CHAPTER 2
PROMINENT ARMENIANS IN
THE HISTORY OF INDIA
Indo-Armenian
merchant-benefactors
During the first half of the 18th century in Madras there was a famous Armenian
merchant named Khojah Petrus Voskan. He was a member of the Madras East India
Company's Council. When the Nawab of Arcot visited Madras, he draped the main
streets with rich silks giving a royal welcome to the Nawab. For this the Nawab
of Arcot granted him the monopoly of the import trade to Madras and the interior.
Voskan was a prosperous merchant. He mostly invested in buildings Voskan was
also public-spirited and pious. He built the impressive Marmalong [Mambalam]
bridge in Madras, as well as a plight of a 160 stone steps - with rest houses
at convenient spots – from the base of the hill to the top on which St. Thomas’s
Church stands. Marmalong bridge bears a stone inscription at the northern end
in Arabic and Armenian, recording the name of the builder and its purpose (i.e.
to benefit the pilgrims to St. Thomas's Mount). This bridge which spans 200
years of history, has been widened, as it was one of the city's bottlenecks.
Khojah Voskan has also built the Chapel of Our Lady of Miracles of Vepery in
Madras. This Chapel Voskan placed under the control of the Capuchin Fathers.
In 1749 the British tried to hand over this Chapel to the Danish missionaries
due to their suspicion of the Fathers of spying for French. Voskan objected
this British decision but after his death in 1751 the British passed it on to
the missionaries in 1752. Khojah Voskan left Rs. 7 lakhs, of which he willed
a large amount for places of pilgrimage in India and for setting up schools
in Julfa (his hometown).
At the end of the 18th century there was another prominent merchant named Agha
Catchick Arakiel. He built the parsonage of the Holy Armenian Church of Nazareth
in Calcutta, presenting a clock and erected its surrounding walls. He was not
charitable only to his community. In 1789 when King George III of England recovered
from a mental disease, the citizens of Calcutta celebrated the event enthusiastically.
On this occasion Agha Arakiel paid off the debts of all the prisoners of the
“Court of Requests” and released 138 Hindus, Christians and Muslims. King George
was informed about this notable gesture and he sent to Agha Arakiel his miniature
portrait and a sword.
Agha Arakiel’s son, Moses was also loyal to the British. In 1801 he raised and
maintained a corps of volunteers at his own expense, in order to assist the
British in Calcutta, who were fighting the French in South India. Moses was
appointed Captain to this corps. The Governor-General presented him with a sword
in recognition of his loyalty.
Other prominent
Indo-Armenians
Joseph Melik Beglar was the most eminent Chinsurah Armenian during the 19th
century. His knowledge of Indian Archaeology secured him a post in the Bengal
Government and he rose to be the Executive Engineer and Archaeological Surveyor
in the Bengal Public Works Department. The archaeological group headed and guided
by him reclamated the famous Buddhist Temple of Bodh-Gaya at Gaya (Bihar). He
participated in the excavations at Gaur, Malda and Sasaram. Beglar also supervised
the erection of Jubilee Bridge near Naihoti, which was opened in 1887 during
Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.
It may be interesting to mention that when one day Joseph Beglar visited a famous
book shop to purchase the most uptodate works on Civil Engineering and Archaeology,
he was given a book which was authored by himself.
At the beginning of the 20th century Herbert Michael Shircore was very famous
in Bengal. He was a freemason and a member of the Zuriel Lodge of Dhaka, a generous
supporter of charities, the chairman of the Narainganj Municipality and was
decorated with the Order of Companion of the Indian Empire in 1933 by
Sir John Anderson, the Governor of Bengal. In Narainganj a school and a road
were named after him.
H.M. Shircore's uncle, Michael Rafayel Shircore was the Honorary Consul
of America in Calcutta. His younger brother, John, was a judge in Lucknow.
There was another famous
Armenian in Calcutta, Greg Moses, who was a well-known attorney, a notary public
and the Consul for Portugal in Calcutta for twenty one years (till 1941).
In Calcutta an Armenian, named Demetrius, was very popular with his outstanding
specimens of cacti, lilies and orchids. He was a life member of the Royal Agri-Horticultural
Society of India and served on its Council from 1946 to 1960. Demetrius was
considered to own the best private collection of cacti and succulents in Asia.
He won numerous prizes including gold medals for his exhibits in different exhibitions.
Mrs.Demetrius was also engaged in this sphere. The Governor of West Bengal requested
her to assist in arranging the flowers in Raj Bhavan on the eve of the visit
of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to Calcutta in February 1961.
Armenians
in Law
Persian had been the official language of India during the Moghul rule as well
as during the British Raj until 1838. It was used in the Supreme Court of Civil
Procedure and the Supreme Court of the Criminal Procedure where all proceedings
were conducted in Persian. The English judges and magistrates delivered their
judgements in Persian. Hindu Law was translated from Sanskrit into Persian and
from Persian into English. Thus the British lawyers had to know Persian and
the Indian lawyers had to know both Persian and English. At that time second
language of the Armenians was Persian (as they were mostly from Persia), and
as they have an aptitude for languages, they could easily learn English. Of
course, they knew also Indian languages, depending in which part of India they
lived.
A number of Armenians were advocates and barristers at the Calcutta High Court
from the middle of the 19th century to almost the middle of the 20th century.
They were leading barristers, attorney solicitors, pleaders, members of the
Bengal Assembly and Bengal Legislative Council municipal commissioners.
In 1870s the leading
barrister of the Calcutta High Court was M.P.Gasper who was the first Armenian
who passed the Indian Civil Service Examination in England in 1869.
Among the advocates of Calcutta Armenians Gregory Paul enjoyed a big authority.
He was graduated from Cambridge University and held different high posts
in the High Court in India.
Many of the Armenians who pursued the legal profession in Calcutta, rendered
valuable assistance to the Armenian Church voluntarily. Some of them acted as
honorary legal advisers of the Church.
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