About Dehradun
Dehradun is made up of two words: 'Dehra' is derived from the word "dera", deriving from griha and meaning home. "Doon" is a term for the valley that lies between the Himalayas and the "Shivaliks". When Ram Rai Ji, son of Guru Har Rai Ji, came to this region with his followers, he established a camp here for them. Around this time, the modern city of Dehradun started to develop. This is when the word dehra was linked to doon, and thus the city was named Dehradun. In Skanda Purana, Dun is mentioned as a part of the region called Kedar Khand, the abode of Shiva. In ancient India during the Mahabharata epic era, Dronacharya the great teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas, lived here hence the name, "Dronanagari".
Dehradun is the capital city of the state of Uttarakhand in the northern part of India. Dehradun is in the Doon Valley on the foothills of the Himalayas nestled between the river Ganges on the east and the river Yamuna on the west. The city is famous for its picturesque landscape and slightly milder climate and provides a gateway to the surrounding region. It is well connected and in proximity to Himalayan tourist destinations such as Mussoorie, and Auli and the Hindu holy cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh along with the Himalayan pilgrimage circuit of Chota Char Dham.
It hosts training institutions of national importance such as the Indian Military Academy, ITBP Academy & Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). The city population has significant contribution of government servants. It is home to national foundations such as the Ordnance Factory Dehradun, Opto Electronics Factory, Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Defence Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL) and other defence establishments. Other institutions include the Indian Institute of Petroleum, National Institute for Visually Handicapped, Central Soil and Water Conservation Research & Training Institute, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (Keshava Deva Malviya Institute of Petroleum Exploration, Institute of Drilling Technology), Uttarakhand Space Applications Centre, Survey of India, Wadia Institute Of Himalayan Geology, Forest Survey of India (FSI), Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Wildlife Institute of India [FRI] Forest Research Institute, Army Cadet College and the Rashtriya Indian Military College [ RIMC].