UNSW CANBERRA | BATTLES of the RAJ TOUR 27Th October to 9Th November 2018
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UNSW CANBERRA | BATTLES OF THE RAJ TOUR 27th October to 9th November 2018 1 | Page Curated and Escorted by Professor Peter Stanley of UNSW Canberra Peter is one of Australia’s most active military social historians. Formerly the Principal Historian at the Australian War Memorial, where he worked from 1980-2007, he is best known as an historian of Australia at war through his 30+ books and his frequent appearances on TV and in the media. But Peter is also an expert in the military history of British India. His 1993 PhD (published as White Mutiny: British Military Culture in India 1825-75) dealt with the European soldiers of the Bengal Army, when he first travelled to explore the Raj’s cantonments. Peter has written the first books to appear on Indian troops on Gallipoli (Die in Battle, Do not Despair: the Indians on Gallipoli, 1915) and on British garrison of India during the Great War (‘Terriers’ in India: British Territorials 1914-19). He has often visited India to investigate the sites of British India’s military history and is an enthusiast for understanding the extraordinary British encounter with India and its people. 2 | Page 27th October 2018, Saturday Arrive Kolkata Welcome to India! Your flight will land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata at (flight schedule to be confirmed), local time. After you clear Immigration and Customs formalities, our Anywhere Travel colleague will meet you in the Arrival Hall and escort you to your hotel. He will assist you to check in. Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta in English, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and is located on the east bank of the River Hooghly. The area was chosen by Job Charnock, a British agent, to establish a British trade settlement in 1690 AD. The colonial city was developed by the British East India Company and then by the British Empire. Calcutta grew rapidly in the 19th century to become the second city of the British Empire and the Capital of British India. This was accompanied by the development of a culture that fused European philosophies with Indian tradition. However, in 1911 at the Imperial Durbar in Delhi, King George V ordered the immediate shifting of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. This was on the recommendation of the then Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, who wrote that it was an anomaly that British India was being ruled from its eastern extremity. Of course, a more pressing reason was the burgeoning opposition to British rule in Calcutta. Calcutta continued to be a prominent city of British India, until independence. With partition, the city began to decline when industry started to shift away, partly because it lost access to supplies of jute (which was one of the prime manufactured products of the area) and partly because of the rising militant trade unions • Hotel Taj Bengal • Room Deluxe 28th October 2018, Sunday Kolkata This morning you will visit St. John’s Church, which is the third oldest church of Kolkata and one of the most important heritage sites of the city. The church is a rich repository of old memories and some historic monuments related to the history of Kolkata. Warren Hastings and the Reverend William Johnson, Chaplain from 1770, were the prime movers for its construction. In the church’s grounds you will also see the Black Hole of Calcutta Memorial. In 1756, Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, captured Fort William and ordered 146 British prisoners of war to be imprisoned in a small prison on the night of 20 June. Just 23 people survived the night. Considerable controversy surrounds the exact circumstances, but a memorial monument was erected in the graveyard of St John's Church, where it remains. 3 | Page Originally built in the year 1696 and gets its name from King William III. The imposing structure is embellished with hundreds of arch like windows and overlooks lush green gardens. After the Battle of Plessey, which was a pivotal moment in the East India gaining control over India, Fort William was relocated and rebuilt in its present location. Initially, the Fort was comprised of wings and an inner bastille. Today, Fort William is the property of the Indian Army and serves as the headquarters of its Eastern Command. Other places of interest that you will visit are: Monument to the 49th Bengalee: Located just at the entrance of Eastern gate of College Square, the monument honors the members of the 49th Bengali Regiment who died in the First World War. The base contains the inscription, “In memory of members of The 49th Bengalee Regiment who died in the Great War, 1914-1918, To the Glory of God, King and Country.” The Lascar War Memorial, erected by shipping and mercantile companies, in memory of the 896 Lascars of undivided Bengal and Assam who lost their lives during World War I. The 100-foot-high monument was unveiled by Lord Lytton, then Governor of Bengal in 1924. The monument, built in typical Oriental style, is a four-sided column, designed to reflect the prow of an ancient galley on each side. Lunch will be served at city restaurant (direct payment). The Park Street Cemetery: This was established during the colonial rule of the British and is one of the oldest cemeteries of Kolkata. The mausoleums and memorials are architecturally impressive and represent the grandeur of the colonial period. It houses the tombs of distinguished expatriates who were once an integral part of Kolkata’s history. The Victoria Memorial: Built in 1921 in dramatic white marble, the Victoria Memorial continues to be Calcutta’s pride and joy. The memorial was the inspiration of Lord Curzon, who in 1901, felt that his lately departed Queen Empress, required a suitable monument to her memory. It houses paintings, manuscripts, and other objects of historic value in its Museum and Art Gallery. (Closed on Mondays & National Holidays). St. Paul’s Cathedral: The gothic revival building was designed by Major William Norman Forbes (later a Major General with the Bengal Engineers) and in 1847, replaced St. John’s Church as the main place of worship for Europeans. The original spire was based on Norwich Cathedral, however, after it collapsed during the Calcutta earthquake in 1934, it was rebuilt on the lines of the Bell Harry Tower at Canterbury Cathedral. You will then return to your hotel. This evening you will have the opportunity to interact with a few well-respected military historians over drinks. 4 | Page • Hotel Taj Bengal • Room Deluxe • Meals Breakfast 29th October 2018, Monday Kolkata- Lucknow After breakfast, at about 0800, you will checkout of your hotel and drive to the jetty from where you will board a private ferry to Barrackpur (Barrackpore) – approximately 2 hours. The town gets its name as the first British barracks or cantonment in India was built here in 1772. After the British crown assumed direct control of India, the sprawling Government House and the Government Estate were built in Barrackpore to provide the viceroy with a suburban residence outside Calcutta. In 1857, at Barrackpore, Mangal Pandey of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry, rebelled and killed two British soldiers. Other Indian soldiers refused to obey orders to arrest Pandey. Some claim that this was the start of the mutiny. Interestingly, this was not Barrackpore’s first mutiny – in 1824, troops of the 47th Native Infantry, refused to march on Chittagong during the First Anglo Burmese war. Over 180 Sepoys were killed prompting outrage from ordinary British citizens. On arrival in Barrackpore, you will visit the cantonment area, stopping at the Semaphore Tower, Government House (now a hospital), the Temple of Fame, and Flagstaff House (originally the residence of the private secretary to the Viceroy and now the summer retreat of the West Bengal Governor), its garden housing many of the British statues shifted here from central Kolkata. After visiting Barrackpore you will drive to Kolkata airport, stopping on the way for a late lunch. You will board your Indigo Airlines flight 6E 856 (1835/2015 hours – 1 hour/40 minutes) to Lucknow. On arrival, you will be met by our colleague and escorted to your hotel. Lucknow is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, It is the tenth most populous city and has always been known as a multicultural city that flourished as a North Indian cultural and artistic hub, and the seat of power of Nawabs in the 18th and 19th centuries. Lucknow is the centre of Shia Islam in India with the highest Shia Muslim population in the country. Historically, Lucknow and the surrounding region of Awadh was controlled by the Delhi Sultanate , which later came under the Mughal rule. It was later transferred to the Nawabs of Awadh. In 1856, the British East India Company abolished local rule and took complete control of the city along with the rest of Awadh and, in 1857, transferred it to the British Raj. The city played a key role in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. • Hotel Vivanta by Taj, Gomti Nagar • Room Superior Charm • Meals Breakfast, Lunch 5 | Page 30th October 2018, Tuesday Lucknow You will start your visit with the marvelous, La Martiniere School, which is located in the former country estate of its founder, the Frenchman Major-General Claude Martin. La Martinere is the only school to be awarded royal battle honors for its defense of Lucknow during the mutiny of 1857. You will then visit the Ruins of Dilkusha Palace, which was built by a European architect for the Nawab - Sadat Ali Khan.