Is our regional pride mere tokenism?

We in Visakhapatnam fail to realize that regional history is as important as national history. We are overly aggressive about regional pride without really understanding what gives us that pride. For example, we have flooded our beaches with the statues of sundry local heroes and garland them on their birth or death anniversaries. But if we do not go beyond that token gesture, the gesture remains just that, a hollow gesture.
Today a majority of the city's adult citizens and school children are oblivious to what those statues stand for. Random questioning of people as to what principles Gurajada stood for, or what Rachakonda wrote, left me speechless. They just did not know! To them, the statues are pieces of decoration, a part of the lifeless landscape of the city!! Not just that. We Vizagites do not know that our city witnessed the first 'Sepoy Revolt' that anticipated the Great Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, which was the beginning of the country's long saga of freedom struggle against the British. Any other country would have not only celebrated the event, but would have ensured that it is etched in our consciousness. For, if the incident of Visakhapatnam had gone right, the country's freedom struggle would have started at our doorstep.
Now flip back in time. On October 3, 1780, Vizagpatam had a date with history. On that day, the sepoys in the employment of the English East India Company's armed forces revolted against their commanders, for they resented the humiliating and discriminating treatment meted out to them. The English officers were blissfully oblivious of the fact that a storm was brewing in their ranks, till matters came to a flash point. The British offices ordered the native sepoys to board a ship to sail to Mysore to fight the ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali, with whom they had a running feud.
Instead of obeying the orders, the sepoys revolted and decided to join forces with the native ruler! In a signal act of bravery, they trained their muskets at their own officers, killed some and injured many. Shocked and dismayed, the British officers ran helter-skelter, trying to salvage the situation. Meanwhile, the sepoys looted the Company's treasury and were on their way to Mysore when they were ambushed and killed by the Englishmen who regrouped with the help of the local zamindars. Thus ended the heroic outburst of the local heroes. Brief as this incident might be, it stands out as an isolated flash of patriotism by the humble sepoys, as more powerful men than them were kowtowing to the foreigners at that time. The episode should have been remembered and celebrated. Instead of achieving that, we have replaced our real history with highly forgettable trivia. The event does not even find a mention in our children's history books.
Compare this with what happens across the globe, some 8,400 miles away from home. The year was 1775, the date, 19th of April. The place, the Battle Green, Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. Time, 5:00 am. War clouds had been gathering for months over the 13 colonies of America. The colonies were chaffing under the oppressive British laws, which stifled the colonies' nascent but robustly growing economy. There had already been a few rumblings of the American war of Independence against the very same British, whom we were fighting in India. It was here, at the Battle Green, that "the first blood was spilt in the dispute with the Great Britain," as George Washington recorded in his diary.
239 years later, on a cold and misty morning we stood overlooking the Lexington Green, stamping our feet to ward off the cold. The temperature was 7 degrees centigrade, cool by New England's standards, but cold for us Indians. The Green was lined with excited visitors, muffled in parkas, sweaters and gloves. There was an air of expectancy. All eyes were focused on the drama about to unfold in the middle of the Green, where two rows of militia men were standing facing each other. One was His Majesty's Tenth Regiment of Foot, the British army, resplendent in their 'Red Coats' and the other, a motley assemblage of irregulars, the local peasants, potters, carpenters and traders, men without military training. They called themselves Minutemen, as they were to be in a constant state of readiness, literally at a minute's notice, to fight the British.
We were witnessing the re-enactment of the battle that took place on that fateful morning of 19th April, 1775. The scene of the battle is re-enacted by experienced locals year after year, at the same time, date and place. It is one of the most anticipated spectacles in the calendar of the town. Visitors come from far and near to witness the event, and to relive the excitement of the moment.
The re-enactment is just one of a string of events that happens through out the month to mark the War of Independence. The Lexington Battle is perfectly documented, so much so that the actors that take part in the enactment know what to wear, where to stand, what musket to carry, when to take a hit and collapse to the enemy's musket fire. They take pride in playing their parts to perfection. It is electrifying when the muskets fire, shots rent the air, men scream and break out of their orderly lines in the morning gloom.
Visitors forget that what one is witnessing is just a drama, put up for their benefit. So charged up is the atmosphere and so exhilarating is the moment. All around the Green stand old houses, which witnessed the battle. They have been carefully conserved; their appearance, facades and streetscape having remained unchanged over the centuries. They also bear plaques, indicating the year of their construction, the names of the occupants at the time of the battle and the role each one of them played on that day. At a short distance from the Green is the Buckman Tavern, where the rebels regularly met centuries ago. It remains a national monument today, its furniture and other appointments intact. Trained guides conduct you through the rooms of the old tavern, explaining how it worked two and half a centuries ago. The furniture, tableware, kitchen equipment, guest rooms are all researched and documented to the last detail.
The Battle Green of Lexington is one of only eight locations in the United States where the US flag is specifically authorized by law to fly 24 hours a day. Tourists come to the Green in droves. It's lawns are immaculately kept, as are the local flowering trees. What stands out on the Green today is the lone statue of the commander of the Minuteman, apart from a bronze plaque placed by the Daughters of The American Revolution, which is a society of the descendants of those that fought in the American War of Independence.
What is amazing to me as a heritage conservationist is the understated dignity of the monument. The fact that the monument receives considerable national attention goes without saying. That it has remained intact over the centuries, without excessive frills, artificial adornments or ugly statements of the country's patriotism is amazing.
Compare the two events. Two countries, worlds apart. Same enemy, same historic timeframe and, similar acts of valour and courage. The patriotism and sacrifice of the local heroes is remembered and celebrated in one country. It is totally forgotten and obliterated from history in another. Our tourism must reflect our history, not a jumble of meaningless concrete creations! Now, do you know what the department of tourism is building on Erada Hill, ostensibly to promote tourism? The Seven Wonders of the World, if you please!! Next time we thump our chests with regional pride, we need to pause and ask. On what does our pride hinge? Amen.
(The writer is a heritage and environmental activist. She can be reached at ranisarma2010@gmail.com)