There are many memorials in India to honor the soldiers who lost their lives in the World War I and II. Mind you, India had nothing to do with WWI and II and was drawn into the war as it was under the colonial rule. India had a fine well-trained military officers and soldiers and they fought both wars for the British. Likewise, the British, when they ruled India, built war memorials to the officers and men who were killed while on duty. The Gwalior memorial in Kolkata is an interesting one. Funny thing is it has nothing to do with the history of Bengal. Nor does its architectural style resemble that of European? The style of design is purely that of Hindu-Mogul!!
The Gwalior Monument, Kolkata - c1912-14, an octagonal cenotaph about 60 feet high, crowned with a bronze dome cast from guns captured from the Marathas was erected in 1844 by Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General of India. It was a grand memorial to those men who died during the Gwalior War in 1843. The memorial is also known as Ellenborough’s Folly, or The Pepperpot.
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| Gwalior Monument Kolkata google.com |
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| Gwalior Monument along the Hoogley river, Kolkata google.com |
The Gwalior Monument, Kolkata - c1912-14, an octagonal cenotaph about 60 feet high, crowned with a bronze dome cast from guns captured from the Marathas was erected in 1844 by Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General of India. It was a grand memorial to those men who died during the Gwalior War in 1843. The memorial is also known as Ellenborough’s Folly, or The Pepperpot.
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| Gwalior Monument Kolkata en.wikipedia.org |
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| Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough. alchetron.com |
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| Gwalior Monument along the Hoogly riverfront, Kolkata en.wikipedia.org |
Gwalior campaign was a strange one. Two battles were fought on the same day, and no fighting after that, but it resulted in the death of eight hundred British soldiers and over three thousand Marathas.
Gwalior, just two hundred miles south of Delhi, had been part of the powerful Maratha Empire, which controlled the majority of India. However, the British victory in 1818 had changed the political scenario as the English company had a strong hold over most of the sub-continent. Since 1818 the city had been ruled by a British-approved Maharajah, but in 1843 the ruler's death created a strange political situation and the legal heir happened to be a minor boy. When the young rajah, Jayâjî Râo Sindhia, was deposed and an anti-British government established, diplomatic attempts to redeem the situation having failed Ellenborough recalled the British Resident, and sent in Gough.
Lord Ellenborough on 13 December 1843 wrote to the Maharani of Gwalior warning her that she should dismiss the regent and reduce the size of her army. The bold Maharani never responded to Ellenborough's communication. This paved the way for the Gwalior Campaign.
Gen. Sir Hugh Gough, in violation of the treaty of 1804 with Gwalior, on 29 December 1843 raided the town with 14000 men and 40 guns. The town was known for its beautiful palaces and riches, The Gwalior War at Maharajpur and the Marathas under Bhagerat Rao Scindia had 18,000 men and 100 guns. It was a pitched battle and finally the British emerged victorious. The British lost 787 men and the Marathas about 3000 men and 56 guns. On the same day at Punniar, 20 miles from Maharajpur, the left flank of Gough's troops under General Grey defeated a huge army of 12,000 Marathas and captured 40 guns.
In this war memorial Indian soldiers' (of the English company's army) contribution in the war was ignored and the honor roll the memorial carries does not include any Indian army men. May we conclude that this sheer omission of Indians in the Gwalior Memorial was an act of racial superiority or British arrogance?
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