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Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand is a state located in
the northern part of India. It was known as Uttaranchal between 2000
and 2006, Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India
on November 9, 2000.
Uttarakhand borders Tibet (China) to the north, Nepal to the east, and the
states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (of which it formed a
part before 2000) in the west and south respectively. The region is
traditionally referred to as Uttarakhand in Hindu scriptures and old
literature, a term which derives from the Sanskrit for Northern
Country or Section.
In January 2007, the name of the state was officially changed from
Uttaranchal, its interim name, to Uttarakhand, according to the
wishes of a large section of its people. The provisional capital of
Uttarakhand is Dehradun which is also a rail-head and the largest
city in the region. The small hamlet of Gairsen 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 and about to reach
completion. Uttarakhand is also well known as the birthplace of
the Chipko environmental movement, and a myriad other social
movements including the mass agitation in the 1990s that led to its
formation.
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