5 min readSep 27, 2025 07:30 AM IST
First published on: Sep 27, 2025 at 07:30 AM IST
The mountains are not still, and it’s not just the rumble of cloudbursts or the hills collapsing into debris — it runs deeper. To the tourist, Uttarakhand is a land of serenity and divinity. Rivers flowing through cedar valleys, glaciers feeding holy shrines, and snow-capped mountains rising into blue skies. But beneath this postcard peace, there is a growing restlessness, a hum of dissatisfaction that is rising to the surface. And it isn’t just nature. As yet another protest erupts on the streets, one has to ask: What is happening? This time, it is students who are protesting another exam paper leak — the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission. The UKSSC has seen repeated scandals, undermining the faith in its ability to provide fair employment opportunities for all. On the other hand, teachers have just negotiated a temporary ceasefire after a month-long protest over direct appointments to positions and overdue promotions. In a state created on the promise of dignity and opportunity, these breaches are personal.
Recently, Uttarakhand has likely seen more natural disasters than any other state. Flash floods have been particularly menacing, be it the 2013 Kedarnath floods, which killed over 5,000 people with scores missing, or the dramatic floods of this year that swept away the village of Dharali and its inhabitants. Landslides are now seasonal inevitabilities, and the people have been left to the mercy of climate unpredictability. The pilgrim town of Joshimath has been sinking for years. For locals, especially in the upper reaches, dread lies not only in the spectre of the next natural disaster that will dominate national headlines but in the certainty of its return. If Mother Nature is uncontrollable, then what can be controlled is being ignored — illegal mining.
Illegal sand mining along the Ganga and its tributaries is now an open secret. In areas like Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Bageshwar, and Nainital, the sand mafia strips riverbeds bare, trucks thunder down village roads in the dead of the night and locals are cowed into silence. The Uttarakhand High Court has intervened on more than one occasion, issuing directives banning mechanised mining in certain areas. But the ban doesn’t hold, deepening the flood risk and the ecological cost. The impact on the public and their psyche is worse: When impunity becomes par for the course, the people start to lose faith in the highest dispenser of justice in the state.
In 2024-25, the authorities recorded 2,176 cases of illegal mining. Locals now assume that in Uttarakhand, power and profit often outweigh the law. The unease is sharpened by issues regarding female safety. The NAARI 2025 report released by the NCW Chairperson listed Dehradun as one of the 10 most unsafe cities in India. The state police responded by threatening action against the company that conducted the survey, despite the NCW’s endorsement of the report. The debate about figures aside, when cases like Ankita Bhandari and Kashish impact public sentiment and spark protests, the government has to be more prompt in
its response.
In 2000, the promise of statehood buoyed the expectations of the people with regard to identity and opportunity. Increasingly, there is disappointment. In 2024, 20,000 people applied for a mere 24 home guard jobs, with over 70 per cent of applicants being post-graduates. Paper leaks like UKSSC shake the confidence of the young in government jobs, a highly aspirational path, given that private investment in the state is low. As recruitment opportunities become more scarce, so does patience and rootedness; migration has become the preferred option. Over 1,200 villages in Uttarakhand are “ghost villages”, with families abandoning their ancestral homes in the hills and leaving in search of employment and better facilities. Even in villages connected to more developed areas, people are selling their land to developers of holiday homes. Construction is booming in Dehradun and other urban areas, with billboards of luxury villas being advertised all over Gurugram and Delhi. But the Uttarakhandi is leaving. And with his/her departure, the culture and language are dying.
Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand’s twin state, has its own issues with natural disasters and unemployment, but the protests there are linked to pensions, wages or land rights. In Uttarakhand, the disenchantment runs deeper and is tinged with a loss of identity. There is restlessness, but it is not yet revolt. However, the gap between the two is narrowing as disparate groups take to the streets, each for their own cause.
In neighbouring Nepal, with which Uttarakhand shares a border and cultural ties, the recent protests have presented an example. The call for statehood arose because of a yearning for identity and control over land, opportunities and culture. After years of neglect, the quiet and unassuming hill communities were assured rights and dignity, but the focus continues to be on the plains. The hills are speaking again, this time not through nature’s fury, but in the streets. The resolve is growing. Will anyone notice?
Kala is a writer from the village of Sumari in Pauri Garhwal
Recently, Uttarakhand has likely seen more natural disasters than any other state. Flash floods have been particularly menacing, be it the 2013 Kedarnath floods, which killed over 5,000 people with scores missing, or the dramatic floods of this year that swept away the village of Dharali and its inhabitants. 
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