दार्जीलिंग का पहला जन्मदिन ब्रिटिश कब्रिस्तान में, कैप्टन जॉर्ज एल्यमर लॉयड को याद

Darjeeling citizens celebrate "Darjeeling Birthday" for the first time in a British graveyard where Captain George Alymer Lloyd is buried. The Chogyal, or monarch, of Sikkim, signed the deed of grant transferring Darjeeling to the British East India Company on February 1, 1835. Darjeeling celebrated its 'birthday' for the first time today (1st February). The initiative aims to highlight the hill town's history and honour Captain George Alymer Lloyd, who is credited with laying the foundation of modern-day Darjeeling and is buried there. The Chogyal, or monarch, of Sikkim, signed the deed of grant transferring Darjeeling to the British East India Company on February 1, 1835. Darjeeling's 'birthday' on February 1 marks the first celebration of this day. The aim is to focus on the town's history and to conserve George Aylmer Lloyd's tomb, which is at a cemetery along the Lebong Cart Road. Palzor Tshering, a social activist organizing the project with Anant Sharma, said local people and children attended the program. It was a non-political event. The cake was cut and the candle burnt at George Alymer Lloyd's cemetery. Darjeeling was originally part of the kingdom of Sikkim, which extended to eastern Nepal. In the 1700s, Nepal attacked Darjeeling and established control up to the Teesta river. According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the East India Company defeated Nepal in war and signed a treaty at Sugauli in 1816, ceding 4,000 square miles (10,000 sq km) of territory. The British returned Darjeeling to Sikkim, but a dispute arose again between Nepal and Sikkim a decade later. Two officers — Captain Lloyd and J.W. Grant — were sent by the East India Company to broker peace between the two countries in 1828. Upon reaching Ghoom, Lloyd was charmed by Darjeeling. It was his responsibility to negotiate a lease of the area with the Chogyal. In 1841, the East India Company granted Sikkim an allowance of ₹3,000 in compensation, later raised to ₹6,000 in 1846. Lloyd continued to live in Darjeeling. Archibald Campbell, a member of the Indian Medical Service, was entrusted with developing the area and setting up a sanatorium. Campbell, the first superintendent of the area, introduced tea cultivation in the hills. Lloyd died at the age of 76 in 1865 and was laid to rest near the old cemetery on Lebong Cart Road. The ASI (Calcutta circle) declared the site to be of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Acts, 1958. “We would want Lloyd’s burial site to be conserved well and perhaps developed as an interesting destination for tourists,” said Palzor. The neglected final resting place of Darjeeling’s discoverer lies a few metres away from the well-preserved tomb of Alexander Csoma De Koros, a Hungarian Tibetologist who was a member of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. Koros's tomb was also declared a site of national importance by the ASI. Residents say the Hungarian government consistently expends effort to upkeep the tomb. “Every year, people from the Hungarian embassy visit to ensure it is preserved well. It would be great if Lloyd’s cemetery is restored and maintained well,” said Palzor