Dehradun/Shimla: While Dehradun’s citizens showed up in full force, the silence from the rest of the Himalayan belt — especially Himachal — was hard to miss.
On a day meant to unite mountain states, all that trickled in from elsewhere were a few WhatsApp forwards and polite NGO homilies.
Inside the Doon Library, however, the mood was very different as Uttarakhand’s thinkers, former bureaucrats, scholars and cultural voices gathered to confront the hard truths facing a region battered by disasters and drained by migration.
The occasion was “Uttarakhand @25: Looking Back–Looking Forward,” a dialogue anchored in the new volume Uttarakhand @25. A quiet tribute to former Chief Secretary late Dr R.S. Tolia set the tone — reflective, urgent and painfully honest.
Our roads are choking, our borders are emptying”
The first session, moderated by social activist Anup Nautiyal, picked up where the silent hills had left off — asking aloud what others weren’t even debating.
Former DGP Anil Raturi spoke of traffic-choked roads, pressure from unchecked tourism and a police force stretched thin as pilgrimage numbers swell. He warned that the mountains are signalling distress, and the state cannot ignore it.
Author Kripa Nautiyal added a deeper ache: the quiet desertion of border villages in Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttarkashi. She called the fading population a “national security concern”, saying an empty village is more than a statistic — it’s a lost frontier.
Migration expert S.S. Negi connected the dots with data. Three out of four migrants today move within Uttarakhand, escaping villages for small towns in search of schooling, healthcare and survival.
Strengthening these basics, he said, is the only way to slow the outward drift.
“The Himalayas are teachers — if only we listened”
The second session, moderated by Bini Shah, smoothly expanded the conversation from physical vulnerabilities to cultural and educational ones.
Educationist Kiran Sood reminded the gathering that the Himalayas are living classrooms, rich with ecological and cultural knowledge. When children grow up disconnected from these lessons, she said, the mountains lose their storytellers.
Tourism expert Sudha Rani Pandey argued that Uttarakhand’s long-term strength depends on uniform, value-based education that equips youth for meaningful work. Without it, the migration cycle will continue unchecked.
Cultural scholar Dr Dataram Purohit closed the loop, saying cultural tourism can breathe life back into emptying villages.
When communities earn through culture, he said, they protect their heritage — and their homes.
Why the book matters
Uttarakhand @25 offers more than commentary. It presents pathways for governance, ecological resilience, disaster preparedness and sustainable growth — a roadmap the Himalayan region desperately needs but rarely discusses collectively.
A room full of concern — and commitment
Among the attendees were Chief Editor N.S. Napalchyal, Editor N. Ravi Shankar, Chairperson Prof B.K. Choudhary, former Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, former DGP Anil Raturi, and over 80 citizens from academia, civil society and environmental fields. A vote of thanks by Richa Ghansiyal wrapped up the event, but the concerns lingered.
The bigger worry
For a region facing cloudbursts, landslides and climate extremes, the lack of wider engagement — especially from other Himalayan states — stood out sharply.
If the hill people themselves won’t speak up for the mountains, experts warned, climate change will speak for them — far more brutally.
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