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68-626: The Garhwali people are an Indian ethnolinguistic group native to the Garhwal , in the Indian state of Uttarakhand , who speak Garhwali , an Indo-Aryan language . In modern usage, "Garhwali" is used to refer to anyone whose linguistic, cultural, and ancestral or genetic origins is from the Garhwal Himalayas . Their ethnonym is derived from the word ' Garhwal ' or ' Gadwal ' . The earliest reference to this region

136-632: A Central Pahari language belonging to the Northern Zone of Indo-Aryan languages . Garhwali is one of the 325 recognised languages of India which is spoken by over 2,267,314 people such as Tehri Garhwal , Pauri Garhwal , Uttarkashi , Chamoli , Dehradun , Haridwar and Rudraprayag districts of Uttarakhand . The language has many regional dialects including: Srinagari, Tehri (Gangapariya), Badhani, Dessaulya, Lohbya, Majh-Kumaiya, Bhattiani, Nagpuriya, Rathi, Salani (Pauri), Ravai, Parvati, Jaunpuri, Gangadi (Uttarkashi), Chandpuri. Srinagari dialect

204-559: A " dead language ". If no one can speak the language at all, it becomes an " extinct language ". A dead language may still be studied through recordings or writings, but it is still dead or extinct unless there are fluent speakers. Although languages have always become extinct throughout human history, they are currently dying at an accelerated rate because of globalization , mass migration , cultural replacement, imperialism , neocolonialism and linguicide (language killing). Language shift most commonly occurs when speakers switch to

272-431: A boon from "Shiva" that turned a head into Bhasma or ashes whenever he touched with boon to anyone's head. Lord Shiva accompanied by another one reached to a cave which was the home of Lord Shiva, and finally lord "Vishnu" helped him by killing the demon. The temple is filled with fantastic energy/aura, and one can feel it. Few drops of water are continually running through the hill. Dhari Devi temple of "Dhari Devi"

340-453: A city called Kartikeyapura was founded. 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

408-485: A community with special collective rights . Language can also be considered as scientific knowledge in topics such as medicine, philosophy, botany, and more. It reflects a community's practices when dealing with the environment and each other. When a language is lost, this knowledge is often lost as well. In contrast, language revitalization is correlated with better health outcomes in indigenous communities. During language loss—sometimes referred to as obsolescence in

476-470: A dominant position in a country. Speakers of endangered languages may themselves come to associate their language with negative values such as poverty, illiteracy and social stigma, causing them to wish to adopt the dominant language that is associated with social and economical progress and modernity . Immigrants moving into an area may lead to the endangerment of the autochthonous language. Dialects and accents have seen similar levels of endangerment during

544-742: A favourite locale for the voluminous mythology of the Puranic period. The traditional name of Garhwal was kedarkhand means "the land of God". Excavations have revealed that it formed part of the Mauryan Empire . The earliest reference regarding Garhwal and its pride spots are cited in the Skanda Purana and the Mahabharata in the Van Parva . Skanda Purana defines the boundaries and extend of this holy land. It also finds mention in

612-433: A fraction of the world's linguistic diversity, therefore their picture of what human language is—and can be—will be limited. Some linguists consider linguistic diversity to be analogous to biological diversity, and compare language endangerment to wildlife endangerment . Linguists, members of endangered language communities, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and international organizations such as UNESCO and

680-442: A language associated with social or economic power or one spoken more widely, leading to the gradual decline and eventual death of the endangered language. The process of language shift is often influenced by factors such as globalisation, economic authorities, and the perceived prestige of certain languages. The ultimate result is the loss of linguistic diversity and cultural heritage within affected communities. The general consensus

748-409: A language is unlikely to survive another generation and will soon be extinct. The fourth stage is moribund , followed by the fifth stage extinction . Many projects are under way aimed at preventing or slowing language loss by revitalizing endangered languages and promoting education and literacy in minority languages, often involving joint projects between language communities and linguists. Across

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816-655: A larger sign language or dispersal of the deaf community) can lead to the endangerment and loss of their traditional sign language. Methods are being developed to assess the vitality of sign languages. While there is no definite threshold for identifying a language as endangered, UNESCO 's 2003 document entitled Language vitality and endangerment outlines nine factors for determining language vitality: Many languages, for example some in Indonesia , have tens of thousands of speakers but are endangered because children are no longer learning them, and speakers are shifting to using

884-408: A link road of Jurana . It can also be reached via (1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi)) long bridle path. The temple administration body organises several annual events including cultural and religious seminars. Umra Narayan is situated between the mystic and peaceful hills of Rudraprayag where "Devine" temple of Lord Umra Narayan (Isth Dev of gram sann) is located. According to mythology, this temple

952-719: A part of the Punjab Hill States Agency of British India . Most of the Uttarkashi district acceded to the Union of India in 1949. Garhwali are known for their courage because they were preferred by the British as an army. Garhwali Kingdom was one of the few kingdoms that never came under the Muslim rule influence. The history of Garhwal is older than that of Ramayana and Mahabharata . Worshipping Lord Shiva

1020-719: A series of encroachments by them on British territory led to the Gurkha War in 1814. At the termination of the campaign, Garhwal and Kumaon were converted into British districts, while the Tehri principality was restored to a son of the former chief. The British district of Garhwal was in the Kumaon Division of the United Provinces , and had an area of 5,629 sq mi (14,580 km ). After annexation, Garhwal rapidly advanced in material prosperity. IN 1901

1088-477: A small stone made shrine known as Thaan where they are represented by small rocks placed inside the thaan. Usually during the crops were offered to Bhumiyal as a way to thanking them for protecting the village. Garhwal division Garhwal (IPA: /ɡəɽʋːɔɭ/) is one of the two administrative divisions of the Indian state of Uttarakhand . Lying in the Himalayas , it is bounded on the north by Tibet , on

1156-441: Is potential endangerment . This is when a language faces strong external pressure, but there are still communities of speakers who pass the language to their children. The second stage is endangerment . Once a language has reached the endangerment stage, there are only a few speakers left and children are, for the most part, not learning the language. The third stage of language extinction is seriously endangered . During this stage,

1224-455: Is also sometimes referred to as language revival or reversing language shift . For case studies of this process, see Anderson (2014). Applied linguistics and education are helpful in revitalizing endangered languages. Vocabulary and courses are available online for a number of endangered languages. Language maintenance refers to the support given to languages that need for their survival to be protected from outsiders who can ultimately affect

1292-637: Is attributing reverent honour and homage to him. According to the great Mahabharata, Garhwal is believed to be the land where the Vedas and the Shastras were made. The Garhwali language ( गढ़वळि भाख/भासा ) is primarily spoken by the Garhwali people of the north-western Garhwal Division from the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas. The Garhwali language is classified as

1360-421: Is believed to be form of Krishna according to local legends), Pandav and Draupadi etc. This pantheon was headed by Durga and Mahadev , who is referred to by many names such as Bhagwati, Surkanda, Kali, Bhavani, Nanda etc. They also worship their ancestors who were locally known as Bhumiyal, which literally means guardians of Land each and every Garhwali villages have their own Bhumiyal they are worshipped in

1428-486: Is in the Skanda Purana which called it Kedar Khand and Himvat . It describes the area that contained Gangadwar (Haridwar and Kankhala), Badrinath, Gandhamardan, and Kailash. The Kingdom of Garhwal was founded by Parmars . The area comprises 52 principalities called garhs (fortresses). These were small and had their own chiefs who were responsible for the welfare of the garhs . The Parmar dynasty ruled

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1496-641: Is of the Katyuris . The Katyuri Raja of Uttarakhand ( Kumaon and Garhwal ) 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, where

1564-420: Is situated on the banks of the river Alaknanda. One has to travel 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Srinagar (Pauri Garhwal) on Srinagar-Badrinath highway to Kaliya Saur, and then turn down where one has to travel half of a kilometre towards Alaknanda river. The upper part of Goddess "Kali" is worshipped here. According to the local people, the face of the idol changes as a girl, a woman, and an old lady according to

1632-400: Is that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 languages currently spoken. Some linguists estimate that between 50% and 90% of them will be severely endangered or dead by the year 2100. The 20 most common languages , each with more than 50 million speakers, are spoken by 50% of the world's population, but most languages are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people. The first step towards language death

1700-644: Is the administrative head of the Division, and is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. As the administrative head of the division, the Commissioner is overall incharge of the 7 districts in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, and is aided in his duties by an additional commissioner and the district magistrates. Sushil Kumar is the divisional commissioner of the Garhwal Division since December 2021. The Garhwal Himalayas appear to have been

1768-696: Is the literary standard, while Pauri is generally regarded as the prominent one. However, for a number of reasons, Garhwali is a rapidly shrinking language. The UNESCO Atlas of the World's Endangered Languages book authored by "Theo Baumann" has described Garhwali language one of the moribund languages that needs to be protected. Chandrabadni Devi Temple is located in Tehri Garhwal. The temple can be reached either from 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long rout Kandikhal to Srinagar-Tehri or 9 kilometres (5.6 mi)) long Jamnikhal en route Dev Prayag-Tehri via

1836-500: The Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages , there are four main types of causes of language endangerment: Causes that put the populations that speak the languages in physical danger, such as: Causes that prevent or discourage speakers from using a language, such as: Often multiple of these causes act at the same time. Poverty, disease and disasters often affect minority groups disproportionately, for example causing

1904-728: The Northwest Pacific Plateau . Other hotspots are Oklahoma and the Southern Cone of South America. Almost all of the study of language endangerment has been with spoken languages. A UNESCO study of endangered languages does not mention sign languages. However, some sign languages are also endangered, such as Alipur Village Sign Language (AVSL) of India, Adamorobe Sign Language of Ghana, Ban Khor Sign Language of Thailand, and Plains Indian Sign Language . Many sign languages are used by small communities; small changes in their environment (such as contact with

1972-611: The national language (e.g. Indonesian ) in place of local languages. In contrast, a language with only 500 speakers might be considered very much alive if it is the primary language of a community, and is the first (or only) spoken language of all children in that community. Asserting that "Language diversity is essential to the human heritage", UNESCO's Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages offers this definition of an endangered language: "... when its speakers cease to use it, use it in an increasingly reduced number of communicative domains, and cease to pass it on from one generation to

2040-525: The "Navratras". There are 108 Shakta pithas in India, and this is one of them as described in the "Srimad Devi Bhagwat". The upper part of goddess Kali is worshipped in "Dhari Devi". Goddess Kali killed the demon "Raktavija" here in this area. After killing the demon, they went under the earth. Usually they have their own pantheon consisted of rural deities who are worshipped through Jagar (ritual) , these deities include Narsingh , Bhairav , Nagaraja (Nagaraja

2108-472: The 21st century due to similar reasons. Language endangerment affects both the languages themselves and the people that speak them. This also affects the essence of a culture. As communities lose their language, they often lose parts of their cultural traditions that are tied to that language. Examples include songs, myths, poetry, local remedies, ecological and geological knowledge, as well as language behaviors that are not easily translated. Furthermore,

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2176-561: The 52 separate principalities, each with its own garh or fortress. For 300 years, Garhwal remained one kingdom, with its capital at Srinagar (on the left bank of Alaknanda river ). 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

2244-437: The 7th-century travelogue of Huen Tsang . However, it is with Adi Shankaracharya that the name of Garhwal will always be linked, for the great 8th-century spiritual reformer visited the remote, snow-laden heights of Garhwal, established a Joshimath and restored some of the most sacred shrines, including Badrinath and Kedarnath . The history of Garhwal as a unified whole began in the 15th century, when king Ajai Pal merged

2312-678: The European Union are actively working to save and stabilize endangered languages. Once a language is determined to be endangered, there are three steps that can be taken in order to stabilize or rescue the language. The first is language documentation, the second is language revitalization and the third is language maintenance. Language documentation is the documentation in writing and audio-visual recording of grammar , vocabulary, and oral traditions (e.g. stories, songs, religious texts) of endangered languages. It entails producing descriptive grammars, collections of texts and dictionaries of

2380-574: The Kingdom until 1803 before the "Gurkhas" invaded Kumaon and Garhwal, driving the Garhwal chief into the plains. For 12 years the Gurkhas ruled the country with an iron rod, until a series of encroachments by them on British territory led to the Anglo–Nepalese War in 1814. At the termination of the campaign, Garhwal and Kumaon were converted into British districts, while the Tehri principality

2448-403: The agriculture, tourism and the defence industry. Native to 2.8 million people, Hindi has official status and is widely used in administration and education. Garhwali , spoken by about 2.3 million people as of the 2011 census, is the majority language in all but the two southern districts of Haridwar and Dehradun, where the language with the largest proportion of speakers according to the census

2516-419: The area resulted in widespread damage and over 5,000 deaths. It was India's worst natural disaster insofar as death toll since the 2004 tsunami . The majority of the inhabitants are Garhwalis . The culture of the present Garhwal is an amalgamation of influences from the indigenous population coupled with traditions superimposed by immigrants who settled in the region. A majority of the people are involved in

2584-480: The cities or to other countries, thus dispersing the speakers. Cultural dominance occurs when literature and higher education is only accessible in the majority language. Political dominance occurs when education and political activity is carried out exclusively in a majority language. Historically, in colonies, and elsewhere where speakers of different languages have come into contact, some languages have been considered superior to others: often one language has attained

2652-575: The contributions of linguists globally. Ethnologue's 2005 count of languages in its database, excluding duplicates in different countries, was 6,912, of which 32.8% (2,269) were in Asia, and 30.3% (2,092) in Africa. This contemporary tally must be regarded as a variable number within a range. Areas with a particularly large number of languages that are nearing extinction include: Eastern Siberia , Central Siberia , Northern Australia , Central America , and

2720-461: The cycles of language death and emergence of new languages through creolization as a continuous ongoing process. A majority of linguists do consider that language loss is an ethical problem, as they consider that most communities would prefer to maintain their languages if given a real choice. They also consider it a scientific problem, because language loss on the scale currently taking place will mean that future linguists will only have access to

2788-408: The dispersal of speaker populations and decreased survival rates for those who stay behind. Among the causes of language endangerment cultural, political and economic marginalization accounts for most of the world's language endangerment. Scholars distinguish between several types of marginalization: Economic dominance negatively affects minority languages when poverty leads people to migrate towards

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2856-507: The district was a narrow strip of waterless forest between the southern slopes of the hills and the fertile plains of Rohilkhand . The highest mountains are in the eastern Chamoli district , the principal peaks being Nanda Devi 7,816 m (25,643 ft), Kamet 7,756 m (25,446 ft), Chaukhamba 7,138 m (23,419 ft), Trisul 7,120 m (23,360 ft), Dunagiri 7,066 m (23,182 ft), and Kedarnath 6,940 m (22,769 ft). The Alaknanda River , one of

2924-517: The earliest is GIDS (Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale) proposed by Joshua Fishman in 1991. In 2011 an entire issue of Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development was devoted to the study of ethnolinguistic vitality, Vol. 32.2, 2011, with several authors presenting their own tools for measuring language vitality. A number of other published works on measuring language vitality have been published, prepared by authors with varying situations and applications in mind. According to

2992-476: The east by Kumaon , on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the northwest by Himachal Pradesh state. 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

3060-507: The incarnation of "Vishnu" itself. Koteshwar Mahadev is located about three kilometres inside the 'heart' of Rudraprayag, Koteshwar Mahadev temple. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This place is presumed to be the same spot where Lord Shiva was stopped for meditation where he was on his way to Kedarnath. According to local mythology, this temple has its presence since the time of Bhasmasur (the Deadly Asur/demon), who received

3128-416: The languages, and it requires the establishment of a secure archive where the material can be stored once it is produced so that it can be accessed by future generations of speakers or scientists. Language revitalization is the process by which a language community through political, community, and educational means attempts to increase the number of active speakers of the endangered language. This process

3196-399: The linguistic literature—the language that is being lost generally undergoes changes as speakers make their language more similar to the language that they are shifting to. For example, gradually losing grammatical or phonological complexities that are not found in the dominant language. Generally the accelerated pace of language endangerment is considered to be a problem by linguists and by

3264-577: The main sources of the Ganges , receives with its affluents the whole drainage of the district. At Devprayag the Alaknanda joins the Bhagirathi , and thenceforward the united streams bear the name of the Ganges . Cultivation is principally confined to the immediate vicinity of the rivers, which are employed for irrigation. In June 2013 a multi-day cloudburst centered in the mountainous valleys of

3332-434: The military cantonment of Lansdowne . Grain was one of the major corps of this area. Apart from this, cloth, while salt, borax, livestock, and wool were imported from Tibet . The administrative headquarters of the area were established at Pauri. Srinagar (Garhwal) was the largest city and served as an important trade center along with the town of Kotdwara which is situated at Oudh and Rohilkhand railway tracks. Later, it became

3400-455: The next. That is, there are no new speakers, adults or children." UNESCO operates with four levels of language endangerment between "safe" (not endangered) and "extinct" (no living speakers), based on intergenerational transfer: "vulnerable" (not spoken by children outside the home), "definitely endangered" (children not speaking), "severely endangered" (only spoken by the oldest generations), and "critically endangered" (spoken by few members of

3468-559: The north-west), and the Sino-Tibetan languages Jad (also in Uttarkashi) and Rongpo (of Chamoli district). [REDACTED] Garhwal travel guide from Wikivoyage Endangered language An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes

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3536-545: The number of speakers of a language. UNESCO seeks to prevent language extinction by promoting and supporting the language in education, culture, communication and information, and science. Another option is "post-vernacular maintenance": the teaching of some words and concepts of the lost language, rather than revival proper. As of June 2012 the United States has a J-1 specialist visa , which allows indigenous language experts who do not have academic training to enter

3604-679: The oldest generation, often semi-speakers ). UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger categorises 2,473 languages by level of endangerment. Using an alternative scheme of classification, linguist Michael E. Krauss defines languages as "safe" if it is considered that children will probably be speaking them in 100 years; "endangered" if children will probably not be speaking them in 100 years (approximately 60–80% of languages fall into this category) and "moribund" if children are not speaking them now. Many scholars have devised techniques for determining whether languages are endangered. One of

3672-500: The passage of time. This idol is located in an open area. Many times, villagers and some philanthropists tried to build a roof for Goddess, but their efforts returned empty handed as the roof gets dismantle every time. As per "Srimad Devi Bhagwat", there are 108 Shakta pithas as in India, and this is one of them. Kalimath , also known as "Kaviltha", is a village which is regarded as a divine place and Shakta pitha . It lies at an altitude of around 6,000 feet (1,800 m) (1,800 m) on

3740-462: The population was 429,900. Two battalions of the Indian army (the 39th Garhwal Rifles) were recruited in the district, which contained the military cantonment of Lansdowne. Grain and coarse cloth were exported, and salt , borax , livestock and wool were imported. Trade with Tibet was considerable. The administrative headquarters was at the village of Pauri , but Srinagar was the largest city. It

3808-530: The river Saraswati in the Himalayas, surrounded by the peaks of Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. Kalimath is situated close to Ukhimath and Guptakashi . It is one of the "Siddha Peeths" of the region and is regarded a respectful place with religious importance. The temple of the goddess Kali is located in this village and is visited by many devotees throughout the year, especially during

3876-661: The social structure of one's community is often reflected through speech and language behavior. This pattern is even more prominent in dialects. This may in turn affect the sense of identity of the individual and the community as a whole, producing a weakened social cohesion as their values and traditions are replaced with new ones. This is sometimes characterized as anomie . Losing a language may also have political consequences as some countries confer different political statuses or privileges on minority ethnic groups, often defining ethnicity in terms of language. In turn, communities that lose their language may also lose political legitimacy as

3944-502: The speakers. However, some linguists, such as the phonetician Peter Ladefoged , have argued that language death is a natural part of the process of human cultural development, and that languages die because communities stop speaking them for their own reasons. Ladefoged argued that linguists should simply document and describe languages scientifically, but not seek to interfere with the processes of language loss. A similar view has been argued at length by linguist Salikoko Mufwene , who sees

4012-900: The support the British gave them in driving back the Gurhkas. During the Second World War , the Raja Narendra Shah contributed his troops and aircraft to the British war effort. In recognition for his services, the British gave him the title of "Maharaja", made him a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) and knighted him. Thus his full title was Sir Maharaja Narendra Shah KCSI. The region consists almost entirely of rugged mountain ranges running in all directions and separated by narrow valleys, which in some cases become deep gorges or ravines. The only level portion of

4080-457: The world is not known, and it is not well defined what constitutes a separate language as opposed to a dialect. Estimates vary depending on the extent and means of the research undertaken, and the definition of a distinct language and the current state of knowledge of remote and isolated language communities. The number of known languages varies over time as some of them become extinct and others are newly discovered. An accurate number of languages in

4148-418: The world was not yet known until the use of universal, systematic surveys in the later half of the twentieth century. The majority of linguists in the early twentieth century refrained from making estimates. Before then, estimates were frequently the product of guesswork and very low. One of the most active research agencies is SIL International , which maintains a database, Ethnologue , kept up to date by

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4216-413: The world, many countries have enacted specific legislation aimed at protecting and stabilizing the language of indigenous speech communities . Recognizing that most of the world's endangered languages are unlikely to be revitalized, many linguists are also working on documenting the thousands of languages of the world about which little or nothing is known. The total number of contemporary languages in

4284-592: Was Hindi . Other languages with large numbers of speakers are Urdu (250,000, mostly in Haridwar and Dehradun), Jaunsari (140,000 people mostly in the Jaunsar–Bawar region of Dehradun), Nepali (86,000 speakers, with the largest concentration in Dehradun), and Punjabi (76,000, mostly in Dehradun). The set of indigenous languages also includes Mahasu Pahari (found in the north-western district of Uttarkashi in

4352-548: Was an important mart, as was Kotdwara , the terminus of a branch of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway from Najibabad . During the turn of the 19th century, the Gurkhas attacked Garhwal and drove the rulers of Garhwal down to the plains (Rishikesh, Haridwar, DehraDun). Pradyumna Shah died fighting at the battle of Khurbura . Thereafter the rulers of Garhwal took the help of the British forces in India and regained their kingdom. The rulers of Garhwal gave away 60% of their kingdom for

4420-427: Was built during the time of Adi Shankracharya , and is believed that it was constructed by Adi Shankracharya when he was on his way to Lord Badrinath's temple. The temple has been now renovated and is 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) away from the central city of Rudraprayag. It is also believed that most of the "Isth Devas" in the Garhwal region are the incarnation of "Lord Vishnu" (Narsingh Dev Ji), and sometimes even

4488-553: Was founded by Parmars . Nearly 700 years ago, one of these chiefs, Ajai Pal, reduced all the minor principalities under him and founded the Garhwal Kingdom. He and his ancestors ruled over Garhwal and the adjacent state of Tehri-Garhwal , in an uninterrupted line till 1803, when the Gurkhas invaded Kumaon and Garhwal, driving the Garhwal chief into the plains. For 12 years the Gurkhas ruled the country with an iron rod, until

4556-511: Was progenitor of this dynasty. Raja Ajay Pal, a scion of the Parmars in the 14th century is credited with having brought these chiefs under his rule. After his conquest Ajay Pal's domain was recognised as Garhwal owing to exuberance of forts. It is possible that after annexing all principalities, Raja Ajay Pal must have become famous as Garhwala, the owner of forts. With the passage of time his kingdom came to be known as Garhwal. Garhwal Kingdom

4624-475: Was restored to a son of the former chief (that is King Pradymun), King Sudarshan Shah . A part of this kingdom was taken by the British, and later, it became known as the British Garhwal which spread over the area of 5,629  mi (14,580  km). After the British rule, Garhwal made rapid development. Two battalions of the Indian army (the 39th Garhwal Rifles ) were deployed in the area, stationed at

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