Dehradun - History

History

The history of the capital of Uttarakhand, Dehradun (sometimes written as Dehra Doon, nicknamed "Doon Valley") is linked to the story of Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is believed that after the battle between Ravan and Lord Ram, Lord Ram and his brother Laxman visited this site. Dronacharya, the legendary royal guru to the Kauravas and Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata is also believed to have been born and resided in Dehradun. Evidence such as ancient temples and idols have been found in the areas surrounding Dehradun which have been linked to the mythology of Ramayana and Mahabharata. These relics and ruins are believed to be around 2000 years old. Furthermore, the location, the local traditions and the literature reflect this region's links with the events of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Even after the battle of Mahabharata, the Pandavas had influence on this region as the rulers of Hastinapur along with the descendants of Subahu ruled the region as subsidiaries. Likewise, Rishikesh is also mentioned in the pages of history when Lord Vishnu answered the prayers of the saints, slaughtered the demons and handed the land to the saints.

In the seventh century this area was known as Sudhnagar and was described by the Chinese traveler Huen Chang. It was Sudhnagar that later came to be recognised as the name of Kaalsi. Edicts of Ashoka have been found in the region along the banks of river Yamuna in Kaalsi indicating the wealth and importance of the region in ancient India. In the neighbouring region of Haripur, ruins were discovered from the time of King Rasala which also reflect the region's prosperity.

Dehradun was invaded by Mahmud of Ghazni during his campaigns into India followed by Taimooralang in 1368, Ruahela Njibuddulo in 1757 and Ghulam Qadir in 1785. In 1806 Nepali King Prithvi Narayan Shah united Nepal and many of the Indian territories now fell under Nepal such as Almora, Phatankot, Kumaon, Garhwal, Simur, Shimla, Kangra and Dehradun itself.

On the western front Garhwal and parts of Himachal Pradesh up to Punjab and on the eatern front the state of Sikkim up to Darjeeling became parts of Greater Nepal for a brief period until the British East India Company went on war with Nepal from 1814 to 1816. The war ended with signing of the Treaty of Sugowli where almost a third of Greater Nepal was ceded to British East India company. The British got Dehradun in 1816 and colonised Landour and Mussoorie in 1827-1828.

Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, was quite fond of the city and often visited the city and spent his last few days here before passing away in Delhi in 1964. Another leader from the independence movement, Rash Behari Bose, who was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army was based in Dehradun in his early days before he was forced to move to Japan in 1915 to continue the freedom struggle.

Post independence Dehradun and other parts of Garhwal and Kumaon were merged with United Provinces which was later renamed to the state of Uttar Pradesh. In 2000, Uttarakhand (earlier called Uttaranchal) state was created from the north-western districts of Uttar Pradesh under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000 and Dehradun made its provisional capital. After becoming the capital the city has seen continuous development.