McLeod Ganj
|
McLeod Ganj मकलाॅड गंज McLeodGanj, McLeodganj, Mcllo |
|
|---|---|
| suburb | |
View of McLeod Ganj town
|
|
| Nickname(s): Little Lhasa, or Dhasa | |
 McLeod Ganj
McLeod Ganj
|
|
| Coordinates: 32°14′19″N 76°19′26″E / 32.238602°N 76.323878°ECoordinates: 32°14′19″N 76°19′26″E / 32.238602°N 76.323878°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Himachal Pradesh |
| District | Kangra |
| Elevation | 2,082 m (6,831 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 11,000 (approx) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| • Other | English, Tibetan, Pahari |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 176219 |
| Telephone code | 01892 |
McLeod Ganj (also spelt McLeodGanj or Mcleodganj) is a suburb of Dharamshala in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" (a short form of Dharamshala used mainly by Tibetans) because of its large population of Tibetans. The Tibetan government-in-exile is headquartered in McLeod Ganj.
It has an average elevation of 2,082 metres (6,831 feet). It is situated on the Dhauladhar Range, whose highest peak, "Hanuman Ka Tibba", at about 5,639 metres (18,500 feet), lies just behind it.
McLeod Ganj was named after Sir Donald Friell McLeod, a Lieutenant Governor of Punjab; the suffix ganj is a common Hindi-Urdu word for "neighbourhood".
In March 1850, the area was annexed by the British after the Second Anglo-Sikh War, and soon a subsidiary cantonment for the troops stationed at Kangra was established on the slopes of Dhauladhar, on empty land, with a Hindu resthouse or dharamshala; hence the name for the new cantonment, Dharamshala. During the British rule in India, the town was a hill station where the British spent hot summers, and around the late 1840s, when the district headquarters in Kangra became overcrowded, the British moved two regiments to Dharamshala. A cantonment was established in 1849, and in 1852 Dharamshala became the administrative capital of Kangra district. By 1855 it had two important places of civilian settlement, McLeod Ganj and Forsyth Ganj, named after a Divisional Commissioner. In 1860, the 66th Gurkha Light Infantry, later renamed the historic 1st Gurkha Rifles, was moved to Dharamshala. Soon 14 Gurkha paltan villages were established nearby and the Gurkhas patronised the ancient Shiva temple of Bhagsunath.
...
Wikipedia