500-ft long stone bunker used by the British is rediscovered in India

[Blackleaf]

A forgotten British-era bunker has been discovered under a governor's residence in Mumbai (Bombay) decades after it was sealed off.

The 500-ft long underground shelter was used when India was under colonial British rule, and it reopened this month for the first time in decades.

Spread over more than 5,000 square feet with 13 rooms, the stone bunker was hidden beneath Raj Bhavan, the official residence of Maharashtra state Governor Vidyasagar Rao.

Officials are now trying to find out what the bunker was used for and when it was constructed.

A relic from India's colonial past: 500-ft long stone bunker used by the British is rediscovered under governor's home in Mumbai

The 500-ft long, 13-room underground shelter was used when India was under colonial British rule
It has rooms named Shell Store, Gun Shell and Cartridge Store, and was surprisingly intact
Site has served as a governor's residence since the mid-1880s and a former hunting lodge by the British

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline
17 August 2016
Daily Mail

A forgotten British-era bunker has been discovered under a governor's residence in Mumbai (Bombay) decades after it was sealed off.

The 500-ft long underground shelter was used when India was under colonial British rule, and it reopened this month for the first time in decades.

Spread over more than 5,000 square feet with 13 rooms, the stone bunker was hidden beneath Raj Bhavan, the official residence of Maharashtra state Governor Vidyasagar Rao.

Spread over more than 5,000 square feet with 13 rooms, the stone bunker was hidden beneath Raj Bhavan, the official residence of Maharashtra state Governor Vidyasagar Rao

The 500-ft long underground shelter was used when India was under colonial British rule, and it reopened this month for the first time in decades

The bunker has rooms named Cartridge Store, Shell Store, Gun Shell, Shell Life, Pump and Workshop

Officials are now trying to find out what the bunker was used for and when it was constructed.

The site has served as a governor's residence since the mid-1880s and before that it was used as a summer residence or hunting lodge by the British.

Rao heard whispers that a bunker existed under the residence and he set out to find out whether the rumours were true.

On 12 August a team of workers broke through a temporary wall that was built to stop people from entering it.

On 12 August a team of workers broke through a temporary wall that was built stop people from entering it

Rao heard whispers that a bunker existed under the residence and he set out to find out whether the rumours were true

The bunker opens with a 20-ft tall gate and a ramp, with long passages and rooms named Shell Store, Gun Shell, Cartridge Store, Shell Life, Pump and Workshop, the Times of India reported.

Even though no one had entered the bunker for many years it was found to be surprisingly intact, with a drainage system and inlets for fresh air and natural light.

Photographers were invited to tour the bunker at the governor's 50-acre Malabar Hill residence on Tuesday when it was visited by Rao and other Indian officials.

A government employee whose father had told him about the bunker years ago informed Rao that it was sealed around a century ago, the Times of India reported.

Even though no one had entered the bunker for many years it was found to be surprisingly intact

Other reports suggested the bunker was sealed after India became an independent country in 1947.

Rao said: 'We were really surprised to see what was inside. There are many rooms. Perhaps it was constructed during the Portuguese regime or the British regime. We don't know.'

Public workers have installed lights inside the bunker and archaeologists will be brought in to inspect it and learn more about its history.

Rao, who has opened the grounds of Raj Bhavan and its scenic spots overlooking the sea, hopes to open the bunker to the public as part of a museum.

Raj Bhavan, formerly known as Government House, served as the residence of British governors from 1885,when Lord Reay turned it into a permanent home, until India gained its independence almost 70 years ago, NDTV reported.

Before it became a permanent residence, Raj Bhavan was a summer residence for British governors.

Read more: British-era bunker found under Indian governor's residence in Mumbai | Daily Mail Online
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[Tecumsehsbones]

A poignant reminder of the days when Britain counted for something.

 

[Machjo]

A poignant reminder of the days when Britain counted for something.

Or of when it was just the world's most painful haemorrhoid. The US might have inherited that title since.

 

[Blackleaf]

Or of when it was just the world's most painful haemorrhoid. The US might have inherited that title since.

The British Empire was the greatest force for good the world has ever known; the largest and most benevolent empire the world has ever known. It gave the Indians railways, the English language and cricket, to name a few, got rid of sati, and helped India become the world's largest democracy. The Indians (like Americans and Canadians and many others) have a lot to be thankful to the British Empire for.

A poignant reminder of the days when Britain counted for something

Brexit will certainly see Britain become a great power again.

The Remarkable Raj: Why Britain should be proud of its rule in India

IT TOOK the fragile ships five arduous months to navigate the treacherous seas around the Cape of Good Hope and reach the vast sub-continent of India. They returned laden with spices and tea to delight British palates, and cotton and silk to provide clothes for British backs.

By ADRIAN LEE
Sat, 22nd June 2013
The Daily Express

British rule has paved the way for India's economic prosperity according to Dr Kartar Lalvani

The period of colonial rule, spanning some 200 years, is routinely depicted as the systematic plundering of a nation. The popular view is that the Empire stripped India of its natural resources and gave little in return, leaving the place all but destitute when independence was finally granted in 1947.

Now, however, a new book written by an Anglo-Indian challenges this notion. It asserts that in fact Britain laid the foundations for modern-day India and the prosperity that it enjoys today.

The girders for every bridge, the track for every mile of railway and the vast array of machinery required for India's infrastructure were all carried there by the same ships that helped exploit a land thousands of miles away. The engineers who laid the cornerstones for India's development from Third World nation to burgeoning industrial superpower were British.

"The indisputable fact is that India as a nation as it stands today was originally put together and created by a small, distant island country," says Dr Kartar Lalvani, founder of the vitamins company Vitabiotics and a former Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, in the book he has spent the past eight years writing, The Making Of India: A Story Of British Enterprise. It comes out later this year.

He adds: "The 'sins' of the Empire have been widely and frequently written about while the other positive side of the imperial coin, of which Britain can be proud and which laid the foundations for modern-day India, has always been overlooked. This is the first book of its kind to recognise Britain's vast contribution to India's social, civil and physical infrastructure provided during two centuries of colonial rule."

THE British administration of India, a country then with a population of 500 million, diverse religions and spread over 17,000 square miles (including modern Pakistan and Bangladesh), was "superbly efficient", he argues. Dr Lalvani was born in Karachi, in 1931, where his father was a successful pharmacist and the family lived comfortably. But in 1947 the partition of India forced them to flee to Bombay, where they had to start their lives from scratch. With that background he is better placed than most historians, who have judged India from afar. He claims that India's success as the world's largest democracy, during a period when many other fledgling nations have endured strife, is largely down to imperial rule. It established the framework for India's justice system, civil service, loyal army and efficient police force.

Dr Lalvani, who came to the UK in 1956 to study, believes that both nations benefited from the trade links that were firmly established in the 17th century and continued under the often maligned East India Company, which founded its first trading post in Surat, on the west coast of India, in 1613. Within 40 years it had another 22 bases, supplying the motherland with everything from salt to opium. At the time India, a country of disparate states, had no uniform government and it seemed that France might gain control as it also sought to expand its empire overseas. That prospect was ended by the victory of Robert Clive over French forces at Plassey, in Bengal, in 1757.

It paved the way for the British Raj to rule India for almost two centuries, for the East India Company to thrive and for fortunes to be made by individuals.

There were cases of corruption and greed and cruel reprisals against opponents but Dr Lalviani says: "It is important to note that there is a substantial list on the credit side.

"They include railways, roads, canals, mines, sewers, plantations and the establishment of English law and language.

"Great cities including Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were built and some of the finest universities and museums in India were founded. The first definitive atlas of India was drawn and there were great social reforms, such as the eradication of thugee (violent highway robbery), the banning of the custom of suttee (the burning of widows on the husband's funeral pyre) and female infanticide.

"Perhaps most innovative of all was the bringing together of several different states into one unified India."

Gradually the power of the East India Company was eroded to be replaced by more direct British government of India, leading to more investment. The Indian Army was formed and its top officers trained in new military academies, modelled on Sandhurst.

At the heart of India's development was the expansion of the rail network, originally built to secure the colonial hold, which still prospers.

Within 25 years, 10,000 miles of track were laid joining distant parts of the nation. By independence, 136,000 bridges had been constructed.

Today Indian Railways is the world's largest employer, with a staggering 1.6 million workers on the payroll. By the mid-19th century India had a postal system, the spread of the English language allowed communication between people from different backgrounds, and the arts were thriving.

Wildlife and ancient buildings, such as the Taj Mahal, were protected.

As long ago as 1905 India's first national park was opened, in Assam state, to allow the endangered rhinoceros to flourish unmolested by hunters.

An Indian railway tunnel pictured in 1883

By 1914, the Indian mining industry, which was built from nothing by the British, was producing nearly 16 million tons of coal a year. Health and life expectancy both improved dramatically, particularly because malaria was tackled and vaccination against smallpox introduced. Dr Lalvani adds: "The 200-year window of British governance was perhaps the only period in a thousand years of Indian history to date when the minorities and people of different religions felt more secure and less discriminated against, with a notable absence of killings, conflicts and persecutions."

As the links between the two countries were established, wealthy young Indians were packed off to Britain to study and returned home well-trained, bristling with new ideas and instilled with a British sense of fair play. The mutual respect among Indians and Britons meant the transition from colonial rule to independence was peaceful.

According to the author, by the time it happened India had a headstart over many former colonies and that was largely thanks to the Raj.

The French, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish all did much less for their former foreign outposts.

Dr Lalvani believes some of the advantage was squandered by the first Prime Minister of independent India. He claims Jawaharlal Nehru erroneously ran the country along socialist lines, aligning India with the Soviet Union.

Consequently, India missed out on the post-war economic boom and it took many years for the nation to become powerful. Millions of people were destined to live in poverty.

"Nehru betrayed his nation by keeping a misplaced proud distance from the economically successful and friendly Western democracies of the free world and their capital markets," says Dr Lalvani. When India belatedly embraced the global economy, about 20 years ago, it made huge strides. Now, 50 Indians are included on the annual lists of world billionaires - but the wealth has not filtered down to the country's poorest citizens.

Dr Lalvani insists India had a headstart over many other formoer colonies

Despite these problems, India inherited political stability while another legacy of British rule is enduring good relations between the two distant nations.

He says: "Although there were wrongs committed by the British against India, as widely recognised by the British themselves, there was much more that was and remains positive. The sheer audacity and scale of such an endeavour, the courage and enterprise have no parallel in world history."

Dr Lalvani says he despairs that some Indian politicians still insist on attacking its former ruler and disparaging Britain's significant role in the country's development. Instead they should acknowledge the benefits and work to preserve and foster the special relationship between the two nations.

Or, in other words, Dr Lalvani believes that no Indian should today pose the question: "What did the British ever do for us?"

The Remarkable Raj: Why Britain should be proud of its rule in India | UK | News | Daily Express

 

[Sons of Liberty]

The British Empire was the greatest force for good the world has ever known; the largest and most benevolent empire the world has ever known. It gave the Indians railways, the English language and cricket, to name a few, got rid of sati, and helped India become the world's largest democracy. The Indians (like Americans and Canadians and many others) have a lot to be thankful to the British Empire for.

Get yourself a boyfriend, you need some distraction from your imaginary world.

 

[Blackleaf]

Get yourself a boyfriend, you need some distraction from your imaginary world.

I'm male. Not female.

And the fact that the British Empire was the most benevolent empire ever and that many modern states wouldn't be here today were it not for that empire - including Canada, America and modern India - and that it introduced railways and rule of law and democracy and civilised living and the myriad of British sports which are all now the most popular sports on Earth is something that many colonials like yourself would rather not dwell on.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Or of when it was just the world's most painful haemorrhoid.

That counts for something.

The US might have inherited that title since.

We're working on it, but we're hindered by our notions of self-determination, liberty, yadda yadda yadda.

Wait til the Chinese get rolling.

 

[Sons of Liberty]

I'm male. Not female.

And your point is?

And the fact that the British Empire was the most benevolent empire ever and that many modern states wouldn't be here today were it not for that empire - including Canada, America and modern India - and that it introduced railways and rule of law and democracy and civilised living and the myriad of British sports which are all now the most popular sports on Earth is something that many colonials like yourself would rather not dwell on.

We're not colonials anymore, you need to do something else and occupy your mind. Everyone outside of the UK feels you have butt phucked the entire planet (with a few exceptions). You're just like the Japanese, oblivious to the ills the British Empire has inflicted on the world. And all that crap that you say were introduced would have been introduced eventually.

 

[Blackleaf]

Everyone outside of the UK feels you have butt phucked the entire planet

Well, they're wrong. The British Empire was hugely beneficial to the whole world, not just its conquered peoples, and the world would be better off again with its return. The Jamaicans wish to see the Union Jack flying on their government building again.

 

[Sons of Liberty]

Well, they're wrong.

They're wrong huh? What on earth would they know, they were the oppressed.

The British Empire was hugely beneficial to the whole world, not just its conquered peoples, and the world would be better off again with its return.

No conqueror is beneficial or benevolent, you're an idiot if you really believe that. Although I don't think you do, you're just a blind nationalist. Would the British like to be butt phucked again say from the Romans?

The Jamaicans wish to see the Union Jack flying on their government building again.

Big phuckin deal.

 

[Blackleaf]

The British stiff upper lip in action in India, courtesy of Carry On Up The Khyber (1968 ):

oppressed.

Bollocks.

No conqueror is beneficial or benevolent

You've obviously not read the newspaper article on the British Raj and are also ignoring the fact that your country wouldn't exist were it not for the British Empire.

you're an idiot if you really believe that.

No, I'm not.

Big phuckin deal.

It IS a big deal. The Jamaicans would like to be under British rule again and I think it's only right that Theresa May grants their wish.