I went again today to find the Bibighar memorial, in commemoration to a particular group of people who died in Kanpur in 1857 (see historical note below). The location of the memorial was meant to be on the site where the event took place, however it wasn't. This historic site is now a small park, adjoined to a fairly well kept cricket pitch. Two artefacts of note remain, one, a well, which formed part of the story I have been tracing. The other a bust. The well itself is hidden under a large concrete circle, and presumably the memorial itself was placed around that. Of the history, or significance of the place, there is no mention. It is simply an anonymous circle of concrete. A bust of a well to do Indian gent now stands where the original memorial would've sat comfortably. I'm guessing it is Nana Sahib. The park bears his name after all.
I found myself saddened by the anonymity and rewriting of architectural history, of the large scale dumping of waste and the endemic vagrancy within the park boundary, but understanding of why.
The tone of what remains and what has been moved to another place, seems clear. I imagine if I were Indian, I too would want to put my forebears front and centre and sideline ancient colonial oppressors. I can’t blame them for that.
While enjoying the hospitality of the club yesterday, the chairman indicated that the memorial I was after had been moved some time ago, and gave me a place I could try and look for it. A 2 mile stroll later, I found myself outside the Cawnpore Club, in a very large military cantonment, asking if anyone knew about the memorial. No one had a clue what I was on about, so I wandered for a bit and on the verge of giving up, stumbled across the thing, in a sprawling churchyard a little way up the street. Not quite neglected, but not exactly cared for either, I found the once grand Bibighar memorial very moving. It was erected in the Gothic style, to remember a specific set of persons (see below) but for me it caused me to pause for thought for all those combatants and casualties of the 1857 Mutiny, on both sides of the conflict. That the Indian authorities shifted the stonework 2 miles from where the event took place and left it there to decay, gives me at least, some sense of how the mutiny is remembered, or not, today.
I should say that in both my blog and the attached historical notes, I tend to flip between the old spelling and new spelling of place names. Apologies, I guess it gets confusing and to an extent it’s a bit of laziness on my part not to include both when it might help to do so. I generally use the modern version so anyone wishing to trace my journey on a map. In some cases though, it doesn’t read ‘right' to use the new name. 'The Cawnpore Club' is named as I have written it and it hasn’t changed its name to ‘The Kanpur Club’. The massacre is remembered in history texts as ‘The Cawnpore Massacre’ so I have continued to use that too. You’ll see other examples of where I’ve taken liberties but not highlighted them throughout the blog. You’ll have to do a bit of interpreting I’m afraid.
What remains of The Cawnpore Massacre site today.
The Bibighar Memorial opposite The Cawnpore Club.
HISTORICAL NOTE:
Sir Henry Havelock was a Victorian general in the classic mould. A 62 year old career soldier, born to lead, educated, dashing, well bred, everything one would associate with a moustachioed and straight backed Victorian military gentleman.
Hearing on the 2nd June, but doubting the veracity of the fall of Kanpur, Sir Henry, with 1200 men and six cannon (having been given command over Neill) hastened to catch up with the enthusiastic Colonel and in Renaud's wake. He found only deserted villages en route. A sign of Neill's and Renaud's diligence.
Eventually, the two columns met on 12th July in the small village of Belanda, four miles from Fatehpur, where the rebel army was waiting for them.
The battle that resulted, saw the British on this occasion, victorious. The rebels had marched 50 miles and only expected to face Renaud. Havelock had driven his men 24 miles without food, but his accurate rapid fire Enfield rifles had seen the British through with but a single casualty.
Havelock continued his advance after a days rest. He was contested several times on the way and in one of these skirmishes, Renaud fell victim to a sepoy bullet and died.
22 miles from Kanpur, on the 16th July, Havelock received word that the hostages were still alive, and that Nana Sahib was ready to receive them with 7000 Sepoys before the gates to Kanpur. Only one of these pieces of intelligence were true. On the 15th July, seeing that Kanpur would be reclaimed by the British, Nana Sahib, or one or his acolytes, (it remains unclear exactly who) ordered the massacre of the 200-odd women and children held in captivity. Sepoys were ordered to fire a volley into the small house they occupied - which they did. They were then ordered to go in and bayonet those that remained - which they apparently did not. The job was finished by some butchers hired for the purpose. There were no survivors, and the corpses were thrown down a well outside. The house of incarceration, known as the Bibighar - or house of the ladies - was said to have been ankle deep in blood when found.
Havelock won the hard fought battle outside Kanpur, and entered the city with his forces depleted but victorious. Nana Sahib disappeared and was never to be heard of again. He is revered in Indian history as far as I have learned. One mans revolutionary is another mans freedom fighter, and deception and cunning are two sides of the same coin. My sources present themselves as unashamedly British-centric and it is difficult to filter the truth from the rhetoric.
The Cawnpore (Kanpur) Massacre, was met with fury and horror back home in the papers and by brutal retribution in the field. It is said that British troops went on an alcohol fuelled riot of rape and murder. The supposed perpetrators (or handy substitutes) were forced (and this is not attributed to Havelock in my sources) to lick the floor of house clean with their tongues, before being executed for their efforts.
Havelock now turned his attention to the relief of Lucknow in the hope that he could prevent a similar gruesome outcome.
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