History of Gurgaon : Mythologically Gurgaon was an ancestral village gifted by the Pandavas and the Kauravas to their teacher Dronacharya. This is believed to be the place where Dronacharya gave lessons on archery to the Pandavas. In Sanskrit, Guru means teacher, which in this case refers to Guru Dronacharya and both Gram and Gaon mean village. According to Hindu scriptures, the village was gifted by the Pandavas and Kauravas – specifically, by King Dhritarashtra of Hastinapur – to Dronacharya, the son of Rishi Bharadwaja, and was therefore known as guru-gram. Over time the colloquial term gaon (which also means village in Prakrit) was substituted for gram and the term Gurgaon emerged.
In verifiable terms, History of Gurgaon states it to have been under the control of a succession of rulers appointed by the ruling power in Delhi including Yaduvanshi Rajputs, Mughals, Marathas in this order. For a few years Farrukhnagar was taken from the Nawab and Ghasera from the Badgujar Rajput Rao Bahadur Singh of Ghasera by Jat Maharaja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur Kingdom in 1753 and held till 1763. Rewari was ruled under Khoro clan Ahir rulers. It remained under the rule of the Scindhia clan of the Maratha Empire, until in 1803, the East India Company took control of Gurgaon through the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon after the Second Anglo-Maratha War. By the mid nineteenth century Gurgaon was part of the princely protectorate of Pataudi which is a part of Gurgaon district today. The British integrated Gurgaon into the Punjab Province where it served as district and tehsil headquarters. After India’s independence, Gurgaon continued to be a part of the state of Punjab until 1966 when Haryana was formed a separate state.
Choronological History of Gurgaon
During Akbar’s reign, the district fell within the subas of Delhi and Agra, and comprised, wholly or partly, the sikars of Delhi, Rewari, Suhar Pahari and Tijara. With the decay of the Mughal empire, it remained in a disturbed state as a consequence of fighting between the neighboring chiefs till 1803 AD when most of it came under the British rule through the Treaty of Surji Arjungaon with Sindhia. The town was first occupied by the cavalry unit posted to watch the army of Begum Samru of Sirdhana, whose principal cantonment was in the village Jharsa, 1.5 km. to the south-east of the town.
The civil offices were removed from Bharawas (tehsil Rewari) in 1821 AD, when the British frontier advanced through the acquisition of the Ajmer territory.
The district was divided into parganas by British, various parganas were given to petty chiefs and granted as jagirs in lieu of military services rendered by them. These jagirs were gradually resumed and came under the direct management of the British; the last of the important changes took place in 1836 AD. There after, the district remained unchanged until the 1857 uprising. In 1858 AD It was transferred from the North Western Provinces to Punjab. In 1861, the district was rearranged into five tehsils Gurgaon, F.P.Jhirka, Nuh, Palwal & Rewari.
In the composition of the District since the beginning of the 20th century various changes have occurred.
1901-1911: No change took place during this decade.
1911-1921: Ballabgarh was one of the three tehsils comprising the then Delhi district. A part of this tehsil was transferred to the Gurgaon district in 1912. This was formed into the new sixth Tehsils of the district with the same name viz. Ballabhgarh.
1921-1931: No changes occurred during this decade.
1931-1941: Minor changes occurred between Gurgaon district and Uttar Pradesh due to riverain action.
1941-1951: Under the Provinces and States Order 1950, 9 villages of the district including Shahjahanpur were transferred to Rajasthan, whereas the district gained with merger of Pataudi State and the transfer of it of 2 villages from Rajasthan and 78 villages from PEPSU.
1951-1961:There was no change in the boundary of the district during this decade.
1961-1971:There was no change in the boundary of the district during this decade.
1972: Rewari Tehsil was excluded from the Gurgaon district and included in the Mahendergarh district.
1974: Thirty four villages were excluded from Palwal Tehsil.
On 15th August, 1979 , Gurgaon district was further divided to form a new district Faridabad in which tehsils of Ballabgarh and Palwal, of Gurgaon District were merged.
Also read! Culture of Gurgaon | Languages spoken in Gurgaon