The lovely gazebos on General Thimmayya Road in the military camp area are among the favourite places for the young people of Belagavi, in north Karnataka. Built in Portuguese style with overgrown creepers, they seem like a perfect setting for photo shoots. Around a mile to the north-east from there, at the centre of a vast field, lie two similar looking structures, painted in white lime. They are not gazebos, but either tombs or memorials.
Few know that an incredible tale from the pages of history lies buried in these structures. They are the tombs of Bhaskar Rao Bhave, king of the erstwhile Naragund (or Nargund) kingdom, his mother Yamunabai Dadaji and wife Savitri Bhave.
Why Naragund Baba Saheb joined the 1857 war of independence
Popularly known as Naragund Baba Saheb, the king was among the freedom-fighters from the Deccan to lead the first war of independence in 1857. The East India Company took over his kingdom, attached his properties and executed him in June 1858.
For nearly 100 years, his tomb slid into the abyss of the portion of history that was forgotten till a memorial was built for him in Belagavi, nearly a decade after independence. However, the memorial continues to languish in anonymity.
Baba Saheb was among the many victims of the Doctrine of Lapse of 1848. His son died in infancy. His request to adopt an heir was rejected by the East India Company. Inam Commissioner Jacob Manson sent an attachment notice to take over the properties and armoury in Naragund.
This upset Baba Saheb who got in touch with Peshwa Nana Saheb, who was leading the 1857 war of independence. Baba Saheb put together a coalition comprising the heads of the princely states of Ramdurg, Nippani, Dambala, Mundargi and Koppal.
Gets his revenge, but later...
Baba Saheb’s forces fought Jacob Manson’s army in Sureban village in March 1858. Baba Saheb executed Jacob Manson whose body was hung from the gate of Belagavi.
This angered the British resident (a senior official in the administration of the East India Company) in Dharwad who sent additional forces.
Baba Saheb was betrayed by his courtier Krishnaji Pant Joshi. Sensing that defeat was imminent, Baba Saheb left Naragund, along with a few trusted associates, on a pilgrimage towards Pandharpur (Maharashtra). But, they were captured by a team led by Superintendent of Police Frank Sauter in Torgal jungle.
Baba Saheb was hanged in public on June 12, 1858. Over the next few days, his wife and mother ended their lives. The princely state was taken over by the resident in Dharwad who converted Bhave palace into the taluk office in Naragund. It remains so to this day.
Some residents of the military camp area, who know the history of war in Naragund, see at the memorial with reverence. “Every morning on the way to work, I stop and pay obeisance to the Baba Saheb. It is sad that not many know about him,’‘ said Omar Farooq Nawab, scion of the Savanur royal family who runs a heritage hotel in the vicinity.
Some experts, however, say the structures in Belagavi are not tombs, but memorials.
“The bodies of Baba Saheb and his family members were cremated as per Brahmin rituals. The ashes remained with the Nargundkar Bhave family for over a century. They were interred in the ground behind the CPEd ground, and the two memorials were built over them in 1957,’‘ says A.L. Nagur, Vijayapura-based Kannada professor who has studied the history of the princely states of northern Karnataka.
Plans to develop memorials
The district administration plans to honour Baba Saheb’s memory on August 15 this year. Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil said, “There are demands that the memorial be further developed and publicised. We will send a report to the Karnataka government about this.”
