1.
Dehradun
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Dehradun or Dehra Dun is the capital city of the state of Uttarakhand in the northern part of India. Dehradun is in the Doon Valley on the foothills of the Himalayas nestled between the river Ganges on the east and the river Yamuna on the west, the city is famous for its picturesque landscape and slightly milder climate and provides a gateway to the surrounding region. It hosts training institutions of importance such as the Indian Military Academy, ITBP Academy & Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy. The city population has significant contribution of government servants, Dehradun Municipal Corporation is locally known as Nagar Nigam Dehradun. Dehradun is also known for its Basmati rice and bakery products, Dehradun is made up of two words, Dehra is derived from the word dera, deriving from griha and meaning home. Doon is a term for the valley lies between the Himalayas and the Shivaliks. When Ram Rai Ji, son of Guru Har Rai Ji, came to region with his followers. Around this time, the city of Dehradun started to develop. This is when the word dehra was linked to doon, in Skanda Purana, Dun is mentioned as a part of the region called Kedar Khand, the abode of Shiva. In ancient India during the Mahabharata epic era, Dronacharya the great teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas, lived here hence the name, some historians believe that the word dehra can be regarded as a term for camping. The history of the city of Uttarakhand, Dehradun is linked to the story of Ramayana and it is believed that after the battle between Ravan and Lord Ram, Lord Ram and his brother Laxman visited this site. Dronacharya, the legendary Royal guru to the Kauravas and Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata, is believed to have been born, evidence such as ancient temples and idols have been found in the areas surrounding Dehradun which have been linked to the mythology of Ramayana and Mahabharata. These relics and ruins are believed to be around 2000 years old, furthermore, the location, the local traditions and the literature reflect this regions links with the events of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Even after the battle of Mahabharata, the Pandavas had influence on this region as the rulers of Hastinapur with the descendants of Subahu ruled the region as subsidiaries. Likewise, Rishikesh is mentioned in the pages of history when Lord Vishnu answered the prayers of the saints, slaughtered the demons, sudhnagar later came to be recognised as the name of Kaalsi. Edicts of Ashoka have been found in the region along the banks of river Yamuna in Kaalsi indicating the wealth, gerards map names the place as Dehra or Gooroodwara. Surrounding this original Sikh temple were many villages that are now the names of parts of the modern city. Dehradun itself derives its name from the fact that Shri Ram Rai
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
4.
States and union territories of India
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India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
5.
Uttarakhand
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Uttarakhand, officially the State of Uttarakhand, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Devbhumi due to many Hindu temples, Uttarakhand is known for its natural beauty of the Himalayas, the Bhabhar and the Terai. On 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India, being created from the Himalayan, the state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The interim capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, the largest city in the region, the High Court of the state is in Nainital. Archaeological evidence supports the existence of humans in the region since prehistoric times, the region formed a part of the Kuru and the Panchal kingdoms during the Vedic age of Ancient India. Among the first major dynasties of Kumaon were the Kunindas in the 2nd century BCE who practised a form of Shaivism. Ashokan edicts at Kalsi show the presence of Buddhism in this region. During the medieval period, the region was consolidated under the Kumaon Kingdom, in 1816, most of modern Uttarakhand was ceded to the British as part of the Treaty of Sugauli. The natives of the state are generally called Uttarakhandi, or more specifically either Garhwali or Kumaoni by their region of origin, according to the 2011 Census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,116,752, making it the 19th most populous state in India. Uttarakhands name is derived from the Sanskrit words uttara meaning north, the name finds mention in early Hindu scriptures as the combined region of Kedarkhand and Manaskhand. Uttarakhand was also the ancient Puranic term for the stretch of the Indian Himalayas. Chosen for its allegedly less separatist connotations, the name change generated enormous controversy among many activists for a separate state who saw it as a political act, the name Uttarakhand remained popular in the region, even while Uttaranchal was promulgated through official usage. In August 2006, Union Cabinet of India assented to the demands of the Uttaranchal state assembly, legislation to that effect was passed by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in October 2006, and the Union Cabinet brought in the bill in the winter session of Parliament. The bill was passed by Parliament and signed into law by then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in December 2006, and since January 1,2007 the state has been known as Uttarakhand. Ancient rock paintings, rock shelters, paleolithic stone tools, there are also archaeological remains which show the existence of early Vedic practices in the area. The Pauravas, Kushanas, Kunindas, Guptas, Gurjara-Pratihara, Katyuris, Raikas, Palas, Chands, Parmars or Panwars, at that time, present-day Uttarakhand also served as a habitat for Rishis and Sadhus. It is believed that the sage Vyasa scripted the Hindu epic Mahabharata in the state, among the first major dynasties of Garhwal and Kumaon were the Kunindas in the 2nd century BCE who practised an early form of Shaivism and traded salt with Western Tibet. It is evident from the Ashokan edict at Kalsi in Western Garhwal that Buddhism made inroads in this region, folk shamanic practices deviating from Hindu orthodoxy also persisted here
6.
Garhwal division
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Garhwal, IPA, /ɡəɽʋːɔɭ/) is the northwestern region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, it is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state and it includes the districts of Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, and Uttarkashi. The people of Garhwal are known as Garhwali and speak the Garhwali language, the administrative center for Garhwal division is the town of Pauri. The Divisional Commissioner is the head of the Division, and is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. Mr. Vinod Sharma, IAS is currently the Divisional Commissioner of the Garhwal Division, Garhwal is the land of many garh’ or forts. This region was made up of small forts which were ruled by chieftains. Therefore, the history of Garhwal before the rule of the ‘Panwar’ rulers is very obscure. Kanak Pal was the first ruler of the state of Garhwal in 823 AD, the Garhwal Himalayas appear to have been a favorite locale for the voluminous mythology of the Puranic period. The traditional name of Garhwal was Uttarakhand, excavations have revealed that it formed part of the Mauryan Empire. The earliest reference regarding Garhwal and its spots are cited in the Skanda Purana. Skanda Purana defines the boundaries and extend of this holy land and it also finds mention in the 7th-century travelogue of Huen Tsang. The history of Garhwal as a whole began in the 15th century. For 300 years, Garhwal remained one kingdom, with its capital at Srinagar, then Pauri and Dehradun were perforce ceded to the Crown as payment for British help, rendered to the Garhwalis during the Gurkha invasion, in the early 19th century. The earliest ruling dynasty of Garhwal known is of the Katyuris, the Katyuri Raja of Uttarakhand was styled Sri Basdeo Giriraj Chakara Churamani. The earliest traditions record that the possessions of Joshimath Katyuris in Garhwal extended from Satluj as far as Gandaki and from the snows to plains, including the whole of Rohilkhand. Tradition gives the origin of their Raj at Joshimath in the north near Badrinath and subsequent migration to Katyur Valley in Almora district, Katyuris ruled Uttarakhand up to the 11th century and in certain pockets even after their decline. In Garhwal their disruption brought into existence 52 independent chiefs, one of the important principalities in that period was that of Parmars, who held their sway over Chandpur Garhi or Fortress. Katyuris ruled Uttarakhand up to the 11th century and in certain pockets even after their decline, kanak Pal was progenitor of this dynasty
7.
Indian Administrative Service
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The Indian Administrative Service is the All India administrative civil service. IAS officers hold key and strategic positions in the Union Government, States governments, along with the Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service, the IAS is one of the three All India Services — its cadre can be employed by both the Union Government and the individual States. On attaining the upper levels of Super Time Scale to Apex Scale, they can go on to head whole departments and subsequently entire Ministries of Governments of India, IAS officers represent Government of India at the international level in bilateral and multilateral negotiations. On deputations they work at Intergovernmental organisations like World Bank and United Nations or its Agencies, IAS officers at various levels of administration play vital roles in conducting free, fair and smooth elections in India under the direction of Election Commission of India and states. The erstwhile Imperial Civil Service was the highest civil service of the British Empire in British India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947, Civil servants were divided into two categories - covenanted and uncovenanted. The covenanted civil service consisted of only white British civil servants occupying the higher posts in the government, the uncovenanted civil service was solely introduced to facilitate the entry of Indians at the lower rung of the administration. With the passing of the Government of India Act 1919, the Imperial Services headed by the Secretary of State for India, were split into two – All India Services and Central Services. At the time of the partition of India and the departure of the British in 1947, the part which went to India was named the Indian Administrative Service, while the part that went to Pakistan was named the Civil Service of Pakistan. IAS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and they are also promoted from State Civil Services and selected from non-state civil service. After getting selected, candidates undergo training at LBSNAA, Mussoorie for IAS, being an All India Service, officers of the IAS are allotted to State cadres at the beginning of their service. They continue to work in that cadre or are deputed to Government of India, there is one cadre for each Indian state, except for three joint cadres, Assam–Meghalaya, Manipur–Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh–Goa–Mizoram–Union Territories. The insider-outsider ratio is maintained as 1,2, with one-third of the recruits as insiders from the same state. The rest are posted as outsiders according to the roster in states other than their home states, the next year the roster starts from H, for either Haryana or Himachal Pradesh. This highly intricate system, in vogue since the mid-1980s, had ensured that officers from different states are placed all over India, changes of state cadre is permitted on grounds of marriage to an All India Service officer of another state cadre or under other exceptional circumstances. The officer may go to their home state cadre on deputation for a limited period, the centralising effect of cadre system was considered extremely important by the systems framers, but has received increasing criticism over the years. There are also concerns that such reform, the IAS will be unable to move from a command and control strategy to a more interactive. A civil servant is responsible for the law and order and general administration in the area under his work, most IAS officers start their careers in the state administration at the sub-divisional level as a sub divisional magistrate. They are entrusted with the law and order situation of the city along with general administration and they proceed to various posts in the State and Central Governments, and also local-self Governments, and Public Sector Undertakings
8.
Superintendent of police (India)
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In India, a District Senior Superintendent of Police or Superintendent of Police heads the police force of a district. In metropolitan areas having police commissionerate system, the head of police is called Deputy Commissioner of Police. Superintendents of Police are officers of the Indian Police Service and they are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of a district of a state or a union territory of India. They are assisted by the officers of the State Police Service and their rank badge is the State Emblem above one star, although those selected for higher rank or with fifteen or more years service wear the State Emblem above two stars. The rank of superintendent of police is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Indian army
9.
Indian Police Service
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The Indian Police Service or IPS, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. It has replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain, the service is not a force itself but provides leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. The Bureau of Police Research and Development is responsible for research, in 1861, the British Government introduced the Indian Councils Act of 1861. The act created the foundation of a modern and professionalised police bureaucracy in India and it introduced, a new cadre of police, called Superior Police Services, later known as the Indian Imperial Police. The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General, in 1902-03, a Police Commission was established for the Police reforms under Sir Andrew Frazer and Lord Curzon. It recommended the appointment of Indians at officer level in the police, Indians could rise only to the ranks of Inspector of Police, the senior N. C. O. However they were not part of Indian Imperial Police, from 1920, Indian Imperial Police was open to Indians and the entrance examination for the service was conducted both in India and England. Prior to Independence, senior police officers belonging to the Imperial Police were appointed by the Secretary of State on the basis of a competitive examination. The first open civil service examination for admission to the service was held in England in June 1893 and it is not possible to pinpoint an exact date on which the Indian Police came formally into being. In this sense,1907 could be regarded as the starting point, in 1948, a year after India gained independence, the Imperial Police was replaced by IPS. In 1972, Kiran Bedi joined the IPS, becoming the first woman police officer, as per media reports in 2016, there is massive shortfall of IPS officers in India, which is nearly 19% to 22% of total strength. Historically, few officers have been awarded United Nations Medal and have participated in Indian Army United Nations peacekeeping missions, the Indian Police Service is not a force itself but a service providing leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. Leading and commanding the Indian Intelligence Agencies like Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the states and union territories. To interact and coordinate closely with the members of other All India Services and with the Indian Revenue Service, to lead and command the force with courage, uprightness, dedication and a strong sense of service to the people. Endeavor to inculcate in the forces under their command such values. IPS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination and they are also promoted from State Police Services and DANIPS
10.
Garhwali language
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Garhwali language is a Central Pahari language belonging to the Northern Zone of Indo-Aryan languages. It is primarily spoken by the Garhwali people who are from the north-western Garhwal Division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas, the Central Pahari languages include Garhwali and Kumauni. Garhwali, like Kumauni, has many dialects spoken in different places in Uttarakhand. The script used for Garhwali is Devanagari, Garhwali is also spoken by Garhwali migrants to other parts of India including Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. According to various estimates, there are at least 2.5 million Garhwali migrants living in Delhi, however, due to a number of reasons, Garhwali is one of the languages which is shrinking very rapidly. UNESCOs Atlas of the Worlds Languages in Danger designates Garhwali as a language which is in the unsafe category, almost all people who can speak and understand Garhwali can also speak and understand Hindi, one of the most commonly spoken languages of India. In the middle period of the course of development of Indo-Aryan languages, of these, the Khas Prakrit is believed to be the source of Garhwali. The early form of Garhwali can be traced to the 10th century which is found in numismatics, royal seals, inscriptional writings on copper plates and temple stones containing royal orders, one such early example is the temple grant inscription of King Jagatpal at Dev Prayag. Most of the Garhwali literature is preserved in form, handed down verbally from generation to generation. Till the 17th century, Garhwal was always a sovereign nation under the Garhwali Kings, Garhwal Kingdom acceded to the Union of India as a part of Uttar Pradesh in 1949. Srinagariya – classical Garhwali spoken in erstwhile royal capital, Srinagar, tihriyali /Gangapariya – spoken in Tehri Garhwal. Badhani - spoken in Chamoli Garhwal, dessaulya Lohabbya Majh-Kumaiya - spoken at the border of Garhwal and Kumaon. Nagpuriya - spoken in Rudraprayag district, rathi - spoken in Rath area of Pauri Garhwal. Salani - spoken in Talla Salan, Malla Salan and Ganga Salan parganas of Pauri, ranwalti - spoken in Ranwain, the Yamuna valley of Uttarkashi. Bangani - spoken in Bangaan area of Uttarkashi, parvati – reportedly not mutually intelligible with other dialects. Jaunpuri - spoken in Uttarkashi and Tehri districts, gangadi Chaundkoti चौंदकोटी- spoken in Pauri. Standard Garhwalis & more of its dialects have an accusative case सणि while South Garhwalis dialects have different word ते for accusative case, but in Standard Garhwali or High Garhwali ते is used as oblique case. These are primarily the Munda, Bhil, Naag, Yaksha, the other non-Aryan tribes from the Northwest, such as Kunind, Kirat, Shak, Hun, Gurjar, Pisach, Darad also contributed to its vocabulary and influenced the language
11.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
12.
Haridwar district
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Haridwar district also spelled as Hardwar is a district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is headquartered at Haridwar which is also its largest city, the district is ringed by the districts Dehradun in the north and east, Pauri Garhwal in the east and the Uttar Pradesh districts of Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor in the south and Saharanpur in the west. A paradise for nature lovers and one of the seven holiest places of Hinduism, Haridwar presents a kaleidoscope of Indian culture, as of 2011 it is the most populous district of Uttarakhand. Important towns in the district are Haridwar, BHEL Ranipur, Roorkee, Manglaur, Dhandera, Jhabrera, Laksar, Landhaura, Haridwara district, covering an area of about 2,360 km², is in the southwestern part of Uttarakhand state of India. Its latitude and longitude are 29. 96-degree north and 78. 16-degree east respectively, the river Ganges flows through it in a series of channels separated from each other called aits, most of which are well wooded. Other minor seasonal streams are Ranipur Rao, Pathri Rao, Rawii Rao, Harnaui Rao, a large part of the district is forested. Temperatures, Summers,35 °C –42 °C Winters,6 °C –16.6 °C The district receives Monsoon rains, mostly during the summer. The wooded Rajaji National Park, a sanctuary, is within the bounds of the district and is accessible through different gates, Ranipur. It is a destination for wildlife and adventure lovers. Sureshvari Devi Mandir, a temple of Goddess Sureshwari, is situated in the midst of Rajaji National Park, cheela Dam is a picnic spot with a dam and a man-made lake nearby, elephants and other wild animals could be easily spotted here. According to the 2011 census Haridwar district has a population of 1,927,029 and this gives it a ranking of 244th in India. The district has a density of 817 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 33. 16%, Haridwar has a sex ratio of 879 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 74. 62%. The Haridwar district is ringed by Saharanpur in the west, Dehradun in the north west and north, Pauri Garhwal in the east, Muzaffarnagar in south and Bijnor in the south-east. Prior to its inclusion in the newly created state of Uttarakhand in 2000, the district is administratively subdivided into three tehsils, Haridwar, Roorkee, and Laksar. It is further divided into six development blocks, Bhagwanpur, Roorkee, Narsan, Bahadrabad, Laksar, the district headquarters is in Roshnabad, at a distance of about 12 km from Haridwar railway station. The office of Chief Development Officer is in Vikas Bhawan, Roshnabad, the Collectorate, Vikas Bhawan, District Judiciary, S. S. P. Office, Police line, District Jail, District sports stadium, many other administration offices like Lok Seva Ayog and Sanskrit Academy are established here
13.
Rishikesh
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Rishikesh is a city, municipal council and a tehsil in Dehradun district of the Indian state, Uttarakhand. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, it is known as the Gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas, Rishikesh is surrounded by three districts, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal and Haridwar. It is approximately 25 km north of the city Haridwar and 43 km southeast of the state capital Dehradun. According to Census of India,2011 Rishikesh had a population of 102,138 making it the 7th most populated city and it is known as the pilgrimage town and regarded as one of the holiest places to Hindus. Hindu sages and saints have visited Rishikesh since ancient times to meditate in search of higher knowledge, in September 2015, the Union tourism minister Mahesh Sharma announced that Rishikesh and Haridwar will be the first in India to be given the title of twin national heritage cities. Due to the significance of the place, non-vegetarian food. IAST, Hṛṣīkeśa is a name of Vishnu composed of hṛṣīka meaning senses and īśa meaning lord, the name commemorates an apparition of Vishnu to Raibhya Rishi, as a result of his tapasya, as Lord Hrishikesha. In Skanda Purana, this area is known as Kubjāmraka as Lord Vishnu appeared under a mango tree, another legend says that fierce fire broke out here. Lord Shiva was angry with Lord Agni and cursed him, then Lord Agni prayed here for the expiation of his sins. Hence it is known as Agni Tīrtha — the holy place to do penance of Lord Agni or Fire God. Rishikesh has been a part of the legendary Kedarkhand, the Kedarkhand of Skanda Purana, also mentions the existence of Indrakund at this very point. The jute-rope bridge was replaced by iron-rope suspension bridge in 1889, after it was washed away in the 1924 floods, it was replaced by the present stronger bridge. Another similar suspension bridge Ram Jhula was built in 1986 at nearby Sivananda Nagar, the sacred river Ganges flows through Rishikesh. Here the river leaves the Shivalik Hills in the Himalayas and flows into the plains of northern India, several temples, ancient and new, are along the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. Shatrughna Mandir, Bharat Mandir, Lakshman Mandir are the ancient temples established by Adi Shankaracharya, shatrughna Temple is near Ram Jhula and Lakshman Mandir is near Lakshman Jhula. As with Haridwar about an hour south, Rishikesh is considered by Hindus to be a city and is vegetarian by law. Meat and alcohol are not served in the city, Rishikesh is at 30. 103368°N78. 294754°E /30.103368,78.294754. It has an elevation of 372 metres
14.
Mussoorie
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Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi. This hill station is situated in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayan range, the adjoining town of Landour, which includes a military cantonment, is considered part of greater Mussoorie, as are the townships of Barlowganj and Jharipani. The pin code for Mussoorie is 248179, being at an average altitude of 1,880 metres, Mussoorie, with its green hills and varied flora and fauna, is a fascinating hill resort. Mussoorie was founded by Lt. Frederick Young of East India Company, Lt. Young came to these hills for the sole purpose of bagging some game. He was so enamoured by the beauty that he decided to build a lodge on the Camels Back Road along with FJ Shore. He also raised the first Gurkha Regiment and planted the first potatoes in the valley, however, there is a Young Road in Dehradoon on which ONGCs Tel Bhawan stands. In 1832 Mussoorie was the terminus of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India that began at the southern tip of India. Although unsuccessful, the Surveyor General of India at the time, a compromise was to have it in Dehradun, where it still is. In 1850 the first beer brewery in India was built in Mussoorie, by 1894 there were 22 breweries in India producing 6 million gallons a year. By 1901 Mussoories population had grown to 6,461, rising to 15,000 in the summer season, earlier, Mussoorie was approachable by road from Saharanpur,58 miles away. Accessibility became easier in 1900 with the coming to Dehradun. The name Mussoorie is often attributed to a derivation of mansoor, the town is often referred to as Mansoori by most Indians. The main promenade in Mussoorie is called, as in other hill stations, in Mussoorie, the Mall stretches from Picture Palace at its eastern end to the Public Library at its western end. During the British Raj, signs on the Mall expressly stated, Indians, racist signs of this type were commonplace in hill stations, which were founded by and for the British. Motilal Nehru, the father of Jawaharlal Nehru, deliberately broke this rule every day whenever he was in Mussoorie, the Nehru family, including Nehrus daughter Indira were frequent visitors to Mussoorie in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, and stayed at the Savoy Hotel. They also spent much time in nearby Dehradun, where Nehrus sister Vijayalakshmi Pandit ultimately settled full-time, the first Tibetan school was established in Mussoorie in 1960. Tibetans settled mainly in Happy Valley in Mussoorie, today, some 5,000 Tibetans live in Mussoorie
15.
Landour
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Landour, a small cantonment town contiguous with Mussoorie, is about 35 km from the city of Dehradun in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India. The twin towns of Mussoorie and Landour, together, are a well-known British Raj-era hill station in northern India, Mussoorie-Landour was widely known as the Queen of the Hills. The name Landour is drawn from Llanddowror, a village in Carmarthenshire in southwest Wales, during the Raj, it was common to give nostalgic English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish names to ones home, reflecting ones ethnicity. Names drawn from literary works were common, as from those by Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson. Landour is located in the Lower Western Himalaya, in the Mussoorie Range, on average, Landour is about 984 ft above Mussoorie, which itself is mostly at an altitude of 6,800 to 7,798 ft. The town lies largely on an east-west ridge, with a prominent southerly spur connecting its western end to Mussoorie, the altitude differential, aided by Landour being partly Tibet-facing, has a marked effect on the temperature, which can be 2−3 °C lower than in Mussoorie. During the monsoon, Landour receives almost daily rainfall, often heavy, additionally, pre- and post-monsoon showers mean a rainy season that can run from May to September, though it can be shorter. Before the rains arrive, April–May is the warmest period, with the rising to over 30 °C. on hotter days. December to February is downright cold, especially if one does not receive direct sunlight. It can snow anywhere between 3 and 15 times in the winter, at times heavily, in a given year Landour receives perhaps twice the snow that Mussoorie does, it also takes longer to melt especially on the north-facing slopes. If one travels the 290 km to Landour from New Delhi by train or bus, buses and taxis, and even shared taxis, are easily available. There are also buses from New Delhi, and one can easily negotiate with taxis at any of New Delhis railway stations or at the Delhi airport. One can also fly from Delhi in just 40 min to Jolly Grant Airport east of Dehradun, which saves a lot of time, east of Landour lie the small hamlet of Dhanaulti and the Surkhanda Devi temple, further east are Kanatal, Tehri and Chamba. And to the West lie the tourist trap of Kempty Falls, the town of Chakrata. Landour is within Dehradun District of the former United Provinces, Landour was initially built by and for the British Indian Army. From 1827 when a sanatorium was built in Landour, the town was a convalescent station for the military, the original sanatorium is now occupied by the Institute of Technology Management of the DRDO, it is at the eastern end of the Landour ridge. In the early 20th century, a full British Military Hospital was opened, with a staff that specialized in tropical diseases. Also within the ITM premises is the former Soldiers Furlough Home, or, the holidaying soldiers were serving in British regiments on rotation in India, their tours of duty lasting anywhere from 6 to 48 months
16.
Chakrata
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Chakrata is a cantonment town in Dehradun district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is situated between the Tons and Yamuna rivers, at an elevation of 7000–7250 feet,98 km from capital, Dehradun. Due west lies Himachal Pradesh, and due east are Mussoorie, the area is known as Jaunsar-Bawar, which still has a marked presence in few surrounding villages. A cantonment of British Indian Army, was established in 1866 by Colonel Hume of the 55th Regiment, British Indian Army, Chakrata is an access-restricted military cantonment, and foreigners face severe restrictions in visiting. Chakrata can be reached from Dehradun via Mussoorie or Vikasnagar, both routes pass through beautiful mountainous road. Traveling in the monsoon can be tricky as the area sees frequent road blockages due to landslides. The area has an abundance of conifers, rhododendrons and oaks, the red rhododendrons are the most abundantly found in this region. The attractions near Chakrata are, Tiger Falls is one of the highest direct water fall in Uttarakhand, Tiger Falls is 20 km from Chakrata and has an elevation of 312 ft. Budher, is a picturesque meadow located at an altitude of 2800 metres. The Karst landscapes of Budher are home to a network of ancient limestone caves, Kanasar is surrounded by one of the best rated Deodar forest of Asia. About 25 km away from Chakrata market on Tuini Road, the roads are not in the best of the shape, the meadows and giant trees more than make up for the bumpy drive. It is one of the best picnic spots near Chakrata, a Forest Rest House in Kanasar and some tented accommodation allows you to spend a night here on prior booking. Chirmiri sunset point located at 4 km from main Chakrata market is a picturesque plateau offering one of the best view of sunset, deoban perched at about 2900 meters offer panoramic view of Himalayas. Mundali meadows are hard to access yet hold a potential for winter sports. Lakhamandal is an ancient Hindu temple complex dedicated to Shiva and associated with the Pandavas and it is slightly further from Chakrata and may take almost a whole day of driving and coming back but the visit is worth it. For those who are looking for heritage and a long drive, extended destinations Hanol is 100 km away from Chakrata and is a beautiful getaway in the middle of nowhere. Those who want to explore and drive/ride nearby, Hanol is a good destination, a Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd. hotel provides basic accommodation in Hanol. Hanol has Mahasu Devta Temple dedicated to Lord Mahasu, Mahasu Devta is worshiped in the entire Jaunsar-babar region and is located at seven different places across this region like Radina, Thaina, Indroli, Lakhwar, and Lakhamandal. There are a dozen decent private hotels and some eateries serving decent food, petrol and diesel are hard to come by, but can be obtained in small quantities from local traders
17.
Ganges
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The Ganges, also Ganga is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh. It is the third largest river in the world by discharge, the Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus. It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and it is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism. It has also important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals located on its banks. The Ganges was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world in 2007, pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species,90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. The levels of fecal coliform from human waste in the waters of the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian governments official limit. The main stem of the Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi, the Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and, therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snowmelt from such peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul, although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini, the five confluences, known as the Panch Prayag, are all along the Alaknanda. After flowing 250 km through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh, the Ganges follows an 800 km arching course passing through the cities of Kannauj, Farukhabad, and Kanpur. Along the way it is joined by the Ramganga, which contributes an annual flow of about 500 m3/s. The Ganges joins the Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, at their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganges, contributing about 2,950 m3/s, or about 58. 5% of the combined flow. Now flowing east, the river meets the Tamsa River, which flows north from the Kaimur Range, after the Tamsa the Gomti River joins, flowing south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes an annual flow of about 234 m3/s. Then the Ghaghara River, also flowing south from the Himalayas of Nepal, the Ghaghara, with its average annual flow of about 2,990 m3/s, is the largest tributary of the Ganges. After the Ghaghara confluence the Ganges is joined from the south by the Son River, the Gandaki River, then the Kosi River, join from the north flowing from Nepal, contributing about 1,654 m3/s and 2,166 m3/s, respectively. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganges, after the Ghaghara and Yamuna. Along the way between Allahabad and Malda, West Bengal, the Ganges passes the towns of Chunar, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Patna, Bhagalpur, Ballia, Buxar, Simaria, Sultanganj, and Saidpur
18.
Yamuna
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It is the longest river in India which does not directly flow to the sea. Most importantly it creates the highly fertile alluvial, Yamuna-Ganges Doab region between itself and the Ganges in the Indo-Gangetic plain, nearly 57 million people depend on the Yamuna waters. With an annual flow of about 10,000 cubic billion metres and usage of 4,400 cbm, just like the Ganges, the Yamuna too is highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as goddess Yamuna, throughout its course. One official describes the river as a drain with biochemical oxygen demand values ranging from 14 to 28 mg/l. Yamunotri temple, a dedicated to the goddess, Yamuna is one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. Also standing close to the temple, on its 13-kilometre trek route, that follows the bank of the river, lies the Markendeya Tirtha. Large terraces formed over a period of time can be seen in the lower course of the river. Kalanag is the highest point of the entire Yamuna basin, other tributaries in the region are the Giri, Rishi Ganga, Kunta, Hanuman Ganga and Bata tributaries, which drain the Upper Catchment Area of the vast Yamuna basin. Thereafter the river descends on to the plains of Doon Valley, the Yamuna also creates natural state borders between the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states, and further down between the state of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The plain itself supports one-third of Indias population through its farming, here pilgrims travel by boats to platforms erected mid stream to offer prayers. During the Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years, the ghats around the Sangam are venue of large congregation of people, the cities of Baghpat, Delhi, Noida, Mathura, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Kalpi, Hamirpur, Allahabad lie on its banks. At Etawah, it meets it another important tributary, Chambal, followed by a host of tributaries further down, including, Sindh, the Betwa, and Ken. Tons River, Yamunas largest tributary, rises in the 20,720 ft high Bandarpoonch mountain and it meets Yamuna below Kalsi near Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Sasur Khaderi River, known as Sasur Khaderi is a tributary in Fatehpur district, the name Yamuna seems to be derived from the Sanskrit word yama, meaning twin, and it may have been applied to the river because it runs parallel to the Ganges. The Yamuna is mentioned at many places in the Rig Veda, 1700–1100 BC, and also in the later Atharvaveda, and the Brahmanas including Aitareya Brahmana and Shatapatha Brahmana. In Rig Veda, the story of the Yamuna describes her love for her twin, Yama, who in turn asks her to find a suitable match for herself. It is also said that lord shiva was the reason for the colour of the Yamuna river. After the death of Sati Devi, lord shiva couldnt tolerate the sadness around him, and At last when he went to Yamuna river, it became so black as it absorbed all his sorrow
19.
Terai
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The Terai is a lowland region in southern Nepal and northwestern India that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scrub savannah, sal forests, in northern India, the Terai spreads from the Yamuna River eastward across Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Terai is part the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion, the corresponding lowland region in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Assam in the Brahmaputra River basin is called Dooars. In Nepal, the Terai lies at an altitude of between 67 and 300 m and comprises more than 50 wetlands, north of the Terai rises the Bhabhar, a narrow but continuous belt of forest about 8–12 km wide. In Hindi the region is called तराई, tarāī meaning foot-hill, in Nepali, the region is called तराइ tarāi meaning the low-lying land, plain and especially the low-lying land at the foot of the Himālayas. The regions name in Urdu is ترائي tarāʼī meaning lands lying at the foot of a watershed or on the banks of a river, low ground flooded with water, valley, basin, marshy ground, marsh, swamp, meadow. Medium rivers such as the Rapti rise in the Mahabharat Range, the geological structure of the region consists of old and new alluvium, both of which constitute alluvial deposits of mainly sand, clay, silt, gravels and coarse fragments. The new alluvium is renewed every year by fresh deposits brought down by active streams, old alluvium is found rather away from river courses, especially on uplands of the plain where silting is a rare phenomenon. A large number of small and usually seasonal rivers flow through the Terai, the soil in the Terai is alluvial and fine to medium textured. Forest cover in the Terai and hill areas has decreased at a rate of 1. 3% between 1978 and 1979, and 2. 3% between 1990 and 1991. With deforestation and cultivation increasing, a mixture of gravel, boulders and sand evolves. The reduction in slope as rivers exit the hills and then transition from the sloping Bhabhar to the nearly level Terai causes current to slow and this deposition process creates multiple channels with shallow beds, enabling massive floods as monsoon-swollen rivers overflow their low banks and shift channels. Many areas show erosion such as gullies, there are several differences between the climate on the western edge of the Terai at Chandigarh in India and at Biratnagar in Nepal near the eastern edge. Moving inland and away from sources in the Bay of Bengal. In the far western Terai, which is five degrees latitude further north, total rainfall markedly diminishes from east to west. The monsoon arrives later, is less intense and ends sooner. However, winters are wetter in the west, in India, the Terai extends over the states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Inner Terai refers to the valleys in the lowlands of southern Nepal located between the Mahabharat and Shivalik ranges
20.
Sivalik Hills
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The Sivalik Hills is a mountain range of the outer Himalayas identified as Manak Parbat in some Sanskrit texts. Shivalik literally means tresses of Shiva’, the width of the Sivalik Hills varies from 10 to 50 km, their average elevation is 1,500 to 2,000 m. Other spelling variations used include Shivalik and Siwalik, originating from the Hindi, other names include Churia hills, Chure hills, and Margalla hills. Geologically, the Sivalik Hills belong to the deposits of the outer Himalayas. They are chiefly composed of sandstone and conglomerate formations, which are the solidified detritus of the great mountain range to their north. The remnant magnetization of siltstones and sandstones suggests an age of 16-5.2 million years with Karnali River exposing the oldest part of the Sivalik Hills in Nepal. They are the southernmost and geologically youngest east-west mountain chain of the Himalayas and they have many sub-ranges and extend west from Arunachal Pradesh through Bhutan to West Bengal, and further westward through Nepal and Uttarakhand, continuing into Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. The hills are cut through at wide intervals by numerous rivers flowing south from the Himalayas. They are bounded on the south by a system called the Main Frontal Thrust. Below this, the coarse alluvial Bhabar zone makes the transition to the level plains. North of the Sivalik Hills the 1, 500-3,000 meter Lesser Himalayas also known as the Mahabharat Range rise steeply along fault lines, in many places the two ranges are adjacent but in other places structural valleys 10–20 km wide separate them. Sivapithecus is among many fossil finds in the Siwalik region, the Siwalik Hills are also among the richest fossil sites for large animals anywhere in Asia. The Hills had revealed that all kinds of animals lived there and they were early ancestors to the sloth bear, Sivatherium, an ancient giraffe, Colossochelys atlas, a giant tortoise named the Siwaliks giant tortoise Megalochelys atlas amongst other creatures. The remains of the Lower Paleolithic Soanian culture have found in the Siwalik region. Contemporary to the Acheulean, the Soanian culture is named after the Soan Valley in the Siwalik Hills of Pakistan, the bearers of this culture were Homo erectus. People of the Lepcha tribe inhabit the Sikkim and Darjeeling areas, the Indian Navys Shivalik class frigate is named after these ranges
21.
Great Himalaya
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The Himalayas, or Himalaya, form a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan range has the Earths highest peaks, including the highest, the Himalayas include over a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 metres in elevation. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia – Aconcagua, in the Andes – is 6,961 metres tall. The Himalayas are spread across five countries, Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, the Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, rise in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia, many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate and its western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of Indus river. Its eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the bend of the Tsangpo river. The range varies in width from 400 kilometres in the west to 150 kilometres in the east, the name of the range derives from the Sanskrit Himā-laya, from himá and ā-laya. They are now known as the Himalaya Mountains, usually shortened to the Himalayas, formerly, they were described in the singular as the Himalaya. This was also previously transcribed Himmaleh, as in Emily Dickinsons poetry and Henry David Thoreaus essays. The mountains are known as the Himālaya in Nepali and Hindi, the Himalaya or The Land of Snow in Tibetan, the Hamaleh Mountain Range in Urdu, the flora and fauna of the Himalayas vary with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice, the amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. This diversity of altitude, rainfall and soil conditions combined with the high snow line supports a variety of distinct plant. The extremes of high altitude combined with extreme cold favor extremophile organisms, the unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations, the oak forest is being invaded by pine forests in the Garhwal Himalayan region. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some species, especially rhododendron, apple. The highest known tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica located at 4,900 metres in Southeastern Tibet, the Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock
22.
British Raj
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The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
23.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
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Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited is an Indian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It is a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India, under the control of the Ministry of Petroleum. It is Indias largest oil and gas exploration and production company and it produces around 77% of Indias crude oil and around 62% of its natural gas. On 31 March 2013, its market capitalisation was INR2.6 trillion, in a government survey for fiscal year 2011–12, it was ranked as the largest profit making PSU in India. ONGC has been ranked 449th in the Fortune Global 500 list of the worlds biggest corporations for the year 2015 and it is ranked 17th among the Top 250 Global Energy Companies by Platts. ONGC was founded on 14 August 1956 by Government of India and it is involved in exploring for and exploiting hydrocarbons in 26 sedimentary basins of India, and owns and operates over 11,000 kilometers of pipelines in the country. Its international subsidiary ONGC Videsh currently has projects in 17 countries, ONGC has discovered 6 of the 7 commercially producing Indian Basins, in the last 50 years, adding over 7.1 billion tonnes of In-place Oil & Gas volume of hydrocarbons in Indian basins. ONGC has many matured fields with a current recovery factor of 25–33% and its Reserve Replacement Ratio for between 2005 and 2013, has been more than one. During FY 2012–13, ONGC had to share the highest ever under-recovery of INR494.2 billion towards the under-recoveries of Oil Marketing Companies, the major part of Indian sedimentary basins was deemed to be unfit for development of oil and gas resources. After independence, the Central Government of India realized the importance of oil and gas for industrial development. Consequently, while framing the Industrial Policy Statement of 1948, the development of industry in the country was considered to be of utmost necessity. Until 1955, private oil companies mainly carried out exploration of resources of India. In Assam, the Assam Oil Company was producing oil at Digboi, in West Bengal, the Indo-Stanvac Petroleum project was engaged in exploration work. The vast sedimentary tract in other parts of India and adjoining offshore remained largely unexplored, in 1955, Government of India decided to develop the oil and natural gas resources in the various regions of the country as part of the Public Sector development. With this objective, an Oil and Natural Gas Directorate was set up towards the end of 1955, as an office under the then Ministry of Natural Resources. The department was constituted with a nucleus of geoscientists from the Geological Survey of India, experts from Romania, the Soviet Union, the United States and West Germany subsequently visited India and helped the government with their expertise. Soviet experts later drew up a plan for geological and geophysical surveys. So in August,1956, the Directorate was raised to the status of a commission with enhanced powers, in October 1959, the Commission was converted into a statutory body by an act of the Indian Parliament, which enhanced powers of the commission further
24.
Survey of India
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The Survey of India is Indias central engineering agency in charge of mapping and surveying. Set up in 1767 to help consolidate the territories of the British East India Company, the Survey of Indias distinguished history includes the handling of the mammoth Great Trigonometrical Survey under William Lambton and George Everest and the discovery of Mt. Everest. Its members are from Survey of India Service cadre of Civil Services of India and it is headed by the Surveyor General of India. Survey of India publishes maps and the unrestricted category maps can be obtained at very reasonable prices from its several Geo-spatial data centers, restricted category maps require due approval from government authorities. Many other rules govern the sale and use of Survey of India maps, only an Indian citizen may purchase topographic maps and these may not be exported from India for any reason. The history of the Survey of India dates back to the 18th Century, a) First Survey in India Baramahal, the present Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and North Arcot were called as baramahal. In Letter Dated 04.10.1797 the British Government appreciated Col. Alexander Read, b) The Great Trigonometry Survey The Great Trigonometry Survey was started by British surveyor Col. William Lambton on the 10th of April 1802. It was started from St. Thomas Mount, Chennai to foothills of Himalayas and it took 57 days to measure the 12-km base line. 36 inch huge ½ ton weight Theodolite was used to measure and this 5-decade project was completed under Survey General Lt George Everest in the year 1852. Surveyor Radhanath Sikdar measured Mount Everest in 1852, with a height of 29,002 feet, modern measurements indicate the height is 29,037 feet. This is regarded as the beginning of systematic topographical mapping in India, the Survey of India, headquartered at Dehra Dun, has 18 civil engineering divisions ranging from the prediction of tides to aerial survey. It has 23 Geo-spatial Data Centers spread across India, each catering to the administrative area. Surveyors are the back bone of Survey of India. The Survey of India acts as adviser to the Government of India on all matters, viz Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Mapping. However, the duties and responsibilities of the Survey of India are enumerated below, All Geodetic Control and Geodetic. All Topographical Control, Surveys and Mapping within India, Mapping and Production of Geographical Maps and Aeronautical Charts. Survey of Forests, Cantonments, large scale city surveys, guide maps, Survey and Mapping of special maps. Demarcation of the External Boundaries of the Republic of India, their depiction on maps published in the country, training of officers and staff required for the Department, trainees from Central Government Departments and States and trainees from Foreign Countries as are sponsored by the *Government of India. Research and Development in Cartography, Printing, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Topographical Surveys, prediction of tides at 44 ports including 14 foreign ports and publication of Tide Tables one year in advance to support navigational activities
25.
Doon University
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Doon University is a state public university located in the city of Dehradun in north Indian state of Uttarakhand. The university was established by Government of Uttarakhand through an Act of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in October 2005, the first academic session of university was started from July 2009. The university follows a system with two semesters every year. Doon University is in the list of universities of University Grants Commission. Doon University campus is located on Dehradun - Mothrowala Road, at a distance around eight kilometers from Dehradun city in foothills of Shivalik range, Doon University was established as a residential University. Students were expected to stay in the Hostel unless permitted otherwise, the university changed itself to the day and residential university in 2013. After which the students have an option to become a day scholar, there are separate hostels for girls and boys. The hostels with accommodation for each student are provided with modern facilities. It has a fully Wi-Fi enabled campus, the university is spread in 52.35 acres. Its lush green environment makes it one of the most beautiful universities of India, watch this video to have a look at this university. Doon university Life In the Indian higher education system, Doon University is classified as a State University, the university is in the jurisdiction of the state government of Uttarakhand. The Governor of the state is ex-officio Chancellor of the university and he appoints a Vice-chancellor, Governor of Uttarakhand Dr. Krishan Kant Paul is the present Chancellor and Prof. Vinod Kumar Jain is VC of the university. The Library is broadly divided into two parts, Reading Section and Circulation Section, both sections combined have a good number of printed documents, including textbooks, reference books, reports, yearbooks, manuals and case studies. The circulation section consists of books of all the UG/PG courses covered by the different schools of the university and this section provides more than 4000 printed documents, including reference books, novels, case studies, reports, magazines including India Today, The Outlook, Time etc. The Section also subscribes daily newspapers including Amar Ujala, Hindustan Times etc and it also consists hundreds of audio and visual documents. This section mainly consists of textbooks, and one can take designated number of books from this section, the section has textbooks of all the UG/PG courses covered by the different schools of the university. The Library has a collection of books, which includes textbook, reference books, dictionaries, encyclopedias. The collection is focused on the courses studied at university, the books are available in both the section of the library for study
26.
Indian Military Academy
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The Indian Military Academy, Dehradun is the officer training Academy of the Indian Army. During the Indian independence struggle, Indian leaders recognized the need for a military institution to meet the needs of an armed force loyal to sovereign India. The British Raj was reluctant to commission Indian officers or to local officer training. Until World War I Indians were not eligible for commission as officers in the Indian Army, in 1922 the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College was set up in Dehraadun to prepare young Indians for admission to Sandhurst. The Indianisation of the Army started with the commissioning of 31 Indian officers, despite demands, the British resisted expansion of the Indian officer cadre. Indian leaders then pressed for the issue at the first Round Table Conference in 1930, eventually, the establishment of an Indian officer training college was one of the few concessions made at the conference. Brigadier L. P. Collins was appointed the first Commandant, the institute was inaugurated on 10 December 1932, at the end of the first term by Field Marshal Chetwode. In 1934, before the first batch had passed out, then Viceroy Lord Willingdon presented colours to the academy on behalf of George V, through the first 16 regular courses that passed out of the academy, until May 1941,524 officers were commissioned. But the outbreak of the Second World War resulted in an increase in the number of entrants, a temporary reduction in the training period to six months. 3887 officers were commissioned between August 1941 and January 1946, including 710 British officers for the British Army, the academy reverted to its original two and a half year course of training at the end of the war. Following the independence of India in August 1947, a number of trainers and cadets left for Britain, brigadier Thakur Mahadeo Singh, DSO, was appointed the first Indian Commandant of the academy. In the interim, they decided to conduct Joint Services training at the IMA, the IMA was renamed the Armed Forces Academy and a new Joint Services Wing was commissioned on 1 January 1949, while training of Army officers continued in the Military Wing. The academy was renamed as the National Defence Academy on 1 January 1950, in December 1954, when the new Joint Services training academy was established in Khadakwasla, near Pune, the NDA name along with the Joint Services Wing was transferred to Khadakwasla. The academy in Dehradun was then rechristened as Military College, khanna, MVC was the first IMA alumni to be appointed Commandant of the IMA at the end of 1956. In 1960, the academy was renamed back to its founding name, on 10 December 1962, on the 30th anniversary of the academys inauguration, the second President of India, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, presented new colours to the academy. From 1963 until August 1964, following the Sino-Indian War, the duration of regular classes was truncated, emergency courses were initiated, however, unlike previous wars, the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 and that of 1971 did not disrupt academy training or graduation schedules. On 15 December 1976, then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed presented new colours to the IMA, in 1977, the Army Cadet College was moved from Pune to Dehradun as a wing of the IMA. In 2006, the ACC was merged into the IMA as its Siachen Battalion, the academy is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, about 8 km west of Dehradun in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand
27.
Basmati
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Basmati is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which is traditionally from the Indian subcontinent. However, many countries use domestically grown basmati rice crops, Basmati derives from the Hindi word बासमती, bāsmatī, literally meaning fragrant. Basmati rice is believed to have been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, the earliest extant work to mention basmati rice is Heer Ranjha. Basmati was introduced to the Middle East by Indian traders, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are the exclusive growers and exporters of this type of rice. The areas of rice production in India are in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh. Indias total basmati production for the July 2011–June 2012 crop year was 5 million tonnes, in India, Haryana is the major basmati rice cultivating state, producing more than 60 percent of the total basmati rice produced in India. In Pakistan,95 percent of the rice cultivation takes place in the Punjab province. Basmati rice has a typical pandan-like flavour caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline and this natural aroma is also found in cheese, fruits and other cereals. It is a flavoring agent approved in the United States and Europe, there are several varieties of basmati rice. Traditional Indian types include basmati 370, basmati 385, and basmati Ranbirsinghpura & Gujjar Chack area in Jammu province situated at the Indo -Pak border in Jammu & Kashmir state of India, pakistani varieties of basmati rice are PK385, Super Kernel Basmati Rice and D-98. Scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi, used conventional plant breeding to produce a hybrid semi-dwarf plant which had most of the features of traditional basmati. This hybrid was called Pusa Basmati-1, crop yield is up to twice as high as traditional varieties, fragrant rices that are derived from basmati stock but are not true basmati varieties include PB2, PB3, and RS-10. Bamsati, P3 Punjab, type III Uttar Pradesh, hbc -19 Safidon,386 Haryana, Kasturi, Basmati 198, Basmati 217, Basmati 370, Bihar, Kasturi, Mahi Suganda, Pusa, Pusa 1121. Basmati 370, Super Basmati, Basmati Pak,386 or 1121 basmati rice, Basmati 385, Basmati 515, Basmati 2000, in the United States, a variety of rice based on Basmati called Texmati is grown. In Kenya, a variety called Pishori or Pisori is grown in the Mwea region. A2010 U. K. test on rice supplied by wholesalers found 4 out of 15 samples had cheaper rice mixed with basmati, and one had no basmati at all. A PCR-based assay similar to DNA fingerprinting in humans allows adulterated and non-basmati strains to be detected, exporters of basmati rice use purity certificates based on DNA tests for their basmati rice consignments. Based on this protocol, which was developed at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, in September 1997, a Texas company, RiceTec, was granted U. S
28.
Anglo-Nepalese War
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The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816, which ceded around a third of Nepals territory to the British. The British were the forces, while the Nepalese maintained a defensive position. The British attacked in two waves of invasion. It was the most expensive war waged during the governorship of Lord Moira, the Shah era of Nepal began with the Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan Shah invading Kathmandu valley, which consisted of the capital of the Malla confederacy. Until that time only the Kathmandu valley was referred to as Nepal, the confederacy requested the East India Company for help and an ill-equipped and ill-prepared expedition numbering 2,500 was led by Captain Kinloch in 1767. The expedition was a disaster, the Gorkhali army easily overpowered those who had not succumbed to malaria or desertion and this ineffectual British force provided the Gorkhali with firearms and filled the Gorkhas with overconfidence, causing them to underestimate their opponents in future wars. Also, the invasion of the wealthy Kathmandu Valley provided the Gorkha army with support for furthering their martial ambitions throughout the region. The campaign in the region was largely a failure. After a number of defeats to the Limbuwan army, the Gorkha army finally made a treaty with Limbuwan. In the west, all rulers as far as the Kali River had submitted or been replaced by 1790, farther west still, the Kumaon Kingdom with its capital Almora also lost the war with the Gorkhali in 1791 under Bahadur Shah, the second son of Prithvi Narayan Shah. To the north however, aggressive raids into Tibet triggered Chinese intervention, in 1792 the Qianlong Emperor sent an army, expelling the Nepalese from Tibet to within 5 kilometres of their capital at Kathmandu. Acting regent Bahadur Shah appealed to the then British Governor-General of India for help, anxious to avoid confrontation with the Chinese, the Governor-General did not send troops but sent Captain Kirkpatrick as mediator. However, before he arrived the war with China had finished, the Nepalese were forced into signing a humiliating treaty revoking their trading privileges in Tibet and requiring them to pay tribute to Peking every five years. The Tibet affair had postponed a planned attack on the Garhwal Kingdom. He was killed in the struggle in January 1804 and all his land annexed, further west, general Amar Singh Thapa overran lands as far as Kangra – the strongest fort in the hill region – and laid siege to it. However, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Sikh state in Punjab, intervened, the British were also expanding their sphere of influence at an alarming rate. This British expansion had already been resisted in India, culminating in three Anglo-Maratha wars as well as in the Punjab where Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Empire had their own aspirations, the economic cause constituted the major cause of conflict with Nepal. The British had made constant efforts to persuade the Nepalese government to allow them their trade to the fabled Tibet through Nepal
29.
Puranas
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The word Puranas literally means ancient, old, and it is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly myths, legends and other traditional lore. Composed primarily in Sanskrit, but also in languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Shiva. The Puranas genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism, the content is highly inconsistent across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves inconsistent. The Hindu Puranas are anonymous texts and likely the work of authors over the centuries, in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated. There are 18 Maha Puranas and 18 Upa Puranas, with over 400,000 verses, the first versions of the various Puranas were likely composed between the 3rd- and 10th-century CE. The Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture in Hinduism and they have been influential in the Hindu culture, inspiring major national and regional annual festivals of Hinduism. The religious practices included in them are considered Vaidika, because they do not preach initiation into Tantra, the Bhagavata Purana has been among the most celebrated and popular text in the Puranic genre, and is of non-dualistic tenor. The Puranic literature wove with the Bhakti movement in India, vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata, is hagiographically credited as the compiler of the Puranas. The date of the production of the written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas and they existed in an oral form before being written down, and were incrementally modified well into the 16th century. An early occurrence of the term purana is found in the Chandogya Upanishad, translated by Patrick Olivelle as the corpus of histories, importantly, the most famous form of itihāsapurāṇaṃ is the Mahabharata. The term also appears in the Atharvaveda 11.7.24, the extant Puranas, states Coburn, are not identical to the original Puranas. In the 19th century, F. E. Pargiter believed the original Purana may date to the time of the redaction of the Vedas. Wendy Doniger, based on her study of indologists, assigns approximate dates to the various Puranas and she dates Markandeya Purana to c.250 CE, Matsya Purana to c. 250–500 CE, Vayu Purana to c.350 CE, Harivamsa and Vishnu Purana to c.450 CE, 350–950 CE, Vamana Purana to c. 450–900 CE, Kurma Purana to c, 550–850 CE, and Linga Purana to c. Of the many texts designated Puranas the most important are the Mahāpurāṇas or the major Puranas and these are said to be eighteen in number, divided into three groups of six, though they are not always counted in the same way. The difference between Upapuranas and Mahapuranas has been explained by Rajendra Hazra as, a Mahapurana is well known, the Upapuranas are eighteen in number, with disagreement as to which canonical titles belong in that list of eighteen. The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha, the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which extols the goddess Durga, has become a basic text for Devi worshipers
30.
Ramayana
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The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Sanskrit Itihasa, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses, divided into seven Kandas, in Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the adi-kavya. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life, like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story, it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The name Ramayana is a compound of the name Rāma and ayana. According to Hindu tradition—and according to the Ramayana itself—the epic belongs to the genre of itihasa like Mahabharata, the definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, Ramayana takes place during a period of known as Treta Yuga. In its extant form, Valmikis Ramayana is a poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a manuscript found in Nepal. A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, the Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions and subrecensions. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions, the northern and the southern, scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind. There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmikis Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are parts of the book, in spite of some style differences. Some cultural evidence, such as the presence of sati in Mahabharata but not in the body of Ramayana. By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons of Hindu chronology, Rama is said to have been born in the Treta yuga to king Dasharatha in the Ikshvaku dynasty. The names of the characters are all known in late Vedic literature, however, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana and this version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira
31.
Rama
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Ram or Srī Rāmachandra is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the figure of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which is the principal narration of the events connected to his incarnation on Earth, his ideals. Rama is one of the deities in Hinduism and especially of the various sects of Vaishnavism. Religious texts and scriptures based on his life have been a component in numerous cultures of South Asia. Along with Krishna, Rama is considered to be one of the most important avatars of Vishnu, in Rama-centric sects, he is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar. His wife Sita is considered by Hindus to be an avatar of Lakshmi, Rama and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna were the chaturvyuha expansions of Vishnu. Ramas life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life, for the sake of his fathers honour, Rama abandons his claim to Ayodhyas throne to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana decide to join him and all three spend the fourteen years in exile together, while in exile, Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravanas armies, in a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry, and huge battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned king in Ayodhya and eventually becomes emperor, He rules with happiness, peace, duty, prosperity, and justice, a period known as Rama Rajya. The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent, Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage, and devotion to religious values and duty. The deity Hanuman declared Rama to be a supreme being, and said that, by constant remembrance of Lord Rama, the name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu scriptures. Besides the name of the protagonist of the Ramayana, the name is given to other heroes including Parashurama and Balarama. In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu, in Sanskrit, the word Rama means charming. It is commonly given as a name to male children in India, additionally, the tales of Rama are reverently spoken of in the Mahabharata. The earliest documentation of Rama in Buddhism is in the Buddhist text of Dasharatha Jataka, the epic had many versions across Indias regions. However, other scriptures in Sanskrit also reflect the life of Ramayana, the followers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana, the mula-Ramayana, previously existed. They consider it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki, another important shortened version of the epic in Sanskrit is the Adhyatma Ramayana
32.
Lakshmana
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In the Hindu sacred text Ramayana, Lakshmana also known as Soumitri, Bharatanuja Laxman, Lakhan is the younger brother and close companion of God Rama, hero of the epic and avatar of God Vishnu. Lakshmana is twin brother of Shatrughna, Lakshmana and his brother Shatrughna, were born in Ayodhya to Sumitra and King Dasharatha. In the Puranas, Lakshmana is described as an incarnation of Sesha, when sage Vishwamitra takes Rama for killing the demons, Lakshmana accompanies them and goes to Mithila with them. Lakshmana is specially attached to Rama and when Rama marries Sita, later, when Rama goes on exile for fourteen years on the insistence of Kaikeyi, Lakshmana leaves his wife Urmila and joins Rama. He serves Rama and Sita reverently during the exile, Lakshmana also built hut for Rama and Sita to live in Panchvati. Lakshmana cuts off Ravanas sister Surpanakhas nose in anger when she tries to covet Rama and he plays an important role in the war with Ravana and slays Ravanas son Indrajit. When Sita asks Rama to fetch a magical golden deer for her, Rama asks Lakshmana to stand guard as he sensed danger, the golden deer is in fact the demon Maricha, who distracts Rama. When Rama kills Maricha, he cries out in Ramas own voice for help, although Lakshmana knows that Rama is invincible and beyond any danger, Sita panics and frantically orders Lakshmana to go to Ramas aid immediately. Unable to disobey Sita, Lakshmana draws a line, which Sita must not cross. Sita however, out of compulsion of religious duty and compassion for Ravana disguised as a poor brahmin crosses the line to give him alms following which she is abducted. Lakshmana Rekha has become a metaphor in situations where a certain limit must not be transgressed by human beings in any circumstance whatsoever, during the war between Rama and Ravana, he killed Indrajit and Atikaya, who were the sons of Ravana. Before he killed Indrajit, Lakhshmana and Rama were twice defeated by Indrajit, after the war, when Rama asked Sita to give test of her purity, Lakshmana for the first time got angry on Rama and opposed him. After the war in Lanka, Rama was crowned king of Ayodhya, Rama had offered Lakshmana become the crown prince he refused saying Bharata is greater than him and is more deserving of the title. Lakshmana is the one who leaves Sita in the forests near sage Valmikis ashram after Rama banishes her from the kingdom, Lakshmana remains loyal to his brother and fights against Ramas sons Lava and Kusha later. Sage Durvasa appears at Ramas doorstep and seeing Lakshmana guarding the door, at the time, Rama was having a private conversation with Yama. Before the conversation began, Yama gave Rama strict instructions that their dialogue was to remain confidential, Rama agreed and entrusted Lakshmana with the duty of guarding his door. When Durvasa made his demand, Lakshmana politely refused, the sage grew angry and threatened to curse all of Ayodhya if Lakshmana did not immediately inform Rama of his arrival. Lakshmana, in a dilemma, decided it would be better that he alone die to all of Ayodhya from falling under Durvasas curse
33.
Ravana
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Ravana is the primary antagonist in the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana where he is depicted as Rakshasa king of Lanka. Ramayana is considered by the Indian traditions to be the itihasa or the history along with Mahabharata, Ravana is the son of Vishrava and Kaikesi and grandson of Pulastya. Ravana, a devotee of Lord Shiva, is depicted and described as a scholar, a capable ruler. He is also described as powerful and has ten heads. His paramount ambition was to overpower and dominate the devas and his ten heads represent his knowledge of the six shastras and the four Vedas. In the Ramayana, Ravana kidnaps Ramas wife Sita to exact vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the ears and nose of his sister Shurpanakha. Ravana, as a practitioner of Buddhism, is a character in Buddhist texts such as the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Gathering of Intentions. Ravana is worshipped by Hindus in some parts of India, Sri Lanka, images of Ravana are seen associated with Shiva at some places. The word Rāvaṇa means roaring opposite of Vaiśravaṇa meaning hear distinctly, both Ravana and Vaiśravaṇa, who is popularly known as Kubera, are considered to be patronymics derived as sons of Vishrava. According to F. E. Pargiter, the word may originally have been a Sanskritisation of Iraivan, Ravana has many other popular names such as Dasis Ravana, Dasis Sakvithi Maha Ravana, Dashaanan, Ravula, Lankeshwar, Lankeshwaran, Ravanaeshwaran, Eela Vendhar. However, in stories in Java told that every year, Ravana cuts one of his heads every year. Each head was reflecting his desire, by cutting it and presenting it, he was sacrificing one of his many desires to appease Shiva. He kept doing it every year until the last one, turned out the last head was considered as the true head of Ravana and Shiva considered his devoutness is a worthy one and his sacrifices were accepted. He is described as a follower of Shiva, a great scholar, a capable ruler. Ravana is also depicted as the author of the Ravana Samhita, a book on Hindu astrology, and of the Arka Prakasham, Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Siddha and political science. He is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored inside his belly, Ravana was born to a great sage, Vishrava and his wife, the daitya princess Kaikesi. People of Bisrakh village in Uttar Pradesh claim that their village was named after Vishrava, Ravana, as a practitioner of Buddhism, is a major character in Buddhist texts such as the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Gathering of Intentions, a text of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Uttara Kanda section of Ramayana, the Rakshasa clan were the inhabitants of Lanka who were said to have lived among the Naga, Yaksha
34.
Rakshasa
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A Rakshasa is a mythological being in Hindu mythology. As this mythology influenced other religions, the rakshasa was later incorporated into Buddhism, a female rakshasa is known as a Rakshasi. A female Rakshasa in human form is a Manushya-Rakshasi, the terms Asura and Rakshasa are sometimes used interchangeably. Rakshasas were believed to have created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep at the end of the Satya Yuga. As soon as they were created, they were so filled with bloodlust that they started eating Brahma himself, Brahma shouted Rakshama. and Vishnu came to his aid, banishing to Earth all Rakshasas. Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the mandala of the Rig Veda. They are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, mythological beings that consume raw flesh, some sources credit Kashyapa with the origin of the rakshasa. For artistic reasons, the Hymns of the Vedas do not do so and this might explain why the Puranans and Hindu epics elaborate on their lineage, but the Vedas do not. Kashyapa was married to the thirteen daughters of Daksha, among them were Aditi, Diti and Danu. His sons with Danu are the Danavas, while those with Diti are the Daityas and his sons with Aditi are the Adityas, who are considered Devas and are also called Suras. Rakshasas were most often depicted as ugly, fierce-looking and enormous creatures and they are shown as being mean, growling like beasts, and as insatiable cannibals that could smell the scent of human flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, generally they could fly, vanish, and had Maya, which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature. The female equivalent of rakshasa is rakshasi, in the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rakshasas were a populous race. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors they fought alongside the armies of good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists, as shape-changers, they could assume different physical forms. It was not always clear whether they had a true or natural form, as illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters, and made their appearance when the slaughter on a battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally they served as soldiers in the service of one or another warlord
35.
Lanka
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Lanka /ˈləŋkɑː/ is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary demon king Ravana in the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains, the ancient city of Lankapura is thought to have been burnt down by Hanuman. After its king, Ravana, was killed by Rama with the help of Ravanas brother Vibhishana, the mythological site of Lankā is identified with Sri Lanka. His descendants were said to rule the kingdom during the period of the Pandavas. According to the Mahabharata, the Pandava Sahadeva visited this kingdom during his military campaign for the rajasuya of Yudhishthira. According to both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Lanka was originally ruled by a rakshasa named Sumali, according to Uttara Kanda, Lanka was originally built by the divine architect Vishwakarma for the gods, but was seized by the brothers, Malyavan, Sumali and Mali. The brothers ruled for years and invaded the heavens, after suffering a humiliating and disastrous defeat at the hands of Lord Vishnu, the brothers were too ashamed to return to Lanka. Kubera seized control of Lanka and established the Yaksha Kingdom and his capital was guarded by rakshasas and his half-brother Ravana, son of the sage Vishravaya and Sumalis daughter, fought with Kubera and took Lanka from him. Ravana ruled Lanka as king of the Rakshasa Kingdom, the battle in Lanka is depicted in a famous relief in the 12th-century Khmer temple of Angkor Wat. After Ravanas death, he was succeeded by his brother, Vibhishana, the Lanka referred to in the still-extant Hindu Texts and the Ramayana, is considered to be a large island-country, situated in the Indian Ocean. The Ramayana clearly state that Ravanas Lanka was situated 100 Yojanas away from mainland India, some scholars have interpreted the content of these texts to determine that Lanka was located at the point where the Prime-Meridian of India passes the Equator. This island would therefore lie more than a hundred miles South-west of present-day country of Sri Lanka, the most original of all the existing versions of Valmikis Ramayana also suggest the location of Ravanas Lanka to be in the western Indian Ocean. In fact it indicates that Lanka was in the midst of a series of large island-nations, submerged mountains, Ravanas Lanka, and its capital Lankapuri, are described in a manner that seems superhuman even by modern-day standards. Ravanas central palace-complex was a collection of several edifices that reached over one yojana in height, one yojana in length. The island had a mountain range known as the Trikuta Mountain, atop which was situated Ravanas capital of Lanka. The references in the following summary are to the Mahabharata, markandeyas narration of the story begins at Book III, Section 271 of the Mahabharata. The son of Pandu, viz. Sahadeva, conquered the town of Sanjayanti and the country of the Pashandas and the Karanatakas by means of his messengers alone, and made all of them pay tributes to him. And, He having arrived at the seashore, then dispatched with great assurance messengers unto the illustrious Vibhishana, the grandson of Pulastya, Lanka king is listed as present in the conclave of kings present in Pandava king Yudhishthiras Rajasuya sacrifice
36.
Drona
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In the epic Mahabharata, Droņa or Droņacharya or Guru Droņa was the royal preceptor to the Kauravas and Pandavas and incarnation of Brahma, an avatar of Brihaspati. He was the son of rishi Bharadwaja and a descendant of the sage Angirasa and he was a master of advanced military arts, including the divine weapons or Astras. Since Drona was not born from a womb, but from a made of leaf. The story of Dronas birth is related dramatically in Mahabharata, Bharadwaja went with his companions to the Ganga River to perform his ablutions. There he beheld a beautiful apsara named Ghritachi who had come to bathe, the sage was overcome by desire, causing him to produce a reproductive fluid. Bharadwaja Muni captured the fluid in a called a Drona. Dronacharya spent his youth in poverty, but studied Dharma and military arts such as archery, in which he gained expertise, together with the prince of Panchala. Drupada and Dronacharya became close friends, Dronacharya married Kripi, the sister of Kripa, the royal teacher of the princes of Hastinapura. Like Drona himself, Kripi and her brother had not been gestated in a womb, Kripi and Drona had a son, Ashwatthama, Drona did penance so that his son would be as valiant as Shiva. Learning that Parasurama was giving away his possessions to brahmanas, Drona approached him, unfortunately, Parasurama only had his weapons left. He offered to give Drona the weapons as well as the knowledge of how to use them, thus, Drona obtained all of his weapons, and his title of acharya. For the sake of his wife and son, Drona desired freedom from poverty, remembering a childhood promise given by Drupada, he decided to approach him to ask for help. However, King Drupada refused to recognize their friendship, saying friendship was possible only between persons of equal stature in life. As a child, he said, it was possible for him to be friends with Drona, but now Drupada had become a king, while Dronacharya remained a luckless indigent. However, he said he would satisfy Dronacharya if he asked for alms befitting a Brahmin, Drona went away silently, but in his heart he vowed revenge. Bhishma instantly realized that this was Drona, and asked him to become the Guru of the Kuru princes, training them in advanced military arts. Of all the Kaurava and Pandava brothers training under Drona, Arjuna emerged as the most dedicated, hard-working and most naturally talented of them all, Arjuna assiduously served his teacher, who was greatly impressed by his devoted pupil. Arjuna surpassed Dronas expectations in numerous challenges, as a reward, Drona gave Arjuna mantras to invoke the super-powerful divine weapon of Brahma known as Brahmāstra, but told Arjuna not to use this invincible weapon against any ordinary warrior
37.
Kaurava
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Kaurava is a Sanskrit term, that refers to the descendants of Kuru, a legendary king who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the Mahābhārata. The well-known Kauravas are Duryodhana, Dushasana, Vikarna, Yuyutsu, the term Kaurava is used in the Mahābhārata with two meanings, The wider meaning, is used to represent all the descendants of Kuru. This meaning, which includes the Pandava brothers, is used in the earlier parts of popular renditions of the Mahābhārata. The narrower but more common meaning, is used to represent the line of the descendants of King Kuru. This restricts it to the children of King Dhritarashtra, as his line is the line of descent from Kuru. It excludes the children of the younger brother Pandu, who founds his own line, the rest of this article deals with the Kaurava in the narrower sense, that is the children of Dhritarashtra by Gandhari. When referring to children, a more specific term is also used- Dhārtarāṣṭra. After Gandhari was married to Dhritarashtra, she wrapped a bandage over her eyes, gandharis brother Shakuni came to live with them to look after the interests of Gandhari. Once Sage Vyasa came to visit Gandhari in Hastinapur and she took great care of the comforts of the great saint and saw that he had a pleasant stay in Hastinapur. The saint was pleased with Gandhari and granted her a boon, Gandhari wished for one hundred sons who would be as powerful as her husband. Vyasa granted her the boon and in due course of time Gandhari found herself to be pregnant, but two years passed and still the baby was not born. Meanwhile, Kunti received a son from god Yama whom she called Yudhishthira, after two years of pregnancy, Gandhari gave birth to a hard piece of lifeless flesh that was not a baby at all. Gandhari was devastated as she had expected a hundred sons according to the blessing of Rishi Vyas. He told Gandhari that he would cut the piece of flesh into hundred pieces and place them in the jars, Gandhari told Vyas then that she also wanted to have a daughter. Vyas agreed and cut the piece of flesh into one hundred and one pieces, after two more years of patient waiting the jars were ready to be opened. When the first jar was opened the first baby was born and was named Duryodhana which means the one or difficult to fight with. As soon as the baby started crying all the beasts of the jungle started howling, vidura spoke then saying that the child would have to be abandoned as the omens at his birth spelt doom for the Kuru clan. So for the good of the clan and of the country and of humanity, but both Gandhari and Dhritrashtra were adamant that a baby could not cause any harm and much against Viduras wishes kept the baby
38.
Pandava
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In the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic text, the Pandavas are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri, who was the princess of Madra. Their names are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, all five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi. Together the brothers fought and prevailed in a war against their cousins the Kauravas. The word Pandava is derived from their fathers name, Pandu, the other epithets of the Pandava group are, Panduputra - sons of Pandu Pandavakumara - young Pandavas Kaunteya - sons of Kunti Madreya - sons of Madri Yudhishthira, The eldest Pandava brother. His name means one who is steadfast even during war and his parents were Kunti and Dharma, god of virtue, justice and morality. Though he lacked the characteristic combat prowess of a Kshatriya, Yudhishthira was one of the most virtuous men, skilled in the duties of a king and he was a good king who, along with his brothers, founded the prosperous city of Indraprastha. In consequence of Krishnas machinations and also by his brothers conquest of the world and he performed two Ashwamedha sacrifices and one Rajasuya sacrifice. Yudhishthira learnt to control the dice from the Sage Brihadaswa and became good at playing chess and his other names are Ajatshatru and Dharmaraja. His name means of terrible might and his parents were Kunti and Vayu, the god of air and wind, who was known for his might. Bhima has the strength and prowess equal to ten thousand powerful bull elephants and was very athletic. He was aggressive and prone to anger, of all the brothers, he alone opposed Yudhishthira, although very loyal to him, for his questionable decisions opposing common sense in the name of dharma. Bhima was devoted to his family and was their natural protector and he was a master in wielding the mace. He was also an archer, having fought Drona and Ashwatthama. Bhima was also skilled in diverse areas of warfare, including wrestling, charioteering, riding elephants. Along with Arjuna, he went on expeditions to conquer the kingdoms to the east, during the Rajasuya Yagna, Bhima subjugated the kingdoms of the eastern direction completely. He slew Krishnas most dangerous enemy, Jarasandha, in a wrestling bout, during the war, Bhima was most famous for slaying one hundred Kauravas and Duryodhana himself. He was also skilled in chopping wood, cooking, culinary arts and his name means of stainless deeds. His parents were Kunti and Indra, king of the gods and he was very virtuous and avoided unjust acts
39.
Mahabharata
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The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The Mahābhārata is a narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life or puruṣārtha, traditionally, the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, the text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period. The title may be translated as the tale of the Bhārata dynasty. According to the Mahābhārata itself, the tale is extended from a version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata. The Mahābhārata is the longest known epic poem and has described as the longest poem ever written. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahābhārata in the context of civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare. The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa, who is also a character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa and he also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the Mahābhārata states that it was Gaṇeśa who wrote down the text to Vyasas dictation, the epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, the text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the poem must once have carried an immense tragic force. Moritz Winternitz considered that only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole, Research on the Mahābhārata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahābhārata can be traced back to Vedic times, the background to the Mahābhārata suggests the origin of the epic occurs after the very early Vedic period and before the first Indian empire was to rise in the third century B. C
40.
Skanda Purana
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The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan. While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas, the text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to war-god Skanda. The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 6th-century CE and it is considered by scholars, in a historic sense, as among the shiftiest, living texts which was widely edited, over many centuries, creating numerous variants. This Mahāpurāṇa, like others, is attributed to the sage Vyasa, haraprasad Shastri and Cecil Bendall, in about 1898, discovered an old palm-leaf manuscript of Skanda Purana in a Kathmandu library in Nepal, written in Gupta script. They dated the manuscript to 7th century CE, on paleographic grounds and this suggests that the original text existed before this time. Hans Bakker states that the text specifies holy places and details about the 4th and 5th-century Citraratha of Andhra Pradesh, the oldest versions of the Skandapurana texts have been discovered in the Himalayan region of South Asia such as Nepal, and the northeastern states of India such as Assam. The critical editions of the text, for scholarly studied, rely on the Nepalese manuscripts, additional texts style themselves as khandas of Skandapurana, but these came into existed after the 12th-century. It is unclear if their root texts did belong to the Skandapurana, there are a number of texts and manuscripts that bear the title Skanda Purana. Some of these texts, except for the title, have little in common with the well known Skandapurana traced to the 1st-millennium CE, the original text has accrued several additions, resulting in several different versions. It is, therefore, very difficult to establish a date of composition for the Skanda Purana. Stylistically, the Skanda Purana is related to the Mahabharata, the two texts employ similar stock phrases and compounds that are not found in the Ramayana. Some of the mentioned in the present version of the Skanda Purana is undoubtedly post-Gupta period. This indicates that several additions were made to the text over the centuries. The Kashi Khanda, for example, acquired its present form around the mid-13th century CE, the latest part of the text might have been composed in as late as 15th century CE. The whole corpus of texts which are considered as part of the Skanda Purana is grouped in two ways, according to one tradition, these are grouped in six saṁhitās, each of which consists of several khaṇḍas. According to another tradition, these are grouped in seven khaṇḍas, the chapters are Mahatmyas, or travel guides for pilgrimage tourists. A manuscript of a commentary on the Sūta Saṁhitā by Madhavācārya is also available and these texts discuss cosmogony, theology, philosophical questions on virtues and vice, questions such as what is evil, the origin of evil, how to deal with and cure evil
India
pronunciation (help·info)) is a district of Uttarakhand state in northern India. The district headquarters is Dehradun, which has also served as the interim capital of Uttarakhand since its founding in 2000. The district has 6 tehsils, 6 community development blocks, 17 towns and 764 inhabited villages, and 18 unpopulated villages. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of Uttarakhand (out of 13), after Haridwar.[1] Dehradun district also includes the prominent towns of Rishikesh, Mussoorie, Landour and Chakrata. The district stretches from the Ganges river in the east to the Yamuna river in the west, and from the Terai and Shivaliks in the south and southeast to the Great Himalaya in the northwest. During the days of British Raj, the official name of the district was Dehra Dun.[2] In 1842, Dun was attached to Saharanpur district and placed under an officer subordinate to the Collector of the district but since 1871 it is being administered as separate district. [3]
Dehradun district
