Rare Indian Shares ( by Ashwani K Aggarwal ): St. Paul Church Ambala Cantt- Should be Repaired

November 14, 2015

St. Paul Church Ambala Cantt- Should be Repaired

I was 6 years old ( living in Rajpura ) when in 1965 the beautiful St. Paul 's Church , Ambala Cantt was bombed by Pakistan Air Force. People ( including I with parents ) went to see the damage . I remember the debris , including fragments of painted glass strewn around .

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/984525413

1942 Pic of the Church

https://www.flickr.com/…/5966221…/5985344941/in/photostream/

This Church was constructed by the East India Company in 1855.

http://www.airforceschoolambala.com/church.php.

50 years later when I pass before the Church , I wonder why it was never repaired

=======================================

More on St. Paul's Church , Ambala Cantt.

http://mangalorean.com/browsearticles.php?arttype=Travelogue&articleid=433

1868 Photo

http://www.oldindianphotos.in/2011/06/st-pauls-church-ambala-haryana-c1868.html

=============

Before this the original Church / East India Company Army Cantonment was at Karnal. When the Britishers shifted their Cantt to Ambala , they partially dismantled the Church at Karnal ( from Ambala side between the start of Bye pass and old GT Road at Karnal ) , keeping in tact only the Tower part of the Church ( still in tact )

Please read
" With the establishment of British cantonment at Karnal, St. James' Church was constructed in AD 1806 by the British. In 1841, when the cantonment was shifted to Ambala, the church was dismantled, but the tower was allowed to stay as it had been built out of the subscriptions of the public who objected to its dismantlement.[1] "

Credit : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonment_Church_Tower

==================

I have relatives hailing from Ambala ( my mother was from Jagadhri ). Old timers recall when the Britishers ( East India Company ) wanted land for their Cantonment at Ambala , they let loose mad ( mast ) elephants at them and their dwellings . The scared and terrified original inhabitants of Ambala Cantt migrated to nearby village of Babiyaal .

==================

Old GT Road Ambala Cantt Pic. Please note the Sikh Soldiers ,Cavalry and Telegraph / Telephone lines , in the backgroundhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambala_Cantonment...