‘Remains’ of 1857 martyrs immersed in Ravi

Amritsar, Punjab: After remaining unceremoniously buried for 157 years in a well in Ajnala where their bodies were dumped by the British, the Gurudwara Shaheed Gunj Management Committee (GSGMC) on Sunday immersed the mud stained with their blood and some of the remains of martyrs of Kalianwala Khuh in the Ravi river, the spot where around 150 of their injured colleagues of the 26th Native Infantry Regiment died after drowning in 1857.

Around four trolleys of mud stained with the martyrs’ blood were immersed in the river on Sunday in a ceremony led by GSGMC office bearers and members and attended by local residents.

The committee members initiated the rites by immersing a couple of decorated urns containing the blood-stained mud. Thereafter, the area residents took turns at immersing four trolley-loads of the mud mingled with martyrs’ blood.

Historian Surinder Kochhar, who led the work of excavation at Kalianwala Khuh, said that a total of five trolleys were recovered from the site, while the digging was in progress. “Of these five trolleys, four loads were immersed on Sunday,” he said.

He added that a little bit of the mud has been preserved to be sent for DNA testing, while some would be displayed at the proposed museum.

Kochhar added the discovery of the 1857 uprising martyrs’ skeletal remains at Kalianwala Khuh had generated interest among Arunachal Pradesh Maha Sabha, an NGO. “They are expected to arrive heree in the coming few days”, he added.

Source: HT