1857 anniversary: Celebrations, controversies but not many tourists

New Delhi, May 25: Books, exhibitions of photographs and tours of cities and monuments related to the mutiny and a debate on which was the first war of independence. The 150th anniversary of the uprising has generated its own quota of controversy and commerce. But tourism industry says the government has failed to exploit the potential the anniversary held. Entry to many monuments related to the mutiny is banned even to Indians, forget foreign tourists wishing to visit these, says a tour operator. The flag staff tower in Delhi, an important monument is difficult to be located for there are no directions. Situation in places like Meerut, Gwalior, Lucknow, Kanpur, the cities linked to the revolt is even worse, says Amit Malhotra of Bestway Travels who are organizing tours for a British regiment to sites related to the uprising which the British refer to as `sepoy mutiny`. British history tour operators are, however, happy. A visit to Meerut, Kanpur and Lucknow besides Delhi- the places that played a dominant role plus visits to Agra to see the Taj thrown in, noted British battlefield and history tour operators holts is offering tour of places related to the Indian mutiny of 1857. "We have run a number of Indian mutiny tours over the 30 years that we have been in operation as well as other tours to India, says Grant Anderson-Saville, operations manager of the London-based Holts Tours. We felt that it was appropriate to run this tour this year being that it is the anniversary year," Grant said in an e-mail interview. The tour operator is pleased with the response for the tour that will take place in November. The tour would cost 2850 pounds per person sharing, the Holts website says. "Our tours are planned and booked from here in the UK after lengthy and in-depth research from our guide/historian who accompany on the tour", the company says. The first batch is already full and 35 members would be visiting India in November, Grant says. Holts is not the only company. Quite a few other operators in Britain are offering battlefield and history tours. Operators have roped in historians and war veterans to escort the tourists and provide details of the events related to the "mutiny." Visits to the Ridge, Kashmir, Kabul and Lahore Gates, the Jama Masjid and the Red Fort (in Delhi), the site of Brigadier John Nocholsons death and graves of those killed in the assault are being offered to be part of the itinerary. Tourists have the option to visit Lucknow and Kanpur. Jhansi, Gwalior and Aurangabad, other places connected to the 1857 uprising. Indian tour operators are not lagging behind in promoting visits to far off places that too were connected with the uprising. The costs range from 950 dollars to more expensive packages that would take the tourists to Kashmir too. The operators, however, are bitter that the hype on the anniversary is not matched by the upkeep of the monuments. Cemeteries where the British soldiers were buried are not in good condition nor are other monuments. Only three to four of the 14 gates of Delhi remain, says Parveen Paul, who escorted a visiting British Gorkha regiment to the uprising related monuments two years ago. One has to fight with authorities to be able to see the then Vice Regal Lodge which now houses offices of the Delhi University, she says. Similar is the case with the Bara Hindu Rao hospital premises that houses monuments connected to the event, she says. Historians who would come with the visiting British tourists have their own views on the uprising. "When it came in 1857, was not a war of independence nor a struggle by all company`s soldiers but an uprising by a portion of one of the three Indian armies maintained by the company," Holts says on its website that offers the 11-day tour. "Nevertheless it was bloody and brutal, with appalling atrocities committed by both sides and for a while British power hung by a thread," the company says. Military historian Major Gordon Corrigan would conduct the tour. "We have no issues on that front," says Malhotra. "We call it uprising and first war of independence. They term it as sepoy munity. It`s a question of perception," he says. A Tourism Ministry official says the ministry has given details of the places related to the first war of independence on its website incredibleindia.Org. The ministry, however, did not have figures of passengers coming or intending to visit India especially on this circuit, he said. The ministry broadly divides tourist arrivals in four categories-business, conferences, education and employment and, tourism. In 2005, out of the 391,8610 tourists arriving in India, a whopping 96 per cent had come for tourism while those for the other categories ranged between 0.2 to 0.4 per cent, a ministry official said. Quite a few Indian tourist companies too have announced their own versions of the mutiny tours. Malhotra, however is unhappy that Indian missions did not do much to promote the event. "We can derive lot of potential from such tours. We have been receiving inquiries from people," he says adding that demand for specialized tours had to be created. He rues that tourism related publications of the government do not have enough information of the 150th anniversary of the first war of independence or the places of interest related to the uprising. Other than the Taj, India has a lot more to offer to tourists provided we promote, Malhotra says. He says Indians are not interested in history or battlefield tourism. There is no increase in number of tourists visiting the Red Fort- the symbol of the Mughal rule and the place where the last Mughal, Bahadur Shah Zafar lived. Nor is anyone interested in having a look at the Humayun’s tomb where Zafar lived after he fled the Red Fort. The event has not generated any sale of souvenirs as there is no market, he says. The anniversary has pushed up publication of books on the uprising. "We have around a dozen titles-old and new- on the mutiny," says S. Singh of Bahri and Sons, a well known bookshop. There is a demand for the mutiny books. "We have a leather-bound set of four books priced at Rs 4,300 and a set of three books priced at Rs 3,600, he says. Penguin books has published five books on the uprising. In Hindi there have not been newer titles, says Anil Verma of Hindi book centre. However, there are a few re-prints, he says adding that there are at least 20 to 25 books, fiction, non-fiction and on the lives of heroes of the uprising, he says. The Nehru Memorial library has over 200 books, some of these, very rare on the uprising says Rajesh Chopra of the library. The British Council Library too has some books that are in demand. At least three movies have been made on the 1857 uprising since independence the last being Aamir Khan`s Mangal Pandey which was a flop at the box office, says film writer A. C. Tuli. He says the two earlier movies, `1857` made in 1947 and `Anandmath` made in 1952 did good business. Bureau Report