People of Nainital

The main population of Nainital constitutes of Kumaoni people of Uttarakhand in India. Back in the 5th century BC, the Kassite Assyrians who belonged to 'Kummah' situated on the banks of Euphrates River left their homeland to settle in North India as the Koliyan Tribe and named this region 'Kumaoon' from where this place derives its name. It is believed that Lord Buddha's mother named 'Mayabati' also belonged to this clan, though it has been argued frequently owing to the massive difference in the distance of about 2000 miles and that the region was already ruled by the Kunindas Dynasty.

Kumaon was then ruled by the Katyuri Raj of the Kunindas origin founded by the Vashudev Katyuri. They were from Joshimath and completely dominated the Baijnath valley in Kumaon from the 7th Century to 11th Century AD till the British Rule in 1816. Their Architectural remains can still be seen in Dwarahat and Baijnath. the rule of Harakh Dev Joshi of the Chand Kingdom, 4000 Kumaoni locals with assistance from the British Army fought hard and valiantly to win their region back. The Gorkhas finally fled and vacated the region

The Kumaoni language is mainly spoken by the Kumaon people and is one of the 325 recognised languages spoken in all states of Uttarakhand. There are about 20 dialects spoken here including, Askoti, Chaugarkhyali, Danpuriya, Gangoli, Johari, Kumaiya, Majh-Kumaiya, Khasparjia, Pachhai, Phaldakoti, Sirali, Soryali, and Rauchaubhaisi. Other languages of migrants are from Lucknow, Bihar, Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab and some regions of Himachal Pradesh.

Bangbani, Darmyali and Rang [Rung] are languages which have greatly influenced the Palpa language of Nepal and spoken in the higher ranges of Kumaon Himalayas.

Nainitalis famous for its educational standards and prestigious Public Schools from where many celebrities have passed out. Earlier these were boarding schools but recently a few have been converted to Day schools too. A few good ones to name are Sherwood College, St. Joseph's College, St. Mary's College, All Saints College, Birla-Vidhya-Mandir School and Mohanlal-Shah-Baal-Vidhya-Mandir School