Just beyond the collapsed Gowliguda bus hangar is a small open area called Victory Playground. Surrounded by housing blocks and educational institutions, the area is a big draw for youngsters at all times of the day. As people zip on the Maulana Allauddin Road, only a few spare a second glance at the tall sandstone obelisk inside a small square fenced area with a gate with MCH written in yellow and green letters on it.
This obelisk is the Victory Memorial for the fallen soldiers of the First World War with the legend ‘Lest We Forget’ etched at the bottom of the pillar.
The plaque in English reads: “This monument was erected by the inhabitants of the Residency Bazars Hyderabad in grateful memory of our sailors and soldiers who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-19 and of the glorious peace which crowned the sacrifices of Great Britain her Dominions the Indian empire and her allies in the cause of freedom and righteousness.”
Another plaque details the donors’ names beginning with Raja Sitaram Bhupal of Gadwal, Raja Bansilal, Seth Sudarshan Jagannath, Mirza Dawood Ali Khan, and continuing on.
The memorial is one of the very few monuments that remind us of the role of soldiers and sailors from Hyderabad in the Great War fought across battlefields in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Ironically, Archduke Franz Ferdinand — whose assassination triggered the outbreak of the war — was a guest of the Nizam Mir Mahbub Ali Khan and even had a round of a shooting competition. At the outbreak of hostilities, Nizam Osman Ali Khan was on the masnad and he agreed to put the financial and military might of his vast dominions at the command of the British empire. There were murmurs of discontent as the Ottoman Empire was ranged on the other side with fellow Muslim soldiers.
The Nizam gave his word to the soldiers marching to the front that they would not be violating their faith if they fire at the enemy. Thousands agreed to march to the front sailing from Bombay. Some didn't want to go and fight upon an alien soil. As the war unfolded and the battlefront shifted to the Middle East — to present day Israel and Egypt — the allies led by the British scored a string of successes.
However, Hyderabad soldiers missed out on the glory of the battle as they were relegated to the duty of escorting the surrendered soldiers. Two of the soldiers who first fell in the battle was actually a result of a disagreement between the soldiers.
The other memorial to the fallen soldiers in Hyderabad is in the cordoned off area near First Lancers. Yet another memorial that is a tribute to soldiers from Hyderabad is at the Teen Murti Chowk which was recently renamed Teen Murti-Haifa Chowk in New Delhi.
The plaque with the names of the donors is a testament to the changing topography of Hyderabad in the early decades of 20th century. The balance of power was moving across the river Musi. Planted in the Residency Bazar area (renamed Sultan Bazar after the area was rendered over to the Nizam), the memorial on the banks of Musi is a relic of the Raj.
A few years back, the memorial was cleaned up and the fencing was given a fresh coat of paint. But now, the inhabitants of the very area who contributed their mite in building the memorial, dump rubbish and refuge here.
