"Any attempt to fashion a form of belonging that is appropriate for Uttarakhand is hampered by the old rivalry between Kumaon and Garhwal, the two former Hindu kingdoms that together constitute nearly all of the new state. From an anthropological point of view, the differences between Garhwalis and Kumaonis are minimal: their languages, religions, caste structures, and kinship systems are more similar to each other than to anyone else, and yet despite this shared ethnicity—or more likely because of it—the old rivalry between them is difficult to eradicate."