Shimla/ Simla Town, 1908
Simla Town
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Head-quarters of Simla District, Punjab, and summer capital of the Government of India, situated on a transverse spur of the Central Himalayan system, in 31 6' N. and 77 10' E., at a mean elevation above sea-level of 7,084 feet. It is distant by rail from Calcutta 1,176 miles, from Bombay 1,112 miles, and from
Karachi 94; miles ; from Kalka, at the foot of the hills, by cart-road, 58 miles. The population of Simla (excluding Jutogh and Kasumpti) was: (1881) 12,305, (1891) 13,034, and (1901) 13,960, enumerated in February or March when it was at its lowest. At a municipal census taken in July, 1904, the population within municipal limits was returned at 35,250. Of the population enumerated in 1901, Hindus numbered 8,563, Muhammadans 3,545, Sikhs 346, Christians 1,471, and Jains and Parsis 35.
A tract of land, including part of the hill now crowned by the station, was retained by the British Government at the close of the Gurkha War in 1816. Lieutenant Ross, Assistant Political Agent for the Hill' States, erected the first residence, a thatched wooden cottage, in 1819. Three years afterwards, his successor, Lieutenant Kennedy, built a permanent house. Officers from Ambala and neighbouring stations followed the example, and in 1826 the new settlement had acquired a name. A year later, Lord Amherst, the Governor-General, after completing his progress through the North-West on the conclusion of the successful Bharatpur campaign, spent the summer at Simla. From that date the sanitarium rose rapidly into favour with the European population of Northern India. Year after year, irregularly at first, but as a matter of course after a few seasons, the seat of Government was transferred for a few weeks in every summer from the heat of Calcutta to the cool climate of the Himalayas. Successive Governors-General resorted with increasing regularity to Simla during the hot season Situated in the recently annexed Punjab, it formed an advantageous spot for receiving the great chiefs of Northern India, numbers of whom annually come to Simla to pay their respects. It also presented greater conveniences than Calcutta as a starting-point for the Governor- General's cold-season tour. At first only a small staff of officials accompanied the Governor-General to Simla ; but since the adminis- tration of Lord Lawrence (1864) Simla has, except in 1874, the year of famine in Bengal, been the summer capital of the Government of India, with its secretariats and head-quarters establishments. Simla was the regular head-quarters of the Commander-in- Chief before it was that of the Governor-General, and now several of the Army head- quarters offices remain in Simla all the year round. The Punjab Government first came to Simla in 1871, and, except for a three years 5 sojourn at Murree from 1873 to 1875, has had its summer head-quarters at Simla ever since.
Under these circumstances, the station has grown with extraordinary rapidity. From 30 houses in 1830 it increased to upwards of 100 in 1841 and 290 in 1866. In February, 1881, the number of occupied houses was 1,141, and in March, 1901, it was 1,847 (including Kasumpti). Schemes for extending the station are under considera- tion. At present, the bungalows extend over the whole length of a considerable ridge, which runs east and west in a crescent shape, with its concave side pointing southward. The extreme ends of the station lie at a distance of 6 miles from one another. Eastward, the ridge culminates in the peak of Jakko, over 8,000 feet in height, and nearly 1,000 feet above the average elevation of the station. Woods of deodar^ oak, and rhododendron clothe its sides, while a tolerably level road, 5 miles long, runs round its base. Another grassy height, known as Prospect Hill, of inferior elevation to Jakko and devoid of timber, closes the western extremity of the crescent. The houses cluster thickest upon the southern slopes of Jakko, and of two other hills lying near the western end, one of which, known as Observatory Hill, is crowned by Viceregal Lodge. The church stands at the western base of Jakko, below which, on the south side of the hill, the native quarter cuts off one end of the station from the other. The eastern portion bears the name of Chota Simla, while the most western extremity is known as Boileauganj, A beautiful northern spur, running at right angles to the main ridge, and still clothed with oak and old rhododendron trees, has acquired the complimentary designation of Elysium. Not far from the western end, two batteries of artillery occupy the detached hill of Jutogh, The exquisite scenery of the neigh- bourhood has been described in the article on SIMLA DISTRICT.
Simla, besides being the summer head-quarters of the Governments of India and of the Punjab, and of the various Departments of Army head-quarters, is the head-quarters of the Deputy-Conservator of Forests, Simla division, and of the Executive Engineer, Simla division, as well as of the ordinary District staff, and the summer head-quarters of the Commissioner of the Delhi Division. A battalion of Volunteers, the 2nd Punjab (Simla) Rifles, is stationed here. There are four churches of the Church of England : Christ Church (the station church) opened in 1844, a chapel of ease at Boileauganj, a chapel attached to Bishop Cotton School, and a native church in the bazar. There are also a Roman Catholic cathedral and two convents, and an undenomina- tional church following the Presbyterian form of worship. The Church Missionary Society, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Zanana Mission, and, the Baptist Mission have branches in the town. There are two masonic lodges. Simla also contains the United Service Institution of India, and a large club. The Government offices are for the most part accommodated in large blocks of buildings; and a town hall contains a theatre, reading-room, and ball-room. Annan- dale, the Simla cricket ground and racecourse, has recently been greatly enlarged. The municipality was created in 1850. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged 4-2 lakhs, and the expenditure 4-1 lakhs. In 1903-4 the income was 5-5 lakhs, chiefly derived from octroi (1-7 lakhs), taxes on houses and lands (1-3 lakhs), municipal property and fines, &c (Rs. 51,000), and loans from Government (Rs. 39,000). The expenditure of 5-4 lakhs included : general adminis- tration (Rs. 57,000), water-supply (Rs. 89,000), conservancy (Rs. 33,000), hospitals and dispensaries (Rs. 36,000), public safety (Rs. 37,000), public works (i lakh), interest on loans (Rs. 53,000), and repayment of loans (Rs. 64,000). Water is supplied to the station by a system of water-works constructed at a cost of about 6 lakhs, and supposed to be capable of supplying a minimum of 300,000 gallons a day. The supply is not, however, sufficient for the rapidly growing needs of the town. A drainage system is now being extended at a cost of nearly 6 lakhs The consolidated municipal debt amounts to about 12 lakhs.
The commerce of Simla consists chiefly in the supply of necessaries to the summer visitors and their dependants, but the town is also an entrepot for the trade with China and Tibet mentioned in the article on SIMLA DISTRICT. There are a large number of European shops, and four banks. The chief exports of the town are beer and spirits, there being two breweries and one distillery.
The chief educational institutions are the Bishop Cotton School, a public school for European boys founded by Bishop Cotton in 1866 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of the British in India during the Mutiny of 1857; the Auckland high school for girls; the Christ Church day school for boys and girls ; two convent schools and a convent orphanage; the Mayo Orphanage for European and Eurasian orphan girls ; and a municipal high school. The two chief medical institutions are the Ripon and Walker Hospitals, the latter founded in 1902 through the munificence of Sir James Walker, C. I.E., as a hospital for Europeans.
