Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Guns in Bengal
Three “Sikh guns” belonging to Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army are going to be the chief attraction when the museum coming up at the Gun and Shell Factory at Kashipur in Kolkata is thrown open to the public. The country’s oldest ordnance factory set up by East India Company in 1802, it currently has two museums—one inside the factory premises and another in a building adjacent to the school run by the factory for its employees. None of these allows entry to the general public.
The work is going on to place all the exhibits in the museum adjacent to the school and allow entry to the interested people. One of Ranjit Singh’s guns is named “Ranbir”, a beautiful brass six-pounder. The English translation of the history of the gun, engraved in Persian on the body of the cannon, is displayed on a board above the piece kept mounted on a stationary carriage. The inscription starts “with the blessings of Akalji” and goes on to say that the gun was manufactured “during the reign of Maharajadhiraj Ranjit Singh Bahadur, exulted like Jamshed Yadhushtra of the era and Karan of the period. May his fortune endure forever.”
“Under the supervision of Balki Khan, the cannon called ‘Ranbir’ was built in 1828 by the command of Sardar Khushal Singh, the companion of the royal court of Emperor,” says the inscription. Two other guns are made of brass. “They (the guns) are, with few exceptions, about to be broken up, to form a monumental column to the memory of those who fell in the war,” said a report published in the Illustrated London News on 20 March 1847.
Sangh Parivar turning old: Tewari
The Sangh Parivar is turning old and that is why its leaders have started remembering Lord Ram loudly, the Congress has charged. “As is the general practice among old people to begin remembering Gods and Goddesses in their ripe age, doing bhajans and visiting temples, the RSS and the BJP top brass have started doing the same,” former UPA minister Manish Tewari told The Sunday Guardian.
Tewari’s remarks are directed at the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat strongly pitching for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya at “the earliest” to end tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The RSS’ three-day lecture series ended on Wednesday. “We are not surprised as such statements are going to be repeated too loudly to woo Hindu voters as elections are approaching,” says Tewari. “The DNA of the RSS, BJP and its front organisations cannot be changed. When elections come, they remember the Ram and its mandir…Lord Ram knows their game well.” “If a timeline is made of statements made by the BJP and RSS leadership on the Ram temple from 1986-2018,” points out Tewari, “one will see that they were made when elections were round the corner.”
About Bhagwat’s remarks on identity of Indians, Tewari said, “There is no contradiction between a national, religious or even a sub nationalistic entity. I am a proud Indian, I am a Hindu and I am a Punjabi at the same time. There is no contradiction between them.”
Centenary of the Battle of Haifa honoured
Today, Israel and India are commemorating the centenary of the Battle of Haifa. On this day, in 1918, Indian soldiers from Mysore, Hyderabad and Jodhpur Lancers liberated the strategically important city of Haifa, known for its deep water bay in the eastern Mediterranean. A commemorative stamp for the Battle of Haifa and First Day Cover were released by Israel Post on 6 February 2018. The stamp and the cover were presented to Pavan Kapoor, ambassador of India to Israel, and Yona Yahav, mayor of the city of Haifa, during a ceremony that took place on 6 September in Haifa.
Designed by Ronen Goldberg, the stamp shows a parade of the Indian cavalry in Haifa, shortly after the battle was won, based on a photograph from the Imperial War Museum.
Maya Kadosh, chargé d’ affaires of the Embassy of Israel, told The Sunday Guardian, “The sacrifice made by the Indian soldiers is honoured and memorialised in seven cemeteries across Israel, from Jerusalem to Haifa.”
Close to 900 Indian soldiers are buried in these cemeteries. The story of the three regiments’ bravery is a part of every school curriculum in Haifa. “They are not only part of our history but also part of our heritage. This shared memory bonds our two nations together,” points out Kadosh.
Shiromani Akali dal looking beyond Punjab
With an aim to expand its base before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Shiromai Akali Dal (SAD) wants to venture into Uttar Pradesh.
The party is planning many rallies in UP, especially in Saharanpur and Terai region where a large number of Sikhs live.
Most of these rallies are likely to be addressed by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
UP SAD president Gurpreet Singh Bagga told The Sunday Guardian that these rallies would be an attempt “to give wings to the party in other states, especially UP and the bordering state of Uttarakhand, which have a sizeable Sikh and Punjabi population”.
Bagga was made head of the state unit recently.
The party has electoral footprints in Delhi where it contests election in alliance with the BJP.
The SAD will expect some seats in UP and Uttarakhand from the BJP.
In UP, there are many pending demands, including non-payment of compensation to victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, justice in the killing of seven Sikhs in Pilibhit jail and justice in riots against Sikhs in Saharanpur about dispute concerning the construction of a new gurdwara.
“The then Samajwadi Party government had given only Rs 200 crore out of Rs 800 crore provided by the Centre as compensation to the victims of 1984 riots.
The balance was returned to the Centre,” Bagga said.