Mortal remains of those interred in the mass grave scattered all over the place after earthmovers cut deep into the mound. (TOI photo)

The lone marked grave is of Lieutenant Alfred Harrison who led the charge. It was repaired by the caretaker out of his own pocket. (TOI photo)

(Write to this correspondent at manimugdha.sharma@timesgroup.com)

NEW DELHI: “Blessed be the man who spares these stones and cursed be he who moves my bones,” reads Shakespeare’s epitaph. Sadly, curses don’t work anymore on land sharks who don’t care about moving the bones of even war dead. And what’s worse: nobody cares.Situated inside the busy New Sabzi Mandi market in Jahangirpuri, north Delhi—a scene of perennial chaos—is a memorial commemorating the Battle of Badli ki Serai fought during the Great Uprising of 1857 . It’s situated on a mound that has more or less remained unchanged since that fateful morning of June 8, 1857, when the 75th Regiment of Foot conducted a bayonet charge to capture a rebel battery that was raining hell’s fury on them. The charge broke up the rebel attack and the sepoys withdrew, abandoning their artillery. But many of the Scots who pressed home the attack didn’t make it alive. A memorial was erected on top of the mound, and the mortal remains of one officer and 19 men were interred underneath. And they’ve rested there undisturbed for over 150 years. Until now.On January 4, the site was partially bulldozed by a realtor—that’s premium real estate in the heart of a commercial hub. The main obelisk wasn’t harmed but the earthmovers dug deep, exhuming bones of the dead. The site is unprotected and nobody shows much interest in its preservation as it’s a British monument symbolizing a British victory over Indians, save one man. Ashok Kumar, the caretaker. He’s been looking after the site since the 1970s, and before him it was his father. But Kumar doesn’t get any money from anywhere for his work.Kumar quickly mobilized some of his friends and lay down in front of the bulldozers, stalling the work. Arguments followed after which the demolition crew left, with the threat of coming back later. Kumar now rarely leaves the spot and treats anyone who comes there with suspicion (the TOI team didn’t exactly receive a warm reception initially). And rightly, perhaps. The memorial isn’t under ASI protection even though it’s close to the ruins of the Badli ki Serai inn (where the main battle took place), a protected monument. Anybody can destroy it any day.“I feel very worried that someday, when I am not here, they might come back and destroy this place. All my life, I have watched over this place. I hope the sarkar would take it over some day,” Kumar said. While he was showing us around the place, we found three fresh bones. “I bet you will find many more if you spend some time here. This place needs protection. And I don’t have the money to conserve it. I did repair the marble grave over there when it was partially damaged,” Kumar said, pointing towards the lone marked grave at the spot. It belongs to Lieutenant Alfred Harrison, the officer who led the bayonet charge.The British High Commission learnt about the vandalism sometime ago and sent a team to inspect the site and file a report. “We were very disappointed to see such a historic memorial being allowed to fade away. But at the same time, we were delighted to see the caretaker and other locals defend it with such gallantry,” said Brigadier Brian McCall, the British defence adviser.The high commissioner, Sir James Bevan, wrote to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal a few weeks ago, seeking protection of the site. He followed it up with a meeting with Kejriwal on Wednesday where, a high commission source informed, the memorial was on top of the agenda. Kejriwal is learnt to have been very positive about protecting the site, and he even ordered the divisional commissioner to conduct an inquiry and submit a report. But how far have things moved from there? “We don’t have anything more to add to what you already know. These things take time,” said the CM’s spokesperson, Nagendra Sharma.The memorial was unveiled amid much fanfare during the 1911 Delhi Durbar. By that time, the 75th Regiment had become 1st Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (now amalgamated into the Royal Regiment of Scotland, British Army). The regiment still considers this memorial as part of its heritage.