Garhwali People

Garhwali people (Garhwali: गढ़वळि मन्खि) are an Indo-Aryan 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.

There is documented evidence that the Garhwal region has been inhabited by the mankind at least since the Vedic period, and the people of Garhwal today are the descendants of different waves of migration of Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian people to these hills which took place over several centuries.

Significant communities of Garhwalis are present in the surrounding Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra along with a sizeable population overseas. According to various estimates, there are at least 2.5 million Garhwali migrants living in Delhi and the National Capital Region. Many Garhwalis also share links with the neighbouring Nepal with many similarities in traditions and culture.