Interesting Facts about Uttarakhand

Quick Basic Facts about Uttarakhand

• Capital – Dehradun
• Official Language – Hindi, Sanskrit
• Area – 53,845 Sq Km
• Area Rank – 19th
• Population – 1,01,16,752
• Population Rank – 20th
• Population Density – 189 /Sq Km
• Population Density Rank – 20th
• Sex Ratio – 963 females per 1000 male
• Literacy Rate – 79.63 %
• Literacy Rank – 17th
• No of Districts – 13
• Assembly seats – 71 (Unicameral)
• Lok sabha seats – 5
• Rajya sabha seats – 3
• Created On – 9 Nov 2000
• First Chief Minister – Nityanand Swami
• First Governor – S S Barnala
• Highest Peak – Nanda Devi in Chamoli district, Altitude – 7816 Mtr

Historical Facts about Uttarakhand

• The demand for the separate state of Uttarakhand first appeared in Karachi session of Indian National Congress in 1930. This matter was further taken ahead by P C Joshi.
• It was the 27th state of India. Dehradun is the capital while High Court is in Nainital.
• The earlier name when the state was formed was Uttaranchal, but in 2007 it was renamed as Uttarakhand.
• The famous “Chipko Movement” known for conservation of forests started from the state of Uttarakhand in the 1990s. Sundarlal Bahuguna who was exponent of Chipko Movement was famous environmentalist who belonged to this state.

Geographical Facts about Uttarakhand

• Uttarakhand borders with 2 states – Himachal Pradesh in north west and Uttar Pradesh in south.
• Uttarakhand shares its international border with China in northeast and Nepal in southeast. Length of international border shares with China is 463 Km and that along Nepal is 303 Km. Total international border length of Uttarakhand is 766 Km.
• The state is divided in two divisions – Gharwal and Kumaon.
• Nanda Devi is the highest peak of Uttarakhand with an altitude of 7816 mt. It is also India’s second highest peak, first being Kangchenjunga.
• Nanda Devi is the highest peak of India which lies completely in India, as Kangchenjunga lies both in India and Nepal.
• Kamet and Badrinath are the second and third highest peaks of the state with an altitude of 7756 mt and 7138 mtr respectively
• Two of the most sacred rivers as per Hindu beliefs – Ganga and Yamuna originate from Uttarakhand state. while Ganga originates from Gangotri, Yamuna originates from Yamunotri.
• Jim Corbett National Park of Nainital district  is the oldest national park of India which was established in 1936 for protection of Royal Bengal Tiger.
• Valley of Flowers which is one of the UNESCO World Heritage site contains rarely found thousands of varieties of flowers, medicinal plants etc.
• Six of the seven National Parks of UP are now in Uttarakhand. These are Jim Corbett national park, Rajaji national park, Nanda Devi national park, Valley of flowers, Kedarnath sanctuary, Gangotri national park etc.
• The state animal of this state is Himlayan Musk dear, state bird is “Himlayan monal”, state flower is “Brahma Kamal”, State tree is “Burans”.

• Heavy floods and landslides were observed in Uttarakhand during month of June 2013 in which more than 5500 people were dead.

Economic Facts about Uttarakhand

• After Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand (competing with Bihar) is the second fastest growing state of India. Per capita income of this state is more than nation’s average.
• Mineral Resources of the state – Limestone, rock phosphate, dolomite, magnesite, copper graphite, soapstone, gypsum etc
• Hill stations like Mussori, Nainital, Almora, Dehradun are world famous tourist attractions.
• The key industries include Tourism and Hydro-electric power generation.
• The first Agriculture University of India “Govind Ballabh Pant University” which paved the way of Green Revolution of India was established in year 1960 in Pantnagar. Its original name was Uttar Pradesh Agricultural University which was later renamed to Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in 1972.

Social and Cultural Facts about Uttarakhand

• Uttarakhand is also called Devbhumi due to many religious sites of Hindus such as Haridwar, Rishikesh, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, Kedarnath etc.

• Haridwar is one of the four holy pilgrimage sites where Kumbh mela is organised. The other three sites are Allahabad, Nashik and Ujjain.
• Kedarnath temple is one of the holiest place  as per Hindu beliefs.  It is revered as one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
• Badrinath is one of the Char Dhams of Hindu pilgrimage. The other three remaining sites of Char Dhams are Puri, Dwarka and Rameswaram.
• The state of Uttarakhand is also home for the pilgrimage sites of Chota Char Dham which are Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

• Hemkund Sahib is a famous pilgrimage site of Sikhs. It is reached by a highly arduous route through Joshimath. Joshimath serves as base-camp for not only Hemkund Sahib but also to Valley of Flowers, Mana Pass and famous skiing tourist spot of Uttarakhand – Auli.
• Uttarakhand is the only state in India which has Sanskrit as its Official Language.
• Famous folk dances of Uttarakhand includes – Langvir Nritya, Barada Nati, Hurka Baul, Jhora Chanchri and Chholiya.
• Literacy rate of Uttarakhand is 79.6 % which is above National average of 74.04 %. Uttarakhand is 11th most literate state of India as per 2011 census.
• Main festivals of state – Kumbh Mela/Ardh Kumbha mela, Devidhura mela, Nanda Devi mela of Almora, Gauchar mela of Chamoli, Uttariani mela of Bageshwar, Purnagiri mela, Nanda devi raj jat yatra  etc.
• The famous Boarding School of India – “Doon School” boasts of its numerous alumni in different walks of life. Few popular persons who passed out from this boarding school are Rajeev Gandhi, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Karan Thapar, Naveen Patnaik, Vikram Seth, Himani Shivpuri, Abhinav Bindra etc.

 Famous Persons related to Uttarakhand

• Govind Vallabh Pant who was a great socialist, freedom fighter and Gandhian was the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (at that time Uttarakhand was not a separate state and part of UP). He was the significant leader of Uttarakhand region and was born in Almora.
• Tom alter who is famous TV and Bollywood artist was born in Mussorie.
• Himani Shivpuri who is famous Bollywood and TV artist was born and brought up in Dehradun. She also studied at Doon School.
• Other Famous Bollywood Artists – Ali Abbas Zafar, UditaGoswami, HemantPandey
• Abhinav Bindra  the famous sportsman and shooter was the first Indian to win individual Gold Medal in shooting at 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was born in Dehradun.
• Bachendri Pal who is the first Indian woman to reach Mount Everest belongs to Uttarkashi district.
• Major Som Nath Sharma–  first recipient of Param Vir Chakra
• Gabbar Singh Negi-  first recipient of Victoria Cross.
• Sumitra Nandan Pant Famous Hindi writer
• Narendra Singh Negi– Famous Folk singer