Winter Ascent to Balbhadra Peak: A Tribute to 1814 Martyrs

I am feeling jealous after reading the snowy posts and seeing the photos of snow in this #winterchallenge competition organized by #worldmapping. Firstly, I have to go to Rajasthan where snow does not fall and before Jaisalmer, I cannot go anywhere where snow has fallen. But despite this, I am enjoying this challenge and even after traveling, I am writing and posting posts through mobile. Writing hive from mobile is a very painful task but if the internet speed is good then everything becomes easy whereas here the mobile internet is not so strong and fast, that is why it takes me several hours to write a post while traveling.

Let me give you a fresh update of 9 December 2024, snow has fallen in the 2450 meter high mountains and valleys of the Himalayas. The first snowfall of the season was 8 inches. Fresh snowfall was seen in Solang, Lahaul, Spiti, Kinnaur, Dhauladhar and Narkanda since yesterday evening. I am very sad that I am not present in the mountains to see this view. I have to go to Rajasthan otherwise I would also be throwing snowballs. Sitting in the plains, I have to write about Balbhadra Peak which is a small mountain located in the lower regions of the Himalayas.

In the post written 2 days ago, I read that on Sunday morning I start climbing the Balbhadra mountain on foot. In today's blog we will visit the Balbhadra Monument and the Devi temple located here. At around 11 in the morning, the walking path meets the car path. Now if I go 700 meters up from here, I will reach Balbhadra Peak and if I follow the road downwards, I will reach Chandrani Devi Temple where I will go later. I start walking towards Balbhadra. As I move forward, I start hearing human voices from the forest, the further I go, the louder the voices are becoming.

When I reach the gate of Balbhadra, I understand the matter. There is a group here who is picking up the garbage lying around this monument and helping us and the environment in keeping this place clean. I thank this group for cleaning and click a photo so that the world can see that good people are still alive. I enter the Balabhadra Monument, situated at a height of 740 meters. This war memorial was built in 1814 in memory of the martyred warriors and local people.

The words written on the board installed here are as follows: "Importance of this battlefield
This war memorial has been built to pay tribute to the brave and brave women. At the end of the Nalapani war in December 1814, the bodies of 97 brave and brave men were cremated in this area. And 30 brave dead bodies were buried in an incomplete manner. Maintaining the dignity of this place in honor and memory of those brave and brave patriots is a true tribute.

Bringing and consuming any kind of intoxicants in this place is prohibited. Appropriate action will be taken against those who violate this order. Perform the duty of being a good citizen by contributing individually and collectively to keep this war memorial site clean and pollution free.
Balbhadra Khalanga Vikas Samiti Nalapani Dehradun"

The history of the war that took place here is written on another board, which is as follows:

"Khalanga War-1814, War Memorial Khalanga is situated in the area of ​​Nalapani, Dehradun. This battle is a testimony to the valour, indomitable courage, highest fighting ability and supreme sacrifice of the Gorkha soldiers, women and children in the Battle of Khalanga during October 1814. The British Infantry Division consisting of 3500 soldiers along with heavy artillery guns under the command of Major General Robert Rollon Gillespie was tasked to attack the Khalanga Fort at Nalapani. The fort was defended by Balbhadra Kunwar Thapa who had a total of 500-600 Gorkha soldiers including women and children to thwart the General's attack. Colonel Soye, with his over confidence and eagerness, launched the first attack on the fort on 24 October 1814, after heavy shelling the Gorkha soldiers fought gallantly and repulsed the enemy attack, causing heavy casualties to the British army. On 31 October 1814, General Gillespie himself took command of the army. The Gorkha soldiers including Balbhadra Kunwar Thapa and his women and children attacked with all their might, standing firmly on their ground, fighting bravely with their weapons, khukris, arrows and even stones. In this close combat, besides General Gillespie, his Captain was killed and many other British soldiers were repulsed. The British army attackers suffered heavy losses and were once again pushed back from the battle fort, forcing them to seek relief and re-consolidate. On 28 November 1814, the British army under the leadership of Colonel Mavi attacked Khalanga from all sides, but Balbhadra's brave soldiers, women and children along with the help of local Garhwali and Kumaonis repulsed the enemy attack. On the night of 29/30 November 1814, when the Gorkha soldiers were suffering heavy casualties, there was a shortage of supplies and the only water source was blocked, in such a difficult situation, Balmandra along with 70 capable soldiers voluntarily left the Khalanga fort and headed towards Dayara village."

British army killed during the Anglo-Gorkha war:-
Officers: 31, other ranks 750, wounded officers: 35 other ranks: 1500
During the Khalanga war
The incredible bravery and highest quality of fighting skills displayed by the Gurkhas during the Khalanga war impressed the British officers. To such an extent that this is perhaps the only example in the history of war where a victorious army built two memorials in memory of its opponent Balbhadra Kunwar Thapa and his brave Gurkha soldiers in addition to the memorial of its General Gillespie and his soldiers. Which is today located at Sahastradhara Road, Dehradun under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Many salutes and heartfelt tributes to Balbhadra Kunwar Thapa and his brave fighters by Balbhadra Khalanga Vikas Samiti, Nalapani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

After reading the history, the respect for this war memorial increased in my eyes. After paying my respects to this battle site, I stop at the temple of Chandrani Devi where this temple, in solitude in the middle of the forest, contains religious, spiritual energy within itself. I always sit here and whenever I come, I get a lot of peace. After spending about 2 hours here, I turn back towards home and reach home in about 40 minutes. So this was a wonderful day today which ended with a short hike in mild winter.

Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from Poco f1 android smartphone and edited in lightroom mobile app.