Dehradun is the capital of The Indian state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, and has a rich and eventful history, it also finds mention in scriptures as well. During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, the town was known as Dera Dun.

History

Ancient history

Skanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest ''Puranas#Mahapuranas, Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumaram, Kaumara literature, titled after Kartikeya ...

, Dun is mentioned as a part of the region called ''Kedarkhand'', the abode of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. In ancient India during the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

epic era,

Drona Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...

charya the great teacher of

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...

s and

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

s lived here hence the name, "Dronanagari". A rock

edict of Ashoka The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expres ...

, the legendary

Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...

King, who ruled between 273 BCE to 232 BCE, was discovered at Kalsi, 44 km from

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

by John Forest, in 1860. The edict was known as Chhatra Shila by the local residents until it was protected by the Archaeological Survey of India following its discovery. Situated on the banks of the Yamuna, Kalsi was earlier known as Kalkut and was a part of the flourishing Kulind janapada. It was the northernmost limit of the surveys done by the founder of ASI Alexander Cunningham who surveyed areas stretching from Kalsi in the north to Narmada in the south.

Establishment of the Town

Dehradun had been a part of the

Garhwal Kingdom Garhwal Kingdom was an independent Himalayan kingdom in the current north-western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India, founded in 688 CE by Kanak Pal, the progenitor of the Panwar dynasty that ruled over the kingdom uninterrupted until 18 ...

except for the brief interlude of the Rohillas. The city is believed to have been named after the camp, or ''dera'', established by

Baba Ram Rai Baba Ram Rai (Gurmukhi: ਰਾਮ ਰਾਏ; ''rāma rā'ē''; 1645–1687) was the eldest son of the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai, and the founder of the Ramraiyas, an unorthodox sect in Sikhism. He founded the Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib, a ...

, elder son of the seventh

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

Guru,

Guru Har Rai Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the ''seventh Nanak'', was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.Jhanda Mela on the fifth day after

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

in his memory. Thus the name refers to his 'dera' or camp in the 'Doon' valley, around which the present town gradually developed, and marking this settlement is a gurudwara called

Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib is a Sikh place of worship in Dehradun, India, dedicated to Baba Ram Rai, eldest son of Guru Har Rai, the seventh of the ten Sikh Gurus. Baba Ram Rai settled here with his followers in the mid-17th century, after he w ...

, built between 1699 and 1707 with the help of Raja of Garhwal,

Fateh Shah Fateh Shah was the Hindu Rajput king of Garhwal, a small kingdom in North India, from 1684 to 1716. Campaigns H. G. Walton states that Fateh Shah led an attack from Dehradun on Saharanpur in 1692. Pundirs and Gurjars were expelled out of Dehra ...

, who was succeeded by his grandson in the same year, Pratap Shah,Mausoleum of Ram Rai Darbar, 7 June 2005, india9.com https://www.india9.com/i9show/-Uttaranchal/Mausoleum-of-Ram-Rai-Darbar-41691.htm and modelled on the tomb of

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Jehangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

.Dehra Town
''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', 1909, v. 11, p. 221-223. Historically, Dehradun was a part of the

also known as 'Kedarkhand', which was founded by Ajai Pal around 1400, by capturing all the minor principalities of the Garhwal region, under his own sway, and thereafter, he and his descendants ruled over Garhwal and the adjacent state of

Tehri-Garhwal Tehri Garhwal is a district in the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 618, 931 (2011 census), a 2.35% increase over the previous decade. It is the 7th ranked dist ...

, in an uninterrupted line till 1803, when the Gurkhas invaded Kumaon and Garhwal. In 1757,

Najib-ul-Daula Najib ad-Dawlah ( ps, نجيب الدوله), also known as Najib Khan Yousafzai ( ps, نجيب خان), was a Rohilla Yousafzai Afghan who earlier served as a Mughal serviceman but later deserted the cause of the Mughals and joined Ahmed S ...

, the governor of

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

, who later founded city of

Najibabad Najibabad is a town in the Bijnor district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, located near the city of Bijnor. It is a major industrial city and is well connected to all major cities of India by roadways via NH 119 and NH 74 respectively and ...

, invaded the city with his army of

Rohillas Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Roh ...

and ruled here, leading to its widespread development. He provided them with land, fostered trade, dug canals, sank wells and raised the revenue to a lakh and a quarter of rupees though after his death in 1770, it was successively annexed by surrounding tribes of Rajputs, Gujjars, Sikhs and Gurkhas who ruled the region in quick succession, and lead to its steady downfall.

The Gurkha Rule and the Arrival of the British - 19th century

In 1804, it was annexed by the

Gurkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recru ...

, who made the king of Garhwal, Pradyuman Shah, flee to

, leaving the region to be ruled by an iron fist by the Gurkha general 'BAL BHADRA KUNWAR'. Later, King Pradyuman Shah and his sons Kunwar Parakrama Shah and Kunwar Pritam Shah, and a 12,000 strong army fought with the Gorkhas at Khurbura, where Pradyuman Shah was killed. In the same year, the British had already taken over Saharanpur, which led to continuous skirmishes between the two armies, leading to the

Gurkha War The Anglo-Nepalese War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gorkha War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal (present-day Nepal) and the British forces of the East India Company (EIC, present-day Indi ...

(1814–1816), also known as the

Anglo-Nepalese War The Anglo-Nepalese War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gorkha War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal (present-day Nepal) and the British forces of the East India Company (EIC, present-day Indi ...

, when eventually the Gurkhas were ousted after the siege of the fort of Nalapani. The

Sugauli Treaty The Treaty of Sugauli (also spelled Sugowlee, Sagauli and Segqulee), the treaty that established the boundary line of Nepal, was signed on 4 March 1816 between the East India Company and Guru Gajaraj Mishra following the Anglo-Nepalese War ...

, signed on 2 December 1815 and ratified by 4 March 1816, between the

British 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 ...

and The Kingdom of Nepal, ending the second British invasion of the

Himalaya 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 ...

n kingdom during the

(1814–1816). The signatory for

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

was Raj Guru Gajaraj Mishra aided by Chandra Sekher Upadhyaya and Lieutenant-Colonel Paris Bradshaw signed for the company. The treaty led to the annexation of the Dehradun and east Garhwal Kingdom into the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, and they became part of the

Garhwal District Garhwal District is a former district in Kumaon of British India of the United Provinces, and had an area of . It later became a part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, today it is part of the Indian state Uttarakhand. History The first dyn ...

, in the

Kumaon Division Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded ...

of the United Provinces, and had an area of 5629 sq. mi, and that is when it slowly started regaining its lost glory. Meanwhile, the west Garhwal was reinstituted to the

, and Sudarshan Shah, son of the slain king, was made the king of

Tehri Garhwal Tehri Garhwal is a district in the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 618, 931 (2011 census), a 2.35% increase over the previous decade. It is the 7th ranked dist ...

, who made

Tehri New Tehri is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of Tehri Garhwal District. This urban municipality area has 11 wards, from Vidhi Vihar to Vishwakarma P ...

his capital.

The British Rule in Dehradun

The British began establishing institutions 1816 onwards. The 'Dehra Dun' municipality was established in 1867, and in 1900 railways made its way to Dehradun via

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the righ ...

, which was earlier connected in 1886. In 1901, Dehradun had a population of 24,039, and was a district of British India, in the Meerut division of the United Provinces, while the neighbouring town of Rajpur, which lay en route to the hill-station of

Mussourie Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board, near Dehradun, Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the n ...

, and from where pure-drinking water was supplied to the city through pipes, had a population of 2,900. Dehra Dun also emerged as the centre of tea cultivation experiments by the British who thought of developing tea here even before Assam. Dehra Dun tea was once famous worldwide. During the Second World War the Dehra Dun Central Internment Camp was a major prison camp for detained German, Austrian and Italians who were living in or visiting British colonies in Asia at the start of the war. Its most famous inmate was perhaps

Heinrich Harrer Heinrich Harrer (; 6 July 1912 – 7 January 2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, ''Oberscharführer'' in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), and author. He was a member of the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of th ...

, who after several attempts finally escaped in 1944 with

Peter Aufschnaiter Peter Aufschnaiter (2 November 1899 – 12 October 1973) was an Austrian mountaineer, agricultural scientist, geographer and cartographer. His experiences with fellow climber Heinrich Harrer during World War II were depicted in the 1997 film ''S ...

and slipped over the mountains into neutral

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. He recounted his time at the camp in ''

Seven years in Tibet ''Seven Years in Tibet: My Life Before, During and After'' (1952; german: Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama; 1954 in English) is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer and Nazi SS sergeant Heinrich ...

'' (Rupert Hart-Davis, 1953) and ''Beyond seven years in Tibet: my life before, during and after''. (Labyrinth Press, 2007). Several German Buddhist monks, including

Nyanatiloka Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera (19 February 1878, Wiesbaden, Germany – 28 May 1957, Colombo, Ceylon), born as Anton Walther Florus Gueth, was one of the earliest Westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk. Ea ...

, also stayed here. The camp was divided into different sections, one for Germans loyal to the Nazi government, one for German communists and others who rejected the Nazi government, one for Italians, and one section for Italian Catholic clergy. In the british era ahluwalia community who came with baba rai to Dehradun started producing basmati rice which became famous world wide ,still it is famous worldwide.

Dehradun Post-Independence

Dehradun has expanded as a city post-1947 and got its most iconic and central monument, the Clock Tower, soon after. The construction work of the six-faced Clock Tower, also called Ghanta Ghar, began in the year 1948 and its foundation stone was laid by Sarojini Naidu. It was built in the memory of local resident Lala Balbir Singh and is hence also named the Balbir Clock Tower. Its construction was completed in the year 1953 and it was inaugurated by the then Railways Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. A commemorative plaque inside the premises of the tower details this history. The city became the hub of education and was made the capital of Uttarakhand state in the year 2000. It became a part of the Smart Cities Mission with nine smart city projects as a part of its development.

References

External links

History of Dehradun at Official website of Dehradun

History of Dehradun-Namaste Dehradun
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Dehradun History of Uttarakhand