Ancient History

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, Dronacharya the great teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas lived here hence the name, "Dronanagari".

A rock 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. 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.

The history of Dehradun is quite rich and varied. In Hindu scriptures, Dehradun has been mentioned as a part of an area called Kedar Khand, the abode of Lord Shiva. In the epic Mahabharata, it was the home of the great Dronacharya, the teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Hence, Dehradun was also referred to as ‘Drona-nagri’. Dehradun is one of the oldest cities of India and is presently the Provisional Capital of the newly created Uttaranchal or Uttarakhand state since November 2000. For about twenty years it was under Gorkha occupation. In April 1815, the Gorkhas were ousted and Garhwal annexed by the British. Tehsil Dehradun thus became part of Saharanpur district. Within 1825 and 1871, the history of Dehradun shows that it constituted part of Kumaon, Meerut, Saharanpur and Garhwal divisions respectively.

In the past hundred years or so Dehradun has undergone several revolutionary changes that would be good to recapitulated so that the future drift of the city can be put into right perspective. In 1890, the 1st train from Haridwar reached Dehradun Railway Station. This landmark year began the process of making the valley more accessible for the rest of India and particularly British, this year only the 1st Radio Station too came into existence in Kutchery compound.

Dehradun grew rapidly under the hands of English men. Tea plantation started by the Britons serves the major source of income for its unique taste and aroma worldwide.

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. 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, 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, 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.

Tea plantations in Dehradun had been one of the major sources of incomes for the city. Significantly it started in 1863 by the Britons. However, many of the tea growing areas are being converted into residential colonies. The existing tea estates produced green tea. It was being supplied to various parts of the country and was also being exported.

Dehra Dun can be divided into two distinct tracts i.e. the montane tract and the sub-montane tract. The montane tract covers whole Chakrata tehsil of the district and consists entirely of a succession of mountains and gorges and comprises Jaunsar Bhabar.

The mountains are very rough with steep slopes. The most important features of the tract is the ridge which separates the drainage are of Tons on the west from that of Yamuna on the east. Below the montane tract follows the sub-montane tract, which is the famous Dun valley bounded by Shivalik hills in the south and outer scarp of the Himalayas in the north.