DEHRADUN: The Lansdowne Cantonment Board in Pauri Garhwal district has passed a proposal to change the name of the hill town – regarded as one of the most idyllic hill stations set up by the British – to Jaswantgarh, after 1962 Sino-Indian war hero Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat. The proposal is being sent to the Army’s central command in Lucknow and will be forwarded to MoD, said office superintendent of Lansdowne Cantonment Board Binita Jakhmola.
Jaswant was hero of battle in Arunachal
Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, attached to the Garhwal Rifles, was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for his valour during the battle in Arunachal Pradesh (formerly part of North-East Frontier Agency region). The decision to rename Lansdowne as Jaswantgarh after him was taken at a meeting of the Lansdowne Cantonment Board that was chaired by Brigadier Vijay Mohan Choudhary three days ago in the hill town, which also hosts the regimental centre of Garhwal Rifles regiment of the Indian Army.
Office superintendent of Lansdowne Cantonment Board, Binita Jakhmola, who was present in the meeting, said it was in accordance with the decision of the ministry of defence to change the British-era names of cantonment boards and related places.
“Citing that move, the Centre had sought suggestions for a new name from the cantonment board. A meeting was then held on the issue during which Brigadier Choudhary suggested ‘Jaswantgarh’, after Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat. We all agreed on it, after which the proposal was passed,” said Jakhmola.
Another office-bearer, privy to the development, told TOI requesting anonymity that “the locals of Lansdowne are against changing the name of the hill town and are in favour of keeping the present one”.