Have you ever heard of a senior secondary school in Delhi migrating to the hill resort of Shimla (HM) during the Summer season almost every year in the colonial days? Does it not sound too much cozy for the students and the teaching staff, regardless of cost involved? Harcourt Butler Senior Secondary School of Delhi did empty the school and move over to Shimla during the hot, boiling summer months. You may say the school administration followed the annual summer migration to the cool hill station, a tradition set president by the colonial rulers to escape from the scratching sun in the plains.
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| Harcourt Butler Senior Secondary School,Delhi. dmission24.com |
After the discovery of serene and cool hill resorts by the British explorers during the early colonial rule and later under the Raj, there was a tradition to temporarily shift the government offices with the entire or part of the paraphernalia to the a comfortable hill resort during the summer. This was done by the British to escape from tropical summer heat and dust. Hankering for cooler climes on a hill resort meant they could relax on the week ends and enjoy pursuits such as exploring the near-by wooded areas, riding, racing, playing golf, cricket and croquet, under cool and congenial climatic condition. These Imperial British Bobs, sitting atop the hill stations, controlled one-fifth of the humanity. No doubt Shimla became their favorite idyll, particularly for Lord Curzon who established one of the the highest Golf-Courses in the world at Naldehra in the Himalayan foot hills.
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| Shimla in Winter, Himachal Pradesh. indiatoday.in |
When in 1864 Shimla officially became the Summer capital, the annual mass migration of the British higher-ups - viceroys, military attachés, roughly 5000 imperial clerks, staff, etc., for decades was a routine one. Neither a holiday jaunt nor a fun-loving trip, it was a sort of mini-exodus back and forth covering 1200 miles one way. Simply a bone-breaking journey as they had to depend on horses, bulls, etc., to carry baggage, etc., uphill. Years later it became easier with the advent of motor vehicles and the railways.
The Madras Presidency government years later followed suit after the discovery of Ooty (Udhagamandalam) on the Nilgris hills of Tamil Nadu by the then Coimbatore collector John Sullivan (1819) under the EIC. In the 1880s (under the Crown administration) to avoid hot and sultry conditions on the plains, the higher-ups from Madras stayed as long as 8 months on the cool serene Nilgris hill using some pretext.
Coming back to the Harcourt Butler Senior Secondary School on Mandir Marg (earlier known as Reading Road), it was among the Delhi schools that used to shift to Shimla during the summer season. However, this practice was given up in 1839 on account of the Second World War in which again the Indian soldiers had to fight along with the British army. Britain later after the war faced economic downturn.
The school, that completed 100 years on December 16, 2017 used to shift to Shimla, now the capital of Himachal Pradesh, in April and returned after six months in October.
During the greatest ''Circus Show'' on earth called Delhi Durbar, a sort of ''Imperial Extravaganza'', (rich and cultured Indians rulers were made to prostrate before the king and queen) on 12 December 1911, George V, the then ruling Emperor of India, along with Queen Mary, announced that the capital of India would be shifted from Kolkata to Delhi. Along with the announcement, the foundation stone for Coronation Park, Kingsway Camp, was also laid. Following day Delhi became the capital of Imperial India.
After the Raj had shifted the capital to New Delhi in 1911 from Kolkata, the practice of moving schools began. Several schools came up in the vicinity of newly inaugurated capital at Raisina Hills to meet the educational needs of children of government employees who had migrated here with the regime. Many of these schools also migrated to the hill resort during the summer months. They operated mainly from Shimla and their buildings in Delhi served as branches.
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| Harcourt Butler Senior Secondary School,Delhi.facebook.com |
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| Harcourt Butler Senior Secondary School, Shimla hindustantimes.com |
Above image he building in Shimla from where the school was run during summers. (Photo: Sourced)
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| Location of delhi, Kolkata and Delhi commons.wikimedia.org/ |
Then the matriculation exam was conducted by the University of Panjab, Lahore (now in Pakistan). For Harcourt Butler Senior Secondary School of Delhi, every year in April it was a daunting task to move over to Shimla with their paraphernalia - a weird exodus bordering on anarchy. Later the British India government faced financial drain due to WWII and the migration stopped in 1939.
First set up by a Bengali society on a rocky edge of the central ridge, Shimla, initially it was called a Bengali Boys' School. The British India not only took control of the school, but also provided funds to keep the school running.
The credit goes to Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler who served as governor of the United Provinces (covering the present Uttar Pradesh). The existing structure of Harcourt Butler School came up in 1917 through the efforts of Harcourt Butler who was a member for education in the Viceroy’s Executive Council in India and played a major role in the construction of many schools in the city.
At present Kendriya Vidyalaya is being is run on the premises of erstwhile Harcourt Butler School building at Jakhoo Hill (known for its Hanuman Temple) in Shimla. Students from other areas have to climb about 1000 feet up hill. The School is a two-story structure built in English architecture - in mini-Tudor style with high ceiling and gables and projected balconies. There is a bridge across the nallah connecting the old structure with new additions made in th 1960s.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/28/shimla-indian-summers-raj-colonial-legacy-lives-on
