The Lawrence Military Asylums were a series of military-style boarding schools envisaged by
Sir Henry Lawrence
Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence KCB (28 June 18064 July 1857) was a British military officer, surveyor, administrator and statesman in British India. He is best known for leading a group of administrators in the Punjab affectiona ...
in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
highlands for the sons and daughters of British soldiers.
Two schools were established during Lawrence's lifetime, at
Sanawar
The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest Co-Ed boarding school in the world near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest schools in Asia.
It is located in the ...
and
Mount Abu
Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above s ...
, a third followed a year after his death at
Lovedale, whilst a fourth was later built in his memory at
Ghora Gali
Ghora Gali is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of northern Pakistan. It has an elevation of 1691m and is located in the northeastern tip of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Ghora Gali is also a Union council, an administ ...
.
History
In his book ''The Magic Mountains'', historian Dane Kennedy states;
Further excerpt fro
The Magic Mountains: Hill Stations and the British Raj
Asylums
Four asylums were established around the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, namely;
#
Sanawar
The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest Co-Ed boarding school in the world near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest schools in Asia.
It is located in the ...
(in present-day
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 ...
) in 1847
#
Mount Abu
Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above s ...
(in present-day
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
) in 1856
#
Lovedale near Ootacamund (in present-day
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
) in 1858
#
Ghora Gali
Ghora Gali is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of northern Pakistan. It has an elevation of 1691m and is located in the northeastern tip of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Ghora Gali is also a Union council, an administ ...
(in present-day
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
) in 1860.
At present, three of the four continue to function as schools, whilst the Mount Abu school was converted to Central Police Training College for the training of IPS officers after independence and after shifting of CPTC to
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
as National Police Academy, the school at Mount Abu was converted to Internal Security Academy under the control of CRPF.
See also
*
Henry Montgomery Lawrence
Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence KCB (28 June 18064 July 1857) was a British military officer, surveyor, administrator and statesman in British India. He is best known for leading a group of administrators in the Punjab affectiona ...
*
Lawrence School, Sanawar
The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest Co-Ed boarding school in the world near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest schools in Asia.
It is located in the ...
*
Lawrence School, Lovedale
The Lawrence School, Lovedale (formerly known as Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School), the namesake of its founder Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence KCB, is a co-educational boarding school located at Lovedale, which is a li ...
*
Lawrence College Ghora Gali
Lawrence College Ghora Gali is a school situated in Murree Tehsil, Punjab, Pakistan. The college is located in the foothills of the Himalayas and Pir Panjal at a height of about 1950 metres (6395 feet) above sea level, covering an area of . It ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
The Magic Mountains: Hill Stations and the British RajThe Lawrence Military Asylum: Being a Brief Account of the Past Ten Years of the Existence (1858)
History of education in India