For a moment I thought the story on Alam Beg, or rather his skull, was an instance of skullduggery (“Alam Beg, martyr of Sepoy Mutiny, wants to return home”, February 5). But I soon realised that collecting skulls as souvenirs was an entirely different ball game. The Scythians were fond of collecting the skulls of the vanquished to make skull-caps. During World War II, some in the United States military mutilated dead Japanese service personnel in the Pacific theatre of operations. “Teeth (sic) and skulls were the most commonly taken trophies.” In head hunting, the primary focus was ritual and ceremonial, possibly stemming from the belief that the head contained “soul matter” or life force, which could be harnessed.
C.V. Venugopalan,
Palakkad, Kerala
The story speaks volumes about the cruelty inflicted on our early freedom fighters by the East India Company. Such unseen and unheard-of inspiring and invigorating pages of the freedom struggle (christened as the “Mutiny” by the British) will certainly kindle the interest of the younger generation and emboss on their minds the struggle and sacrifice our forefathers underwent to win freedom which we use and misuse today. One thanks The Hindu for taking us back to 1857.
J. Eden Alexander,
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
