On this day the British government in India acquired on lease from the Chogyal of Sikkim what became the hill-station of Darjeeling.
The area, which was sparsely populated with a few members from the Lepcha community living there, had struck two British army officers with its beauty and serenity and they recommended to the government that it could be turned into a sanatorium.
With the court of directors of the British East India Company approving the project, the lease was granted on February 1, 1835.
“The Governor-General (Lord Bentinck) having expressed his desire for the possession of the hills of Darjeeling on account of its cool climate, for the purpose of enabling the servants of his Government, suffering from sickness, to avail themselves of its advantages, I the Sikkimputtee Rajah out of friendship for the said Governor-General, hereby present Darjeeling to the East India, that is, all the land south of the Great Runjeet river, east of the Balasur, Kahail and Little Runjeet rivers, and west of the Rungpo and Mahanadi rivers,” the deed read.
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