DelHi-sHimla scHool turns 100

Can you believe that a Delhi school during the British rule functioned from the capital as well as Simla (now Shimla)? It was Harcourt Butler Senior Secondary School, one of the oldest educational institutions of the Lutyens’ Zone, which is now celebrating the centenary of its existence. It was the only school which functioned from Delhi and Simla as the British government shifted its seat of administration to Himachal Pradesh’s current capital during the summer. The government employees, mostly parents of the students of the school, had to establish themselves at both the places.

The school is located at Mandir Marg, next to Lakshmi Narayan Temple. The road was earlier known as Reading Road because of the number of schools situated on it. The school was named after Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, who was an officer of the Indian Civil Service. He served as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1918 to 1922. The Harcourt Butler Technological Institute in Kanpur established in 1921 was also named after him. Originally established as Bengali Boys School for the wards of the Central Government employees by some from Bengal, it was renamed as The Harcourt Butler High School after Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, the then Education Member of the Government of India. It was the first such school established during the British Raj and has survived for 100 years. The school has produced various eminent figures. To name a few—Justice Nasir Aslam Zahidi, Chief Justice of Pakistan; former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda; Congress MP Anand Sharma; Padam Vibushan Nirmal Kumar Verma; famous Indian cricketers from the Amarnath clan—Mohinder, Surinder and Rajinder.