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[[Image:Doon Valley, Dehradun, 1850s.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[Doon Valley]], [[Dehradun]], 1850s]]
'''Dehradun''' is the capital of The Indian state of [[Uttarakhand]], and has a rich and eventful history, it also finds mention in scriptures as well.

During the [[British Raj]], the town was known as '''Dera Dun'''.<ref name=Dehrad/>

==History==

===Ancient history===
[[Image:Maurya empire in 265 BCE.jpg|thumb|Extent of [[Mauryan Empire]] during reign of [[Ashoka]], 273 BC – 232 BC]]
In [[Skanda Purana]], Dun is mentioned as a part of the region called ''Kedarkhand'', the abode of [[Shiva]]. In ancient India during the [[Mahabharata]] epic era, [[Drona]]charya the great teacher of [[Kaurava]]s and [[Pandava]]s lived here hence the name, "Dronanagari".<ref>[http://gov.ua.nic.in/schooleducation/DIET/diet_dehradun/district_profile.htm A Brief History and profile of Dehradun] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070519221815/http://gov.ua.nic.in/schooleducation/DIET/diet_dehradun/district_profile.htm |date=19 May 2007 }} Government of [[Uttarakhand]] website.</ref>

A rock [[Edicts of Ashoka|edict of Ashoka]], the legendary [[Mauryan]] King, who ruled between 273 BCE to 232 BCE, was discovered at Kalsi, 44 km from [[Dehradun]] 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.<ref>Historical and Statistical Memoir of Dehra Doon, GRC Williams, 1910</ref> 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.<ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V02_076.gif Epigraphy – Rocks] ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'', 1909, v. 2, p. 41.

''Early Wall Paintings of Garhwal,'' B.P. Kamboj, 2003

Emma Roberts, ''Memoranda Submitted to the Statutory Commission by the Government of India, Vol. 4,'' 1930 [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.61962/2015.61962.Memoranda-Submitted-To-The-Statutory-Commission-By-The-Government-Of-India-Voliv-1930_djvu.txt]</ref>

[[Image:Guru Ram Rai Temple, Dehradun, 1858.jpg|left|thumb|[[Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib]], Dehradun, 1858]]
===Establishment of the Town===

Dehradun had been a part of the [[Garhwal Kingdom]] 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]], elder son of the seventh [[Sikh]] Guru, [[Guru Har Rai]], who came here in 1675. He settled in the village Dhamawala, which even today hosts the annual [[Jhanda Mela]] on the fifth day after [[Holi]] in his memory.<ref>[http://210.212.78.56/dehradun/English/form_ram_rai.html Guru Ram Rai Darbar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604021608/http://210.212.78.56/dehradun/English/form_ram_rai.html |date=4 June 2008 }} Official website of Dehradun.</ref> Thus the name refers to his 'dera' or camp in the 'Doon' valley, around which the present town gradually developed,<ref>Other cities with similar names are [[Dera Ismail Khan]], [[Dera Bugti]] and [[Dera Ghazi Khan]] in Pakistan.</ref> and marking this settlement is a gurudwara called [[Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib]], built between 1699 and 1707 with the help of Raja of Garhwal, [[Fateh Shah]], who was succeeded by his grandson in the same year, Pratap Shah,<ref name="Dehrad">Mausoleum of Ram Rai Darbar, 7 June 2005, india9.com https://www.india9.com/i9show/-Uttaranchal/Mausoleum-of-Ram-Rai-Darbar-41691.htm</ref> and modelled on the tomb of [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Jehangir]].<ref name="imp">[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V11_227.gif Dehra Town] ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', 1909, v. 11, p. 221-223.</ref>

Historically, Dehradun was a part of the [[Garhwal Kingdom]] 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]], in an uninterrupted line till 1803, when the Gurkhas invaded Kumaon and Garhwal.<ref>{{EB1911|wstitle=Garhwal|volume=11|page=466}}</ref> In 1757, [[Najib-ul-Daula]], the governor of [[Saharanpur]], who later founded city of [[Najibabad]], invaded the city with his army of [[Rohillas]] 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<ref>{{Cite book|title=Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand|last1=Handa|first1=O.C.|last2=Jain|first2=Madhu|publisher=Pentagon Press|year=2009|isbn=978-8182744172|location=New Delhi|pages=120}}</ref> 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]], who made the king of Garhwal, Pradyuman Shah, flee to [[Saharanpur]], 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.

[[Image:United Provinces 1903.gif|thumb|Dehradun as a part of United Provinces, 1903]]
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]] (1814–1816), also known as the [[Anglo-Nepalese War]], when eventually the Gurkhas were ousted after the [[Battle of Nalapani|siege of the fort of Nalapani]].

The [[Sugauli Treaty]], signed on 2 December 1815 and ratified by 4 March 1816, between the [[British East India Company]] and [[The Kingdom of Nepal]], ending the second British invasion of the [[Himalaya]]n kingdom during the [[Anglo-Nepalese War]] (1814–1816). The signatory for [[Nepal]] 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]], and they became part of the [[Garhwal District]], in the [[Kumaon Division]] of the [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Provinces]], and had an area of 5629 sq. mi, and that is when it slowly started regaining its lost glory.<ref name=Dehra>{{EB1911|wstitle=Dehra Dun|volume=7|page=932}}</ref><ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V11_217.gif History, Dehra Dun District] The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 11, p. 211-214.</ref><ref>[http://dehradun.nic.in/history.htm History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123133858/http://dehradun.nic.in/history.htm |date=23 January 2008 }} Official website of [[Dehradun district]].</ref> Meanwhile, the west Garhwal was reinstituted to the [[Garhwal Kingdom]], and Sudarshan Shah, son of the slain king, was made the king of [[Tehri Garhwal]], who made [[Tehri]] 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]], which was earlier connected in 1886.<ref>{{EB1911|wstitle=Mussoorie|volume=19|page=97}}</ref>

In 1901, Dehradun had a population of 24,039,<ref name=imp/> and was a district of British India, in the [[Meerut division]] of the [[United Provinces (India)|United Provinces]],<ref name=Dehra/> while the neighbouring town of Rajpur, which lay en route to the hill-station of [[Mussourie]], and from where pure-drinking water was supplied to the city through pipes, had a population of 2,900.<ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V21_088.gif Rajpur Town (2)] ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', 1909, v. 21, p. 82.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Locals-history-buffs-resent-tea-garden-land-for-Smart-City/articleshow/50002039.cms|title=Locals, history buffs resent tea garden land for Smart City |date=December 1, 2015|first=Yogesh|last=Kumar |website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2020-01-29}}</ref>

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.<ref>[http://gaebler.info/india/escape.htm Escape from Internment] – collection of articles by and about former prisoners of Dehra Dun. Bhikkhu Nyanatusita and Hellmuth Hecker, ''The Life of Nyanatiloka: The Biography of a Western Buddhist Pioneer'' Kandy, 2009.</ref> Its most famous inmate was perhaps [[Heinrich Harrer]], who after several attempts finally escaped in 1944 with [[Peter Aufschnaiter]] and slipped over the mountains into neutral [[Tibet]]. He recounted his time at the camp in ''[[Seven years in Tibet]]'' (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]], 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.<ref>Bhikkhu Nyanatusita and Hellmuth Hecker, ''The Life of Nyanatiloka: The Biography of a Western Buddhist Pioneer'' Kandy, 2009.</ref>

===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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/dehradun/dmc-to-hand-over-clock-tower-work-to-state-infrastructure-body/story-zrBM500hNpT9skZ8sTsxhO.html|title=DMC to hand over Clock Tower work to state infrastructure body|date=2017-02-22|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2020-01-29}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/doon-to-have-9-smart-city-projects-worth-over-rs-575-crore/articleshow/72098748.cms|title=Dehradun to have nine 'smart city' projects worth over Rs 575 crore |date=18 November 2019|first=Mohammad |last=Anab |website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2020-01-29}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Landour]]
* [[Dehradun canals]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{commons category|History of Dehradun}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080123133858/http://dehradun.nic.in/history.htm History of Dehradun at Official website of Dehradun]
* [http://www.namastedehradun.com/history-of-dehradun/ History of Dehradun-Namaste Dehradun]

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Dehradun}}
[[Category:History of Dehradun| ]]
[[Category:History of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Histories of cities in India|Dehradun]]

History of Dehradun - Revision history

UpdateBot at 12:08, 23 May 2022