A land in which Ved Vyasa wrote Mahabhrata, a land in which Lord Ganesha appeared on earth to assist Ved Vyasa in the completion of the longest Scriptures of the world, a land in which Lord Shiva brought Ganges from heaven to earth, a land of godly rivers, Yamuna and Sarswati, among others, a land of gateway to god – the Haridwar, a land which is made their abode by Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu in Kedarnath and Badrinath respectively, a land which is called the Dev Bhumi, as it is the home of the hordes of ancient Rishi Muni, a land from which Pandavas went to heaven.
This land and its people have had a long and frustrating struggle to achieve the status of an independent state. This land and its people who had already suffered for years, received a jolt of their life as the Police rained bullets on them, when they were peacefully marching to Delhi to stage a peaceful dharana, probably at Rajghat, to press for their demand of an independent state. The government was the state government of the UP, the location was Ram Pur Tiraha, and the date was 1st October ‘ 1994. Was it a simple a coincidence as the entire world woke up to a news of man slaughter on 2nd October, when the entire world was celebrating the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, a symbol and inspiration of peacefull struggle throughout the world.
The martyrdom of the scores of pahadis compelled the Powers of the country and finally a bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh resulted into formation of a separate state by the name of Uttranchal. On 9th January 2000, 27th State of the Union of India was born. Whether the people of the state were happy, they were only half happy. The state was given, but the name was taken away. The agitation continued the name of the state was eventually changed to Uttrakhand in the month of January 2007.
The name of Uttarakhand is mentioned in the early Hindu scriptures as the combined area of Kedarkhand and Manaskhand and the people justifiably agitated to retain this name. As is the earliest documented by historians, around 200 B.C. Khas Aryan people entered the Himalayan range from the Caucasus Mountains and Vedic Aryan travelled south, west and east. Uttrakhand was always known as “Devbhumi” because of the presence of a multitude of Hindu pilgrimage sites. Pauravas, Kushanas, Kunindas, Guptas, Katyuris, Palas, the Chands, and Parmars, or Panwars, Shahs, and the British ruled Uttarakhand. Among Garhwal and Kumaon’s first major dynasties were Kunindas in 2nd century B.C. The Ashokan edict at Kalsi, near Dehradun in Western Garhwal, shows that Buddhism made inroads in this area. However, Garhwal and Kumaon were restored to nominal Brahmanic rule due to Shankaracharya ‘s work and migrants coming from the plains. The Kunindas gave way to Naga dynasties in the fourth century. Between the 7th and 14th centuries, Khas root Katyuri dynasty ruled lands of varying extent from Kumaon’s Katyur (modern day Baijnath) valley. Other Tibeto-Burman peoples known as Kiratas are thought to have settled in the northern highlands as well as in pockets in the region and believed to be ancestors of modern-day peoples Bhotiya, Raji, Buksha, and Tharu. Jaunsar- Bawar was Garhwal Kingdom. It is Garhwal’s border area, so Sirmaur rules captured it sometime. But Garhwal Kings defeated Sirmaur, and Jaunsar-Bawar joined Garhwal again. We can still experience Sirmaur words in Jaunsari. And Jaunsar’s Garhwali surname. In 1829, Jaunsar-Bawar was incorporated into Chakrata tehsil, before which it was part of Sirmur’s Punjab state until it was conquered together with Dehradun after the Gurkhas war of 1814.
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. 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. In 1791, the Gurkha Empire of Nepal overran Almora, the seat of the Kumaon Kingdom. Garhwal Kingdom fell to the Gurkhas in 1803. With the end of the Anglo-Nepalese War in 1816, as part of the Sugauli Treaty, Tehri restored a rump portion of the Garhwal Kingdom and East British Garhwal and Kumaon ceded to Britain. 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. Well known IIT Roorkee was started as Thomason College of Civil Engineering in 1847. British Indian Army cantonment was established in 1866, in Jaunsar-Bawar.
Very few Uttakhndis know that the demand for a separate Uttarakhand was first coined in the year 1797, around 100 years back, well before the demand of Independent India became very popular. However, in 1919, this demand took the form of a mass movement and agitation.
Uttarahand is perhaps the only state which is connected with three international borders – China, Tibet and Nepal and still very peaceful. All small and big rivers of Uttar Pradesh originated from this region. Uttaranchal region exists from small hills to the highest mountain ranges. Among them are the Nanda Devi, Trishul, Kedarnath, Neelkanth and Chaukhambha mountain peaks that remain snow-covered for most of the time. Due to circumstantial variations, different flora and fauna exist in this area.
One of the strong arguments in the favor of formation of Uttrakhand was that there were many states whose area and population was much less than the proposed State. Another equally strong argument was that the state has many inaccessible terrains and the development was not reaching to these areas with Uttar Pradesh.
The agitation continued in one or another form except in 1962 when Indo China war broke out. As a solidarity and to support to the central government, the Pahadis suspended their agitation for some time.
The first step towards forming Uttrakhand was passing of Uttrakhand separate state Bill on August 27, 1979, by the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and sent to the Central Government for approval. There is an ancient saying as how name of Kumaun came to be known. One of the most popular among the people is that the second incarnation of GOD Vishnu was of a Kachhap or Kurm, that avatar is said to be in the Kurma mountain east of the Champawati river which is now known as Kandev then the name of this mountain changed to Kurmachal (Kurmachchal). The name over the time due to local dialect was changed to 'kumaon' .
However, Thakur Jodhsingh Negi ji has written in his 'Himalayas-yatra' – "The people of Kumaon are adept at farming and earning money. They are big earners, this made the name of this country to Kumaon",