Garhwali people
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Garhwali language | |
| Religion | |
 Hinduism
|
| Rudraprayag | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Umra Narayan | Koteshwar Mahadev |
 |
 |
| Dhari Devi (Uttarakhand) | Kalimath |
Garhwali people are an ethno-linguistic group who primarily live in the Garhwal Himalayas of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Any person who has ancestral Garhwali roots or lives in Garhwal and has a Garhwali heritage is called a Garhwali.
They include all those who speak the Garhwali language or any of its numerous dialects, living in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts of Uttarakhand, India.
Significant communities of Garhwalis are present in the surrounding Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra along with a sizable population overseas. According to various estimates, there are at least 2.5 million Garhwali migrants living in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
The Kingdom of Garhwal was founded by Panwar/Parmar Rajputs nearly 700 years ago at a place called Chandpur Garhi. Earlier Garhwal used to have 52 principalities called Garhs(cluster of habitations). Garh was ruled by a Chief, one of these chiefs, Ajai Pal ruler of Chandpur Garhi from Panwar dynasty, reduced all the minor principalities under his own sway with the power of his sword, and founded the Garhwal Kingdom. He and his descendants ruled over Garhwal in an uninterrupted line till 1803, when the Gurkhas invaded Kumaon and Garhwal, driving the Garhwal chief into the plains. For twelve years the Gurkhas ruled the country with a rod of iron, 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 Kingdom and Kumaon Kingdom were converted into British districts, while the Tehri principality was restored to a son of deceased king Pradyumn Shah, King Sudarshan Shah. Another part taken by British was called British Garhwal and had an area of 5,629 mi2 (14,580 km2). Garhwal rapidly advanced in material prosperity. Two battalions of the Indian army (the 39th Garhwal Rifles) were recruited in the district, which also contained the military cantonment of Lansdowne. Grain and coarse cloth were exported, and salt, borax, livestock and wool were imported, and the trade with Tibet was considerable. The administrative headquarters were at Pauri, but Srinagar(Garhwal) was the largest city. It was an important mart, as was Kotdwara -the terminus of a branch of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway from Najibabad. Later it was part of the Punjab Hill States Agency of British India, consisting of the present day Tehri Garhwal district and most of the Uttarkashi district and acceded to the Union of India in 1949. Garhwal is a holy place of India.
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