1.
Roorkee
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Roorkee is a city in north India, located in Uttarakhands Haridwar district. It is spread over a terrain with the Himalayas to the east and north-east. The city developed on the banks of the Ganges canal, its dominant feature, Roorkee is also known for the Roorkee Cantonment, one of the countrys oldest, and the headquarters of Bengal Engineer Group since 1853. It has a population of 355,478 people, before 1840, the city was a tiny hamlet consisting of mud huts on the banks of the Solani rivulet. Digging work on the Upper Ganges Canal formally began in April 1842, under the aegis of Proby Cautley, soon, Roorkee developed into a town. The canal, which was opened on 8 April 1854. Cautley, an officer in the British Army, was most instrumental in constructing the canal, according to Dept. of Hydrology the canal, which is still considered as a marvel of engineering, was built in 1853. However, water was released in the canal on 8 April 1854, to look after the maintenance of canal, the Canal Workshop and Iron Foundry were established in 1843 on the civil lines on the canal bank which is known as Irrigation workshop nowadays. This was followed by the establishment of Civil Engineering School, classes started in 1845 to train youth to assist in the civil-engineering work of the Upper Ganges Canal. This was to become the first engineering college established in India, on November 25,1847, the college was formally constituted through a proposal by the Sir James Thomason, Lt. After his death in 1853, the college was rechristened as Thomason College of Civil Engineering. The college later upgraded to University of Roorkee in 1949, on September 21,2001, through an Act of parliament, it was one of the Indian Institutes of Technology. In 1853 Bengal Sappers and Miners were stationed here which provided an influence during the 1857 uprising. Other important events in the history of Roorkee include that under the Post Office Act of 1866, it was among the first few towns to have a post office, now Roorkee has a General Post Office and a number of post offices located in Roorkee City and Cantt. In 1886, Roorkee was placed on the Railway map of India, in 1907, first provincial trunk road Meerut-Roorkee-Dehradun was constructed. In 1920, Roorkee became the first town in Uttar Pradesh to have Hydroelectricity, Indias first aqueduct was constructed over the Solani river, near Roorkee, part of the Ganges Canal project, which itself was Indias first irrigation work in North India, started by the British. Operated by the Bengal Sappers, the line was built to carry soil used for the construction of the Upper Ganges Canal aqueduct from Piran Kaliyar,10 km from the city. The locomotive rail paths are still intact, a replica of what the locomotive is thought to have looked like is exhibited at Roorkee Railway Station
2.
Presidencies and provinces of British India
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Provinces of India, earlier Presidencies of British India and still earlier, Presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in the subcontinent. Collectively, they were called British India, in one form or other they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods. During 1612–1757, the East India Company set up factories in several locations, mostly in coastal India and its rivals were the merchant trading companies of Holland and France. By the mid-18th century, three Presidency towns, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta had grown in size, during the period of Company rule in India, 1757–1858, the Company gradually acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called Presidencies. However, it increasingly came under British government oversight, in effect sharing sovereignty with the Crown. At the same time it gradually lost its mercantile privileges, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Companys remaining powers were transferred to the Crown. In the new British Raj, sovereignty extended to a few new regions, increasingly, however, unwieldy presidencies were broken up into Provinces. In 1608, the English East India Company established a settlement at Surat, and it was followed in 1611 by a permanent factory at Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast, and in 1612 the company joined other already established European trading companies in Bengal. Company rule in Bengal, however, ended with the Government of India Act 1858 following the events of the Bengal Rebellion of 1857 and these rulers were allowed a measure of internal autonomy in exchange for British suzerainty. British India constituted a significant portion of India both in area and population, in 1910, for example, it covered approximately 54% of the area, in addition, there were Portuguese and French exclaves in India. Independence from British rule was achieved in 1947 with the formation of two nations, the Dominions of India and Pakistan, the latter also including East Bengal, present-day Bangladesh. The term British India also applied to Burma for a time period, starting in 1824, a small part of Burma. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma commenced being administered as a separate British colony, British India did not apply to other countries in the region, such as Sri Lanka, which was a British Crown colony, or the Maldive Islands, which were a British protectorate. It also included the Colony of Aden in the Arabian Peninsula, the original seat of government was at Allahabad, then at Agra from 1834 to 1868. Bombay Presidency, East India Companys headquarters moved from Surat to Bombay in 1687, the East India Company, which was incorporated on 31 December 1600, established trade relations with Indian rulers in Masulipatam on the east coast in 1611 and Surat on the west coast in 1612. The company rented a trading outpost in Madras in 1639, meanwhile, in eastern India, after obtaining permission from the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to trade with Bengal, the Company established its first factory at Hoogly in 1640. Almost a half-century later, after Emperor Aurengzeb forced the Company out of Hooghly, by the mid-18th century the three principal trading settlements, now called the Madras Presidency, the Bombay Presidency, and the Bengal Presidency were each administered by a Governor. After Robert Clives victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, in 1772, the Company also obtained the Nizāmat of Bengal and thereby full sovereignty of the expanded Bengal Presidency
3.
Royal Tunbridge Wells
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Royal Tunbridge Wells is a large affluent town in western Kent, England, about 40 miles south-east of central London by road,34.5 miles by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex and it is situated at the northern edge of the High Weald, the sandstone geology of which is exemplified by the rock formations at the Wellington Rocks and High Rocks. Though its popularity waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town remains popular, the town has a population of around 56,500 and is the administrative centre of Tunbridge Wells Borough and the UK parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells. The area which is now Tunbridge Wells was part of the parish of Speldhurst for hundreds of years, but the origin of the town as it is today, however, came in the seventeenth century. In 1606 Dudley, Lord North, a courtier to James I who was staying at a lodge in Eridge in the hope that the country air might improve his ailing constitution. He drank from the spring and, when his health improved and he persuaded his rich friends in London to try it, and by the time Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I, visited in 1630 it had established itself as a spa retreat. Also in 1676 a subscription for a chapel of ease was opened, and in 1684 the Church of King Charles the Martyr was duly built and the town began to develop around it. Tradesmen in the town dealt in the luxury goods demanded by their patrons, which would certainly have included Tunbridge ware, a kind of decoratively inlaid woodwork. They have made the very commodious by the many good building all about it. All the people buy their own provisions at the market, which is just by the wells and is furnished with great plenty of all sorts of fish and fowl. and two rooms for the lottery and hazard board. He remained in position until his death in 1762. By the early nineteenth century Tunbridge Wells experienced growth as a place for the well-to-do to visit, during this time Decimus Burton developed John Wards Calverley Park estate. In 1889 the town was awarded the status of a Borough,1902 saw the opening of an Opera House, and in 1909 the town received its Royal prefix. The Second World War affected Tunbridge Wells in a different way—it became so swollen with refugees from London that accommodation was severely strained, over 3,800 buildings were damaged by bombing, but only 15 people lost their lives. Royal Tunbridge Wells is one of three towns in England to have been granted this. Although Wells has a form, it refers to the principal source. Royal Tunbridge Wells is the centre for both Tunbridge Wells Borough and the parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells. The Borough is governed by 48 Councillors, representing 20 wards, elections are held for 16 Council seats each year on a rotational basis, with elections to Kent County Council taking place in the fourth year of the cycle
4.
Kent
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Kent /ˈkɛnt/ is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west, the county also shares borders with Essex via the Dartford Crossing and the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. France can be clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover. Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county, because of its relative abundance of fruit-growing and hop gardens, Kent is known as The Garden of England. The title was defended in 2006 when a survey of counties by the UKTV Style Gardens channel put Kent in fifth place, behind North Yorkshire, Devon. Haulage, logistics, and tourism are industries, major industries in north-west Kent include aggregate building materials, printing. Coal mining has played its part in Kents industrial heritage. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt and its transport connections to the capital. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Downs and The High Weald, the area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe. The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era, There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley. The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning rim or border and this describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as Cantium, or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC, the extreme west of the modern county was by the time of Roman Britain occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century and was known as Cantia from about 730, the early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital, in 597, Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity, the Diocese of Canterbury became Britains first Episcopal See with first cathedral and has since remained Englands centre of Christianity. The second designated English cathedral was in Kent at Rochester Cathedral, in the 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta, meaning undefeated. This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy, the Kent peoples continued resistance against the Normans led to Kents designation as a semi-autonomous county palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of Williams half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales
5.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
6.
British Indian Army
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The Indian Army was the principal army of India before independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of both British India and the Princely states, which could also have their own armies. The Indian Army was an important part of the British Empires forces, the term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies of the Presidencies of British India, particularly after the Indian Rebellion. The first army officially called the Indian Army was raised by the government of India in 1895, however, in 1903 the Indian Army absorbed these three armies. The Indian Army should not be confused with the Army of India which was the Indian Army itself plus the British Army in India, before 1858, the precursor units of the Indian Army were units controlled by the Company and were paid for by their profits. These operated alongside units of the British Army, funded by the British government in London. Many of these took part in the Indian Mutiny, with the aim of reinstating the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II at Delhi. The meaning of the term Indian Army has changed over time, The officer commanding the Army of India was the Commander-in-Chief, the title was used before the creation of a unified British Indian Army, the first holder was Major General Stringer Lawrence in 1748. By the early 1900s the Commander-in-Chief and his staff were based at GHQ India, Indian Army postings were less prestigious than British Army positions, but the pay was significantly greater so that officers could live on their salaries instead of having to have a private income. Accordingly, vacancies in the Indian Army were much sought after and generally reserved for the higher placed officer-cadets graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. British officers in the Indian Army were expected to learn to speak the Indian languages of their men, prominent British Indian Army officers included Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, Claude Auchinleck and William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim. Commissioned officers, British and Indian, held identical ranks to commissioned officers of the British Army, Kings Commissioned Indian Officers, created from the 1920s, held equal powers to British officers. Viceroys Commissioned Officers were Indians holding officer ranks and they were treated in almost all respects as commissioned officers, but had authority over Indian troops only, and were subordinate to all British Kings Commissioned Officers and KCIOs. They included Subedar Major or Risaldar-Major, equivalents to a British Major, Subedar or Risaldar equivalents to Captain, recruitment was entirely voluntary, about 1.75 million men served in the First World War, many on the Western Front and 2.5 million in the Second. Soldier ranks included Sepoys or Sowars, equivalent to a British private, British Army ranks such as gunner and sapper were used by other corps. In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny. The three Presidency armies remained separate forces, each with its own Commander-in-Chief, overall operational control was exercised by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bengal Army, who was formally the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies. From 1861, most of the manpower was pooled in the three Presidential Staff Corps
7.
Colonel
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Colonel is a senior military officer rank below the general officer ranks. However, in small military forces, such as those of Iceland or the Vatican. It is also used in police forces and paramilitary organizations. Historically, in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army, the rank of colonel is typically above the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank above colonel is typically called brigadier, brigade general or brigadier general, equivalent naval ranks may be called captain or ship-of-the-line captain. In the Commonwealth air force rank system, the equivalent rank is group captain, the word colonel derives from the same root as the word column and means of a column, and, by implication, commander of a column. The word colonel is therefore linked to the column in a similar way that brigadier is linked to brigade. By the end of the medieval period, a group of companies was referred to as a column of an army. Since the word is believed to derive from sixteenth-century Italian, it was presumably first used by Italian city states in that century. The first use of colonel as a rank in an army was in the French National Legions created by King Francis I by his decree of 1534. Building on the reforms of Louis XIIs decree of 1509. Each colonel commanded a legion with a strength of six thousand men. With the shift from primarily mercenary to primarily national armies in the course of the seventeenth century, the Spanish equivalent rank of coronel was used by the Spanish tercios in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, nicknamed the Great Captain, divided his armies in coronelías or colonelcies, however, the Spanish word probably derives from a different origin, in that it appears to designate an officer of the crown, rather than an officer of the column. This makes the Spanish word coronel probably cognate with the English word coroner and this regiment, or governance, was to some extent embodied in a contract and set of written rules, also referred to as the colonels regiment or standing regulation. By extension, the group of companies subject to a colonels regiment came to be referred to as his regiment as well, the position, however, was primarily contractual and it became progressively more of a functionless sinecure. By the late 19th century, colonel was a military rank though still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or equivalent unit. As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of colonel became adopted by every nation
8.
8 Gorkha Rifles
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The 8 Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company, the regiment served in World War I and World War II, before being one of the six Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independence in 1947. Since then it has served in a number of conflicts including the Sino-Indian War of 1962, military assignments commenced as soon after the raising of the regiment when the first battalion formed the spearhead for operations in the First Anglo–Burmese War of 1824-25. The services of the regiment were to be requisitioned again when the British went to war with Bhutan in 1864, two battalion columns of the regiment sallied forth, shoulder to shoulder to crush the Bhutanese revolts and the stronghold of Devnageri. The first Victoria Cross, awarded to Richard Ridgeway, came to the regiment in October 1879 in its first ever operational mission when its units were summoned to deal with Nagaland Rebels. This was the first time that an army unit was ever been employed in the Naga hills. Following the disaster at Manipur, Grant volunteered to attempt the relief of the British who were being held captive with a force of 80 Gurkhas. Inspiring his men with his example of daring and resource. For the next ten days Grant and his small force held Thobal, before on 9 April 1891, having run out of food and having almost no ammunition left and this recommendation was later accepted and all of Grants men were also rewarded with six months pay and allowances. Braving the high altitude climes of Tibet, the force successfully stormed the Tibetan fortress of Gyantse at 18,000 feet. World War I testified to the valour and heroism of the Regiment during the course of combat service in Italy, France, Mesopotamia. Having mustered almost eight hundred men to begin with, by the end of the day they had a frontage of just one officer, following the war, it also participated in the Third Afghan War, earning the Afghanistan 1919 battle honour. During the years between the two World Wars, the 8th Goorkhas were based in India, where they undertook garrison duties. It was whilst the 2/8th was based at Quetta in the mid-1930s that a member of the Regiment would display outstanding courage, in 1935 a series of powerful earthquakes rocked north-west India and thousands of people were killed. The men of the 2/8th worked tirelessly in their efforts to free many of the civilians that were caught beneath the ruins. Nandlal Thapa received the Empire Gallantry Medal for repeatedly risking his life entering buildings that were in danger of collapsing amidst the aftershocks in order to rescue injured survivors, lachhiman Gurung was awarded the VC during the Burmese Campaign. The brigade and its Gurkha battalions were sent to Italy in mid 1944 as an Independent brigade, the 8th Gurkha Rifles, along with the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th Gurkha Rifles, was transferred to India on independence in 1947. The regiment became one of the Gorkha regiments when the spelling was changed for all of the transferred regiments, soon after partition, the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles saw action in the Leh operations of 1948
United Kingdom