: The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), Baleswar Chapter convenor Uday Ranjan Das has written to the district authorities to have the wall of the British Cemetery at Barabati reconstructed and have the place cleared of all vegetations.
It is one of the oldest colonial era cemeteries of the State. The dilapidated and abandoned graveyard has 33 gravestones including spires and tombs dating back to the 18th century.
For the British, Baleswar was a favoured maritime centre. The strategic location of the place bordering the Bengal province had also drawn the Dutch, French and Portuguese maritime traders to this coastal town. Besides many merchants and mariners, the graveyard also has the tombstones of both Sir Henry Rickett, the first Collector of Baleswar (1827-36) and his wife Lady Rickett. Lady Rickett died in Baleswar while Sir Henry Rickett died in England in 1886. As per his last wish, his mortal remains were ferried by sea to this place and buried beside his wife’s grave. ‘Henry neither forgot Balasore nor Oriya’ is inscribed on the then British administrator’s tomb.
The cemetery also has the graves of Captain Morgan who had freed Baleswar from the Marathas and of Sir Francis Walter, the hero of British Royal Navy who led several battles in Madras, Goa, Harispur, Pipili port and Baleswar. It also houses tombstones of five clergies. The inscriptions have corroded with the passage of time.
The cemetery was built between 1776 and 1881. Intach had been entrusted to restore the old place a few years ago and a boundary wall was constructed with the MPLAD funds of Dr Manmath Nath Das under the supervision of the then Collector Ashwini Vaishnaw. Intach, Baleswar Chapter, has listed the site as a heritage site along with 73 other built heritages of the district.
However, in recent months the place has become a den for anti-social elements who have vandalised the historically important place by demolishing the compound wall, exposing the cemetery to the vagaries of street dogs and cattle. Some of the marble head stones of the tombs too have been removed. The overgrown vegetation is also spelling the ruin of the heritage site.
“The future administration of British cemeteries in India had been repeatedly raised during the Transfer of Power before Independence. Before 1947, most were maintained by the local Executive Engineer in consultation with the local Chaplain. In 1949 the British Government decided not to support the maintenance of the European cemeteries in India and to leave the task of caring for the graveyards to the Christian congregations. The Government of India had given assurances that it would protect cemeteries from destruction and desecration. A few graveyards were placed under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and of State authorities. However, many of these extraordinary legacies of British India lie strewn across the nation, most of them in forgotten, weed-covered cemeteries that have little or no future in modern India,” said Intach Bhubaneswar chapter convenor and historian Anil Dhir.
