1905). Holy Himalaya; the religion, traditions, and scenery of Himalayan province (Kumaon and Garwhal). Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, London. http://www.archive.org/stream/holyhimalayareli00oaklrich#page/n7/mode/2up. 
• of Kumaon, Raja Rudradeva; (Ed. with English tr. Haraprasada Shastri) (1910). Syanika sastra: or A Book on Hawking. Asiatic Society, Calcutta. http://www.archive.org/stream/syanikasatraorbo00rudruoft#page/n3/mode/2up. 
• Umachand Handa (2002). History of Uttaranchal. Indus Publishing. ISBN 81-7387-134-5. Excerpts
• Husain, Z. (1995). Uttarakhand movement: the politics of identity and frustration, a psycho-analytical study of the separate state movement, 1815-1995. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot. ISBN 81-85897-17-4
• Śarmā, D. (1989). Tibeto-Himalayan languages of Uttarakhand. Studies in Tibeto-Himalayan languages, 3. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications. ISBN 81-7099-171-4
• Fonia, K. S. (1987). Uttarakhand, the land of jungles, temples, and snows. New Delhi, India: Lancer Books.
• Mukhopadhyay, R. (1987). Uttarakhand movement a sociological analysis. Centre for Himalayan Studies special lecture, 8. Raja Rammohunpur, Dt. Darjeeling: University of North Bengal.
• Uma Prasad Thapliyal (2005). Uttaranchal: Historical and cultural perspectives. B.R. Pub. Corp.,. ISBN 81-7646-463-5.
• Nationalistic part of Greater Nepal Region
• Vijaypal Singh Negi, Jawahernagar, Post -Agastyamuni,Dist.- Rudraprayag, The Great HimalaysPublication Date- 1998,

External links[link]

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Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel, 2010. L-R: Georg Listing, Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz, and Gustav Schäfer
Background information
Origin	Magdeburg, Germany
Genres	Pop rock,[1][2] alternative rock,[3] emo,[4] glam rock,[5] power pop,[6][7][8][9]
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Universal Music Germany, Cherrytree, Interscope
Website	www.tokiohotel.com
Members
Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz Georg Listing Gustav Schäfer

Tokio Hotel is a rock band from Germany, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bassist Georg Listing.^[10] The quartet have scored four number one singles and have released three number one albums in their native country, selling nearly 5 million CDs and DVDs there.^[11] After recording an unreleased demo-CD under the name "Devilish" and having their contract with Sony BMG Germany terminated, the band released their first German-language album, Schrei, as Tokio Hotel on Universal Music Germany in 2005. Schrei sold more than half a million copies worldwide^[12] and spawned four top five singles in both Germany and Austria. In 2007, the band released their second German album Zimmer 483 and their first English album Scream which have combined album sales of over one million copies worldwide and helped win the band their first MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct. The former, Zimmer 483, spawned three top five singles in Germany while the latter, Scream, spawned two singles that reached the top twenty in new territories such as France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. In September 2008, they won in the US their first MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Best New Artist. In October 2008, they won four awards including Best International Artist and Song of the year at Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica (MTV Video Music Awards Latin America) held in Mexico. Tokio Hotel became the first German band ever to win an award at the MTV VMAs and also at the MTV Latin America Awards. They also picked up the Headliner award at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 held in Liverpool on November 6, 2008 and the Award for Best Group on November 5, 2009 at the MTV Europe Music Award (EMA) held in Berlin. They won an Award for Best World Stage Performance on November 7, 2010 at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid. In July 2011, they became the first German band to win an MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ). And won MTV's 2012 Musical March Madness.

History[link]

[edit] Formation (2001 - 2004)

Tokio Hotel by vocalist Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, who are identical twin brothers, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist Georg Listing. The four met in 2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg-Club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew each other from music school, watched from the audience while Bill and Tom Kaulitz played on the stage.^[13][14] Under the name Devilish, the band soon began playing in talent shows and small concerts.^[15] After Bill Kaulitz's participation in a children's Star Search in 2003 at age thirteen (which he lost in the quarter-final), he was discovered by music producer Peter Hoffmann. Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel: "Tokio", the German spelling of the Japanese city Tokyo, due to a love of the city, and "Hotel" due to their constant touring and living in hotels.^[13] Soon after Sony BMG took them under contract, Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of creators and authors, and had them give the teens instruction on songwriting and instrument playing; most of the songs of the first album were written by Hoffmann, Jost and Benzer (including the singles "Scream" and "Rescue me" which were completely written by them), only the single "Unendlichkeit" was written completely by Tokio Hotel themselves. Shortly before release of their first album, Sony terminated their contract. The band is now one of the biggest modern acts from Germany and the biggest in 20 years.

[edit] Schrei (2005 - 2006)

Bill Kaulitz performing in Hessisch-Lichtenau, Germany in 2006.

In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under contract and developed a marketing plan. Their first single, "Durch den Monsun" ("Through the Monsoon"), quickly rose in the charts, appearing on the German official Media Control single chart at #15 on August 20, 2005 and eventually reaching #1 on August 26, 2005; it also reached #1 on the Austrian singles chart. Their second single, "Schrei" ("Scream"), climbed to the #5 position in the German charts. These two songs were written by singer Bill Kaulitz together with their group of producers Peter Hoffmann, David Jost, Pat Benzer and Dave Roth. Their debut album, Schrei, was released on September 19, 2005, and was certified triple gold by the BVMI in 2006 for selling over 300,000 copies in Germany.^[16] In 2006, a third and fourth single, "Rette mich" ("Rescue Me") and "Der letzte Tag" ("The Final Day"), were released; both reached #1 as well. "Der letzte Tag" contained a B-side called "Wir schließen uns ein", which was also accompanied by a music video.

[edit] Zimmer 483 (2007 - 2008)

The first single off their second album Zimmer 483 (Room 483), called "Übers Ende der Welt" (later re-released in English under the name "Ready, Set, Go!"), was released on January 26, 2007 and quickly reached #1 in Germany and Austria, and #2 in France. Zimmer 483 was released in Germany on February 23, 2007, along with a deluxe edition of the album containing a DVD. The album's second single, "Spring nicht" ("Don't Jump") was released on April 7. The tour accompanying the release of the album, The Zimmer 483 Tour, was scheduled to start in March 2007, but was delayed by two weeks because the band members wished to have a different stage design. A third single, "An deiner Seite (Ich bin da)" ("By Your Side"), was released on November 16. The single contains the B-side "1000 Meere" ("1000 Oceans"), for which a music video was also produced. On April 28, 2008 Tokio Hotel released their single "Heilig" but no music video for the single was released, because of the tight schedule they had.

[edit] Scream (2007 - 2008)

Tokio Hotel's first English language album, Scream, was released on June 4, 2007 throughout Europe. In Germany, the album was released as Room 483 in order to emphasize the continuity with their last German album Zimmer 483. Scream contains English versions of a selection of songs from their German-language albums Scream and Zimmer 483. "Monsoon", the English-language version of "Durch den Monsun", was the first single from the album. "Ready, Set, Go!" (the translation of "Übers Ende der Welt") was released as the album's second single and "Don't Jump" (the translation of "Spring nicht") as the third single. A video for "Scream", the English-language version of their 2005 hit "Schrei", was also recorded, and was released to the iTunes Store in early March 2008.

Tokio Hotel gave their first concert in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2007. "Ready, Set, Go!" was released in the UK as the band's first single on August 27, 2007. The song reached #77 in the UK Singles Chart.

Tokio Hotel won an MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct on November 1, 2007 and were also nominated for Best Band. They performed "Monsoon" at the event.

Tokio Hotel released their first US single, simply called "Tokio Hotel", in late 2007. The single contains the tracks "Scream" and "Ready, Set, Go!", and was available exclusively at Hot Topic stores. Their second US single, "Scream America", was released on December 11, 2007. The single contains the track "Scream" and a remix of "Ready, Set, Go!" by AFI's Jade Puget. In February 2008, the band toured North America for five dates starting in Canada and finishing up in New York.^[17] After appearing and performing live on MuchMusic, while touring in Canada, "Ready, Set, Go!" entered the MuchOnDemand Daily 10, a countdown of videos chosen by viewers. It remained there for over a week, then returned to the top of the MOD Daily 10 chart on April 8. "Scream" was released in Canada on March 25 and in the US on May 6. The "1000 Hotels" European Tour began on March 3, 2008 in Brussels and continued to locations including The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Scandinavia, and was scheduled to finish on April 9; during the concert in Marseille, France on March 14, Bill started to experience vocal problems.^[18] He let the audience sing more frequently than normal and instead of the original 21 songs that were on the set list, they only played 16 songs. Bill apologized, in German, for his bad singing and explained that he was sick. Two days later, the band canceled Lisbon, Portugal concert minutes before it was supposed to commence. The rest of the "1000 Hotels" Tour and a scheduled North American Tour were cancelled following an announcement in Bild by the band's manager that Bill Kaulitz had to undergo surgery to remove a cyst on his vocal cords.^[19][20]

Bill Kaulitz had been putting strain on his voice after playing 43 concerts in the 1000 Hotels tour without vacation.^[21] He had to undergo Larynx surgery on March 30 to remove a cyst that had formed on his vocal cords.^[22] The cyst was the result of a throat infection that went untreated.^[23] Following his surgery, Bill was unable to speak for twelve days, and had four weeks of vocal rehabilitation.^[24] If Bill had continued singing the rest of the tour, his voice would have eventually been permanently damaged.^[18][25] Tokio Hotel started performing again in May 2008^[26] and after that they embarked on a 2nd part of their 1000 Hotels European Tour adding many Open Air concerts and wrapping up the tour on July 13 in Werchter, Belgium.

[edit] North American Tours and Humanoid (2009 - 2010)

This section is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

Tokio Hotel embarked on a second tour of North America in August 2008, which included a performance at the Bamboozled festival in New Jersey. The band's music video for "Ready Set Go!" was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards,^[27] where they also won the award for Best New Artist.^[28] They returned to North America again in October 2008 for a month long tour of concerts and record store signings. In December 2008, a behind-the scenes DVD called Tokio Hotel TV – Caught on Camera was released. It contains footage from Tokio Hotel TV and backstage feature stories of the previous year on disc one entitled "History – The very best of Tokio Hotel TV!". A deluxe edition contains a second disc entitled "Future – The road to the new Album!" which features footage of the band on promotion tours and preparing for their third studio album.^[29]

In between the North American tours, the band returned to their record studio in Hamburg to record their third studio album, Humanoid, which, according to their producer David Jost, is currently set for release on October 2 in Germany & October 6, 2009 in the U.S.^[30][31][32] This is despite earlier statements predicting a March/April 2009 release or a May/June 2009 release.^[33][34][35] The album was recorded in both German and English with both versions were released simultaneously worldwide.^[34][35]

On August 10, it was announced on MTV news that the first German single would be "Automatisch" and its English counterpart, "Automatic", would also be released as a first single in the United States. On August 20, MTV Buzzworthy released a video which previewed "Automatic" and Cherrytree Records announced that the English version of the song would be released in the US on September 22.^[36][37] Nevertheless, the video for the single was released on September 3.

On November 2, it was announced on Tom's Blog that the second English single would be "World Behind My Wall" and its German counterpart, "Lass uns laufen", would be the second German single.^[38] The music videos for both versions were released on December 14 and December 15.

On June 24, the live music video for their single, "Dark Side of the Sun" was released on the band website.

On July 20, 2010 they released their second live album Humanoid City Live from Milan, Italy On November 22, 2010, their new song "Hurricanes and Suns," premiered on the Greek radio station Mad Radio. It was included in the bonus track on all versions of "Tokio Hotel: Best Of," a compilation album of their most successful songs. As well as the single for the 'Best of' release. The album will also include "Mädchen aus dem All", the first song the band recorded in a studio.

On December 14, 2010 their 'Best of' was released. December 2 was the World Premiere of the video for "Hurricanes and Suns" on their Official Website. On April 28, 2011 they received the "Fan Army FTW" award at the MTV O Music Awards, the networks first online award show. A clip of Bill and Tom thanking their fans was played after the winner was announced.

Tokio Hotel performed their first concert in Asia (excluding their concert in Israel) at the Audi Showcase in Singapore, followed shortly by the TM Connects With Tokio Hotel event in Malaysia, promoting the sales of their album Humanoid. They concluded the series of mini-concerts with Taiwan. They returned to Malaysia a couple of months later to perform at MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2010. They performed in Tokyo on December 15, 2010, after their South American Tour concluded in Distrito Federal, Mexico on December 2, 2010. In February, 2011 Tokio Hotel travelled to Japan to complete a second promo tour. A number of TV appearances and media interviews took place between February 8 and February 11.

On June 24, 2011 Tokio Hotel performed in Japan at “The Next Premium Night Tokio Hotel in Tokyo". The event was presented by Audi A1 and 150 fans were chosen to win tickets to attend the show. The event was the band's first acoustic performance in Japan. On June 25, 2011 the band performed live at the MTV Video Music Aid Japan in Tokyo. The show, which was formerly called the Video Music Awards Japan, was used as a music benefit to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross in order to help those who were affected by the recent earthquake.

Modeling and commercials[link]

This section is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (January 2010)

On January 19, 2010, lead singer Bill Kaulitz teamed up with twins Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared to walk the runway at a fashion event in Milan.^[39] Kaulitz made two appearances, as he opened and closed DSquared's Menswear Autumn/Winter 2010 show to Tokio Hotel song "Screamin".^[40]