'Kalianwala Khuh' to be renamed; More remains, artefacts recovered - Hindustan Times
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'Kalianwala Khuh' to be renamed; More remains, artefacts recovered

Hindustan Times | ByShaheen P Parshad, Amritsar
Mar 05, 2014 09:34 PM IST

Four days after the exhumation of the skeletal remains of 282 martyrs of the 1857 uprising from the 'Kalianwala Khuh' in Ajnala, the demand for renaming the well has got an official nod.

Four days after the exhumation of the skeletal remains of 282 martyrs of the 1857 uprising from the 'Kalianwala Khuh' in Ajnala, the demand for renaming the well has got an official nod.

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HT Image


Divisional commissioner R Venkataratnam, who visited the spot on Tuesday, directed the local SDM to instruct the Ajnala municipal committee to pass a resolution pertaining to the change of name of the site in view of the growing demand in this regard.

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"There was a demand on the part of the locals and the members of Gurdwara Shaheed Gunj Committee to change the name of the well, which was known as Kalianwala Khuh since the British rule," he said.

The Commissioner said that once the Ajnala municipal committee passes the resolution, the matter would be conveyed to the district administration. "The implementation of the process of change of name would be undertaken thereafter," he added.

The divisional commissioner said that the gate of the well bearing the name 'Kalianwala' was erected by the Ajnala municipal committee. Hence, the resolution to change the same had to be first passed by it.

Historian Surinder Kochhar, who conducted research on the well and was associated with the work of excavation at Ajnala, also confirmed that there was a demand to change the name of the well.

"The divisional commissioner visited the spot and assured that the name as mentioned on the gate of the well and even in the revenue records would be changed," he said.

Meanwhile, Kochhar claimed that a few more artefacts pertaining to the martyrs had been recovered from the site.

During the excavation earlier, 90 skulls, 170 'intact' jaws, more than 5,000 teeth, 70 coins of `1 denomination of the East India Company, gold beads, three gold amulets, six rings, four bangles, two Victoria Army medals and a few other possessions were recovered from the site.

Kochhar said towards the end of the excavation, 26 skeletons, with their skulls intact, were retrieved.

He added that lately a few more teeth, coins and ornaments were recovered from the spot. "These are being counted to ascertain the exact tally of the artefacts recovered from the well. These have been safely kept to be displayed later at the museum that will come up at the proposed memorial," he said.


FRESH RECOVERY FROM THE SPOT

Teeth-5,500
One rupee coins of East India Company-72
Four Anna coins-12
Gold beads-12
Two-inch long gold wire- 1
Gold amulets-4
Rings-4
Big rings (chhallas)-3
Bangles with lion's faces on them-2
Victoria Army medals-2
Stone bead-1
Rudraksh bead-1

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