2. India pushes 'graveyard tourism'
Tourist guides prefer to call it cemetery tourism. Others say it is
essentially meant for 'tomb travellers. But tourism authorities at the
idyllic Himalayan Indian state of Himachal Pradesh are loathe to woo
British tourists with such macabre sounding pitches.
So they are telling them a visit to the state's many European
graveyards is an added 'bonus' on their itinerary.
According to official estimates, there are some 10 main 'European'
graveyards in the state, which mainly house the remains of British
people who died in India.
The London-based British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia
(Bacsa), however, estimates the state has a total of 42 such
cemeteries. Many of them are open to the public, although new
burials no longer take place there.
3. India experiments with graveyard tourism
Garrison Engineer Thomas Betes was the Major of Delhi in 1924. P Gibbals served as
Magazine Engineer during the Sepoy Mutiny. T B Ryley was the conductor of the
Ordinance - these British army officers may now exist only as epitaphs and
tombstones, but the over 2 million European graves like these scattered all across
Delhi, Meerut, Agra, Sahranpur, Kanpur and Farrukhabad has prompted the
Government to plan a nostalgia trip for descendants.
This walk down the memory lane project is expected to bring in 1 million tourists in
next three years, when Indian celebrates 150 years of the mutiny of 1857.
And what's more, the programme is already showing signs of early success in Europe.
Says Judith Campbell of the UK Heritage Fund, "A 150 years is a long time to track
down anyone, but given the resurgence of interest in the history of one's ancestors specially those of the military background - this is rather interesting.'‘
This is perhaps why the Tourism Ministry has now notified over 68 cemeteries
associated with the Sepoy Mutiny as national monuments. The Central Government
has also set aside special funds for their upkeep.
And to draw in crowds to these forgotten graves, the ministry has sounded out
missions in the United Kingdom and others in Europe. What is also being planned are
special packages that revolve solely around graves.
4. Graveyard Tourism in India
Tourism authorities in the Himalayan Indian state of Himachal Pradesh are inviting British
tourists to visit to the state's many European graveyards is an added 'bonus' on their
itinerary.
According to official estimates, there are some 10 main 'European' graveyards in the
state, which mainly house the remains of British people who died in India. The Londonbased British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (Bacsa), however, estimates the state
has a total of 42 such cemeteries. Many of them are open to the public, although new
burials no longer take place there.
Rosie Llewellyn-Jones of Bacsa says the rising interest among British tourists in travelling to
graveyards of ancestors is due to "often an inbuilt love of cemeteries among the British
people" and a "huge boom" in genealogy and research into one's ancestors.
"A large number of British people had relatives who served in India, not just as officials, but
as soldiers, shopkeepers, traders, tea planters, forest
officials, teachers, missionaries, photographers," she says.
5. India now tapping into cemetery tourism
with fervour
Down is not out. Arguably, cemeteries do not figure in the must-do list of backpackers and
gadabouts. Instead, temptations from cabaret to cabernet and from the London Eye to the
Louvre, have always had the proverbial draw. But the tombs are catching up. With newfound interest in cemetery tourism, headstones are making heads turn.
While genealogy is a key driver, others prefer time travel for a tete-a-tete with their
favourite characters from history - from rocker Jim Morrison and author Oscar Wilde in
Paris' Pere Lachaise cemetery to William Shakespeare and Charles Darwin in London's
famed Westminster Abbey.
6. Mutiny tour: Cemetery tourism to hit India
Move over health, religious and rural tourism. Cemetery tourism is here to give them a run
for their money. There is a great rush from Britons to see cemeteries of their forefathers
dating back to the British Raj. Coinciding next year with 150 years of the Sepoy Mutiny of
1857, British tour operators are gearing up to send them here. The revolt and the
massacres that followed led to many burials in British garrisons, cantonments and towns in
northern India.
The British Association of Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA) which maintains records of
cemeteries in India has been flooded with queries. Rosie Lewellyn
Jones, secretary, BACSA, says from London, "Everyday we receive inquiries from people
about cemeteries of their forefathers in India. Though people are already visiting India
every month to see these graves in Lucknow, Shimla, Kanpur, Meerut, Delhi and other
places, their number is likely to increase next year when the Sepoy Mutiny will be
celebrated. Even people from Australia, US and Canada are approaching us. All are keen to
see the remains and memorials of ancestors whose mortal remains never returned to the
land of their origin."
