Rashtrapati Niketan
official retreat of the President of India
Rashtrapati Niketan, is an official retreat of the President of India located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Established as a summer camp for horses in the Governor General's Bodyguard, the Niketan was built in 1920 as the residence of the unit's commandant. Developed into a presidential retreat during the presidency of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, it fell into disuse after 1998. Niketan was renovated and an annexe built during the presidency of Pranab Mukherjee. It is one of three presidential retreats in India, the other two being the Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad and the Rashtrapati Niwas in Shimla.
History
The Rashtrapati Niketan was originally established in 1838 as a camp for the summering of horses and remounts of the Governor General's Bodyguard. The horses spent the months of May to July here, shielded from the summer heat of Delhi. After India attained independence, this practice was continued by the President's Bodyguard. The Niketan building was built as a bungalow for the Commandant of the Bodyguard in 1920 and was known as the Commandant's Bungalow. The estate and the building were turned into a presidential retreat in 1975-76 for President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed as an alternative summer retreat to the one in Shimla.
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