Battle of Delhi 1803 Monument Located At Patparganj, Delhi, India.

All these photographs Are of English And Urdu Commemorative Stones Of Battle of Delhi 1803 Monument Located At Patparganj, Delhi, India. This Battle was fought between The Marathas And The British Army. Same Inscriptions Are Written Both in English and Urdu Commemorative stones of The Monument. It is written in English  On Commemorative Stone.

' Near This Spot Was Fought On Sept 11th 1803 The Battle of Dehli In Which The Forces of Mahrattas  Commanded by M. Louis Bourquien Were Defeated By British Army Under General Gerard Lake.'

We Are presenting an article Written by Gurpreet Singh Anand Ji about Battle of Dehli.

By Gurpreet Singh Anand

The Marathas were the real rulers of Delhi in the beginning of the 19th century and Shah Alam -II just a nominal head .

The British ever eager to expand their empire north were at war with the Marathas in what is called Second Anglo-Maratha War . Near Delhi at Patparganj a battle took place on 11th September 1803 .The British led their attack with about 5,000 men under General Gerard Lake .In opposition to little over 15,000 men of Maratha forces led by the French General Louis Bourquin.The latter commanded 18 battalions belonging to the 2nd and 3rd brigades which were previously in command of his friend General Perron .His bosom friend had commanded the poor old Shah Alam to invest him with the supreme authority .Shah Alam “deputed more authority from prison than many a sovereign have done from throne “ , but his keeper , Captain Drugeon , stood by Perron and had to be forced into submission by Bourquin .
Meanwhile Perron had been defeated and surrendered to the British giving air to Bourquin’s assertions that his erstwhile friend was a traitor .It was the remnants of Perron at Shikohabad and Aligarh who flocked to him and became part of his 15,000 strong force .Lake then marched against him from Aligarh .
Holkar’s forces were well entrenched with Yamuna River at their rear and swamp on either side that led the British , Thorn , to comment that only a frontal attack was possible . Then followed Lake’s famous ruse .Lake manoeuvred to feign a retreat of his cavalry on which the Maratha forces left their well entrenched positions in attacking forces retreat and Lake’s ploy succeeded .He bayoneted his opponents in thousands and threw them into the Yamuna River .The loss of British is only recorded at around 500 men to around 3000 of the forces under the French General .The defeat became a rout .
The fighting ensued for three days and Delhi was up for taking by the British who became its de facto rulers after this battle sometimes called Battle of Patparganj and at other time as Battle of Delhi .A memorial was erected at this spot that exists to this day .
So searching along with my brother Col PPS Anand we went in search of the memorial and found it in a corner of the Golf Club in Noida with few steps leading to the monument and inscribed on a stone in Urdu and in English about the battle of Delhi

The following extract from the order of the Government of India refers to this action in which they fell .” The Governor General in council sincerely laments the loss of Major Middleton , Captain McGregor , Lieut . Hill , Lieut .Preston , Cornet Sanguine , Quarter Master Richardson and of the brave soldiers who fell in the exemplary exertions of deliberated valour and discipline spirit at Battle of Delhi . The names of these men will be communicated with the glorious events of the day on which they fell ,a nd will be honoured and revered while the flame of that signal victory shall endure .”

This monument was repaired and the tablet which had disappeared was replaced by the order of Lieutenant of the North West Frontier Province in 1808 .
The reason to post this on this group is that Yashwant Rao Holkar after his defeat reached Amritsar after crossing the Sutlej in 1804.He reached Amritsar where Maharajah Ranjit Singh met him even while he visited Harmandir Sahib to pay his obesience .He sought Ranjit Singh’s assistance , as he had also written to other rulers in India , in making a united stand against the East India Company .
Meanwhile Lake along with Malwai Sardars came to stay at the bank of river Beas and sent Raja Bhag Singh to persuade his nephew, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, not to espouse the hopeless Maratha cause. In Umdat Ut-tawarikh Daftar II , Sohan Lal Suri , on page 49 states “ Raja Bhag Singh told him in secrecy that it was against good reason to oppose the English .He should therefore , abstain from joining hands with Holkar and conclude an alliance with the English .According to the advice of of the said raja , the Sarkar withheld the hand of friendship from Holkar ....One day the Sarkar went to the dera of Holkar . He offered variety of presents .On the following day Holkar came to the Sarkar .The exalted Sarkar, too , gave him many kind of presents .Then Holkar visited the Durbar Sahib ( The Golden Temple ) in the company of of the exalted Sarkar .Many a time they became closetted and discussed a number of matters .He often showed the Sarkar the parade of the platoons and impressed upon him the care of the platoons and regular army .He also emphasised the collection of the treasury .”
But Bhag Singh’s advice prevailed upon Maharajah Ranjit Singh and a golden opportunity was lost to throw firanghis from Indian soil .Suri further writes page 50 “ When Holkar learnt of the friendship between the English and the Maharajah he said that from the boundaries of the Daccan to the outskirts of the Punjab he had searched from courage and valour to join him in his battles and designs .But the more he searched he found that it was elusive .There was nothing in the world except man , but the real one was wanting .He felt for the time being none existed on the earth or under the sky .”
The Holkar Raja left by way of Kasur crossing river Beas and Sutlej and so also the English forces withdrew in its wake .Very interestingly Suri mentions further “ In the year 1862 Bikrami ( 1805 A.D. ) , when Holkar was at Jaipur and the General at Cawnpore , it is reported by the Sarkar that he had cast the letters purporting to the support of the Holkar and the friendship of the English in the presences of the ‘Granth’ ( The Holy Book of the Sikhs ) .He got the letter relating to the English in the lot .Accordingly he abstained from helping Holkar.”
Bhag Singh`s mediation in behalf of the British helped pave the way for the first Anglo Sikh Treaty of 1806. He gained in territory both from the British and Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ludhiana, later acquired by the British for establishing a political agency, once belonged to him.

Pictures By Gurpreet Singh Anand Ji