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DEYRAH

Volume 7 · 172 words · 1860 Edition

a town of Northern Hindustan, and the principal place of the British province designated the Deyrah Doon. It is populous and well built, and its position is favourable for commerce, as it stands at the intersection of the road from Hurdwar to Sirnoor with that from Suha runpore to the Sanatorium of Mussourie. The valley of the Deyrah Doon is 45 miles in length, with a varying breadth of from 15 to 20. It lies between Lat. 30° and 30° 32', Long. 77° 43' and 78° 24', and contains an area of 673 square miles, with a population of 32,083. This tract formerly belonged to the rajah of Gurwalh, from whom it was wrested by the Goorkhas in 1803. During the Nepaul war in 1815, the Deyrah Doon became the scene of military operations, and acquired a mournful celebrity by the obstinate defence made by the Goorkhas at Kalunga or Nalapani, in the siege of which the British lost a considerable number of men, including their gallant commander General Gillespie. (v. t.)