Chapter
2
Shimla Thru the British Eyes
1817 and Prior
The British travellers variously report Shyamala village
as a non-descript settlement located on the southern slopes of a mountain ridge
forming a getaway to northeastern princely states, which lay on the wool trade
with Tibet. Its location not exactly known but described as in between
present-day Deen Dayal Hospital (Ripon Hospital) and Combermere Bridge (built
years later). They also describe the clearing, which today is known as
"The Ridge" as the main getaway point. Any traveller in the early
nineteenth century and prior, going to the northeast, had two choices once he
reached the Ridge i.e. he either climbed the mountain in the front and reach
the top, known as "Jakkho" (another 1,000 feet of climb) or go round
it on either side and proceed to the hill states. The Gerard brothers[1]
faced this choice when they reached the Ridge. They, as reported, climbed the
Jakkho Mountain to reach the top and viewed the surroundings. They saw mountain
ranges in front stretching for miles. That was where their destination village
of Kotgarh lay. The Gorkhas had vacated it, now it was in British hands. To the
southwest they saw River Sutlej not too far.
On the Shimla village hilltop (The Ridge), facing
southeast lay a Temple with blue slate roof (as described by Gerard brothers),
where a "Fakir" tended to the travellers needs of water and rest. Any
traveller passing thru the temple could not help notice the wooden idol of the Shyamala
Devi inside it. This village, its inhabitants and the temple have long been
lost to the history except stories have persisted that the British official
desecrated this temple. The Fakir probably drew water from a nearby
"Baoli", later popularly called "Churrail Baoli" and
dispensed it to the travellers. He also tended to the temple's upkeep. The
travellers were mostly locals going to the various princely states like Koti,
Kotkhai, Jubbal, Theog, Kumahrsen, Bushahar etc. bringing wool with them from
Tibet on a difficult pathways and taking back grain and other food materials
with them. It was easier to come downhill to Shyamala and further to the
plains, but it was a very difficult climb to return to Bushahar. It over the
years lead to huge trade imbalance until the road network was realigned in
1848-52.
This peaceful village did not know at that time that it
was going to make a history. The British were going to like it and like it in a
big way hence in order to accommodate their designs, the village, the temple
and its inhabitants would have to move from their present location in next
twenty years. There is no trace left of the village or the villagers today. So
much so that today it is difficult to pinpoint its exact location. But the
temple has found a new home minus the idol of Shyamala Devi at Kali Barhi.
How long did the first military party stay at Shyamala
Devi's vicinity in 1817-18, there is no record of it. Subsequent parties of
surveyors, political agents, revenue record keepers and simply European
travellers followed and have left some records. The famous one as referred
earlier is from "Gerard Brothers". This party loved the cool climate,
gentle breeze and all round scenery of the area hence camped here longer than
expected. They wrote about it to the political agent at Sabathu. This generated
greater interest in this location. A year later the then Political Agent
Lieutenant Ross paid a visit. He was also on way to the hill states in the
northeast, but rested and recovered from his arduous journey here. His reports
further strengthened importance of this location.
Gorkha Occupation of the Shimla Hills
Gorkhas are Hindus from the Himalayan region north of
present day Uttar Pradesh. As the Mogul influence waned in India, there was
rush to occupy as much territory as possible. The British starting from 1757
had occupied the Indo-Gangetic valley. By 1810, the British had the control of
most southern India as well as northern India. By then they ruled about 150
million people. There lay three thorns in their path to their complete conquest
of India i.e. Gorkhas in the north, Sikhs lead by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the
northwest, warring Rajputs in Rajputana, besides a few Maratha territories of
Gawalior, Indor & Nagpur were yet to be subdued. They had a burning desire
to grab them sooner than later.
Gorkhas by about 1800s realised that the British are at
their doorstep to the south, wished to expand. They had expanded to the east to
occupy Sikkim. Later, they turned their attention to the west. Their intent was
to bring under their influence, northern hill territories of Kumaon, Garhwal,
Sirmoor, Kangra and tiny hill kingdoms in Shimla's northeast. For the Gorkhas,
conquering Kumaon, Garhwal & Sirmoor was no big deal. It was in Kangra that
they ran into resistance. The Kangra Raja Sansar Chand asked Maharaja Ranjit
Singh's assistance, which was given and the Gorkhas lost this battle in 1804. Undaunted
Gorkhas turned their attention to the hill country beyond Jamuna. These were
easy pickings for them. While doing that, the two empire builders (British
& Gorkhas) collided head on.
By 1814, British resources were immense. They used ethnic make of their army and conquered smaller kingdoms with this advantage. They had mostly native Indian Army officered by the British. For every one British soldier or officer, there were fourteen Indian soldiers. Till about 1814 they had very cleverly exploited regional rivalries in their recruitment process. When it came to confronting Gorkhas, who had no rivalries with any one of the British Bengal Army recruits, it became difficult for them to confront Gorkhas and be victorious. Moreover Gorkhas were brave warriors and they knew hill-fighting techniques better. Hence two expeditions sent by the British in 1814-15 were unsuccessful. With two unsuccessful attempts, the British did not wish to confront the Gorkhas closer to their mainland. They chose Gorkha occupied territories in the west. Specifically they selected territories near Bilaspur for future action. They used spies to spread danger and gossip to undermine Gorkha occupation (although British occupation elsewhere was not any better) and selected an aggressive general in David Ochtorloney to confront them there. He was also given long-range artillery, which the earlier expeditions did not have. Gorkhas had occupied and strengthened the fort of Malon near Arki and they waited for the British to come. By then, the entire clan of hill Rajahs went to the British side including the then Maharaja of Patiala. They helped the British in the movement of their army and provided them supplies and spread rumours about Gorkha mistreatment of the locals at Arki. One such rumour, which has been documented, is about Gorkhas slaughtering so many goats that the price had multiplied ten times over. The situation would not be any different had the British-Indian soldiers occupied these places, but the propaganda worked against the besieged defenders. The battle of Malon on May15, 1815 ended Gorkha dreams of an empire. It was a British victory, secured against a besieged fortress with British heavy guns. A year later Treaty of Sugauli gave British whatever they wanted i.e. complete domination of Jamuna -Sutlej corridor. Beyond lay the Kingdom of Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, for which they had been preparing for so many years.
It is an interesting note of the history that the Gorkha
soldiers who survived the Battle of Malon, joined the British Army in large
numbers right after the battle. One has to wonder about that. It is tribute to
the British diplomatic skill that a former foe decides to enlist in their army.
It probably was economics. Soldiers had to send regular sum of money back home.
With Gorkha defeat, that regular pay packet vanished; hence professional
soldiers would join any army including their former foe, if the pay was right.
That is one reason given that the Gorkhas in large numbers enrolled in the
British Army. Some soldiers, who did not join the British Army, joined Maharaja
Ranjit Singh's army at Lahore. They were known as Lahorias in their own
country, as they lived and fought for Lahore.
Some time later, Sabathu Fort was converted into Gorkha
training centre. Guns used at Malon, which could not be taken back to the
plains, were finally brought down to Sabathu, where these are still on display.
Out go the Gorkhas and In Come the British
In 1816 the Gorkha influence in the hills was no more. The
British were in a hurry to occupy hill lands they had just conquered. As usual
they sent their surveyors, revenuers to look-see the area. Then their Political
Agent followed, he would oversee all the hill states. In fact he was the boss,
although hill Rajahs had full autonomy in internal affairs. Sparsely populated
hills with no large trade links had to accept whatever the British offered them.
As a first act to please the Rajahs, their "Sanads"[2]
were renewed with a stipulation that they would be over-seen by a British
Political Agent. In return they accepted the British Suzerainty. The person who
would oversee them would be the Political Officer at Sabathu, later at Shimla.
He had the power to discipline an erring Rajah, overturn Rajah's judgement,
take away land if the British needed it, conscript labour wherever needed and
on top of all these and other stipulations, Rajas would pay 30% of their income
to the British. The latter was the same amount, as the Gorkhas were demanding,
hence Rajahs were in no better shape now than before except that a Hindu master
had been dumped in favour of a Christian master, who was an outsider.
Stories about Shyamala Devi temple
Records have been wiped clean to remove any mention of Shyamala Devi Temple desecration by one of the British parties passing thru Shyamala Devi vicinity, but the legends have persisted. It has been passed down by word of mouth. There is some credence to these stories.
It is an historical fact that after Muslim Mahmud of Ghori's invasion and occupation of Punjab & Delhi in 1198, Brahmins & Fakirs with their Devis & Devtas arrived in the vicinity of Shimla and Kangra away from the marauding Muslim hordes. In Shimla and vicinity, still afraid, the Brahmins & Fakirs occupied the highest peaks where they assumed that the Muslim would not venture but the faithful followers would still come. This aggregation of Devi(s) in sparsely populated and poor areas is otherwise a surprise. They were here in numbers because they were saving themselves from something or somebody. The same is true in Kangra also. Shyamala Devi probably is one of the Devi, which had been here for hundreds of years, until the British arrived. Since there are no historical documents to prove the existence of Shyamala Devi Temple for many generations on the Ridge area, hence the above stays as a theory only.
If the author's argument is correct then Shyamala Devi had been around at this spot many-many generations before the British set foot on this place.
A story which has been faithfully told to Alka Kashyap, a reporter of The Tribune about Shyamala Devi is reproduced below:
Relying on Pandit Sudhanshu Shekhar Bhattacharya, better known as Chhotta Swamiji’s version, a majee was enshrined in a small temple surrounded by a verandah. An Englishman on camp had this wooden idol thrown into a khud and made the temple into his kitchen. At night he had a vision of two horsemen attacking him with spears, and he awoke shouting for help. When told that the majee would wreak vengeance unless restored to her house, the idol was re-installed in a new temple here. This was the statue of Shyamala Devi, which was originally four feet in height but was later replaced by a smaller and better-made figure from Jaipur.
On the spot where Kali Bari stands, a tantrik-sadhu sat in deep meditation under a big deodar tree before an image of goddess Kali. The sadhu was revered by everyone for his supernatural powers. On his death in 1845, a Bengali named Ram Charan Brahmachari got the main temple erected, wherein both images of Kali and Shymala Devi were installed.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99nov27/saturday/head14.htm
It is difficult to verify this story, as all records of this hot head British official have been wiped clean. It is only the word of mouth that we have and we have to rely on it.
Missionaries in India
The British around 1820s were definitely hot heads. They had conquered three-fourth of the country and now were inviting Missionaries to come and preach the Gospel. They wanted all of India to become Christian. This is what they thought of India:
By the end of the 18th century, Hindus and Muslims were no longer regarded merely as novelties, they were seen as natives—like American Indians—that needed to converted to Christianity. In 1813 an anti-slavery activist told the British Parliament that he hoped India would "exchange its dark and bloody superstition for the genial influence of Christian light and good." Early Britons looked upon India as a backward society that could be improved through education. After Darwin many Britons began looking upon Indians as racially inferior.
[Source: Geoffrey C. Ward, Smithsonian magazine]
Another missionary wrote:
"View the gods of India," one missionary wrote, "false to their word, thievish, licentious, ambitious, murderous, all indeed that is repellent, malignant and vile...is it surprising that there is perjury, and injustice, and wickedness the land over? The Bible must supplant the narratives of their false divinities, their temples carved now with sculptures and paintings which crimson the face of modesty."
If you view the incident of temple desecration in the context of military conquests, Christian conversion and overconfident British gentry, it is possible that the desecration did happen. It angered the locals, who silently protested by not co-operating and attending the religious services even when the idols were restored to the temple. They viewed that a sacrilege had been committed, hence they would co-operate less and less with the British until the guilty is punished. The local Rajahs who had traded this land to the British stayed as a silent witness. Finally, the higher British authorities, with concurrence of Governor General offered the locals a better place to reinstall the idols. Even this did not work. Finally from Calcutta (British India Capital until 1911) they asked a Brahmin family as mentioned above to come to Shimla. A Brahmin Ram Charan Brahmachari came from Calcutta and erected the current Kali Barhi temple in 1845 about a mile away from where the Shyamala Devi temple stood and reinstalled the wooden idols as well as the Maa Kali's idol and the worship restarted.
Over time, the legend of Shyamala Devi was forgotten. The author's enquiries in 2003 yielded no results. These idols are still there somewhere, but nobody knows.
In the meantime The British continued to build Shimla into rest and recuperation place. It was in 1864 that it was declared as Summer Seat of Government.
Captain Godfrey Mundy in his
writings of 1828 states that many local families had begun growing potatoes in
their smallholdings. Although, either the British or the Portuguese brought
potato to India in the 17th century yet it did not become a gainful source of
income for the hill people until late nineteenth century. Cabbage and other
local vegetables were grown during the summer growing season, but the British
could not rely on any local supply. Wheat, maize & rice were grown closer
to the river plains, yet it was in short supply. Some of these staple foods
were brought thru the most difficult routes that connected the hill states with
pathways or rivers. The Mandi & Suket states together with Bilaspur on
lower plains were important sources of the imported food. The situation changed
dramatically when the British arrived in early nineteenth century. The
Suds/Soods of Jaswan, who being grain & sugar merchants opened up the
supply route initially via Nadaun, Bilaspur & Shimla, followed by the
optimum use of Hindustan-Tibet road completed in 1852.
British Set up Schools for
themselves in Shimla
As the British with families
began to stay at Shimla for extended period, an immediate need of schools for
children was felt. With British Public School System as model, a British
priest, Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton began planning for a major
undertaking of a school in 1859 at Shimla. The school opened its doors in 1863
in temporary quarters and moved to its present location in 1866-67. Only
British parents of high prestige could send their Children to this school.
Hence amongst the British subjects, it was harder to get children admitted to
this school.
In 1866 the old Governor
General's quarters of Auckland House were organized into a school for girls.
Even this school was highly restricted as only European parents in high income
could afford it. Prior to the purchase of Auckland House, the school functioned
elsewhere for a few years. The curriculum also was modeled on British Public
school system.
Prior to Shimla acquiring
importance, the British were visiting Kasauli, which is closer to the plains.
It was here on the Sanawar Hill, that Sir Henry Lawrence founded a school for
the orphaned children of the British soldiers in 1847. A stipend was offered to
the children who joined the school as their parents were dead and continuing
education was difficult. It had much stronger military tradition than the other
schools in the vicinity.
Convent of Jesus & Mary at
Shimla has a similar history as Sanawar School. It also began as an orphanage
for the children of deceased war veterans in about 1864. Later on
Tara Hall, Loreto Convent School, St Edwards, St Thomas, Lady Irwin, St. Thomas
etc. began operation.
With British Children fully taken of, it was for the
natives to take care of their Children, especially if you lived in Shimla.
It was T.B Macaulay who described the native school system
in his speech to the British Parliament in 1835[1].
Macaulay was a racist as you could determine from his
following statements:
"Indians were in a terrible wretched state
before the British came except for a handful of people & I mean a handful
(a few hundreds). The vast majority were poor & could barely eke out a
living."
"I have never found one among them who
could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole
native literature of India and Arabia."
Very few amongst us will agree with Macaulay, but he did
lay the foundation of the present day Indian education system. The urgent need
for the British was for the clerks, to do the sundry low-level work for the
expanding East India Company. The company was not only running trade, it was
administrator of the 3/4 of the country (Ruler or Diwan) and hence it needed
clerks. Hence ten years schooling system was designed to produce obedient
clerks and this system did that for 100 years. Only a few, very few became
lawyers, doctors or engineers.
Stung by the education system designed for the natives,
Dayanand Ango Vedic (DAV) Trust in 1886 took up the responsibility of providing
a more balanced Vedic and Macaulay type of education to the natives in north
India. Its first school at Lahore started functioning in 1855. But by 1886,
organizationally it was ready to expand. First DAV School in Shimla began
functioning in Shimla in 1934. Later SD School & Islamia School began
operation.
The British Brand of Religion in Shimla
By about 1841, there were about 100 houses and cottages in
Shimla. Summertime British subjects population was as high as 700 people. These
civil & military personnel had spiritual needs, which could be satisfied by
building few Churches. By about 1836, a ramshackle church began to operate in a
wooden & thatched roof building very close to where Rani Jhansi Park
(Ladies Park) is today. A few years later an earthquake damaged it, hence
thinking began to build a new more durable structure. This responsibility fell
upon Colonel J. T. Boileau, who designed a church as early as 1844 at a
choicest location where the Upper Bazaar already existed. A portion of the
Church was completed soon and Church services began. Much of the Church less
clock tower and the porch was completed in next thirteen years and the Church
was consecrated in 1857. The porch and the clock tower were added in 1873. Soon
thereafter it became a major landmark. It is a functioning Church and a major
tourist attraction. Once the Upper Bazaar was removed from its vicinity in
1876, its attraction greatly improved.
A new functioning Catholic Church - St. Michael's
Cathedral was built in 1885 at the behest of Catholic Lord Ripon (Viceroy of
India) in 1885. Its location is a bit removed from the most attractive promenade
of Shimla, The Mall, never the less it is an attractive looking church, well
kept and in the heart of the city.
Apart from the mainline
churches including the historic Christ Church at the Ridge, St Michael's
Cathedral, there are Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Baptist Church and
Evangelical church of India and a host of other independent churches in Shimla.
These all date back to the colonial era. Another prominent Church about 80 km
away is, St Mary's Church at Kotgarh. Built in the
year 1873, the wooden church is a total enigma for its beholders with quaint
graveyards and old schools.
After 1857, the British clergy who wished to present
India, to the Queen Victoria as a Christian crown jewel got a major jolt in
terms of Mutiny (First War of Independence). The company rule was over and the
crown directly ruled India thru a Viceroy. As a matter of policy they decided
to de-escalate the tension with natives by providing them non cow & pig
greased bullets for their rifles, withdraw all missionaries who had come to
convert India into Christianity and removed all those harsh rules on the land
which forced the farmer to sow poppy seeds instead of wheat and rice. (Poppy
exported to China brought the company more money but starved the people by
taking food growing land into poppy production).
No comments:
Post a Comment