History

In March 1849 the region was annexed by the British after the Sikh war, and was stationed now a subsidiary depots for the troops in Kangra, built on the slopes of Dhauladhar in an empty lot, a Hindu or Dharamsala Rest House, therefore the name of the new barracks, Dharamshala. McLeod Ganj is the name of David McLeod, the governor of Punjab.During the British rule in India, the city was a mountain resort where British people spent the hot summers, and in 1840 as the headquarters has become the Kangra complete, the proposed two British regiments Dharamsala, and the depot was established in 1849 and 1852 was the administrative center of Kangra Dharamshala. In 1855 there were two important places of the civil settlement, McLeod Ganj and Forsyth Ganj, named after a Divisional Commissioner. In 1860, the 66th Gurkha Light Infantry, later renamed the historic first Gorkha Rifles, he settled in Dharamsala. Soon Gorkha Paltan 14 villages were established near Gorkhas and condescension Bhagsunag ancient temple of Shiva.

Lord Elgin, the British Viceroy of India (1862-1863), liked the area so that even suggested at one point, which became the summer capital of India.
He died in Dharamsala during a visit here, 20 November 1863 and was buried in San Juan in the desert Forsyth Ganj, just below McLeod Ganj.


Show Himalayas, McLeod Ganj and Forsyth Twin Cities Ganj.The McLeod Ganj to grow steadly continue in the coming years and in 1904 the major centers of commerce, trade and labor were the official Kangra. But much of the city was by the devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude 1905 6:19 Kangra 4th April 1905 held in Kangra valley, after almost 19 800 people died and thousands were destroyed in the Kangra injured. The earthquake destroyed most buildings Kangra, Dharamsala and McLeodganj destroyed, including the temple was Bhagsunag.
Since then, the county offices moved to a seat bottom, and the people were waiting for half a century ago, that something important happened in the history.

In March 1959, Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising in Tibet in 1959, led by his brother against the Communist Party of China. The Indian government has sought refuge in Dharamsala, where he provided the Tibetan government in exile in 1960, while McLeod Ganj is now his official residence, and several Buddhist monasteries and thousands of Tibetan refugees [10]. Over the years, McLeod Ganj is an important tourist destination and place of pilgrimage and has been growing ever since a majority of the population.