Uttarakhand, formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Land of the gods" due to the many holy Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres found throughout the state. Known for its natural beauty of the Himalayas, the Bhabhar and the Terai, the state was carved out of the Himalayan and adjoining northwestern districts of Uttar Pradesh on 9 November 200
0, becoming the 27th state of the Republic of India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region on the north; the Mahakali Zone of the Far-Western Region, Nepal on the east; and the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south and Himachal Pradesh to the northwest. The state is divided into two divisions, Kumaon and Garhwal, with a total of 13 districts. The provisional capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, which is also a railhead and the largest city in the region. The high court of the state is in Nainital. The natives of the state are generally called either Kumaoni or Garhwali depending on their place 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. A large portion of the population is Rajput and Brahmin. More than 80% of the population is Hindu. Muslims are the largest minority in the state with Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains being the other major religions. Garhwali and Kumaoni are the two main regional languages with Hindi being the most widely spoken language. Two of the most important rivers in Hinduism originate in the region, the Ganga at Gangotri and the Yamuna at Yamunotri. These two along with Badrinath and Kedarnath form the Chota Char Dham, a holy pilgrimage for the Hindus. The state also hosts the Bengal tiger in Jim Corbett National Park, the oldest on the Indian subcontinent. There is also the Valley of Flowers, a Unesco World Heritage Site known for the variety and rarity of the flowers and plants found there.
