Above image: Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India................
I have a fascination for Queen Victoria's statues in India. The sculptors have done a good job, taking meticulous care about every detail. Her posture, irresistible aura, penetrating look, gait, her royal regalia, the way the sceptre is held, etc., all these make her statue come alive before you. There are Queen Victoria's statues in Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Vizhagapatnam and in Mathura. Until I came across an article in the Hindu dated 15 June 2014 recently I realized India's capital did have her statue in a public place and after independence in 1947 it was shifted from the original place and ultimately settled in a Delhi Arts College room, far removed from the public eye. That the only statue of Queen Victoria in New Delhi, a fine piece of sculptor's delight still lies unnamed in a dirty, cobwebbed corner of Delhi College of Art is really unfortunate. She was a famous woman ruler whose glory and regal power dominated the colonial history of England; her reign - about 63 long years lis a record in the annals of world history. As for queen Victoria's husband King George V, his statue in Delhi had a similar fate - shifted from India gate to the Coronation park (once the venue of Delhi Durbar under the direction of Lord Curzon). Both statues were removed from the public eye several years ago for the simple reason: they were symbols of oppressive colonial rule in India.
We learn about our past history mainly from Monuments that carry the unknown hidden facts of an early period. Such monuments and memorials should not be disturbed and shifted from one place to another according to the whims and fancies of politicians and parties in power. By the same token, such old monuments need to be taken care of periodically so that they last longer. In this respect, both the state and central governments should take serious steps to protect the monuments from vandalism, encroachments, etc by putting solid fence around them and introduce certain laws and regulations to safeguard them.
Can you imagine a beautiful statue of Queen Victoria (in sitting posture), the Empress of India (1876-1901) is lying un-cared for and un-named in obscurity at Delhi College of Arts? The pathetic fact is it has been kept in a corner of a room in the college room for a pretty long period unsung and unseen by public. It shows how time and tide can shape the fate of a ruler and her name. Once she held an exalted status and gained the respect of her people and British colonies. Now, she is in the pages of Indian History unsung. As far as India is concerned she has become a forgotten figure. She was the only female monarch of any country to rule for a record period of 63 years. The statue in Delhi was vandalized by hooligans and anti-social elements and, besides, was covered with a thick coat of bird droppings. To avoid further abuse to the statue of the English Queen, the authorities decided to put her in a place where she would remain anonymous and undisturbed.
It is a bronze statue, specially made to commemorate her accession as Empress of India in
1876, sitting majestically on a high throne with all her glory, flowing gown and crown. Her statue was near the Town Hall in Chandni Chowk, and after India's independence the statue was moved over to the Coronation Park to give company to a galaxy of other colonial statues mostly Viceroys who ruled India for the Crown, including that of the statue of George V (who was moved from India Gate). In Town hall Queen Victoria's place was taken over by one
Swami Shradhanand.
Above image: Swami Shraddhanand (1856–1926), was an Indian educationist and an Arya Samaj missionary who propagated the teachings of Dayananda Saraswati. He played a a major role on the Sangathan (consolidation) and the Shuddhi (re-conversion), a Hindu reform movement in the 1920s. On 23 December 1926 he was assassinated by a Muslim named Abdul Rashid,who entered his home at Naya Bazar, Delhi, by posing as a visitor. In sawmiji's honor a statue of him was placed in front of Delhi Town Hall after independence, replacing a statue of Queen Victoria. .....................
The Coronation Park was the place where, the greatest show on earth - Delhi Durbar (1911) took place. It was here the visiting British monarch made a declaration about shifting of the Capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The Durbar was held with great pomp and show under the direction of Lord Curzon to commemorate the coronation of George V and Queen Mary as the Emperor and Empress of India in Britain a few months ago. :"According to Blake, the bill granting Victoria the title of empress “was a case of Disraeli’s yielding to the Queen. Not that he disapproved of the contents, for he was all in favour of her becoming Empress of India; but the timing was inconvenient and he would have postponed it if he could. He did not wish, however, to cross his ‘Royal Mistress’, who had set her heart on the idea” (540)" ... For all the fodder it provided for The Illustrated London News and cartoonists like John Tenniel, “whether it made any difference to the average Indian is very doubtful.”----https://victorianweb.org/history/victoria/20.html
I have a fascination for Queen Victoria's statues in India. The sculptors have done a good job, taking meticulous care about every detail. Her posture, irresistible aura, penetrating look, gait, her royal regalia, the way the sceptre is held, etc., all these make her statue come alive before you. There are Queen Victoria's statues in Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Vizhagapatnam and in Mathura. Until I came across an article in the Hindu dated 15 June 2014 recently I realized India's capital did have her statue in a public place and after independence in 1947 it was shifted from the original place and ultimately settled in a Delhi Arts College room, far removed from the public eye. That the only statue of Queen Victoria in New Delhi, a fine piece of sculptor's delight still lies unnamed in a dirty, cobwebbed corner of Delhi College of Art is really unfortunate. She was a famous woman ruler whose glory and regal power dominated the colonial history of England; her reign - about 63 long years lis a record in the annals of world history. As for queen Victoria's husband King George V, his statue in Delhi had a similar fate - shifted from India gate to the Coronation park (once the venue of Delhi Durbar under the direction of Lord Curzon). Both statues were removed from the public eye several years ago for the simple reason: they were symbols of oppressive colonial rule in India.
We learn about our past history mainly from Monuments that carry the unknown hidden facts of an early period. Such monuments and memorials should not be disturbed and shifted from one place to another according to the whims and fancies of politicians and parties in power. By the same token, such old monuments need to be taken care of periodically so that they last longer. In this respect, both the state and central governments should take serious steps to protect the monuments from vandalism, encroachments, etc by putting solid fence around them and introduce certain laws and regulations to safeguard them.
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| Queen Victoria. www.ngv.vic.gov.au |
Can you imagine a beautiful statue of Queen Victoria (in sitting posture), the Empress of India (1876-1901) is lying un-cared for and un-named in obscurity at Delhi College of Arts? The pathetic fact is it has been kept in a corner of a room in the college room for a pretty long period unsung and unseen by public. It shows how time and tide can shape the fate of a ruler and her name. Once she held an exalted status and gained the respect of her people and British colonies. Now, she is in the pages of Indian History unsung. As far as India is concerned she has become a forgotten figure. She was the only female monarch of any country to rule for a record period of 63 years. The statue in Delhi was vandalized by hooligans and anti-social elements and, besides, was covered with a thick coat of bird droppings. To avoid further abuse to the statue of the English Queen, the authorities decided to put her in a place where she would remain anonymous and undisturbed.
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| slideplayer.com |
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| Swami Shradhanand http://bharatdiscovery.org/i |
The Coronation Park was the place where, the greatest show on earth - Delhi Durbar (1911) took place. It was here the visiting British monarch made a declaration about shifting of the Capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The Durbar was held with great pomp and show under the direction of Lord Curzon to commemorate the coronation of George V and Queen Mary as the Emperor and Empress of India in Britain a few months ago. :"According to Blake, the bill granting Victoria the title of empress “was a case of Disraeli’s yielding to the Queen. Not that he disapproved of the contents, for he was all in favour of her becoming Empress of India; but the timing was inconvenient and he would have postponed it if he could. He did not wish, however, to cross his ‘Royal Mistress’, who had set her heart on the idea” (540)" ... For all the fodder it provided for The Illustrated London News and cartoonists like John Tenniel, “whether it made any difference to the average Indian is very doubtful.”----https://victorianweb.org/history/victoria/20.html
At the Delhi College of Arts and out side the campus, both the students and the public have no idea whatsoever about the colonial statue. This is quite true in many places across India. In Chennai, there is a beautiful equestrian statue of Thomas Munro in a prime area. People from the present generation are least interested in this statue and the good deeds done by Munro. It all shows how ignorant our people are about the colonial history of India. As to
their awareness of ancient Indian history, they exhibit the same ignorance.
Tit-bits:
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| victorianweb.org |
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| Queen Victoria on an elephant, India. victorianweb.org |
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| Queen Victoria's statue, Udaipur, Rajasthan.timesofindia.indiatimes.com |
Yet another Queen Victoria's life-size marble statue lies in the corner of a Government library, (once Victoria Hall Museum opened in 1890; later shifted to the city palace.), Udaipur, Rajasthan. The statue was outside the museum. Left carelessly in the corner of the reading gallery, it is yet another beautifully carved statue in pure white marble.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/rajasthans-first-museum-houses-intriguing-memoirs-of-past/articleshow/51819364.cms
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/the-crowned-in-a-corner/article6114957.ece
https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/the-crowned-in-a-corner/article6114957.ece
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/the-crowned-in-a-corner/article6114957.ece
https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/the-crowned-in-a-corner/article6114957.ece
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