History of Uttarakhand 

The state of Uttarakhand is mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures as Kedarkhand, Manakhand and Himavat. Succeeding the Macedonian march across the Himalayan foothills, an imperialist tradition was instituted around 330 .AD, by the Gupta's. This was followed by the Vardhanas in the fifth century AD. The ultimate downfall of the Vardhana empire saw the emergence of a number of small principalities controlled by petty chiefs. Whoever was in power added to the tradition of meditation and worship in these unspoiled mountain enclaves. The Kushanas, Kudinas, Kanishka, Samudra, Gupta, the Pauravas, Katuris, Palas, the Chandras and Pawaras and the British have ruled in turns.

The saint Adi Shankaracharya was almost entirely responsible for the revival of Hinduism in the early ninth century. At that time, Uttarakhand was a medley of mystic cults, naga worship, tantric rites and animistic faith. He established a series of dhams and maths - seats of Hindu religion - at elevated sites in the Himalayas. At Jyotirmath, now Joshimath, he set up an institution of Hindu learning and instruction, a tradition that remains till this day.  The present state of Uttarakhand was earlier as part of the United Province of Agra and Awadh which came into existence in 1902. In 1935, the name of the state was shortened to the United Province. In January 1950, the United Province was renamed as Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand remained a part of Uttar Pradesh before it came into being on 9 November 2000, the 27th state of India.