Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal) is a State in Northern Part of India carved out the Himalayan and adjoining North-Western Districts of Uttar Pradesh on Nov 9,2000 and becomes the 27th State of India.
Uttarakhand is often referred to as the Land of Gods  due to the many Holy Temples and Cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's  most Spiritual and Auspicious Places of Pilgrimage and Worship.
Uttarakhand has a total geographic area of 53,566 km², of which 93% is mountainous and 64% is covered by  forest.
Uttarakhand has13 Districts which are grouped into two divisions - Kumaon and Garhwal.

 

4 more districts namely Didihat, Ranikhet, Kotdwar and Yamunotri were declared by the then CM of Uttarakhand, Ramesh Pokhariyal on Aug 15, 2011. However, these districts have not been created yet.

Jim Corbett National Park(oldest National Park in India)is named for the hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment—was established in 1921 as Hailey National Park in Nainital District of Uttarakhand  as a protected area for the endangered Bengal Tiger of India.

 

Gangotri and Yamunotri, the sources of both the Ganges and Yamuna fall in the upper reaches of the state and together with Badrinath (dedicated toVishnu)and Kedarnath(dedicated toShiva) form the Char Dham('the four abodes/seats')one of Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious pilgrimage circuits.
Char Dham are - Badrinath, Dwarka, Jagannath Puri, and Rameshwaram
Gangotri, the origin of the River Ganges and seat of the Goddess Ganga, is one of the four sites in the Char Dham Pilgrimage Circuit. The River is called Bhagirathi  at the source and acquires the name Ganga (the Ganges) from Devprauag onwards where it meets the Alaknanda.

Bhagirathi River at Gangotri

  









Gangotri Temple

Yamunotri is the source of the River Yamuna and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna.Yamunotri temple is situated in the western region of Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 3,235 metres (10,614 ft) inUttarkashi District of Uttarakhand

 












Haridwar meaning "Gateway to God" is a prime Hindu destination. Haridwar hosts the Kumbha Mela every 12 years, in which millions of pilgrims take part from all parts of the India and the world.

 

Rishikesh( is a name of Vishnu that means 'lord of the senses') has a permanent population of merely 75,000, the city attracts hundreds of thousands of Pilgrims and Tourists each year, from within India, as well as from other countries. Rishikesh is a Vegetarian and an Alcohol Free City by Law. The Sacred River Ganges  flows through Rishikesh and it is here that the river leaves the Shivalik Mountains in the Himalayas and flows out into the plains of Northern India.

Rishikesh,sometimes nicknamed "the world capital of Yoga", has numerous Yoga Centres that also attract Tourists.Rishikesh is also home to the 120-year old Kailas Ashram Brahmavidyapeetham, an institution dedicated to preserve and promote the traditional Vedantic Studies.


In January 2007, the name of the state was officially changed from Uttaranchal, its interim name, to Uttarakhand
Capital Dehradun
Population 10 Million(2011 Census)
Religion 85% Hindus;10% Muslims and 3% Sikhs and 2% Others

History
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.
In the post-independence period, the Garhwal Kingdom was merged into Uttar Pradesh State, where Uttarakhand composed the Garhwal and Kumaon Divisions.
Various political groups including most significantly the''Uttarakhan Kranti Dal''(UKD)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 which 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.
On Sep 24, 1998 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the 'Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill', 1998, which eventually led to the creation of the state, eventually the Parliament passed the Indian Federal Legislation - Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000, and thus on 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand became the 27th State in the Republic of India.

Government
Uttarakhand has a Legislative Assembly which is Unicameral with 70 Members

The 5 Parliamentary Constituencies at Uttarakhand are -
1.Tehri Garhwal
2.Almora
3.Nainital
4.Garhwal
5.Hardwar

Uttarakhand has 3 Rajya Sabha Seats.
The Current CM of Uttarakhand is who was appointed as the 7th CM of Uttarakhand by the Governor

Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand

S No	Name	Party	Tenure
1	Nityanand Swami	BJP	Nov 9,2000 to Oct 29,2001
2	Koshiyari	BJP	Oct 30,2001 to March 1,2002
3	Narayan Dutt Tiwari	INC	March 2,2002 to March 7,2007
4	Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri	BJP	March 7,2007 to June 23,2009
5	Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank	BJP	June 24,2009 to Sep 10,2011
6	Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri	BJP	Sep 11,2011
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