At Rangers College Ground, Dehradun, on Saturday, October 31, 2026, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami walked into a living tableau of Uttarakhand — folk songs, handwoven textiles, organic mountain produce, and the aroma of pahadi cuisine — and declared that none of it was mere tradition. It was, he said, the state's very identity and soul.

Dhami attended Uttarakhand Kauthig-2026, organised by the Akhil Garhwal Sabha, Dehradun, a cultural body that has long championed Garhwali heritage. Speaking at the event, he praised the Sabha's sustained efforts to preserve and promote the state's folk culture, traditions, and cultural inheritance.

Why Kauthig Is More Than a Festival

The Chief Minister framed the annual Kauthig not as nostalgia but as a strategic bridge. 'Uttarakhand ki lok sanskriti hamari pehchaan hi nahin, balki hamari aatma bhi hai' — 'Uttarakhand's folk culture is not just our identity, it is our very soul,' he said. Folk languages, folk songs, dances, traditional attire, fairs, and festivals, he argued, are inseparable parts of a glorious cultural heritage, and passing them to the next generation is a collective responsibility.

Stalls at the festival showcased traditional handicrafts, organic products, and Uttarakhand's distinctive cuisine — many run by women's self-help groups. Dhami praised these displays as living proof that cultural promotion and economic empowerment can reinforce each other.

'Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi' — The Governing Mantra

The CM explicitly anchored his government's approach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guiding philosophy of 'Vikas bhi, Virasat bhi' — 'Development as well as Heritage'. Under this framework, the state is simultaneously redeveloping pilgrimage infrastructure at Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham — two of the four Char Dham shrines — while linking religious tourism to local employment and the broader economy.

The Vibrant Village Programme, announced in the Union Budget 2022-23, is another pillar. Dhami said the scheme is being used to strengthen roads, electricity, telecom, tourism, and livelihood infrastructure in Uttarakhand's border villages, ensuring that frontier communities are not left behind in the state's development arc.

Keeping Uttarakhand's Youth Home

Out-migration from hill districts has long been one of Uttarakhand's most stubborn challenges. Dhami addressed it head-on, stating that the government's resolve is that young people and local residents should not have to leave their villages to find work — opportunity must come to them.

The tools being deployed are concrete: the 'Ek Janpad, Do Utpad' (One District, Two Products) scheme to give district-specific goods a wider market; the 'House of Himalayas' platform to brand and sell Uttarakhand's artisanal products; and a Homestay Scheme to turn mountain homes into tourism assets. Agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairy, beekeeping, aromatic plants, and local spice cultivation are all being incentivised to strengthen the rural economy.

On the tourism front, initiatives like 'Wed in Uttarakhand', winter tourism, and adventure tourism are designed to generate year-round footfall — creating jobs for local youth, entrepreneurs, hotel operators, homestay owners, and small traders. The government is also expanding investment prospects in Ayush, wellness, IT, and solar energy in the hill districts.

Over 3 Lakh Women Become 'Lakhpati Didis'

Dhami reserved some of his sharpest praise for Uttarakhand's women, calling them the greatest strength of the state's rural economy. He said the 'Lakhpati Didi' campaign — introduced in 2023 under the national DAY-NRLM framework — has already helped more than 3 lakh women in the state cross the annual income threshold that earns them the title. Women linked to self-help groups are generating income through local products, pahadi cuisine, handicrafts, farming, and small enterprises.

The stalls run by women's self-help groups at Kauthig-2026, he said, were an inspiring example of this journey toward economic independence — culture and commerce, woven together in one festival ground.

Uttarakhand Kauthig is no longer just a cultural fair. It is increasingly the state government's most visible argument that a mountain state can protect its past and build its future at the same time — and that the two goals are not in competition.