Centenary commemoration of ‘Battle of Haifa’ held

Mysuru: The centenary commemoration of the ‘Battle of Haifa’ was held last evening at Rajendra Kalamandira on Ramanuja Road in city. The event was held to make the people of Mysuru aware about this forgotten history.

The battle between the joint Ottoman and German forces and the regiment comprising Jodhpur Lancers, Hyderabad Lancers and Mysore Lancers for 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade was among the historic combats in the records of Mysore kingdom. The ‘fiercest battle’ in the city of Haifa in Israel culminated on Sept.23, 1918.

At the centenary commemoration, member of erstwhile royal family of Mysore, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar demanded setting up of a memorial of Haifa War in Mysuru.  

“A memorial or a museum is needed to commemorate Mysore Lancers, who played a crucial role along with Jodhpur Lancers and Hyderabad Lancers in the battle against the Ottoman Turks (armed with modern artillery and machine guns) during World War I, for the liberation of Haifa, the third largest city in Israel.”

Yaduveer said that Lancers were soldiers of a cavalry regiment, armed with lances — a long weapon similar to a spear, with a wooden shaft and a pointed steel head. These were used by horsemen. Lancers were the personal bodyguards of the then Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and most of them belonged to Urs families.

“Indian soldiers, including Mysore Lancers, were armed only with lances and swords while the Turks were armed with artillery and guns. Soldiers from Mysore along with Jodhpur and Hyderabad Lancers fought and liberated the Israeli city of Haifa,” he said.

Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha recalled the contribution of Mysore Lancers worldwide. “The bravery of Lancers who fought with lances and swords against their rivals who were armed with modern weapons was for all to see at Haifa and this has to be remembered by each Mysurean,”   he opined.

Representatives of a few families of the Mysore Lancers who took part in the Haifa war were honoured on the occasion. T.V. Nagaprasanna Raje Urs, grandson of Risaldar A. Lingaraj Urs (who had taken part in the war), Chinnamamba Desa Raje Urs, relative of Col. J. Desa Raje Urs, Jayanthi H.N. Urs and Manjula Urs, relatives of  Col. B.P. Krishne Urs, Imtiaz Ahmed, relative of Lt. Col. Abdul Gaffar, Yashomathi, relative of Sirdar Bahadur Chamaraja Urs were felicitated.

Chamarajanagar MP R. Dhruvanarayan, Secretary of Haifa Centenary Celebration Committee M.S. Harish Shenoy and others participated. Sheethal was the master  of ceremony.

Indian soldiers remembered

At another event that was held in city recently, over 300 distinguished guests gathered at the Bahá’í House of Worship to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Haifa.

The event recalled the role of Jodhpur Lancers and Mysore Lancers in ensuring the safety of Abdul-Baha, the son of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith (Baha’u’llah) who was a resident of Haifa at that time and whose life had been threatened by the Turkish Commander-in-Chief.

The event was jointly organised by Bahá’í community of India, Gaj Singhji II of Marwar-Jodhpur and Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.   

Gaj Singhji recalled the tradition of Jodhpur Lancers and said this epic battle was considered to be not only the last successful cavalry charge in the history of warfare, but also possibly the finest of all during First World War.  Nazneen Rowhani, representative of the Bahá’í community of India, Maya Kadosh, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of Israel, New Delhi, Col. (retd.) Bhawani Singh and others were present.