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nurturing 21st Century Children

leisure &

travel

Dehradun

development of trekking and yatra (pilgrimage) routes and Uttarakhand owes much of its religious and spiritual
adventure sports such as river rafting, paragliding, skiing, traditions to Adi Shankaracharya, the revered saint who
mountaineering etc, have positioned Uttarakhand in the ‘A’ was almost entirely responsible for the renaissance of Hin-
list of adventure and wildlife enthusiasts. duism in the early 9th century. He established a series of
The history of Uttarakhand dates to the era of the Ma- dhams and maths — seats of Hindu religion — on elevated
habharata (1000 BC). In the epic the Pandava brothers are sites amidst the Himalayas before his death at Kedarnath
said to have ascended to heaven by climbing the Swarga- in 820 AD. His samadhi (memorial) continues to lure thou-
rohini peak in western Garhwal. The Mahabharata also sands of pilgrims from across the country.
describes this region as the home of the Kirata, Pulinda Contemporary Uttarakhand comprises two divisions
and Tangara tribes. However recorded history is available — Garhwal and Kumaon, which are further subdivided
only up to the time of the Macedonian march across the into 13 districts governed from Dehradun, the state capital.
Himalayan foothills. Later in 330 AD, the Gupta dynasty Though remote and mountainous, Uttarakhand has a high
instituted an imperialist tradition, which was followed by literacy rate of 70 percent.
the Vardhanas until 400 AD.
The downfall of the Vardhana empire led to the emer- dehradun
gence of a number of small principalities ruled by local Sited in the broad Doon valley between the Shiwalik hills
chieftains. Subsequently during the Turkish invasions of and the front range of the Himalayas, Dehradun (pop.
the plains these principalities changed in size and power 690,586) is the admin capital of Uttarakhand. Once the
as additional waves of migration were experienced. Today, most scenic and salubrious hill station of north India, it
if a resident is asked about the history of the region, the has become a hot and dusty town because of excessive
answer is more likely to be shaped by myth rather than commercialisation. Naturalists describe this newly formed
chronicle. admin capital as a polluted, over-exploited and crowded
The region was part of the United Province of Agra city. The name Dehradun is an amalgam of ‘dera’ mean-
and Awadh which was delineated in 1902 when the ing camp and ‘dun’ or valley.
British stepped in to repulse invading Gorkhas. Later the Dehradun is best known for its education institutions
British created replicas of little England in the hills of the established by the British. The most notable among them is
region. After India gained independence, the United the Forest Research Institute (FRI), one of the finest
Province was renamed Uttar Pradesh (1950) and Uttara- of its genre worldwide. Set amidst vast botanical gardens
khand remained a part of Uttar Pradesh until this new with the Himalayas providing a spectacular backdrop, it
state of the Indian Union was decreed in 2000. boasts an excellent forestry museum. Other institutions of

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