History of Darjeeling

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History of Darjeeling, a town in the Indian state of West Bengal in the Shiwalik Hills on the lower range of the eastern Himalaya is intertwined with the history of Bengal, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and , of course, the British East India Company.

Contents

[edit] Early days

Nepal by a treaty of Sugauly in 1816 ceded 4000 sq. miles of its territory to British India. On 10th of February 1817 the British India made the land over to the Rajah of Sikkim on the basis of a treaty signed at Titlya. The Raja of Sikkim restored the country between Mechi and the Tista rivers. Ten years after the treaty,disputes on the Sikkim-Nepal frontiers arose and the then Governor General sent two Officers — Captain Lloyd and Mr. Grant to help control the dispute. Sikkim, including Darjeeling was then a buffer state between Nepal and Bhutan. After settling the discord, the two representatives found the area around present Darjeeling suitable to establish a sanitarium for the British troop.

[edit] The lease

Captain Herbert, the Deputy Surveyor General was sent to the area to examine the country. The court of Directors of the British East India Company approved the project. General Lloyd was given the responsibilty to negotiate a lease of the area from the Chogyal of Sikkim. The lease was grant on 1 February, 1835.

This deed of grant, which is commendably short, runs as follows:-

" The Governor-General having expressed his desire for the possession of the hills of Darjeeling on account of its cool climate, for the purpose of enabling the servants of his Government, suffering from sickness, to avail themselves of its advantages, I the Sikkimputtee Rajah out of friendship for the said Governor-General, hereby present Darjeeling to the East India, that is, all the land south of the Great Runjeet river, east of the Balasur, Kahail and Little Runjeet rivers, and west of the Rungpo and Mahanadi rivers." This was an unconditional cession of what was then a worthless uninhabited mountain; but in 1841 the government granted the Raja an allowance of Rs. 3,000 as compensation, and raised the grant to Rs. 6,000 in1846." (Ref. Bengal District Gazetteers Darjeeling by L S S O'Malley)"

[edit] Establishing the sanitarium

In 1835,a member of the Indian medical Service, Dr. Arthur Campbell, was appointed Agent of the tract leased, and Lieut. Napier (later Lord Napier of Magdala) set to work improve the area and lay the foundations of the hill station of Darjeeling. Dr Campbell became the first superintendent of the sanitorium in 1839. The road connecting Darjeeling with the plain was constructed in 1839.

[edit] Beginning of tea plantation

Dr Campbell brought China tea seeds in 1841 from Kumaon region and started to grow tea on an experimental basis near his residence at Beechwood, Darjeeling. This experiment was followed by similar efforts by several other British. The experiments were successful and soon several tea estates started operating commercially.

[edit] Annexation into the British Indian Empire

The rapid growth of Darjeeling excited the jealousy of the Maharaja of Sikkim. When Dr. Campbell and the eminent explorer Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, were touring in Sikkim in 1849, they were suddenly seized and imprisoned. This detention continued for weeks. An expeditionary force was sent by the Company to Sikkim. However, there was no necessity for bloodshed, and after the Company's troops had crossed the Rangeet river into Sikkim hostilities ceased.

Consequent to this trouble, and further misconduct on the part of the Sikkim authorities a few years later, the mountain tracts now forming the district of Darjeeling became a portion of the British Indian Empire, and the remainder of kingdom of Sikkim became a protected State.

[edit] Further development

The Darjeeling Municipality was established in 1850. Tea estates continued to grow. By 1860s peace was restored in the borders. During this time immigrants, mainly from Nepal, were recruited to work in construction sites, tea gardens, and on other agriculture-related projects. Scottish missionaries undertook the construction of schools and welfare centres for the British residents: Loreto Convent in 1847, St. Paul's School in 1864, Planters' Club in 1868, Lloyd's Botanical Garden in 1878, St. Joseph's School in 1888, Railway Station in 1891, Town Hall (present Municipality Building) in 1921.With the opening of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in 1881, smooth communication between the town and the plains below further increased the development of the region. "Darjeeling disaster" was an earthquake in 1898 that caused considerable damage to the young town and the native population.

[edit] Administration

Darjeeling Municipality took the responsibilty of maintaining the civic administration of the town from as early as 1850. From 1850 to 1916, the Municipality was place in the first Schedule (along with Halna, Hazaribagh, Muzzaferpur etc. in which commissioners were appointed by the local govt.) and second Schedule (along with Burdwan, Hooghly, Nadia, Hazaribagh etc.) in which Chairman was to be appointed by local government. The Darjeeling District was a "Non-regulated area" (where acts and regulations of the British Raj did not automatically apply in the district in line with rest of the country, unless specifically extended) prior to 1861 and from 1870-74. It was temporarily a Regulated Area from 1862 to 1870. The term Non-regulated area was changed to Scheduled District in 1874 and again to Back Ward Tracts in 1919. The status was known as Partially Excluded Area from 1935 till the independence of India.

[edit] Development as a tourist destination

Darjeeling's elite residents were the British ruling class of the time, who visited Darjeeling every summer. An increasing number of well-to-do Indian residents of Kolkata (then Calcutta), affluent Maharajas of princely states, land-owning zamindars and barristers of Calcutta High Court also began visiting Darjeeling. The town continued to grow as a tourist destination, becoming known as the "Queen of the Hills." The town did not see any significant political activity during the freedom struggle of India owing to its remote location and small population. However, there was a failed assassination attempt by revolutionaries on Sir John Anderson, the Governor of Bengal in the 1930s.

[edit] After Independence of India

After the independence of India in 1947, Darjeeling was merged with the state of West Bengal. A separate district of Darjeeling was established consisting of the hilly towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of the Terai region. When the People's Republic of China annexed Tibet in 1950, thousands of Tibetan refugees settled across Darjeeling district.

The population rose by leaps and bounds. growth in population has been more rapid from the 1970s onwards exceeding the growth rates at the district level. The growth rate has touched the sky height of about 45% in the 1990s and thus is far above the national, state, and district average. The colonial town of Darjeeling was designed for a mere population of 10,000. So the population spurt has made the town more prone to the environmental problems in recent decades as the region is geologically relatively new with hosts of environmental problems and hence unstable in nature. The rise in tourism also affected the ecological balance of the area. A diverse ethnic population gave rise to socio-economic tensions, and the demand for the creation of the separate states of Gorkhaland and Kamtapur along ethnic lines grew popular in the 1980s. The issues came to a head after a 40-day strike called by the Gorkha National Liberation Front, during which violence gripped the city, causing the state government to call in the Indian Army to restore order. Political tensions largely declined with the establishment of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council under the chairmanship of Subash Gishing. The DGHC was given semi-autonomous powers to govern the district. Later the name of DGHC was changed to Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council (DGAHC). Though Darjeeling is now peaceful, the issue of a separate state still lingers.

[edit] References

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