About
4 months ago, I had an occasion to visit the Government museum in
Chennai. On the back side of the library building, I saw two huge
statues of some British officers from the colonial days, that looked
completely out of place there. The statues; clear symbols of the
colonial era once, looked pathetic, orphaned and forlorn, as there
was no proper maintenance with bird dropping menace looming large.
During entire period of my visit to the museum, I saw not a single
person showing any curiosity about these statues. They were just
there, perhaps shifted from their original street corners or wherever
they were initially erected. Later I read somewhere that some statues
of colonial era were indeed shifted during World Tamil conference
held in Chennai in 2010. I have no firm knowledge, whether the museum
statues were the ones that were shifted, but they could as well be.
Three
statues of once all powerful queen of England; queen Victoria, have
apparently met the same fate as that of Chennai museum statues, a
few days ago. Till last week, these statues occupied a pride of place
in “Paliwal Park” in the city of Agra-famous for its Taj Mahal.
K.D.Paliwal
Park, spread over an area of around 70 acres, is located in the heart
of Agra, India. It has a small lake within, where one can take a boat
ride. It boasts of a vast variety of trees. Many people come here for
morning walks. The place is full, especially during the summer
holidays when youngsters play all sort of different games. This park
was known as Hewitt Park during the British Raj. It was renamed in
memory of Shri Krishna Datta Paliwal, the first finance minister of
Uttar Pradesh, when Shri Govind Ballabh Pant was the Chief Minister
of then U.P State.
A
library, known as John's Public Library or Agra Municipal Library,
is also located within the park and one can find rare books on
diverse topics here. It was built through donations from wealthy
residents of the city and was named after an English industrialist
and diamond merchant who contributed for the construction of the
building in 1922. For long, the library building served as the city
parliament. In 2011, the dilapidated library building was restored
and re-opened.
The
three statues of queen Victoria are quite grand, each between 10 and
12 feet tall. They have now lost their shine for being out in the
open for so long. They were sculptured from a mixture of 10 metals,
including gold. In one of the statues, the 19th century British
queen is seen holding a sword, symbolizing her role as supreme
commander of British forces; in the second, she holds a sceptre, a
sign of her political power. In the third, she has a Bible in her
hand to demonstrate her spiritual side.
Sometime
last week, a city group known for its strong handed tactics, Bajrang
Dal, found that existence of these statues in a public park could be
converted in an issue on which they felt they can draw some mileage.
They drafted a memorandum and sent it out to local administration,
on November 7, demanding that the statues are a relic of our colonial
past and should be removed from the park within 72 hours.Bajrang Dal
state co-convener Ajju Chauhan came out with a statement in which he
is believed to have said;
"Paliwal
Park is the heart of Agra. The Bajrang Dal is absolutely against
having any sign of colonialism here. We are against such signs
anywhere in the country. I am surprised that a huge amount of money
is wasted in the maintenance of these statues and the library, which
only serve as reminders of slavery."
To
avoid inflating in a new controversy, the local administration
decided to nip the problem in the bud itself and quietly removed the
statues on November 10th
to a more innocuous part of the park; to the backyard of the Agra
Municipal Corporation's John's Public Library.
Bajrang
Dal, obviously feeling uneasy because they were deprived of an issue
to settle, so early before they could even start any protests, have
now launched within 3 days, a new campaign. They now want to ensure
that the name of John's Public Library is changed too. Ajju Chavan
says;
"This
library should ideally be named after Ram Vilas Sharma, a renowned
Hindi author who refused several prestigious awards because what he
sought was the enrichment of the Hindi language, not awards,"
This
time however, they may not find takers or any quick response from the
authorities. District magistrate of Agra says neither he has ordered
the shifting of the statues and has no role in the affairs of the
Paliwal Park, maintained by the Agra Municipal Corporation. He also
refused to comment on the proposal to re-name the John's Public
Library. He says the matter should be referred to Agra Municipal
Corporation. Municipal commissioner of Agra Municipal corporation is
on tour and away from his office.
Some
people from Agra are not happy with the removal of statues. One
person commented that he was sorry because Bajrang Dal had such
little appreciation or understanding of history. "If the Bajrang
Dal has issues with all signs of the British Raj, it must call for
the banning of train tracks and water lines, too, for these were also
put in place by the colonial government.
It is
start of a new phase of existence for the statues of queen Victoria.
Just like their counterparts in Chennai, these statues now can only
sit or stand in whatever position they are, where they have been
shifted, catching dirt, dust and bird droppings. Their glory days are
over.
19th
November 2014
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