Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India on 9th November 2000. The State
came out of Uttar Pradesh. Demand for Uttarakhand was first made in 1930 at the Karachi
session of INC. It occupies 17.3% of India's total land area with 51,125 sq kms.
Uttarakhand is a place with great diversity of the region where snow-clad mountains, green hills,
fertile valleys, flowing rivers and thriving lakes add to the natural beauty.

Culture :
The Land of Gods, natural diversity and the element of the Himalayas unparalleled beauty and
sanctity add a new dimension to the word culture. The people of the state are as diverse as the
landscape. Uttarakhand is blessed with a whole multiplicity of culture greatly influenced and
inspired by its geo-social factors. The ancient cultural traditions of Uttarakhand are deep rooted
primarily in religion. Music, dance and arts are a manifest for the firm religious bonds of the
people with the awe-inspiring Himalayas.

Uttarakhand's diverse ethnicities have created a rich literary tradition in languages including
Hindi, Kumaoni, Garhwali, Jaunsari, and Bhoti. The dances of the region are connected to life
and human existence and exhibit myriad human emotions. Langvir Nritya is a dance form for
males that resembles gymnastic movements. Barada Nati folk dance is another famous dance of
Dehradun, which is practised during some religious festivals. Other well-known dances include
Hurka Baul, Jhora-Chanchri, Jhumaila, Chauphula, and Chholiya. Music is an integral part of the
Uttarakhandi culture. Popular types of folk songs include Mangal, Basanti, Khuded and
Chhopati. These folk songs are played on instruments including dhol, damau, turri, ransingha,
dholki, daur, thali, bhankora, mandan and mashakbaja. The primary food of Uttarakhand is
vegetables with wheat being a staple, although non-vegetarian food is also served. A distinctive
characteristic of Uttarakhand cuisine is the sparing use of tomatoes, milk, and milk based
products. Coarse grain with high fibre content is very common in Uttarakhand due to the harsh
terrain.

Geography :
Uttarakhand has a total area of 53,483 km2, of which 86% is mountainous and 65% is covered
by forest. Most of the northern part of the state is covered by high Himalayan peaks and glaciers.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, the expanding development of Indian roads, railways
and other physical infrastructure was giving rise to concerns over indiscriminate logging,
particularly in the Himalaya. Two of the most important rivers in Hinduism originate in the
region, the Ganges at Gangotri and the Yamuna at Yamunotri. These two along with Badrinath
and Kedarnath form the Chota Char Dham, a holy pilgrimage for the Hindus. The state hosts the
Bengal tiger in Jim Corbett National Park, the oldest national park of the Indian subcontinent.
The Valley of Flowers, a Unesco World Heritage Site located in the upper expanses of Bhyundar
Ganga near Joshimath in Gharwal region, is known for the variety and rarity of its flowers and
plants.

Demographics :
Though 2011 census is silent on religion wise data, since data is ready and government is about
to release it, some national newspapers accessed the data and published it. The data says there
are 2 percent growth in Muslim population between 2001 and 2011, Now Muslim comprised
13.9 percent of total state population.
The native people of Uttarakhand are generally called Uttarakhandi and sometimes specifically
either Kumaoni or Garhwali depending on their place of origin in either the Kumaon or Garhwal
region. According to the 2011 census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,116,752
comprising 5,154,178 males and 4,962,574 females, with 69.45% of the population living in
rural areas. The state is the 20th most populous state of the country having 0.84% of the
population on 1.69% of the land. The population density of the state is 189 people per square
kilometre having a 20012011 decadal growth rate of 19.17%. The gender ratio is 963 females
per 1000 males. The crude birth rate in the state is 18.6 with the total fertility rate being 2.3. The
state has an infant mortality rate of 43, a maternal mortality rate of 188 and a crude death rate of
6.6.

Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh, abbreviated as UP, is a state located in Northern India. It was created on 1 April
1937 as the United Provinces, and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Lucknow is the
administrative capital of Uttar Pradesh. Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Moradabad, Aligarh, and Varanasi
are known for their industrial importance in the state as well as in India. On 9 November 2000, a
new state, Uttarakhand, was carved out from the Himalayan hill region of Uttar Pradesh.

Culture :
There is a long literary and folk Hindi language tradition in the state. In the 19th and 20th
century, Hindi literature was modernised by authors such as Jaishankar Prasad, Maithili Sharan
Gupt, Munshi Premchand, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, Babu Gulabrai, Sachchidananda Hirananda
Vatsyayan 'Agyeya', Rahul Sankrityayan, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Dharamvir Bharati, Subhadra
Kumari Chauhan, Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Dushyant Kumar,
Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Acharya Kuber Nath Rai, Bharatendu Harishchandra, Kamleshwar
Prasad Saxena, Shivmangal Singh Suman, Mahadevi Varma, and Vibhuti Narain Rai. Uttar
Pradesh has produced musicians, including Anup Jalota, Baba Sehgal, Girija Devi, Gopal
Shankar Misra, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Kishan Maharaj, Vikash Maharaj[205]Naushad Ali, Ravi
Shankar, Shubha Mudgal, Siddheshwari Devi, Talat Mehmood, and Ustad Bismillah Khan. The
Ghazal singer Begum Akhtar was a native of Uttar Pradesh. The region's folk heritage includes
songs called rasiya (especially popular in Braj), which celebrate the divine love of Radha and
Krishna. Other forms of music are kajari, sohar, qawwali, rasiya, thumri, birha, chaiti, and
sawani. Kathak, a classical dance form, owes its origin to the state of Uttar Pradesh. The dance
form is connected to classical Hindustani music where the rhythmic nimbleness of the feet is
accompanied by the Tabla or Pakhawaj.[208] Two schools of this dance form, Lucknow gharana
and Benares gharana, are situated in Uttar Pradesh.
Diwali (celebrated between mid-October and mid-December) and Rama Navami are popular
festivals in Uttar Pradesh. Kumbh Mela, organised in the month of Maagha (Feb-March), is a
major festival held every three years in rotation at Allahabad.

A typical day-to-day traditional vegetarian meal of Uttar Pradesh, like any other North Indian
thali, consists of roti (flatbread), chawal, dal, sabji, raita and papad. Many people still drink the
traditional drink chaach (traditional Butter milk) with meals. On festive occasions, usually 'tava'
(flat pan for roti) is considered inauspicious, and instead fried foods are consumed. A typical
festive thali consists of Puri, Kachauri, sabji, pulav, papad, raita, salad and desserts (such as
sewai or Kheer).
Many communities have their own particular style of cuisines, such as the Jains, Kayasths and
Muslims. There are also certain sub-regional delicacies. Awadhi cuisine is world famous for
dishes such as kebab, biryani, keema and nihari. Sweets occupy an important place in the Hindu
diet and are eaten at social ceremonies. People make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products,
including khurchan, peda, gulabjamun, petha, makkhan malai, and chamcham. The chaat in
Lucknow and Banarasi Paan is known across India for its flavour and ingredients.

The people of Uttar Pradesh dress in a variety of traditional and Western styles. Traditional styles
of dress include colourful draped garments such as sari for women and dhoti or lungi for men
and tailored clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta-pyjama for men. Men often
sport head-gear like topi or pagri. Sherwani is a more formal male dress and is frequently worn
along with chooridar on festive occasions. European-style trousers and shirts are also common
among the men.

Geography :
Uttar Pradesh, with a total area of 243,290 square kilometres (93,935 sq mi), is Indias fourth
largest state in terms of land area. It is situated on the northern spout of India and shares an
international boundary with Nepal. The Himalayas border the state on the north, but the plains
that cover most of the state are distinctly different from those high mountains. The larger
Gangetic Plain region is in the north; it includes the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, the Ghaghra plains,
the Ganges plains and the Terai. The smaller Vindhya Range and plateau region is in the south. It
is characterised by hard rock strata and a varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateaus.
The Bhabhar tract gives place to the terai area which is covered with tall elephant grass and thick
forests interspersed with marshes and swamps. The sluggish rivers of the bhabhar deepen in this
area, their course running through a tangled mass of thick under growth. The terai runs parallel to
the bhabhar in a thin strip. The entire alluvial plain is divide into three sub-regions. The first in
the eastern tract consisting of 14 districts which are subject to periodical floods and droughts and
have been classified as scarcity areas. These districts have the highest density of population
which gives the lowest per capita land. The other two regions, the central and the western are
comparatively better with a well-developed irrigation system. They suffer from water logging
and large-scale user tracts. In addition, the area is fairly arid. The state has more than 32 large

and small rivers; of them, the Ganges, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sarayu, Betwa, and Ghaghara are
larger and of religious importance in Hinduism.

The state has an abundance of natural resources. In 2011 the recorded forest area in the state was
16,583 km2 (6,403 sq mi) which is about 6.88% of the state's geographical area. In spite of rapid
deforestation and poaching of wildlife, a diverse flora and fauna continue to exist in the state.
Several species of trees, large and small mammals, reptiles, and insects are found in the belt of
temperate upper mountainous forests. Medicinal plants are found in the wild and are also grown
in plantations. The Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands support cattle. Moist deciduous trees grow
in the upper Gangetic plain, especially along its riverbanks. This plain supports a wide variety of
plants and animals. The Ganges and its tributaries are the habitat of large and small reptiles,
amphibians, fresh-water fish, and crabs. Scrubland trees such as the babool and animals such as
the chinkara are found in the arid Vindhyas.

Demographics :
Uttar Pradesh has a large population and a high population growth rate. From 1991 to 2001 its
population increased by over 26%. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India, with
199,581,477 people on 1 March 2011. The state contributes 16.16% of India's population. The
population density is 828 people per square kilometre, making it one of the most densely
populated states in the country.
The sex ratio in 2011, at 908 women to 1000 men, was lower than the national figure of 933. The
state's 20012011 decennial growth rate (including Uttrakhand) was 20.09%, higher than the
national rate of 17.64%. Uttar Pradesh has a large number of people living below the poverty
line. Estimates released by the Planning Commission for the year 2009-10 revealed that Uttar
Pradesh had 59 million people below the poverty line, the most for any state in India.

Punjab
Punjab, also spelt Panjab, is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the
larger Punjab region.The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east,
Haryana to the south and southeast, Rajasthan to the southwest, and the Pakistani province of
Punjab to the west. To the north it is bounded by the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The
state capital is located in Chandigarh, a Union Territory and also the capital of the neighbouring
state of Haryana.

Culture :
The culture of Punjab has many elements including music such as bhangra, an extensive
religious and non-religious dance tradition, a long history of poetry in the Punjabi language, a
significant Punjabi film industry which dates back to before Partition, a vast range of cuisine
which has become widely popular abroad, and a number of seasonal and harvest festivals such as
Lohri, Basant, Vaisakhi and Teeyan, all of which are celebrated in addition to the religious
festivals of India. A kissa is a Punjabi language oral story-telling tradition that has a mixture of
origins ranging from the Arabian peninsula to Iran and Afghanistan. Punjabi wedding traditions
and ceremonies are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. Marriage ceremonies are known for
their rich rituals, songs, dances, food and dresses, which have evolved over many centuries.

One of the main features of Punjabi cuisine is its diverse range of dishes. Home cooked and
restaurant cuisine sometimes vary in taste. Restaurant style uses large amounts of ghee. Some
food items are eaten on a daily basis while some delicacies are cooked only on special occasions.
Within the Punjab region, there are different preferences in terms of use of spices and cooking
methods. Also many varieties of ingredients exist as well. People in villages tend to cook much
stuff in animal fats compared to the residents in the cities. Also there are many regional dishes
that are famous in some regions only. Many dishes are exclusive to Punjab, such as sarson da
saag, Tandoori chicken, Shami kebab, makki di roti etc. to name a few. Tandoori food is a
Punjabi specialty especially for non-vegetarian dishes. Before the 1947 partition, tandoori

cooking in India was traditionally associated with the former undivided Punjab. Many of the
most popular elements of Indian cuisine as it is marketed to non-Indian customers (such as
tandoor, naan, pakoras and vegetable dishes with paneer) is derived from Punjab. Punjabis
celebrate a number of festivals which have taken a semi secular meaning and are regarded as
cultural festivals by people of all religions. Some of the festivals are Bandi Chhor Divas(Diwali),
Mela Maghi, Hola Mohalla, Rakhri, Vaisakhi, Lohri, Teeyan and Basant.
Sikhism is the predominant faith in Punjab, followed by more than 60% of the populace. The
holiest of Sikh shrines, the Sri Harmandir Sahib (or Golden Temple), is in the city of Amritsar
and the city also houses the SGPC, the top most Sikh religious body. The Sri Akal Takht Sahib,
which is within the Golden Temple complex, is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs. Of the five
Takhts (Temporal Seats of religious authority) of Sikhism, three are in Punjab. These are Sri Akal
Takht Sahib, Damdama Sahib and Anandpur Sahib.

Geography :
Punjab is in northwestern India and has an area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 sq mi). It
extends from the latitudes 29.30 North to 32.32 North and longitudes 73.55 East to 76.50
East. It is bounded on the west by Pakistan, on the north by Jammu and Kashmir, on the
northeast by Himachal Pradesh and on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan.
Most of the Punjab lies in a fertile, alluvial plain with many rivers and an extensive irrigation
canal system. A belt of undulating hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot
of the Himalayas. Its average elevation is 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level, with a range from
180 metres (590 ft) in the southwest to more than 500 metres (1,600 ft) around the northeast
border. The southwest of the state is semiarid, eventually merging into the Thar Desert. The
Shiwalik Hills extend along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas.

There are no natural forests in the plains; extensive tracts occur covered only with grass, shrubs
and bushes. The mango fruit is largely cultivated in the southeast of the Punjab and attains a high
degree of perfection about Multan and Hoshiarpur. Cultivated fruit trees, such as orange,
pomegranate, apple, peach, fig, mulberry, quince, apricot, almond, and plum are abundant in the

region. The Shivalik area is the richest area of Punjab in terms of floral and faunal diversity, and
has been identified as one of the micro-endemic zones of India. Amongst the angiosperms, about
355 species of herbs, 70 tree species, 70 species of shrubs or under shrubs, 19 of climbers and 21
species of twiners have been recorded from the area. Apart from angiosperms, 31 species of
pteridophytes, 27 of bryophytes and one species of gymnosperms (Pinus roxburghii) have also
been recorded. The area is also rich in faunal diversity, including 396 species of birds, 214
species of Lepidoptera, 55 species of fish, 20 species of reptiles, and 19 species of mammals.
Here are a number of wetlands, bird sanctuaries and zoological parks across Punjab. These
include the Hari-Ke-Pattan National Wetland and Wildlife Sanctuary at Harike in Tarn Taran
Sahib District, the Kanjli Wetland, the Kapurthala Sutlej Water Body Wetland, the Ropar
Zoological Park, Chhatbir, Bansar Garden, Sangrur, the Aam Khas Bagh, Sirhind, the Ram Bagh
Garden Amritsar, the Shalimar Garden, Kapurthala and the Baradari Garden at Patiala.

Demographics :
According to the 2011 Indian Census, the population of Indian Punjab is 27,704,236 (males
14,634,819 & females 13,069,417) The literacy rate in Punjab is 75%, male literacy being
80.23% and female literacy 68.36%.
List of major cities population in Punjab are :1. Ludhiana, population of 1,613,878.
2. Amritsar, population of 1,183,761.
3. Jalandhar, population of 903,775.
4. Patiala, population of 404,686.
5. Bathinda, population of 285,813.
The sex ratio of Punjab was 895 females per 1000 males (2011 census). On account of female
foeticide, Punjab has the second lowest sex ratio amongst all Indian states. Being an agricultural
state, a large part of the population lives in the rural area. Roughly 66% of the people live in rural
areas while the rest of the 34% are urban residents.
Punjab has highest dalit population in India which is 31.9% including both Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes. The scheduled caste population is 28.9%, the highest percentage of any Indian
state.[53] Districts with high dalit population are Ferozepur (42 percent of dalits), Nawanshahr (40
per cent), Jalandhar and Muktsar ( 38 per cent), Faridkot (36 per cent), Tarn Taran (32 percent)
and Kapurthala (30 per cent).

Haryana
Haryana is a state in North India with its capital at Chandigarh. It came into existence on 1
November 1966 as a newly created state carved out of the Indian Punjab (East Punjab) state on
the basis of language. It has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is
found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the Apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar (VS 1189
1230). It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west
and south. The river Yamuna defines its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh. Haryana also
surrounds the country's capital Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern
borders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of south Haryana is included in the National Capital
Region for purposes of planning for development.

Culture :
Haryana has a rich cultural heritage that goes back to the Indus Valley Civilization era. Dhosi
Hill, the ashram of the mythical Rishi Chyawan is an important site where Chyawanprash was
purportedly formulated for the first time. The last Hindu emperor of India who belonged to
Rewari in Haryana, Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called Hemu, declared himself a
'Vikramaditya' king after defeating Akbar's forces in Delhi in 1556. It amounted to establishing a
vedic 'Hindu Raj' in North India during medieval period after a gap of more than 350 years. The
age-old customs of meditation, Yoga and chanting of Vedic mantras are still observed by the
masses. Famous yoga guru Swami Ramdev is from Mahendragarh in Haryana. Seasonal and
religious festivals glorify the culture of this region. Haryana has a variety of folk dances.

Haryanavi has traditionally been the dominant mother tongue in Haryana, with Standard Hindi
being spoken as a second language. Haryanvi has no official status, as it is seen as a dialect of
Hindi. Therefore Hindi is the official languages and also the most commonly spoken language in
the state. Since it was the Punjabi Suba movement that had led to formation of Haryana, Bansi
Lal thought, Let any language other than Punjabi be the second language of the state. Hence,
Tamil became the second state language even though there might not have been even a single

Tamil native family in the state at that point of time. [38] Since 1947, Punjabi has also been spoken
by a lot of people in Haryana especially by those Hindus and Sikhs who came over from the
West Punjab, following the Partition of India. As such, Punjabi edged out Tamil as the secondary
official language of the state, other than Hindi and English, in 2010.

Geography :
Haryana is a landlocked state in northern India. It is located between 2739' to 3035' N latitude
and between 7428' and 7736' E longitude. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 to
3600 ft (200 metres to 1200 metres) above sea level. An area of 1,553 km2 is covered by forest.
Haryana has four main geographical features.

The Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state

The Shivalik Hills to the northeast
Semi-desert sandy plain to the southwest
The Aravalli Range in the south

The river Yamuna flows along its eastern boundary. The ancient Sarasvati River is said to have
flowed from Yamuna Nagar, but it has now disappeared.
The river Ghaggar is Haryana's main seasonal river. The Ghaggar rises in the outer Himalayas,
between the Yamuna and the Sutlej and enters Haryana near Pinjore, Panchkula district. Passing
through Ambala and Hissar, it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs a course of 460 km
(290 mi) before disappearing into the deserts of Rajasthan. Important tributary are Chautang and
Tangri.

The Haryana has 2 National Parks, 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 2 Wildlife Conservation Areas, 4
Animal & Bird Breeding Centers, 1 Deer park and 3 Zoos, all of which are managed by the
Haryana Forest Department of the Government of Haryana. Thorny, dry, deciduous forest and
thorny shrubs can be found all over the state. During the monsoon, a carpet of grass covers the
hills. Mulberry, eucalyptus, pine, kikar, shisham and babul are some of the trees found here. The
species of fauna found in the state of Haryana include black buck, nilgai, panther, fox,
mongoose, jackal and wild dog. More than 300 species of birds are found here.

Demographics :
Hindus are majority in Haryana and are about 88.23% of the population, Sikhs 5.54%, Muslims
5.78%(mainly Meos, Others 0.45%. In 2001 Hindus made up 18,655,925 of the population,
Muslims 1,222,196, Sikhs 1,170,662, Jains 57,167, Christians 27,185, and Buddhists 7,140.
Muslims are mainly in the Mewat district and Yamuna Nagar district, while Sikhs are mostly in
the districts adjoining Punjab, Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Fatehabad, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala,
Narnaul and Panchkula. Haryana has second largest Sikh population in India after the state of
Punjab. In May 2014 Haryana Government notified the Haryana Anand Marriages Registration
Rules, 2014, allowing Sikhs to register their marriages under these rules. Although the Anand
marriage law was enacted in 1909, there was no provision for registration of marriages. The
parliament had passed the law allowing Sikhs to register their marriages under the Anand
Marriage Act in 2012, but Haryana has issued the notification in 2014. Meanwhile, the new
rules, which have been implemented with immediate effect, would be called Haryana Anand
Marriages Registration Rules, 2014
Agriculture and related industries have been the backbone of the local economy. These days the
state is seeing a massive influx of immigrants from across the nation, primarily from Bihar,
Bengal, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. Scheduled Castes form 19.3% of the
population.