Colonel ki Lat choked out of existence
Col Collins’ grave and old European cemetery housing it are lost to encroachments and the grand 60ft obelisk can only be seen from rooftops
PEOPLE STARTED ENCROACHING ON THE GRAVES IN THE CEMETERY AND MADE PUCCA HOUSES
ABDULLAH QURAISHI, a tailor
Till the 1950s, people avoided using the bylane from Gwynne Road that led to Colonel Collins’ grave at night, for legends were rife about the British man’s ghost in the area. Today, the anecdote is passé, not giving goosebumps to anyone. The living have obliterated all traces of the dead, save the obelisk.
This area in Golaganj once housed the grave of Colonel John Collins, Resident i n the Court of Lucknow who died on June 18, 1807. But the grave no longer exists and the Old European Cemetery that housed it has fallen victim to land sharks, who sublet the cemetery land for construction and erased a chapter of history from the pages of Lucknow.
According to some historians, Collin’s grave had a grand obelisk that was perhaps the tallest among all obelisks here, towering 60 ft. It was also the first grave to have been designed by the nawabs. It is said that to pay homage to the colonel, Nawab Saadat Ali Khan paid for the design of the grave. In her book, famous historian Rosie Llewellyn Jones has mentioned that the nawab had to seek permission from the East India Company before erecting the monument that was according to European architecture. The obelisk on the grave was called lat (pillar) in Hindi and that fetched area the name of Colonel ki Lat. In course of time, mispronunciation turned it into Kallan ki Lat.
John Collins, according to Sydney Hay’s famous book ‘Historical Lucknow’ (first published in 1939), was among the most trusted loyals of the East India Company and joined Bengal Infantry in 1770. A few years later, he became Resident in the court of Daulat Rao Scindhia and finally in 1806, he took charge as Resident in the court of Oudh. “A few months after taking charge he died,” the book reads.
Historians say the monument was granted the status of protected monument in 1919.
But the ASI’s protection guard seemed to have failed completely to save the monument. The grave’s deterioration, locals said, began around 30 years back, when the population in the surrounding area started swelling. “People started encroaching on the graves in the cemetery and made pucca houses,” said Abdullah Quraishi, a tailor who owns a shop a few inches away from the monument.
Quraishi, who has been living here for over 30 years, said the cemetery actually belonged to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lucknow. But after finding that the land had been encroached upon, the diocese never made an attempt to reclaim it.
Officials with the Catholic Diocese (of Lucknow) admitted that they could not reclaim the cemetery after it had fallen prey to encroachers. “It belongs to us but it is encroached upon. Besides, the graves and everything barring the Colonel’s obelisk, have been demolished,” said Fr Alwin Moris, financial administrator, Catholic Diocese of Lucknow.
Small wonder that the Colonel’s grave, that gave the entire locality its identity (Kallan ki Lat) has lost its own identity now. A majority of locals are hardly aware about the Colonel’s obelisk. Besides, 50 other pretentious monuments and graves have been replaced with shabbily erected multi-storeyed buildings. The encroachers have hardly left any road that may lead to the monument. One virtually has to climb on the roof tops of neighboring houses to take a glimpse of it.
According to some historians, the existing monument is just a part of the original. Author Saiyyed Anwar Abbas in his book ‘Lost Monument Of Lucknow’ has quoted historian Rosie Llewellyn Jones that Collin’s tomb could be identified but only some of it remained intact.
It is also mentioned that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) appeared to have forgotten the cemetery and made no efforts for its conservation.
Sources, however, confirmed that the monument had not witnessed any restoration work in the past three or four decades. NK Pathak, superintending archeologist, Lucknwo Circle said, “It is so badly encroached upon that we could not do anything so far for the monument. I will be talking to the state authorities to take serious steps to free the monument from the clutches of encroachers”.
Jayant Krishna, a heritage enthusiast and also UP head of INTACH said immediate intervention was needed to save the Colonel’s Lat. “We will inspect the site with a team of experts to ascertain the losses to the monument and to find possible ways to ensure its restoration”.
Another heritage enthusiast S Mohammed Haider said, “ASI is solely responsible for this state of the monument. It did nothing despite having adequate powers and abandoned it. It should launch a special drive to push the encroachers out of the cemetery area and ensure restoration of the monument”.