History of Rotary in R.I. DISTRICT-3080

By PP Vijay Shingla with inputs from DGN Shaju Peter, PDG Dr. Som N. Dhingra, & PDG Zaheer Husain.

Rotary was born on 23rd February 1905 at Chicago(USA). It was founded by Paul Harris (see A Brief History of Rotary) In 100 years, Rotary grew from a group of four Chicago professionals into a burgeoning worldwide service organization of more than one million members. However it came to India on 26th Sep.1919, with the first club formed in Calcutta (chartered on 1 Feb 1920). All the twenty chartered members then were non-Indians. The first Indian member was S.C.Rudra who was inducted in 1921. The first Indian to become the club secretary was Nitish C. Laharry (1926) who climbed all steps to reach Rotary's top slot viz. R.I. president in 1962-'63. The second club at Lahore (1927), followed by Madras & Bombay in 1929. (Also see the history of Rotary in India, and our section on Asia)

It was  in 1931-32 that a provisional District ‘A’ was established including India (undivided) Burma and Ceylon.

From July 1, 1936, Rotary Clubs in Afghanistan, Burma, Ceylon and India (including present Pakistan) were reconstituted into R.I. District No. 89 with Rtn. Fredrick. E. James, OBE as the District Governor who had earlier served as the Honorary Commissioner of Provisional District ‘A’. He was President of Calcutta Rotary Club in 1925-26.

Effective 1939-40, District 89 was divided into two Districts i.e. 88 and 89. District 88 covered areas of Burma Bengal, Bihar, Orissa U.P., Punjab, Kashmir, Sind, Baluchistan, N.W.F.P., Rajputana, Central Indian States, and Jabalpur.  District 89 comprised the remaining portion of India and Ceylon. Till 1940, only Rotary Club of Dehradun was functioning from our present District.

In 1942-43, the two Districts 88 and 89 were again reconstituted into four Districts No.88, 89, 90, and 91. Our present area remained with District 88.

In 1949-50, regrouping was done and District was numbered as R.I. Districts 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, & 56. Our present area remained with District 52 . By now we had clubs at Ambala and Mussoorie.

Effective 1957-58 Dist. 52 was renumbered as R.I. District 310, comprising of West Pakistan (Except Sind and Afganistan), Jammu & Kashmir, East Punjab, Delhi and old Vindhya Pradesh, comprising districts of Rewa, Sathna and Shahdol.

From 1st July 1968, West Pakistan was taken away from this District and joined with other parts of Pakistan in District 305,307, & 325. New Dists. were created No. 327 for Pakistan and 328 for Bangladesh. Rotary Clubs of Jagadhari, Karnal, Chandigarh, Panipat, Saharanpur, Hardwar of our District were added till then in Dist.310.

Effective1970-71 the District 310 was bifurcated into 310 and 311. Distt. 310 comprised the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh. Delhi, Dehradun, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Moradabad and Bulandshahr. Later on, two hill districts of Uttar Pradesh, namely, Tehri-Garhwal and Pauri-Garhwal, were added to District 310.  Distt.311 comprised the rest of U.P.(except revenue distts. in 310), Chattarpur, Punna, Maihar, Rewa, Satna and Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh.During the first year of the bifurcation of the District in 1970, 16 new clubs were added to District310 and the additions continued till the strength of the District increased to 106 with the year ending June 1977.

A Joint Rotary Project of Cancer Foundation Hospital  was conceived during the year 1970 - 71 when Dr. Som Dhingra was the District Governor. The major part of this multi-crore project has now been completed. Rotarians of five Districts, viz. 301, 307, 308, 309 and 310 have contributed for more than Rs. 60 lakhs and the balance has been provided by the Government.

Effective 1977-78 the District 310 was further divided into District 310 & 309. District 310 had the following area with 57 clubs :-Haryana, (excepting the districts of Hissar, Bhiwani, Mohindergardh, Rohtak and Gurgaon), Uttar Pradesh including the districts of Dehradun, Saharanpur, Muzaffernagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Moradabad and Bulandshahr, Pauri - Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal, districts of Simla, Sirmur and Solan in Himachal Pradesh, Union Territory of Delhi that portion north of Rohtak Road, New Rohtak Road, Rani Jhansi Road, Desh Bandhu Gupta Marg, Asaf Ali Road and Power House Road and its extension due east.

Effective1984-85, District 309 and District 310 were regrouped in to five new Districts, i.e. 301, 307, 308, 309 and 310.  Our region District 308 was left with 49 clubs comprising Union Territory of Chandigarh, some parts of Punjab, Himachal, Haryana, and U.P.

Effective 1991 - 92,  zero was added to all the R.I. Districts Nos. in the world and our District became 3080 without any change in boundaries. The year also brought laurel to our District when our Raja Saboo became the second Indian to rise to the high echelons of Rotary International, as President for the year 1991-92.Since then Rotary has been progressing in this area, having Union Territory of Chandigarh, part of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh. Each of these states has diverse cultural traditions and hallmarks. Punjab & Haryana are grain bowl of India, with a fair sprinkling of Industrial hubs. Uttar Pradesh is known for sugar cane farming and intricate art work (wood carving and stone inlay).  Haridwar and Dehradun (Capital) of Uttranchal are cities worth visiting.  Himachal Pradesh comprises of a major chunk of the Shivalik mountain Range with The mighty Himalayas providing an enchanting backdrop.  Known for its scenic beauty and horticulture, Himachal is a major tourist destination. Shimla, the home town of District Governor 2006-07 Rtn. Dhian Chand, is the capital of Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh, the City Beautiful is the joint capital of Punjab & Haryana. The city is famous for its architecture & Gardens. Of late, it is a prime destination for Information Technology Industry.    The year 2006 proved another mile stone in Distt.-3080 when President of India, H.E. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam decorated PRIP Rajendra Kumar Saboo with Padam Shri Award.  

   Immunization programmes under Polio Plus, Eye Camps, Tree plantation, Adoption of schools & villages etc. are being organized every year by the various clubs. Many of our Rotarians from this region have been honored by R.I. with citations and appointments at various R.I. levels.