Udhagamandalam: In order to commemorate of 150th anniversary of the formation of the Nilgiris district, the Nilgiris Documentation Centre (NDC) conducted a candle lighting ceremony at St Stephen’s Church in Ooty on Wednesday.
It was on August 1, 1868 that J W Breeks, the district’s first commissioner assumed office at the Public Offices (now the Collector's Office). However, on August 18, Nilgiris was officially separated from Coimbatore 150 years ago.
The area was a taluk of the Coimbatore district under a tasilder from 1800 to 1868, when the Nilgiri Mountains was under the British rule.
Breeks was buried at the graveyard located in St Stephen’s Church, Ooty. The NDC lit 150 candles in the church in remembrance of all Europeans and Indians who contributed to the development of the district.
The church’s pastor Rev Ramesh Babu delivered a prayer remembering the pioneer builders of modern Nilgiris including John Sullivan, W G McIvor, the creator of Ooty Botanical Gardens and Commissioner Breeks. He also prayed for the continued well-being of Nilgiris and its people.
According to Dharmalingam Venugopal, the formation of the district was the most significant milestone in the 19th century, which subsequently led to various developments in the district. Nilgiris and Shimla are the two oldest districts in the country. Shimla was made a district when it became the summer capital of India in 1864. Nilgiris became the summer capital of the Madras Presidency in 1870 two years after the formation of the district.
The candle light ceremony saw only a few participants.
