Twenty-six years after Uttarakhand became India's 27th state on 9 November 2000, the sacrifice that made it possible is being committed to paper — and to memory. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday, 5 November 2026, released a biography of late statehood fighter Ranjit Singh Verma at the IRDT Auditorium, Survey Chowk, Dehradun, calling the book not just a life story but 'a vital document of the struggle and resolve of the Uttarakhand state movement.'

A people's leader who turned his in-laws' home into a movement base

The book — titled 'Ranjit Singh Verma: Uttarakhand Rajya Andolan Ki Nirnayak Ladai Ke Ek Jannayak' ('Ranjit Singh Verma: A People's Leader of the Decisive Battle of the Uttarakhand Statehood Movement') — was authored by senior litterateurs Gambhir Singh Palni and Ajay Verma. CM Dhami praised their effort to preserve Verma's life, struggles and contribution through the written word.

Verma served as the Dehradun district president of the Uttarakhand United Struggle Committee, the umbrella body that coordinated the statehood agitation through the mid-1990s. He brought disparate organisations and activists onto a single platform. The years 1995–96 were particularly intense: Verma led bandhs, chakka jams (road blockades), jail bharo (court-arrest) and rail roko (rail blockade) campaigns to amplify the demand for a separate hill state. He even converted his wife's family home in Premnagar Bazaar, Doiwala, into a movement hub — shelter for activists arriving from the mountains.

Two-time MLA who chose the cause over a political career

What gives Verma's story its particular moral weight is what he did after the goal was achieved. He had twice won the Mussoorie assembly seat from undivided Uttar Pradesh, a credential that could have launched a comfortable post-statehood political career. He chose otherwise. After Uttarakhand was formed, he did not contest another election, turning instead to social work. CM Dhami called his life 'an inspiration for commitment to principles and selfless public service.'

Khatima, Mussoorie, Muzaffarnagar — the painful chapters

Dhami invoked three place names that carry a heavy resonance for every Uttarakhandi: Khatima, Mussoorie and Muzaffarnagar, where agitators were killed during the peak of the movement in the 1990s. 'These are the most painful chapters in the history of the state movement,' he said. It was the collective sacrifice at those sites — and across decades of protest — that finally delivered statehood on 9 November 2000.

Present duty: fulfilling the dreams of the movement

The Chief Minister used the occasion to frame today's governance agenda as a continuation of that founding struggle. He said the state government is working toward comprehensive development, good governance, self-reliance and cultural heritage preservation. 'Our resolve is to build a Uttarakhand where youth get better employment opportunities, women become self-reliant and the benefits of development reach every citizen,' he said, calling that vision the truest tribute to Verma and all who sacrificed for statehood.

The event was attended by Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal, Mata Mangala, founder of the Hans Foundation, authors Palni and Ajay Verma, statehood activists, elected representatives and other dignitaries.

A book that began as a biography of one man has ended up as the state's official act of remembrance — a reminder that Uttarakhand's founding debt is still being counted, and still being honoured.