Dagshai, also known as Daagh-e-Shahi, is one of the oldest
cantonment
A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...
towns in the
Solan
Solan is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of Solan district. It is located south of the state capital, Shimla. Solan has an average elevation of . The city is situated between Chandigarh (joint capi ...
district of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It is situated on top of a 5,689-foot (1,734-m) high hillock that stands sphinx-like astride the Kalka-Shimla Highway at a point about 11 km from Solan. It was founded in 1847 by the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
by securing free of cost five villages from
Maharaja of Patiala
The Maharaja of Patiala was a maharaja in India and the ruler of the princely state of Patiala, a state in British India. The first Maharaja of Patiala was Baba Ala Singh (1695–1765).
Yadavindra Singh became the maharaja on 23 March 1938. H ...
aka
Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. The names of these villages were Dabbi, Badhtiala, Chunawad, Jawag and Dagshai. The new cantonment was named after the last named village, as it was the largest and most strategically located. The name Dagshai, according to a popular local legend was derived from ''Daagh-e-Shahi''. During the
Moghul
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
times a ''Daagh-e-Shahi'' (royal mark) was put on the forehead of the criminals and sent packing to the then Dagshai village.
Overview
Built by the British as a
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
for
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
patients, it has a British era graveyard overlooking a valley. It is on the same height as
Lawrence School Sanawar near
Kasauli
Kasauli is a town and cantonment, located in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station,Sharma, Ambika"Architecture of Kasauli churches" ''The Trib ...
, and is a short drive from Dharampur on the Chandigarh
Shimla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
highway. It is some 65 kilometers from
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
. Unlike Kasauli it is to the right of the highway while driving towards Shimla. There are two roads up, both steep. And after snow,
snow chains
Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices fitted to the tires of vehicles to provide increased traction when driving through snow and ice.
Snow chains attach to the drive wheels of a vehicle or special systems deploy chains which swing under ...
are a must to drive up to Dagshai or getting down from it.
There is an army unit stationed there, a residential only
Army Public School, Dagshai
Army Public School is a boarding school located in Dagshai, India. It lies on top of the Dagshai Hills. General K Sunderji and General R S Dayal established the school in 1986 under HQ Western Command. It is a co-educational residential School a ...
and a private school called Dagshai Public School.
There is a very small civilian town, and the two schools take up most of this hilltop station. There are no hotels in Dagshai, but the place has a lot of picnic spots with grand views. From some spots one can see the entire
Panchkula and Chandigarh lights at night. Also, one is able to see Timber Trail Heights and Timber Trail Resorts, Parwanoo.
There is a railway station on the
Kalka Simla line at Kumar Hatti, from where Dagshai is about 1.5 kilometers uphill.
The next towns in the direction towards Simla are
Barog
Barog is a hill station, near City of Solan in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The station lies on UNESCO World Heritage Site Kalka–Shimla Railway. Set in the mountains Barog is just 60 km from Chandigarh on the ...
and
Solan
Solan is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of Solan district. It is located south of the state capital, Shimla. Solan has an average elevation of . The city is situated between Chandigarh (joint capi ...
. Solan is some 11 km from Kumar Hatti by road, and Dagshai is some 3 km from Kumar Hatti. From Kumar Hatti there is also a road to
Sarahan
Sarahan is a small town in Himachal Pradesh of India. It is the site of the Bhimakali Temple, originally known as Bhimadevi Temple (Bhīmā Kālī), dedicated to the mother goddess Bhimakali, presiding deity of the rulers of the former Bus ...
and
Nahan
Nahan is a town in Himachal Pradesh in India and is the headquarters of the Sirmaur District It was the capital of the former Sirmur princely state.Nahan is also known as the Town of ponds.
Geography
Nahan is located at . It has a ...
.
Dagshai Central Jail & Jail Museum
The
Dagshai Central Jail was built in 1849. It is now a museum.
Irish soldiers' mutiny, 1920
Following a
mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...
by
Irish soldiers in 1920, in support of the independence struggle then unfolding in Ireland, dozens of mutineers were incarcerated at Dagshai Prison.
On 2 November 1920, mutineer leader James Daly, a 21-year-old private, was executed by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
in the prison courtyard, the last British soldier ever executed for mutiny. His body remained at the Dagshai graveyard until 1970, when his remains were repatriated to Ireland and given a funeral with full military honours.
Geography
Dagshai is located at . It has an average elevation of .
Demographics
India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
,
Dagshai had a population of 2751. Males constitute 62% of the population and females 38%. Dagshai has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 88% and, female literacy is 73%. In Dagshai, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Religion (2011)
Residential schools
*
Army Public School, Dagshai
Army Public School is a boarding school located in Dagshai, India. It lies on top of the Dagshai Hills. General K Sunderji and General R S Dayal established the school in 1986 under HQ Western Command. It is a co-educational residential School a ...
(ranked 9th among top boarding schools)
* Dagshai Public School (a residential school, started way back in 1957, and affiliated with ICSE).
* Sarvahitkari Shiksha Niketan
* VC children primary school
References
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Solan district
Cantonments of India
Cantonments of British India
1847 establishments in British India