The history of Darjeeling

The history of Darjeeling is intertwined with Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Bangladesh. Until the beginning of19th century, Darjeeling was ruled by Nepalese and Sikkim alternately, with only a few Lepcha villages.

1828, a delegation of British East India Company officials stopped at Darjeeling on their way to Sikkim, and chose this place as a convalescent place for British soldiers. 1835, the East India Company signed a lease with Sikkim. Arthur Campbell and Captain robert napier of the East India Company are responsible for building a summer resort on the mountain here.

184 1 year, the British established an experimental tea garden in Darjeeling. The success of the experiment made tea gardens spread all over the town in the second half of the19th century.

1849 The East India Company clashed with Sikkim, and Darjeeling belonged to the British-Indian Empire several years later. Immigrants mainly from Nepal rebuilt buildings and tea gardens on the ruins. Scottish missionaries established school buildings and welfare centers for British residents, which laid the foundation for Darjeeling to develop into a famous education center. 188 1 year, the opening of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway accelerated the development of this area.

1898, Darjeeling was destroyed by a strong earthquake, causing heavy losses to towns and population.

Under British rule, Darjeeling area was initially regarded as an "informal area" (an administrative arrangement and system prevailing in other parts of British India), which did not automatically apply to this area. According to the zoning arrangement of 1905, this area is under the jurisdiction of rajshahi.

19 19, the region became an autonomous region. At that time, the elite of Darjeeling residents was the British ruling class who came here every summer. More and more wealthy Calcutta Indians, local princes and landlords began to come to Darjeeling.

As a tourist destination, the city has developed continuously and become a famous "Queen of Mountains".

Due to its remoteness and sparse population, there was no important political activity in the city during the Indian independence movement. Only in 1930, there was an attempted assassination against Bangladeshi Governor john anderson.

1947 After India became independent, Darjeeling was incorporated into West Bengal. Darjeeling Mountain City and Coulson, Kalongbao and a part of the felt hat area have established separate administrative districts. 1950 When Tibet was peacefully liberated, thousands of Tibetans came to settle in Darjeeling. The increase in the population of different ethnic groups aggravated the social and economic tension. The demand for the independent establishment of Gurkha State according to ethnic composition was very influential in the1980s. The Gurkha National Liberation Front called for a 40-day strike, and violence spread in cities, which led the state government to call the Indian army to restore order. After the establishment of the Gurkha Mountain Committee in Darjeeling led by Chairman Subhas Jixing, the political tension here has been greatly reduced.

The Committee was granted semi-autonomy to manage the area. Later, the Committee was renamed as "Darjeeling Gurkha Autonomous Mountain Committee". Darjeeling is peaceful now, but the establishment of an independent country will be postponed.