Statue of Queen Victoria, Bangalore

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Coordinates: 12°58′36.60744″N 77°35′55.68612″E / 12.9768354000°N 77.5988017000°E / 12.9768354000; 77.5988017000
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Statue of Queen Victoria
Statue of Queen Victoria, Bangalore
LocationQueen's Park, Bangalore Cantonment, India
Coordinates12°58′36.60744″N 77°35′55.68612″E / 12.9768354000°N 77.5988017000°E / 12.9768354000; 77.5988017000
Dedicated5 February 1906
SculptorThomas Brock
Statue of Queen Victoria, seen near the St. Mark's Cathedral, Bangalore
Victoria Statue, Bangalore
Statue of Queen Victoria, Bangalore
Full View of Victoria Statue

The Statue of Queen Victoria, Bangalore, is located at Queen's Park, next to

Statue of King Edward VII.[1][2][3][4]

Victoria, Empress of India

In 1858, after the dissolution of the

Prince Albert. The announcement to this effect was made in India at the Delhi Durbar on 1 January 1877, by the Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton.[5][6][7][8][4]

Victoria Statue

After the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, committees were set up all over India, like other British Dominions, to raise statues of the Queen. In India, 50 such statues were raised of Queen Victoria. A Queen Victoria Memorial Fund was set up in the

Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, agreed to meet rest of the funds required for the memorial. That amount was BINR 15,500.[9]

Sir

Carlisle, Belfast, Brisbane and Cape Town. Other than Bangalore, Brock also sculpted the Queen Victoria statues raised in Agra, Cawnpore and Lucknow.[1][10][11][12]

The Statue at Bangalore

The Statue of Queen Victoria in Bangalore shows the Queen wearing the Order of the Garter robes, which are decorated with tassels and roses. The Queen is carrying a scepter and an orb with a cross.

Out of the more than fifty statues of Queen Victoria, which were raised in

Victoria Memorial, Calcutta[16][17]

Inauguration

The then Prince of Wales, George Frederick Ernest Albert (who later became King George V), unveiled the Statue of Queen Victoria, Bangalore Civil and Military Station, on 5 February 1906. In his speech, the Prince of Wales thanked the people of the Bangalore Civil and Military Station (who were British subjects), the Maharaja of Mysore and his native subjects, for helping raise the memorial statue (p. 75).

The Prince of Wales during his travel in

Madras. From Bangalore, the Prince of Wales traveled on to Karachi, where he unveiled yet another statue of the late Empress of India.[1][18]

Inscriptions

Inscription on the statue reads

VICTORIA
QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
AND
EMPRESS OF INDIA
1837–1901
ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
1906
  • Victoria English Inscription (Front)
    Victoria English Inscription (Front)
  • Victoria Kannada Inscription (Left)
    Victoria Kannada Inscription (Left)
  • Victoria Tamil Inscription (Right)
    Victoria Tamil Inscription (Right)
  • Victoria Urdu Inscription (Back)
    Victoria Urdu Inscription (Back)

Further, on the foot of the pedestal, another inscription says

UNVEILED BY
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
GEORGE FREDERICK ERNEST ALBERT
PRINCE OF WALES AND DUKE OF CORNWALL AND YORK
K.G., K.T., K.P., G.C.S.I., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., G.C.I.E., I.S.O.
ON THE 5TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1906
  • Victoria English Inscription (Front)
    Victoria English Inscription (Front)

There are inscriptions in

Tamil on the right and Urdu
on the back, both on the pedestal and the foot of the pedestal, which are translations of the English Inscriptions.

Present Status

Older photos of the statue show the statue being encircled with ornamental chains, and two cannons on either side with a sepoy guarding the statue.[19]

At present, the regalia of the queen appears battered with age, the cross of the orb is missing, the scepter is broken and one of the fingers in the right hand of the queen is broken. The statue is still maintained regularly, but is almost obscured by lush green trees.[1]

The Horticulture Department,

Statue of King Edward VII and statue of Chamaraja Wodeyar IV. Further it suggested polishing the statue of Victoria, and pruning of surrounding trees to make the statue more visible.[20][21]

Since the 1960s, a group of political activists led by Vatal Nagaraj, (who is infamous for vandalising the cenotaph pillar which was raised in memory of the lives lost in the

King Edward VII and Mark Cubbon be removed. The Government had at one stage accepted these demands and agreed to remove the statues in 1977, but never implemented the decision. Further, historians, and heritage lovers of Banaglore City are enraged with these suggestions of destruction of history and have raised their opposition. In 2013, members of the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association garlanded the statue of Mark Cubbon in open defiance of these demands.[22][23]

Airbrushed Image

According to Miles Taylor, an associate professor of History in the University of London, the statue of Victoria had been 'air-brushed'. Queen Victoria, who was considered to be 'fat and ugly' had been morphed into a 'beauty'. Even though Queen Victoria never visited India, she was a much revered figure. The Government of

British India had deliberately presented a youthful and beautiful image of Victoria amongst her Indian subjects, in order to make her popular. Further poets from the Madras Presidency and the Kingdom of Mysore
wrote verses describing her beauty, as a result of the youthful image being presented.

The diamond jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria was celebrated in Bangalore four months ahead of England. The

Krishnaraja Wadiyar III
as the regent of Mysore.

Studying the Royal records reveal that Queen Victoria was very concerned about the condition of women and had directed the setting up of a hospital for women, and was keen for reforms in favor of widows in India. The Victoria Hospital in Bangalore Pete is also named after Queen Victoria.[24]

St. Andrew's Church

Stained Glass, St. Andrew's Church, Bangalore

At the

Jesus Christ.[25][26]

Victoria Hospital, Bangalore

The foundation stone of

Her Highness Kempananjammaniyavaru, the then Maharani Regent and dowager Maharani of Mysore, in commemoration of the completion of 60 years of Queen Victoria's reign. The Victoria Hospital was then formally inaugurated by Lord Curzon the then Viceroy of British India on 8 December 1900.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Iyer, Meera (4 February 2013). "Empress of all she surveys". No. Bangalore. Deccan Herald. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  2. ISBN 9780143100256
    . Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. ^ Rodricks, Allan Moses (31 October 2014). "Making their mark in stone". The Hindu. No. Bangalore. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b Rizvi, Aliyeh (11 April 2013). "A place to see and be seen in". The Hindu. No. Bangalore. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  5. ^ The Open University. "Queen Victoria Becomes Empress of India". Making Britain. The Open University, UK. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  6. ^ General Knowledge Today (17 October 2011). "Queen Victoria's Proclamation – November 1, 1858". GK Today. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  7. ^ The Royal Household. "Queen Victoria's Hindustani diary". The Royal Collection and other collections. The official website of The British Monarchy. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  8. ^ Godley, Arthur; Wason, Eugene (13 November 1908). East India (Proclamations) (PDF). India Office: The House of Commons. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  9. ISBN 978-1-872914411
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1477227381
    . Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  11. ISBN 978-9401721882
    . Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  12. ISBN 9781872914411
    .
  13. ^ Sampathkumar, Srinivasan (16 August 2014). "Forlorn statue of Victoria (Queen Empress of India) at Madras University". "Sampath Speaking" – the thoughts of an Insurer from Thiruvallikkeni. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  14. ^ Benjamin, Ravi P (21 July 2012). "Fading into oblivion". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Eminent Families of Vizag". Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  16. ^ Banerjee, Jacqueline. "Queen Victoria: Sir Thomas Brock, K.C.B., R.A. 1847–1922". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  17. ^ The Victorian Web. "Frampton's Jubilee Monument for Queen Victoria". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  18. ^ George V (King of Great Britain) (1911). His Majesty King George's Speeches in India: A Complete Collection of All the Speeches Delivered in India During His Tour as Prince of Wales and in Connection with the Recent Coronation Durbar (PDF) (Second ed.). Madras: G A Natesan. p. 75. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  19. ISBN 8120613449
    . Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  20. ^ Sharadhaa, A (24 April 2014). "Book to Help Park Statue Restoration". No. Bangalore. The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  21. ^ "5 statues in Cubbon Park set for facelift". The Times of India. No. Bangalore. TNN. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  22. ^ Prasad S, Shyam (15 April 2014). "Kannada activists want Victoria statue moved out". No. Bangalore. Bangalore Mirror. Bangalore Mirror Bureau. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Cubbon garlanded in hush-hush ceremony in front of High Court". No. Bangalore. Bangalore Mirror. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  24. ^ "City's 'airbrushed' Queen Victoria inspires a thesis". No. Bangalore. Bangalore Mirror. Bangalore Mirror Agency. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  25. ^ Rodricks, Allan Moses (24 May 2014). "Retaining its old glory". The Hindu. No. Bangalore. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  26. ^ Tabassum, Ayesha (4 January 2014). "On a bedrock of devotion". No. Bangalore. Bangalore Mirror. Bangalore Mirror Bureau. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  27. ^ Victoria Hospital Bangalore (2013). "Victoria Hospital Bangalore". Victoria Hospital Bangalore. Retrieved 11 January 2016.

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