30°30′N78°30′E / 30.5°N 78.5°E /30.5; 78.5

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Garhwal Garhdesh Kedarkhand
Administrative division
Kedarnath Mandir Auli Ski Resort Bedni Bugyal Lakshman Jhula onGanges atRishikesh Valley of Flowers Mussoorie covered with snow Mt. Nanda Devi Confluence ofBhagirathi andAlaknanda atDevaprayag
Location in India
Country	India
State	Uttarakhand
Established	1969[1]
Headquarters	Pauri
Largest city	Dehradun
Districts	List Chamoli Dehradun Haridwar Pauri Garhwal Rudraprayag Tehri Garhwal Uttarkashi
Government
• Commissioner	Vinay Shankar Pandey[2]
Area
• Total	32,887 km2 (12,698 sq mi)
Population  (2011 census)
• Total	5,857,294
• Density	178.10/km2 (461.29/sq mi)
Demonym	Garhwali
Languages
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Highest peak of Garhwal division	Nanda Devi (7,816 m (25643 ft)
Website	https://garhwal.uk.gov.in/

Garhwal (/ˈɡɑːrˌwɔːl/GAHR-wawl;Garhwali:[ˈɡəɽʰʋaːɭ]) is one of the two administrative divisions of the Indianstate ofUttarakhand.^[6] Lying in theHimalayas, it is bounded on the north byTibet, on the east byKumaon, on the south byUttar Pradesh state, and on the northwest byHimachal Pradesh state. It includes the districts ofChamoli,Dehradun,Haridwar,Pauri Garhwal,Rudraprayag,Tehri Garhwal, andUttarkashi. The people of Garhwal are known asGarhwali and speak theGarhwali language. The administrative center for Garhwal division is the town ofPauri. The Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of the Division, and is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. As the administrative head of the division, the Commissioner is overall incharge of the 7 districts in the Garhwal region ofUttarakhand, and is aided in his duties by an additional commissioner and the district magistrates. Vinay Shankar Pandey is the current divisional commissioner of the Garhwal Division.^[7][8]

Chota Char Dham

Yamunotri

Gangotri

Kedarnath

Badrinath

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TheGarhwal Himalayas appear to have been a favourite locale for the voluminous mythology of the Puranic period. The traditional name of Garhwal wasKedarkhand means "the land ofKedarnath", andGarhdesh.^[9] Excavations have revealed that it formed part of theMauryan Empire.^[10]

The earliest reference regarding Garhwal and its pride spots are cited in the Skanda Purana and theMahabharata in theVan Parva.Skanda Purana defines the boundaries and extend of this holy land.^[11] It also finds mention in the 7th-century travelogue ofHuen Tsang. However, it is withAdi Shankaracharya that the name of Garhwal will always be linked, for the great 8th-century spiritual reformer visited the remote, snow-laden heights of Garhwal, established aJoshimath and restored some of the most sacred shrines, includingBadrinath andKedarnath.^{[citation needed]}

The history of Garhwal as a unified whole began in the 15th century, when king Ajai Pal merged the 52 separate principalities, each with its own garh or fortress. For 300 years, Garhwal remained one kingdom, with its capital atSrinagar (on the left bank ofAlaknanda river). Then Pauri and Dehradun were perforce ceded to the Crown as payment for British help, rendered to the Garhwalis during the Gurkha invasion, in the early 19th century.^[12]

The earliest ruling dynasty of Garhwal known is of theKatyuris. The Katyuri Raja of Uttarakhand (Kumaon andGarhwal) was styled 'Sri Basdeo Giriraj Chakara Churamani'. The earliest traditions record that the possessions of Joshimath Katyuris in Garhwal extended fromSatluj as far asGandaki and from the snows to plains, including the whole ofRohilkhand. Tradition gives the origin of their Raj atJoshimath in the north nearBadrinath and subsequent migration to Katyur Valley inAlmora district, where a city calledKartikeyapura was founded.^[11]

Katyuris ruled Uttarakhand up to the 11th century and in certain pockets even after their decline. In Garhwal their disruption brought into existence 52 independent chiefs. One of the important principalities in that period was that of Parmars, who held their sway over Chandpur Garhi or Fortress.^[11] Katyuris ruled Uttarakhand up to the 11th century and in certain pockets even after their decline. Kanak Pal was progenitor of this dynasty. Raja Ajay Pal, a scion of the Parmars in the 14th century is credited with having brought these chiefs under his rule.^[11] After his conquest Ajay Pal's domain was recognised as Garhwal owing to exuberance of forts. It is possible that after annexing all principalities, Raja Ajay Pal must have become famous as Garhwala, the owner of forts. With the passage of time his kingdom came to be known as Garhwal.^[11]

Garhwal Kingdom was founded byParmars. Nearly 700 years ago, one of these chiefs, Ajai Pal, reduced all the minor principalities under him and founded the Garhwal Kingdom. He and his ancestors ruled over Garhwal and the adjacent state ofTehri-Garhwal, in an uninterrupted line till 1803, when theGurkhas invaded Kumaon and Garhwal, driving the Garhwal chief into the plains. For 12 years the Gurkhas ruled the country with an iron rod, until a series of encroachments by them on British territory led to theGurkha War in 1814. At the termination of the campaign, Garhwal and Kumaon were converted into British districts, while theTehri principality was restored to a son of the former chief.

The British district of Garhwal was in theKumaon Division of theUnited Provinces, and had an area of 5,629 sq mi (14,580 km²). After annexation, Garhwal rapidly advanced in material prosperity. In 1901, the population was 429,900. Two battalions of theIndian army (the 39th Garhwal Rifles) were recruited in the district, which contained the military cantonment of Lansdowne. Grain and coarse cloth were exported, andsalt,borax, livestock andwool were imported. Trade withTibet was considerable. The administrative headquarters was at the village ofPauri, butSrinagar was the largest city. It was an important mart, as wasKotdwara, the terminus of a branch of theOudh andRohilkhand railway fromNajibabad.

During the turn of the 19th century, the Gurkhas attacked Garhwal and drove the rulers of Garhwal down to the plains (Rishikesh, DehraDun).Pradyumna Shah died fighting at thebattle of Khurbura. Thereafter the rulers of Garhwal took the help of the British forces in India and regained their kingdom. The rulers of Garhwal gave away 60% of their kingdom for the support the British gave them in driving back the Gurhkas.^{[citation needed]}

During theSecond World War, the Raja Narendra Shah contributed his troops and aircraft to the British war effort. In recognition for his services, the British gave him the title of "Maharaja", made him a Knight Commander of theOrder of the Star of India (KCSI) and knighted him. Thus his full title was Sir Maharaja Narendra Shah KCSI.^{[citation needed]}

The region consists almost entirely of rugged mountain ranges running in all directions and separated by narrow valleys, which in some cases become deep gorges or ravines. The only level portion of the district was a narrow strip of waterless forest between the southern slopes of the hills and the fertile plains ofRohilkhand. The highest mountains are in the easternChamoli district, the principal peaks beingNanda Devi 7,816 m (25,643 ft),Kamet 7,756 m (25,446 ft),Chaukhamba 7,138 m (23,419 ft),Trisul 7,120 m (23,360 ft),Dunagiri 7,066 m (23,182 ft), andKedarnath 6,940 m (22,769 ft).

TheAlaknanda River, one of the main sources of theGanges, receives with its affluents the whole drainage of the district. AtDevprayag theAlaknanda joins theBhagirathi, and thenceforward the united streams bear the name of theGanges. Cultivation is principally confined to the immediate vicinity of the rivers, which are employed for irrigation.

In June 2013 a multi-daycloudburst centered in the mountainous valleys of the area resulted in widespread damage and over 5,000 deaths.^[13] It was India'sworst natural disaster insofar as death toll since the2004 tsunami.

A panorama ofGarhwal Himalaya fromDhanaulti

The culture of Garhwal differs from that ofKumaon region andMahasu region which are its neighbour regions.^[14][15][16] The majority of the inhabitants areGarhwalis.The culture of the present Garhwal is an amalgamation of influences from the indigenous population coupled with traditions superimposed by immigrants who settled in the region. A majority of the people are involved in the agriculture, tourism and the defence industry.^{[citation needed]}

Native to 2.8 million people, Hindi has official status and is widely used in administration and education.Garhwali, spoken by about 2.3 million people as of the 2011 census, is the majority language in all but the two southern districts of Haridwar and Dehradun, where the language with the largest proportion of speakers according to the census wasHindi. Other languages with large numbers of speakers areUrdu (250,000, mostly in Haridwar and Dehradun),Jaunsari (140,000 people mostly in the Jaunsar–Bawar region of Dehradun),Nepali (86,000 speakers, with the largest concentration in Dehradun), andPunjabi (76,000, mostly in Dehradun).^[17] The set of indigenous languages also includesMahasu Pahari (found in the north-western district of Uttarkashi in the north-west), and theSino-Tibetan languagesJad (also in Uttarkashi) andRongpo (of Chamoli district).^[18]

Garhwal travel guide from Wikivoyage

• Garhwal division
• Divisions of Uttarakhand

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