HYDERABAD: As one enters the Secunderabad Cantonment, one can feel a sense of pride and reverence for the contributions and sacrifices made by the soldiers of the Indian Army. Every year, wreaths are placed at the War Memorial at the 1 EME centre (Electronic and Mechanical Engineering Centre - 1) on important days such as Army Day and Corps Day.
The War Memorial, encircled by meticulously maintained gardens, pays homage to the numerous Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers who perished while providing technical aid to the armed forces, and those who fell defending their comrades or safeguarding the Indian army’s weaponry. Conceived by Eric Marret, the principal architect of the former Andhra Pradesh government, the memorial was dedicated to the Corps of EME on October 7, 1967.
“Built in 1967, it is a stone obelisk with names of fallen soldiers engraved on a curtain wall. The EME administrative building was once the Secunderabad Field Hospital, later used by the Indian Army as the EME Centre. The date on the building refers its completion to 1878, along with ancillary buildings to support the hospital,” said Sibghatullah Khan, an architect and heritage enthusiast.
Around eight metres in height, the obelisk stands on a five metre wide base. The tablets on its side are inscribed with the names of deceased EME officers and other lost in battles. In 2006 and then again in 2017, the EME War Memorial and the precinct received the INTACH Hyderabad Heritage Award, recognising its role in preserving the memory of fallen Corps members with utmost reverence.
“The memorial is a significant reminder of the contributions made by the Indian army to the country. The INTACH award was given twice: one in 2006 and another in 2017 to the memorial and the EME precinct for beautifully maintaining and preserving the structures there,” said P Anuradha Reddy, convenor, INTACH Hyderabad.
“Even the area around the precinct is worth exploring, such as the Cavalry Barrack railway line which was laid down to bring in the soldiers from Madras regiment and also the horses which were brought in from Bombay to the cantonment. It was a separate line that was laid down for this purpose. Then there is Chinna Maula Ali Hill, also known as Koh-e-Imam-e-Zamin, shadowing the precint, which tells us that the region was significant even before the British era. The hill has a Qutb Shahi era shrine located on a monolithic rock,” she added.