Garhwal Kingdom was an independent Himalayan kingdom in the current north-western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India, founded in 688 CE by Kanak Pal, the progenitor of the Panwar dynasty that ruled over the kingdom uninterrupted until 1803 CE. The kingdom was divided into two parts during the British Raj, namely: the princely state of Garhwal and the Garhwal District of British India. During this period, the princely state of Garhwal was one of the States of the Punjab Hills which became part of the Punjab Hill States Agency although it was not under the Punjab Province administration. The princely state of Garhwal or Independent Garhwal consisted of the present day Tehri Garhwal district and most of the Uttarkashi district. This former state acceded to the Union of India in August 1949 CE. Etymology The exact origin of the word 'Garhwal' is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the title ‘Garh-wala’ (Owner of Forts) given to the ruler Ajay Pal, who is said to have consolidated 52 principalities to form the kingdom in the 14th century. After this conquest the domain under Ajay Pal is said to have been called 'Garhwal', possibly due to the numerous forts in the region. The name of the region and its people prior to Ajay Pal is unknown though some historians like Atkinson have alluded to ‘Khasadeśa’ (Land of the Khasas) and Sircar has stated that ‘Strīrājya’ (Kingdom of Women) as the ancient name of Garhwal and Kumaon. The earliest reference to places in this region are in the Skanda Purana as 'Kedarakhanda' and in the Mahabharata as 'Himavat' to describe the area that contained Gangadwar (Haridwar and Kankhal), Badrinath, Gandhamardan, and Kailash. History Ancient Traditionally the region finds mention in various Hindu scriptures as Kedarkhand being home to the Garhwali people. Garhwal kingdom was dominated by Rajputs. The Kuninda Kingdom also flourished around the 2nd century BC. Later this region came under the rule of Katyuri kings, who ruled unified Kumaon and Garhwal regions from Katyur Valley, Baijnath, starting 6th century AD and eventually fading by the 11th century AD, after their fall Kurmanchal was divided into numerous small principalities and they eventually lost the control over garhwal region and the region fragmented into several small forts (garh). Huen Tsang, the Chinese traveller, who visited the region around 629 AD, mentions a Kingdom of Brahmapura in the region. Based on the