Dalhousie

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 ...

is a town in

Chamba district Chamba is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains of nort ...

in the state 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 ...

History

In the wake of the 1857 War, the Military Department of the Government of India, expanded its survey of lower

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, to identify suitable locations for building "sanitaria and cantonments" for "quartering" British soldiers and military units. The move to locate cantonments in "cool and healthy

hill stations A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...

" was justified on strategic, and health grounds. In the following decade several cantonments, including in Balun ( Dalhousie),

Bakloh Bakloh (or Bukloh (archaic spelling)) is a cantonment town. It is a hill station, 4584 feet above sea level, in Chamba district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. History Bakloh and Balun, Dalhousie Cantonment, along with a sliver of ter ...

Chakrata Chakrata is a cantonment town and also a sub district/tehsil, in Dehradun district. in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It lies between the Tons and Yamuna rivers, at an elevation of 2118 m, 98 km from the state capital, Dehradun. Chakrat ...

Ranikhet Ranikhet ( Kumaoni: ) is a hill station and cantonment town, nearby Almora Town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment (KRC) and Naga Regiment and is maintained by the In ...

, in the western lower Himalayas, were established. In 1863 it was decided that one third of the British troops in India should be located in the hill station cantonments. By the 1890s almost twenty five percent of the British troops in India were located in hill stations. The

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 ...

area in Dalhousie is called Baloon, also spelt as Balun. Dalhousie was first surveyed in 1853, and was acquired as a convalescent depot for ''European troops'', in 1866, the same year as

was acquired as a ''Goorkha Cantonment'', from the Raja of

Chamba Chamba may refer to: People * Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer * Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist Places Ghana * Chamba, a town in the Northern Region India * Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh ...

. In 1868, British troops moved into barracks in Baloon. By 1878 an 18 foot road connected the new cantonment to the plains. In August 1954, during the Dalhousie centenary celebrations,

Jawahar Lal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20 ...

, the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of India, visited Baloon, Dalhousie Cantonment. He was accompanied by Lt General Kalwant Singh, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Command.

Cantonment Board

Dalhousie cantonment was established in 1867. It has been classified as a category IV Cantonment by Director General of Defence estates. The cantonment board, which is responsible for the management of the cantonment, consists of 4 members, including two elected members. Brig. JS Bhardwaj, Commander 323 Mountain Brigade, is the President of the Cantonment Board. The cantonment board runs a primary school (24 students), a small hospital (two beds), and a guest house.

Churches

There are four churches in Dalhousie. St. Andrew's Church and St. Patrick's Church, are located in Balun, Dalhousie Cantonment.

Geography

Dalhousie is located at . It has an average elevation of 1954 metres (6410 feet).

Location

Dalhousie Cantonment is from Delhi, from Chamba, from Khajjiar, and from Pathankot, the closest railhead. The nearest airport is at Gaggal in Kangra, at a distance of . Although there is an airport in Pathankot also but mostly flights are from Kangra.

Demographics

According to the 2001 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 ...

, Dalhousie cantonment had a population of 1962. Males constitute 56% of the population and females 44%. Dalhousie has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 65.38%. Male literacy is 79% and, female literacy is 72%. In Dalhousie, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age. Dalhousie is a very popular tourist destination with its most popular attraction is the Khajjiar Valley.

References

{{reflist

External links

Indian Army Facilities
Cities and towns in Chamba district Cantonments of India Cantonments of British India Hill stations in Himachal Pradesh 1866 establishments in India