Dehradun

Dehradun is the capital of the Indian state of Uttarakhand and the headquarters of Dehradun district. Situated in the Doon Valley between the Himalayas in the north and the Shivalik Hills in the south, the city lies between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna. It is one of the oldest cities of northern India and is known for its educational, research, and military institutions.

Key facts

Etymology

The name Dehradun is derived from dera (camp) and dun (valley), commemorating the camp established in the area by Ram Rai, the eldest son of the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai, in the late seventeenth century.

Geography

Dehradun lies in the Doon Valley at the foothills of the Himalayas. The city is bordered by the Himalayan ranges to the north, the Shivalik range to the south, the river Ganga to the east, and the river Yamuna to the west. It enjoys a humid subtropical climate, with cooler winters than most of the northern Indian plains owing to its elevation of roughly 450 metres above sea level.

History

The Doon Valley finds reference in ancient texts and is associated in tradition with the legend of Dronacharya, the preceptor of the Kauravas and Pandavas. In medieval times, the area came under the rule of the Garhwal kingdom. Ram Rai, who founded a religious establishment here in 1676, is credited with the foundation of the modern city. The valley was subsequently invaded by the Rohillas, the Sikhs, and the Gurkhas. Following the Anglo-Nepalese War, Dehradun came under British administration through the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816.

Under the British, Dehradun became a strategically and educationally significant station, with the establishment of the Forest Research Institute, the Indian Military Academy, and several elite schools. After Indian independence in 1947, the city remained part of Uttar Pradesh. On 9 November 2000, when the new state of Uttaranchal (renamed Uttarakhand in 2007) was carved out, Dehradun was designated its provisional capital.

Timeline

• 1676 – Ram Rai establishes his camp; the gurudwara Darbar Sahib later becomes a focal point of the city.
• 1816 – Region ceded to the British East India Company under the Treaty of Sugauli.
• 1878 – The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India shifts to Dehradun.
• 1906 – Imperial Forest Research Institute (now FRI) founded.
• 1932 – Indian Military Academy established.
• 2000 – Becomes the interim capital of the newly formed state of Uttaranchal.
• 2007 – State renamed Uttarakhand.

Institutions

Dehradun hosts several nationally important institutions:

• Indian Military Academy (IMA), the officer training academy of the Indian Army.
• Forest Research Institute, an institution under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.
• Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology.
• Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP).
• Survey of India headquarters.