History
Dharan's history can be traced back to 1584 AD, to ten kingdoms of Limbuwan which was also known as Pallo Kirat Pardesh (a collective of Ten Kirant Limbu kingdoms). Dharan-Bijaypur was the capital city of the Morang kingdom of Limbuwan region. This was prior to conquest and annexation of the Kirat Kingdom by Gorkha King, King Prithvi Narayan Shah. Dharan was known as Bijaypur until the 1950s when the settlement grew on the southern portion of Bijaypur and took its own name of Dharan.
Dharan started as a small trading settlement of Chaubis or Miklung Kingdom of Limbuwan (one of the ten kingdoms of Limbuwan). Over the last couple of decades, the population of Dharan has increased and diversified to include people from various ethnicities like Gurungs, Newar, Brahmins, Chhetris etc.
Limbuwan flag and hoarding in Tinkune, Dharan
The modern Dharan's foundation was laid in 1902 A.D. by prime minister Chandra Samsher. He established a small village at the foot of Vijayapur hillock and named it Chandranagar (now Purano Bajar). The purpose was to supply timber to East India Company, who in 1890s had expanded its North Eastern territory and was laying railway tracks. The first government official to be appointed in this small village of Chandranagar was Subba Ratna Prasad. A settlement grew steadily over the course of time. This growing settlement was named Juddha Nagar (now Naya Bazaar) after Prime minister Juddha Samsher. It was declared a municipal town in 1960.
The British Gorkha Recruit Center was established in 1953 and this increased the flow of people and expansion of the town. Recruits from all over Nepal flocked to join British Gurkha, thereby drastically altering the face of Dharan. There was a surge in population with recruits bringing their families, and others who came to seek employment and exploit business opportunities. As a result, Dharan has emerged as one of the biggest towns in eastern Nepal. It is in true sense a melting pot of different ethnic groups, languages, dialects and religions.
In 1962, Nepal was divided into 14 administrative zones and 75 districts and Dharan was made the zonal headquarters of Kosi Zone. Initially, the town was divided into eleven wards, but in 1980 Banjjhogara Gaon Panchayat at the east (which is now the most developed area of Dharan) and Ghopa Gaon Panchayat at the west were added to Dharan Town Panchayat. This expansion led to the reformation of the wards. Now Dharan is divided into nineteen wards.
[edit] Etymology
The name of the city originates from
"Dharan", which literally means a place where you saw timber. A typical Dharan is constructed by digging a rectangular plot about 5 to 6 feet deep. This hole is large and deep enough for an adult to comfortably move about. A platform is constructed to cover half the hole. A timber is placed on this platform and two man team, one standing on the platform and the other in the dug out proceed to saw timber with a huge saw blade. This is very labor intensive and dangerous process.
Local Government
The local administration body is the Municipality. Dharan Municipality is headed by an elected mayor. There are 19 electoral wards in Dharan. A corporator is elected in each of the wards, and people of Dharan directly elect the mayor by majority vote
