IshtiaQ Ahmed revival to Photography
Clash of Chillianwallah
This almost forgotten place in the Plains of Punjab has its history deeper than one can think of. The Battle of Chillianwallah was possibly the turning point of the British empire in India. Had the British lost to the Sikhs that day, it is difficult to see how they could have sustained their hold over the country. As it was, six British regiments lost their standards at the battle.
Oddly, both the British and the Sikhs count Chillianwallah as their victory. The Sikhs say it was their victory because they broke the British force, which was forced to retreat. The British did retreat, but three days after the battle. They admit had the Sikhs realized they had the advantage and continued the battle after fighting ceased at night, they would have overrun the British who were exhausted, seriously depleted, and in unfamiliar terrain. The Sikhs instead celebrated victory; three days of incessant rainfall prevented them from crossing suddenly-flooded gullies and streams, and the British, picking themselves up, marched away in reasonable order. Since the Sikhs appear to have disengaged first, the British claim the victory.
I never knew of the place, until one evening as I was returning from Mandi Bhawaldin after a day of tent pegging, my eyes caught the set of two monuments, a cross and tower, raised by their surviving comrades in memory of those who fell in the war of Chillianwallah.
Taken: Chillianwallah, edge of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan.
Clash of Chillianwallah
This almost forgotten place in the Plains of Punjab has its history deeper than one can think of. The Battle of Chillianwallah was possibly the turning point of the British empire in India. Had the British lost to the Sikhs that day, it is difficult to see how they could have sustained their hold over the country. As it was, six British regiments lost their standards at the battle.
Oddly, both the British and the Sikhs count Chillianwallah as their victory. The Sikhs say it was their victory because they broke the British force, which was forced to retreat. The British did retreat, but three days after the battle. They admit had the Sikhs realized they had the advantage and continued the battle after fighting ceased at night, they would have overrun the British who were exhausted, seriously depleted, and in unfamiliar terrain. The Sikhs instead celebrated victory; three days of incessant rainfall prevented them from crossing suddenly-flooded gullies and streams, and the British, picking themselves up, marched away in reasonable order. Since the Sikhs appear to have disengaged first, the British claim the victory.
I never knew of the place, until one evening as I was returning from Mandi Bhawaldin after a day of tent pegging, my eyes caught the set of two monuments, a cross and tower, raised by their surviving comrades in memory of those who fell in the war of Chillianwallah.
Taken: Chillianwallah, edge of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan.