Present Dehradun History of Dehradun

guru ram rai temple, dehradun, 1858

according history of dehradun has been part of garhwal kingdom except brief interlude of rohillas. present town of dehradun named after guru ram rai , elder son of seventh sikh guru, guru har rai, part of udasi sect of sikh asceticism, came here in 1675, , first settled in village dhamawala , today hosts annual jhanda fair on fifth day after holi in memory. name refers dera or settlement in valley, around present town gradually developed, , marking settlement gurudwara called guru ram rai darbar , built in 1699 of raja of garhwal, fateh shah, succeeded grandson in same year, pratap shah, , modelled on tomb of mughal emperor jehangir.

dehradun part of garhwal kingdom, after part of gurka kingdom 12 years. gurkhas lost dehradun england when india colonized england. historically, dehradun has remained part of garhwal kingdom known kedarkhand , founded ajai pal, around 1400, capturing minor principalities of garhwal region, under own sway, , thereafter, , descendants ruled on garhwal , adjacent state of tehri-garhwal, in uninterrupted line till 1803, when gurkhas invaded kumaon , garhwal.

in between, until najib-ul-daula, governor of saharanpur, later founded city of najibabad, invaded city army of rohillas in 1757, , ruled here, leading widespread development, though after death in 1770, successively annexed surrounding tribes of rajputs, gujjars, sikhs , gurkhas ruled region in quick succession, , lead steady downfall.

finally in 1803, annexed gurkhas, made king of garhwal, pradyuman shah, flee saharanpur, leaving region ruled iron fist gurkha general bal bhadra thapa . later, king pradyumna shah , sons kuwar parakrama shah , kuwar pritam shah, , 12,000 strong army fought gorkhas @ khurhbure, king killed.

dehradun part of united provinces, 1903.

in same year, british had taken on saharanpur, lead continuous skirmishes between 2 armies, leading gurkha war (1814–1816), known anglo-nepalese war, when gurkhas ousted after siege of fort of nalapani.

the sugauli treaty, signed on 2 december 1815 , ratified 4 march 1816, between british east india company , kingdom of nepal, ending second british invasion of himalayan kingdom during anglo-nepalese war (1814–1816). signatory nepal raj guru gajaraj mishra aided chandra sekher upadhyaya , lieutenant-colonel paris bradshaw signed company.

the treaty led annexation of dehradun , east garhwal kingdom british empire, , became part of garhwal district, in kumaon division of united provinces, , had area of 5629 sq. mi, , when started regaining lost glory. meanwhile, west garhwal reinstituted garhwal kingdom, , sudarshan shah, son of slain king, made king of tehri garhwal, made tehri capital.

dehra dun municipality established in 1867, , in 1900 railways made way dehradun via haridwar, earlier connected in 1886.

in 1901, dehradun had population of 24,039, , district of british india, in meerut division of united provinces, while neighbouring town of rajpur, lay en route hill-station of mussourie, , pure-drinking water supplied city through pipes, had population of 2,900.

during second world war dehra dun central internment camp major prison camp detained german, austrian , italians living in or visiting british colonies in asia @ start of war. famous inmate perhaps heinrich harrer, after several attempts escaped in 1944 peter aufschnaiter , slipped on mountains neutral tibet. recounted time @ camp in 7 years in tibet (rupert hart-davis, 1953) , beyond 7 years in tibet: life before, during , after. (labyrinth press, 2007). several german buddhist monks, including nyanatiloka, stayed here. camp divided different sections, 1 germans loyal nazi government, 1 german communists , others rejected nazi government, 1 italians, , 1 section italian catholic clergy.