Cemetery off Shankarseth Road in Pune

The newspaper story of 1998 brought out by Harshawardhan, about the discovery of an abandoned 19th century British cemetery off Shankarseth Road in Poona (Pune), prompted me to look for it in Google Earth and Wikimapia.org. Way back in the late 1960's I lived for 4 years in a housing society called Mira Society that lies a stone's throw away from Shankarseth Road and the cemetery. Shankarseth Road and the Dhobi Ghat (Washermen's Place) were on my daily route, though I never suspected the existence of a cemetery near the Dhobi Ghat.

You can see this place on Google Earth at coordinates 18 30 05.43 N and 73 52 33.09 E. It is actually labeled as Dhobi Ghat in Wikimapia. It lies to the left of the large open space called Golibar Maidan (Firing Ground). (Building No 1, Mira Society lies just a little lower down, though no KR Bora lived there at the time I was there.) The Office of the Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers) or CDA(O), whose task is to maintain pay accounts of all Army Officers (numbering more than 30,000), lies just to the south of Golibar Maidan. Near it is a small cluster of Army-owned buildings called 'Separated Families Accommodation', given to families of
officers serving in remote areas.

It is easy to see why the Dhobi Ghat is where it is. To the East and South lie the cantonments of Poona. Officers and others living there needed clothes-washing services of dhobis (washermen). The Mutha Right Bank Canal, taking off from the old Khadakwasla Dam at the foot of the Sinhagad Fort, crosses the Shankarseth Road near the Golibar Maidan. The canal is clearly seen in Google Earth and Wikimapia. Availability of this water brought the Dhobi Ghat here. Golibar Maidan too is where it is as the soldiers living in the Cantonment needed a large empty ground for their firing practice. This entire area, full of residential and office buildings today, was totally empty till the 1950. The entire length of Shankarseth Road was taken up by a couple of Film Studios, which have since then disappeared.

The name of Shankarseth given to the road is also evocative of the Raj. It was unusual for the Raj days to name a street after a native, but an exception was made for Shankarseth, surely because he was a 'loyal progressive native'! Jagannath Shankarseth (Nana as he was affectionately called) was a rich person who lived in Girgaon, where his house still stood till the 1950's, just outside the Fort area of Bombay. He was the undisputed leader of the native community in the 1850's and was a well-known philanthropist and social reformer. He was also one of the founders and a
Director of the GIP Railway. His is one of the faces adorning the columns in the Main Hall of the Victoria Terminus in Bombay (now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or CST, recently seen the terrorist attack. (See the portion '100 years of Victoria Terminus,Bombay in the webpage http://www.irfca.org/articles/vikas/stamps.html ). His large sitting statue in marble is kept at the entrance of the Asiatic Society's Library in Bombay. The square in Girgaum called 'Nana Chowk' is an important landmark of old Bombay and is named after Nana Shankarseth as he lived in the vicinity of that spot. (Hardly anyone knows - indeed cares for - this small detail!)

He is remembered by the young generation of today for the prestigious prize called 'Shankarseth Scholarship' given to the student who scores top marks in Sanskrit in the Secondary School Certificate Examination. This scholarship is now more than ahundred years old. With the diminishing of the importance of Sanskrit (like the Classics in the Western countries) this scholarship has lost some of its glamour, though in earlier times it was the ambition of every bright student appearing for the High School Final certification examination to become the Shankarseth Scholar of his year. Among several such scholars who distinguished themselves in later life, was Sir Chintaman Deshmukh (C.D. Deshmukh as he is now known) of the ICS. He was the first Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, prior to 1947. After independence he was Nehru's Finance Minister for a few years before his differences with Nehru on granting Bombay to Maharashtra when linguistic states were created in 1956 led to his resignation.

All these stray thoughts came to me when I read the newspaper piece about the cemetery and I have noted them down in the hope that the Listers will find them informative.

British origins of Indian Place-names

As a matter of curiosity, I have compiled the following list of names of cities and towns in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh that are named after British colonials. I do not think that the list is complete and I am certain that a few more can be added. I have also attempted to find some information about them. I hope some lister will find his/her ancestor thus remembered.

Only names of places have been included. Names of islands, bays, mountain peaks and similar geographical features are not included, of which there are several. (Examples Duke’s Nose near Khandala, Mount Harriet in the Andamans.) Several cities have parts of them named after a British person, such as Georgetown in Allahabad. These have not been included.

The arrangement is as follows. The names are grouped according to the current states in the Indian Republic. The name of each place is followed by i) E. Longitude and N. Latitude, ii) Indian Postal Index Number or PIN, a six-digit number, iii) name of Tauka/Tehsil/District, iv) remarks about the origin of the name and v) any other information. Each name may not have all five of these. I have presented in each case whatever I have been able to glean from the Internet.

ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS
Aberdeenbazaar; 92.73, 11.66; 744 104. Appears to be named after Aberdeen
Austinabad; 92.75,11.63
Beadonabad; 92, 11; named after Henry Cecil Beadon, Chief Commissioner, 1920-23
Bird Line; According to the website http://www.pratt-johnson.com/Bird.htm a small village called Bird Line has come up on the outskirts of Port Blair on land once owned by Maj. A. G. Bird, Assistant to the Chief Commissioner Col. C.F. Waterfall, when the Japanese occupied the Islands during WWII. Both were taken prisoners and Maj. Bird later executed on trumped up charges. I have not been able to confirm the existence of this village through the internet.
Brooksabad; 92.75, 11.62
Cadellgunj; named after Thomas Cadell (1835 - 1919), Chief Commissioner 1878 - 92. He had received the Victoria Cross in the Siege of Delhi in the Mutiny.
Campbell Bay is a settled place, PIN 744 302. No other info.
Craikabad; named after Sir Henry Craik, a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council as Home Secretary in the late 1930s and early 1940s. ( I have found references to him in 1936, 1941 and 1943.)
Ferrargunj; named after Michael Lloyd Ferrar, Chief Commissioner, 1923 -31.
Havelock 744 211
Herbertabad; 92.62, 11.63. I could not find the source of this name. If I were to make a wild guess, I would think that this is taken from Herbert Arrot Browning, Chief Commissioner 1906-13. His last name could not be used as there already was a Browning Club in Port Blair, probably named after him.
Hobdaypur; 92.65, 11.65. The islands were completely surveyed topographically by the Indian Survey Department under Colonel Hobday in 1883-1886
Port Blair; 744 101. The principle city in the Islands. Named after Capt. Archibald Blair (? - 1815), an officer in Bombay Marines. He conducted a survey of the Islands and found a natural harbour which he named after Commodore William Cornwallis, Commander-in-Chief of the then British Indian Navy. The harbour was subsequently renamed after Capt Blair.
Wimberlygunj; 744 201. Organized form of Policing in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was established in August, 1875 with the extension of Indian Police Act of 1861 to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Capt. Wimberly was appointed as the first District Superintendent of Police.

ANDHRA PRADESH
Horsley Hills; 78.88, 17.90; 517 329. A small hill station in The Chittoor District. W.D. Horsley, Collector of the Cuddapa District in the 1860s thought of this place as a summer retreat and built a bungalow there.

ASSAM

Margherita; 95.68, 27.28; 786 181. Construction of the Railway Line passing through this town was supervised by Italian engineers in the 1880s. They named this place after the Queen Margherita of Italy, Consort of King Umbarto I.

BIHAR
Forbesganj; 87.25, 26.30; 854 318; District. Araria. No other information available.

HARYANA

Ellenabad; 74.54 29.26; 125 102; Located in District Sirsa. No other information available.

HIMCHAL PRADESH

Dalhousie; 75.98, 32.53; 176 304; District Chamba. A hill station named after Lord Dalhousie (G.G. 1848 –1856) in 1854.
 

JHARKHAND
Daltonganj; 84.06, 24.03; 822 101. HQ of District Palamau. Named after Col. Edward Tuite Dalton (1815 – 1880), Anthropologist and Commissioner of Chhota Nagpur in 1861. He wrote ‘Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal’.
Lesliegan; 84.22, 24.05; 822 118; District Palamau. No other information available.

KARNATAKA

Closepet (now known as Ramanagaram) 77.12, 12.40; 571 511. 30 miles southwest of Bangalore. Founded 1800 by Dewan Puraiya of Mysore and named after Sir Barry Close, British Resident at the Peshwa Court, Poona and later at Mysore.
Dobbspet (or Dobespet according to the website of Indiapost); 77.24, 13.23; 562 111. On the Bangalore Tumkur Road. No other information available.
Riponpet (or Ripponpete according to the website of Indiapost); 75.26, 13.98; 577 426; Hosanagar Taluk, Dist Shimoga. Perhaps named after Lord Ripon. No other information available.
Robertsonpet; 78.28, 12.97; 563 122; District Kolar, in the Kolar Gold Field. Founded August 15, 1903 and named after Sir Donald Robertson, late Resident at Mysore.

MADHYA PRADESH
Sleemanabad; 483 440; Tehsil Siroha, Dist. Raipur. 50 miles north of Jabalpur on the rail line towards Howrah. Named after ‘Thugee’ Sleeman. The following stories, picked from a website are interesting. (I do not know how apocryphal or true they are.)  It is also said that Col. Sleeman installed a bell in the temple and desired that expenses for keeping a lamp burning in the temple continuously should be borne by his descendents. The practice is continuing till this day and every ten years one of his descendents makes a visit to the temple to ensure that Sleeman’s wishes are honored.

 
MAHARASHTRA

Malcolmpet: Named after Sir John Malcolm, Governor of Bombay, 1827-30.  He established a sanatorium there in 1828 because he found its weather very salubrious.  Now a street in the hill-station of Mahabaleshwar.

TAMIL NADU
Campbellabad; 628 614. No other information available.
Wellington; 643 231. A well-known place in the Nilgiris, named after the Duke. The Regimental Center of the Madras Regiment and the Defence Sevices Staff College are located here.

UTTAR PRADESH
Brigdemanganj; 83.22, 27.20; 273 157. Named after J.H.Bridgeman who received a forest grant here in 1833.
Campierganj; 83.28, 27.03; Tehsil Pharenda, District Gorakhpur. No other information available.
Captainganj; 82.58, 26.75; 274 301; District Padrauna. No other information available.
Captainganj; 83.71, 26.92; 272 131; District Basti. No other information available.
Colonelganj; 81.70, 27.13; 271 308; District Gonda. A halt on the Lucknow-Gonda Railway line. No other information available.
Drummondsganj; 84,22; No other information available.
Robertsganj; 83.06, 24.70; 231 216; District Sonbhadra. Location of Jivan-Jyoti Christian Hospital. No other information available.

UTTARANCHAL PRADESH

Lansdowne; 78.68, 29.83; 274 502; Named after Lord Lansdowne, Viceroy 1888-95; Regimental Center of the Garhwal Rifles.
Herbertpur; 77.73, 30.45; 248 142; District Dehra Dun; well known for a hospital run by Missionaries.

WEST BENGAL

Burnpur; 80,23; 713 325, Location of the Indian Iron and Steel Company.
Canning Town; 88.67, 22.32; 743 329; District 24 Parganas (South); HQ of the Sundarbans Tiger Project. Apparently named after ‘Clemency’ Canning, GG.

Doyet Bazar; 741 164; No other information available.

PAKISTAN

Abbottabad; HQ of the Hazara District; Named after Maj. John Abbott, its first Deputy Commissioner, 1849-53.
Campbellpur; renamed Attock City; No other information available.
Fort Sandemann; renamed Zhob; Location of the Pakistan Military Academy.
Jacobabad; Founded by Gen. John Jacob, Commander of the Sind Horse in 1847, he was also its first Deputy Commissioner. He died here 1858. Had the reputation of being the hottest place in undivided India.
Lyallpur; 104,29; renamed Faisalabad, originally named after Sir James Lyall, a Lt Governor of NWFP.
Montgomery; No other information available.

BANGLADESH
Cox’s Bazar; The town is named after Lieutenant Cox, who died here in 1798 after he had established a colony of the Mogh, who sought shelter in the British territory after the conquest of Arakan by the Burmese. Two thirds of the population of the town are descendants of these refugees.
Charfasson; Bhola District; ‘Char’ is an accumulation of silt in the delta, which creates new land. This char was named after J.H.Fashion, District Magistrate of Bakerganj (Bakarganj?) 1885-87.