Uttarakhand (Utt)

‘Northern Region’

From Skt/Hin: uttara/uttari, ‘north(ern)’; and Hin: khaṇḍa, ‘region’, ‘section’.

When it was first created in 2000 (it split off from Uttar Pradesh) this state was called Uttaranchal, ‘northern mountains’ [Skt/Hin: uttara/uttari, ‘north(ern)’; and Skt/Hin: achala, ‘mountain(s)’].

In 2007, the name was changed to Uttarakhand (“northern land”).

Uttarakhand is known as the Devabhumi, ‘Land of the Gods’, on account of its 37 pilgrimage sites including  Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri

For more on Indian place names and history, see Toponymy on the Ashoka Express

For a journey through tribal India and Sri Lanka, see Headhunting with Marguerite