The Kalinga War Memorial Dehradun

Set up by the Britons to commemorate the bravery of Gorkha army, Khalinga War Memorial is the world's first memorial erected by an army for their opponents. This one of its kind memorials, set up on the Sahastradhara Road, was made in the honor of Gorkha Regiment after the 1814-16 war. As per the historical facts, Gorkhas defended the Kangra army from the British army for six weeks without food and water supply. Impressed by the bravery of Gorkha, the British troops built a memorial to honor them. It is a thought-provoking place, where one can see two pillars; one is dedicated to Gorkha army and other to the British army, in the middle of a lush green garden. The impressive construction stands on the grounds of the battle where the battle was fought. From the memorial, one can see the panoramic view of Kangra fort.

The Battle of Khalanga

In October 1814, three 3 British Infantry division lead by Major General Robert Rolle Gillespie, comprising 3500 soldiers, tried to capture the Kangra fort, formerly known as Nalapani fort. During the siege, the fort was defended by Balbhadra Singh Thapa along with 600 Gorkha soldiers and their families, including women and children. Nalapani fort was under British army siege between October 31, and November 30, 1814, and many soldiers were killed on the first day. But battling all the odds Balbhadra and his army defended the fort for over a month. After so many trails, British Army decided to do the direct attack by cutting off the entire fort’s external water supply. Even after this, Balbhadra Singh Thapa refused to surrender and fought against the British till the time he realized that 70 members were surviving in his garrison.