6 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Soon, the immense importance of the Koregaon action was realized. It was decided to raise an obelisk, 65 feet high, standing on a stone platform about 32 square feet, on the spot onto which the first shot was fired at Koregaon. [1] The foundation- stone of this monument was laid on 26th March 1821. The Column was erected to commemorate the valour of the force. To perpetuate the memory of the brave troops “ to whose heroic firmness and devotion it owes the glory of that day ” it was decided to inscribe the names of the killed and the wounded on the monument. A special medal was issued in 1851 inscribed “ To the Army of India” and two clasps of the medal commemorated “ Kirkee ” and “ Koregaon.” [2]
The Mahars continued to participate in the operations of the Bombay Army and give proof of their redoubtable courage and undeflecting devotion to duty. They fought gallant battles and won renown for their valour at Kathiawar
(1826), Multan and Gujarat (1849), and Kandahar (1880). The Bombay Army took part in the First and the Second Afghan Wars, the Battle of Meeanee (1843), and in the Persian War of 1856-57. [3 ] Soldiers of the Bombay Army went to China (1860), Aden (1865), and Abyssinia (1867), Gen, Sir Charles Napier of Magdala who never forgot the significant contribution that the 25th Bombay Native Infantry made, under his command, to the conquest of Sind was, for ever, praising the Bombay soldier : “ I love the Bombay Army most. I never think of its Sepoys without admiration.” The Mahars in the Bombay Army were moving from place to place leaving imprints of their heroism on various battlefields,
1 . Lt.-Col. H. E. Kenyon, “The Battle of Koregaon”, United Services Institute Journal, 1931.
2 . This was the first Indian medal issued by the British for the Armies in India of the East India Company.
3 . It was during the Persian War that the first Victoria Cross of the Indian Army was won by Capt. J. A. Wood of the 20th Bombay Native Infantry (120th Rajputana Rifles). Subedar-Major Mohammad Shareef and Sepoy Bheer Bhut, both of the 20th Bombay Native Infantry, were also recommended for the award but it was not given to them as Indian soldiers were not entitled, till October 1911, to receive the Victoria Cross.