BENGALURU: Over a century after the Mysore Lancers participated in the liberation of Haifa in modern-day Israel, their descendants are set to honour them in Bengaluru on Friday, celebrated as Haifa Day on the anniversary of the Battle of Haifa.
The Mysore Lancers, who served as part of the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade, were instrumental in fighting off Turkish-German forces in the battle during World War I. An army of 500 soldiers were sent by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar to fight alongside the British Army.
“One of the residents of Haifa in 1918 was Abdu’l-Baha, the son of the founder of the Baha’i faith, and designated by him as his successor. The commander of the Turkish forces in Syria and Palestine, Jamal Pasha, had threatened to crucify Abdu’l-Baha and destroy the Baha’i holy places in Haifa and nearby Acre,” said Dinesh Rao, Secretary State Baha’i Council of Karnataka. With impregnable fortifications, Baha put his life on the line, and the Mysore and the Jodhpur Lancers were successful in launching a surprise assault, and captured the town.
After being involved in several battles, the Lancers was eventually disbanded in 1920. “I had relatives from both sides fighting as part of the Lancers, Limbaji Pawar, my great grandfather on my father’s side, as well as his brother-in-law, Venkata Rao Maney, who unfortunately perished during the war. On my mother’s side, I have my great grandfather Rajoji Kesarkar, who returned home with a bullet wound. There were many stories to be told, which we wanted the people to know,” Praveen Maney, a financial analyst working in Bengaluru, and part of the Mysore Lancers Heritage Foundation, told TNIE.
Maney recalls the hardships faced by the loss of a relative and the trauma Kesarkar’s wound brought to his family. “We heard a story of my great grandmother praying for his safe return. He would make akkiroti on the advice of priests as dhan.
When he came back wounded, she was upset until he told her that when he was shot at, it felt like something was there between him and the bullet,” said Maney. He also mentioned that his ancestor, Pawar had also brought back a German sword from when he defeated a German solider in a hand-to-hand combat. The foundation with several descendants as its members will be honouring the Lancers in Bengaluru for the first time, at the Mysore Lancers Memorial on JC Road.