Dehradun is the temporary capital of The Indian state of Uttarakhand, and has a rich and eventful history, it also finds mention in scriptures as well.

In ancient India during the Mahabharata epic era, Dronacharya the great teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas lived here hence the name, "Dronanagari".

He settled in the village Dhamawala, which even today hosts the annual Jhanda Mela on the fifth day after Holi in his memory.

[5] Thus the name refers to his 'dera' or camp in the 'Doon' valley, around which the present town gradually developed,[6] 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,[1] and modelled on the tomb of Mughal Emperor Jehangir.

He provided them with land, fostered trade, dug canals, sank wells and raised the revenue to a lakh and a quarter of rupees[9] 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 signatory for Nepal was Raj Guru Gajaraj Mishra aided by Chandra Sekher Upadhyaya and Lieutenant-Colonel Paris Bradshaw signed for the company.

[16] Its most famous inmate was perhaps Heinrich Harrer, who after several attempts finally escaped in 1944 with Peter Aufschnaiter and slipped over the mountains into neutral Tibet.

The construction work of the six-faced Clock Tower, also called Ghanta Ghar, began in the year 1948 and its foundation stone was laid by Sarojini Naidu.