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The Lascar
War
Memorial,
located
on
Napier
Road
in
the Hastings area
of Kolkata,
is
amemorial dedicated
to
the
memory
of
the
896lascars (sailors
from
the Indian
subcontinent)
who
died
serving
on
ships
of
the Royal
Navy
and British
Merchant
Service during World
War
I.
A lascar (Lashkar,
Laskar)
(Persian: لشکر)
and
(Bengali:লস্কর)
was
a sailor or militiaman from
the Indian
Subcontinent or
other
countries
east
of
the Cape
of
Good
Hope,
employed
on
European ships
from
the
16th
century
until
the
beginning
of
the
20th
century.
The
word
comes
from
the Persian Lashkar,
meaning
military
camp
or
army,
and al-askar,
the
Arabic
word
for
a
guard
or
soldier.
The Portuguese
adapted
this
term
to lascarim,
meaning
an
Asian militiaman
or
seaman,
especially
those
from
the
Indian
Subcontinent.
Lascars
served
on British ships
under
'lascar'
agreements
which
gave
shipowners
more
control
than
the
usual
agreement.
The
sailors
could
be
transferred
from
one
ship
to
another
and
retained
in
service
for
up
to
three
years
at
one
time.
The
name lascar was
also
used
to
refer
to
Indian
servants,
typically
engaged
by
British
military
officers.
The
Lascar
War
Memorial
was
erected
by
shipping
and
mercantile
companies,
in
the
memory
of
the
896
Lascars
of
undividedBengal and Assam who
lost
their
lives
during
World
War
I.[5] The
monument
is
situated
at
the
southern
end
of
the Maidan,
on
Naiper
Road,
Hastings,
near Prinsep
Ghat.
The
100
feet
high
monument
was
unveiled
by Lord
Lytton,
then Governor
of
Bengal on
6
February
1924.
The
monument,
built
in
typical Oriental
style,
is
a
four-sided
column,
having
designs
reflecting
the prow of
an
ancient galley on
each
side
of
the
column.
The
upper
part
of
the
monument
consists
of
four
small minaretsand
a
large
gilt
dome.
A
typical
Indian
look
has
been
given
by
adding
wavy
lines
beneath
the
projected
balcony,
which
symbolises
waves,
along
with chhajjas and trellises.[3] The
Lascar
War
Memorial
has
similarities
with
the
victory
tower
of
Chittor.[1] The
memorial
built
in
the Indo-Mughal
style by
William
Ingram
Keir,
who
also
designed
the
Kidderpore
Bridge,
buildings
at Bengal
Engineering
and
Science
University in Shibpur,
the Indian
Institute
of
Technology,
Kharagpur,
andIslamia
College,
and
also
replaced
the
1934
earthquake
affected
spire
of St.
Paul's
Cathedral,
Kolkata with
a
tower.
William
Ingram
Keir
won
a
prize
of
Rupees
500
for
designing
the
memorial.[2] The
inside
of
the
Memorial
is
approached
through
a
huge
doorway
on
the
Northern
wall.
The
interior
contains
three
plaques
below
the
inscription
"Lascar
Memorial."
One
plaque
commemorates
the
unveiling
of
the
memorial
by Lord
Lytton,
then Governor
of
Bengal on
6
Feb.
1924.
The
second
plaques
says
that
the
memorial
was
erected
by
shipping
and
mercantile
community
of
India
in
memory
of
the
896
seamen
of
Bengal
Assam
and
upper
India
(the
term
Lascar
is
not
used)
who
lost
their
lives
in
service
of
the
British
Empire
in
the
great
war
of
1914
–
18.
The
third
smaller
plaques
tells
about
the
renovation
and
lighting
of
the
Lascar
War
Memorial.
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