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Uttarakhand Travel
Know all about religion and religious groups in the state of Uttarakhand/Uttaranchal.


Religion

Religion or faith can be defined as belief in a supernatural power that protects us, punishes us and provides us with whatever we need. It sometimes has a face and sometimes it doesn’t but the faith prompts people to worship this power. Uttarakhand has a major chunk of population believing in Hinduism but it still is a multi-faith society with other religions like Sikhism, Islam, Christianity and nature worshippers. Below is a break up of the religion of the total population:

Religion Percentage of Total Population
Hindus 92 %
Sikhs 2.5 %
Christians 2 %
Muslims 2.5 %
Nature Worship (including tribal) 1.5 %

Other forms of Worship
Apart from these regular religions, several folk forms of worship are also prevalent in Uttarakhand. Major ones among these are.
  • Snake worship:
    The descendants of the Nagas who lived in Uttaranchal in ancient times still worship the snake on Nag Panchami.
  • Karna worship:
    Karna (of Mahabharata) worship is widespread in the Jaunsar-Bawar area of western Garhwal.
  • Sameshwar or Duryodhana worship:
    Duryodhana (of Mahabharata) is worshipped in the upper valleys of the rivers Tons, Yamuna, Bhagirathi, Balganga and Bhilangana.
  • Mahasu worship:
    Mahasu worship prevalent in the Yamuna and Bhagirathi valleys of the western Garhwal.