Talk:The Chattri

Misleading history of the Chattri

There are numerous errors of fact in this article about the Brighton Chattri. For an accurate historical record see the official Chattri website. Tom Donovan, Secretary, Chattri Memorial Group —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.149.210.164 (talk) 12:12, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

If you could identify some of the errors here, I would be happy to investigate; the article was written based on published sources (as noted in the references), which may have reported information incorrectly. Hassocks5489 (tickets please!) 12:30, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Names listed?

Are those commemorated by the memorial listed by name here? If not, where? I am aware the CWGC has special cremation memorials.Cloptonson (talk) 19:31, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

I gratefully note a picture of the memorial stone listing the names of the dead has been added to the illustrations but not alluded to in the text. Question remains was it provided by the CWGC or someone else?Cloptonson (talk) 18:49, 25 March 2023 (UTC)18:40, 25 March 2023 (UTC)

Own question answered - a check with the CWGC website shows the CWGC built it. They incidentally do not call it by the name of Brighton but of Patcham Down which the site is on as Patcham Down Indian Forces Cremation Memorial, I have now added a section to describe the memorial which is within the site to be relevant to the article.Cloptonson (talk) 18:49, 25 March 2023 (UTC)

Elias Cosmas Henriques, the architect

I am trying to find out some more information on him beyond he died relatively young that he is consistently described as a native of Bombay and he was also Catholic. Given his name, his religion, and his home city, it is possible he was a descendant of those Indians converted by the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th centuries CE (see Bombay East Indians). He is not significant enough for his own article; however, a footnote in this article might give more details. Good secondary sources may not be in English. Erp (talk) 05:20, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Erp I'd love to be more help but I've scoured every source I can find and the detail that's in the article is all I've been able to find on the architect. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 18:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Yup, I'm more or less putting this message out there for someone who reads Hindi or Marathi can search those sources. What a possibly not reliable source has are:

• born August 18, 1889 in Culvem village near Gorai, father died when he was one, brought to Mumbai when he was seven, studied at St Xavier’s School then JJ School of Art, went to England in 1915 for further study and passed the final exam of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1916 and later became a fellow. "became the honorary joint secretary of the Indian Institute of Architecture [sic?], and went on to assume the post of president in 1939-’40." He renovated St Peter’s Church in Bandra. [Rao, Soumya (4 October 2018). "The unlikely connection between a church in Bandra and a World War I memorial in Brighton". Scroll.in. Retrieved 14 June 2026.]
• Also designed the the Bandra Gymkhana "History". Bandra Gymkhana. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
• The following article mentions that Henriques attended the Bombay School of Architecture and was later a lecturer there Zamarian, Patrick (2025-09-19). "The Bombay School of Architecture and the Royal Institute of British Architects (1917–1948)". Fabrications: 1–41. doi:10.1080/10331867.2025.2528267. ISSN 1033-1867. Retrieved 2026-06-14. (note the Bombay School ultimately failed though the article also covers the history of the profession of architect in India).

All grist for other articles. Erp (talk) 00:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Interesting. If we can get even one cast-iron source for some of those details, there's easily enough there to sustain an article. Have you considered asking somewhere like Wikipedia talk:Noticeboard for India-related topics for anyone with the right combination of language and research skills? HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:28, 16 June 2026 (UTC)

The two memorials?

Currently the article reads: "He [Otter] proposed two memorials—one on the site of the ghat, and another in Brighton town centre. The latter became the Indian Memorial Gate, a monumental entrance to the Royal Pavilion complex built in a similar style to the Chattri." However the info elsewhere ("Indian Memorial Gateway". www.sikhmuseum.com. Retrieved 21 June 2026.) states that the the Gate is a gift from the people of India and initiated by Raja Daljit Singh so unlikely to have been initiated as an Otter proposal. A related web page ("Indian Memorial Gateway | Kapurthala". www.sikhmuseum.com. Retrieved 21 June 2026.) quotes a letter by Daljit Singh "The Mayor and Corporation [of Brighton] as a further mark of sympathy are now going to put a memorial on the spot where the bodies of Hindu soldiers were cremated. The Mahommadan soldiers who there died were buried at Woking where the War Office are erecting a memorial....It struck me that it would be a good thing if we were to put up an Indian memorial in Brighton itself to mark the fact of Indians - Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs - coming to this country to fight for their King and Empire, and also to show a grateful regard for the hospitality of the people of Brighton....". We may want to check the other sources on the Otter proposal and try to reconcile (or jettison part of) the statements. Erp (talk) 03:10, 21 June 2026 (UTC)

Also https://rpm-newspapers.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/Herald/BrightonHerald_05-02-1921.pdf is the Brighton Herald description of the dedication. I note the entry mentions the flag of the British Raj which was presumably the Viceroy's Flag given the description in the Herald article as the Union Jack with the Star of India on it. Erp (talk) 04:27, 21 June 2026 (UTC)

Another source

I note that Singh, St. Nihal (1921). "Memorial to the Indian soldiers at Brighton". Modern Review (Calcutta). 29 (May): 578–583. has a detailed article on the unveiling. The author, St. Nihal Singh, notes that only two Indians were in the official party, himself and the "Raje Sahib of Aundh". He also mentions Rudyard Kipling as being present. As an aside Saint/Sant/St. Nihal Singh seems to be an interesting figure. An Indian journalist who worked outside of India (mostly in the US) both for Indian magazines like the Modern Review but also print media aimed at Americans/Canadians/Brits (https://madrascourier.com/insight/saint-nihal-singh-the-man-who-ran-away-from-home-became-a-coveted-writer-for-us-papers/) The journalist S Nihal Singh is possibly his nephew (son of his brother Gurmukh Nihal Singh) (https://scroll.in/global/976357/how-a-runaway-from-punjab-with-little-knowledge-of-english-became-a-coveted-writer-for-us-papers) Erp (talk) 04:30, 22 June 2026 (UTC)

@Erp Great find! Do you have a copy? I can't even get a snippet view at the Google Books link. I'll try and track it down by other means. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 11:47, 10 July 2026 (UTC)

Internet archive https://archive.org/details/ModernReview/1921_v29/page/579/mode/2up Also wikisource https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Page:Modern_review_1921_v29.pdf/599&action=edit&redlink=1 Erp (talk) 12:24, 10 July 2026 (UTC)