Historic Armenian cemetery buried under waste
One of the gravestones at the Armenian cemetary in Uppuguda.
Bhargav Nimmagadda
First Published : 21 Apr 2009 08:37:23 AM IST
Last Updated : 21 Apr 2009 12:04:16 PM IST
HYDERABAD: It is perhaps the last known trace of the Armenian
connection with the city of Hyderabad.And now it is almost on the
verge of being erased erased from the city’s historic map.
Yes, the Armenian cemetery located at Uppuguda (known as Opiguda in
the colonial times) is reduced to a mere dumping zone and a place
where people relieve themselves.Armenians came into India as traders
through the overland route much before the advent of European traders
into India, in fact seven centuries before Vasco-da-Gama reached
India.
A historian Mesrovb Jacob Seth in his seminal work Armenians in India
has noted that 19 Armenians including two priests Rev Johannes (1680)
and Rev Simon (1724), were buried in this now deserted cemetery.And
the cemetery is not confined to Armenians alone.
`With no English graves of 17th and 18th century seems to have
existed, even the Dutch used the Armenian cemetery till they acquired
their own cemetery in the year 1678,’ B Subrahmanyam, a retired deputy
director of AP Archaeology Department told Expresso.Referring to a
study done by Dr V Nersessian, he pointed out that there was
considerable Armenian population in Hyderabad and the community was
sent a Pontifical Bull from Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual centre of
Armenian Chursbiantuow in Soviet Armenia.Realising the importance of
the Armenian cemeteries and churchyards, which are the only attested
sources of their presence, the D epartment of Archaeology has declared
the Uppuguda site as a protected monument under the Archaeological
Sites and Remains Act, 1960. But due to sheer negligence, this
historical churchyard is reduced to a dumpyard full of liquor bottles
and human excreta.When the sorry-state of affairs was reported to the
Director of Archaeology and Museums Department P Chenna Reddy, he said
that they have included this cemetery in the colonial heritage
monuments preservation project in Hyderabad.
`The cemetery has been neglected for more than seven years. Before the
Central Government releases funds for this project, the department is
chalking out a plan to clean the site soon,’ an Archaeology Department
official said.One can only hope that the condition of this cemetery,
where the Armenian-Hyderabad connection is etched, would be improved
as soon as possible.