A political storm is brewing in Uttarakhand. And as is the case with most political storms, at its centre is a long-standing socio-economic issue: migration. But unlike the inter-state migration witnessed in the Garhwal region in the second half of the 20th century, migration now…
Uttarakhand is perhaps one of the most beautifully sited states in India. It fits our idea of a Dev Bhoomi, a land fit for divine habitation. Gods are aplenty here, the majority of them local. Many of them are pre-Aryan and, after originating from various…
The remote Indian mountain village of Deoli-Benigram has no cars and no electricity. And it hardly has any men — they were washed away by deadly floods last year. [more]
The Askot-Arakot Abhiyan – a people’s initiative to study changes in Uttarakhand every 10 years – concluded in Aarakot, thus, continuing a five-decade-old tradition of understanding the people and the villages in the State. [more]
The report also asked for rejection of projects encompassing critical wildlife habitats, high biological diversity and animal movement corridors, as well as projects to be built above 2,500 metres due to unpredictable glacial and paraglacial activities. [more]
In their anxiety to restore normalcy in Uttarakhand, both the central and state governments are refusing to face the real reasons behind the devastation caused after the recent floods. These include misplaced development priorities that ignored the ecological fragility of the region. To reduce the…
A state created to safeguard the hill people, has become a graveyard of pilgrims and local aspirations in just over a decade. Jay Mazoomdaar and Avalok Langer map the catastrophe. [more]
Uttarakhand is all too familiar with disasters. A look at the man-made factors that have aggravated disasters in the past, and have yet continued unchecked. [more]
The 125th raising day celebrations of Garhwal Rifles, founded by Lord Lansdowne, began yesterday in the quaint hill station, which bears his name even today. All eyes were on the statue of a goat that has the pride of place in the Regiment. [more]