Gurugram (Gurgaon)

Gurugram, earlier known as Gurgaon, is one of Haryana’s most historic yet rapidly modernizing cities. According to Mahabharata tradition, this area was gifted by King Dhritarashtra to Guru Dronacharya, teacher of the Pandavas and Kauravas, hence the original name Guru-gram – “village of the Guru.” For centuries the region was a rural tract within larger North Indian kingdoms and later the Mughal Empire, falling administratively under Delhi and Agra subas. After Mughal decline, it passed through contending powers before coming under British rule in 1803 via the Treaty of Surji-Arjungaon. Gurgaon district was reorganised several times in the 19th century; after the 1857 revolt it was shifted from the North-Western Provinces to Punjab. Following Independence in 1947, Gurgaon became part of Indian Punjab, and in 1966 it was incorporated into the newly created state of Haryana. From the 1980s–1990s onward, large-scale real-estate, IT and corporate investment transformed it into a major business hub with landmarks like Cyber City and Golf Course Road. In 2016 the city was officially renamed Gurugram, reaffirming its legendary association with Dronacharya while symbolising its emergence as a “Millennium City.”