History of Bakloh

Bakloh, How did it all Began

History of Bakloh may be a mystery unsolved, but as per the script received from the pages of History and Wikipedia, It is said that Captain Baker, a British Officer stayed at this place on his way to Punjab. He found the place to be ideal for a Military Station and sent his recommendations to the British Government of India, In 1866, The Gorkha regiment got shifted from Pithoragarh to Bakloh, And the rise of Bakloh as a Military area began and Bakloh came into existence.

The Name "BAKLOH"

“Bakloh” got its name from a nearby vllage Bogla and one of its adjoining village Bhagwati Nagar got its name as Bhekkar from the name of the Captain Baker.

Gorkha Regiment and Bakloh

Bakloh has the History of being a Gorkha Cantonment for the 4^th Gorkha Regiment. The regiment was earlier raised in 1857 at Pitthoragarh, but got shifted to Bakloh later in 1866. Bakloh remained the home, depot and regimental center of the 4^th Gorkha rifles(GR). 2/4 Gorkha Rifles was raised in Bakloh on 22^nd April, 1886, while ¾ Gorkha Rifles was raised on on 15^th November,1940.

The Post Independent Bakloh

After the Independence and partition of India, reorganization of Indian Army took place and the privilege of Bakloh to have 4th Gorkha Rifles regimental center was snatched. It got shifted firstly to Dharamsala, then to Chakrata and finally to Sabathu.

A battalion of the regiment was thought to be kept at Bakloh, but the idea was dropped for lack of education facilities and entertainment scenario of officers. After the shifting of 4^th Gorkha Rifles regimental center to Subathu, Bakloh lost its identity as exclusive Gorkha Rifles Station. The Barracks and Bunglows of ¼ GR and 2/4 GR became peace time locations. At present these bunglows and barracks have got a little modifications and several are the homes of some very old dignitaries. The bazaar of Bakloh are still called as ¼ bazaar and 2/4 bazaar.

To mitigate the loss of Bakloh as a Regimental Station, the Headquarters at the Regiment’s bidding, had informally agreed to periodically post one of the regiments battalion to Bakloh, to sustain the Regimental legacy relationship with Bakloh. This arrangement was subsequently formalised by classifying Bakloh as an ‘asterisk’ station for the regiment. This meant that the Regiment had priority claim to having one of its battalion located in Bakloh, preferably in the prestigious 1/4 Lines.

5/4 GR Battalion raised at Bakloh

Bakloh was chosen to raise the 5/4GR battalion (The Kanchhi), by Lt Gen Motisagar, the then Chief of General Staff and Colonel of the Regiment and senior officer of the regiment, because of its excellent training facilities, temperate weather, but most of all because of Bakloh’s legacy relations with the regiment spanning over a century. In the decades since 5/4 GR first arrived in Bakloh, in 1963, Bakloh has lost its sheen, and the officer and the men of the Regiment appeared no longer as keen on Bakloh as they were in the fifties. They complained that Bakloh was on a limb, and small and boring. As a result of the constant gripe against Bakloh, it lost its ‘asterisk’ status. This caused a big disappointment for the 4 GR pensioners in Bakloh. Many older officers, Junior Commissioned Officers(JCOs), and men, especially those who started their regimental careers in Bakloh, remained unaffected by those who grumbled about Bakloh. They remained rooted and attached to Bakloh; and committed to the idea that Bakloh should have a Battalion from the Regiment to sustain the Bakloh legacy and take care of the regimental properties, remains, and the sizeable population of regiment’s pensioners, and widows.

Bakloh at Present..

Bakloh was chosen to raise the 5/4GR battalion (The Kanchhi), by Lt Gen Motisagar, the then Chief of General Staff and Colonel of the Regiment and senior officer of the regiment, because of its excellent training facilities, temperate weather, but most of all because of Bakloh’s legacy relations with the regiment spanning over a century. In the decades since 5/4 GR first arrived in Bakloh, in 1963, Bakloh has lost its sheen, and the officer and the men of the Regiment appeared no longer as keen on Bakloh as they were in the fifties. They complained that Bakloh was on a limb, and small and boring. As a result of the constant gripe against Bakloh, it lost its ‘asterisk’ status. This caused a big disappointment for the 4 GR pensioners in Bakloh. Many older officers, Junior Commissioned Officers(JCOs), and men, especially those who started their regimental careers in Bakloh, are unaffected by those who grumble about it.At Present there is no Gorkha Regiment functional at Bakloh, but the monuments built in the past are all the witnesses of Rich legacy of Bakloh and association of Gorkha Regiment with Bakloh. The Gorkha Sabha is working fine to carry forward the rich legacy of Bakloh. The President of the Gorkha Sabha, Bakloh, as a representative and voice of all Gorkha pensioners and their dependents in Bakloh, interfaces with the Regiment, 14 Gorkha Training Centre, the five battalions of the 4GR, and the 4 Gorkha Rifles Officers Association, UK.

• The President of the Gorkha Sabha, as head of all ex-servicemen in Bakloh is responsible for taking up the causes and interests of the Bakloh pensioners and their dependents with the AIGEWA, and other civic and government bodies. The President of the Gorkha Sabha, attends the Annual General Body meeting of the AIGEWA, and participates in the election of its President.

Source- History Books, Wikipedia, local people.

Bakloh in Punjab

After Independence of India on 26th January,1950, Himachal Pradesh became a part C state.On 1st November,1956, Himachal Pradesh became a Union Territory. But Bakloh and many other hills were not added on to the Himachal. Bakloh was a part of Punjab then. On 1st November 1966 though the status of Himachal remained the same that of a Union Territory, but all the hill areas of Punjab were merged with Himachal Pradesh including our Bakloh. Bakloh is a class IV Cantonment Board and it is a proud Cantonment of 18th state of India, Himachal Pradesh.

The first School of Bakloh

The first school in Bakloh was established by the 4th Gorkha Rifles Center and Depot for imparting education to soldiers, recruits, and children of soldiers and pensioners. In 1877 the 4 Gurkhas Regimental School, had about 50 students. The Inspector of Education, in that year, in his annual report, noted that the progress was ‘not very satisfactory’, and that improvement was expected after the return of the Master who had been sent to Ambala, for ‘a course of instruction in the Military Normal School. Even after the 4th GR Centre moved from Bakloh to Subathu, battalion’s of the regiment, when ever located in Bakloh, as a matter of course, have run primary school for the children of their Soldiers, and dependents of pensioners. This tradition has been continued by units of other regiments till date, But now its existence is about to vanish for the ignorance of Local people and strategic move by present army to Make Bakloh a war fare center, center for training activities.

On the army’s urging the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan opened a Kendriya Vidyalaya (Central school), affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, in Bakloh Cantonment, in October, 1982. The school has classes 1 through 12. It is a defense sector school and the brigade commander of Brigade located at Dalhousie is the Chairman of the school.

To conclude

One can say that Bakloh the small town of beautiful Himachal Pradesh had a happening past. Its History is the one which needs a lot of studies as well as illustration. One page isn’t enough to explain its history. The history pages of Gorkha Regiment and auto-biographies of many historians and British Army officers find the place Bakloh mentioned in them. It is a small effort from a Baklohite to write upon the past, present and future of Bakloh, our place. It is an effort to put our place in the world wide web and provide it an identity in the shape of a place as well as a website. It also contains a section for school going kids and a section for news of our place. Do visit the whole website https://bakloh.com and comment. Do contribute by giving your entry in the section offers of the website.