History of Dehradun
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. History 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. 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. Thus the name refers to his 'dera' or camp in the 'Doon' valley, around which the present town gradually developed, 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, and modelled on the tomb of Mughal Emperor Jehangir. 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. 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 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