ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that regions are fluid entities, that regional identities evolve and undergo change and it is in this sense that they are context bound. It traces its formation to its administrative and developmental neglect by the parent state of Uttar Pradesh. This was visible in the manner of execution of several governmental projects. The struggle for a separate state of Uttarakhand acquired its much known and familiar political form in 1994 when the Samajwadi party’s government in Uttar Pradesh decided to impose the recom-mendations of the Mandal Commission in the region. The industrial policy 2003, even though it had a very ambitious and bold vision, pushing the region towards strong industrial growth by attracting foreign direct investment, creating industrial hubs and offering a viable environment for private investment, concentrated most of these in the plains of Rudrapur, Sitarganj, Pantnagar and Haridwar.
