Places of Interest in Kolkata - Statues and Memorials

Statues and Memorials

The Shaheed Minar or "Tower of the Martyrs", (formerly Ochterlony Monument) was constructed on the northern fringe of the Maidan in honour of Sir David Ochterlony who commanded the British East India Company forces in the Gurkha War (1814–1816). It was renamed Shaheed Minar in honour of the fallen freedom fighters after Indian independence.

Other memorials in Kolkata include the Panioty fountain, Police Memorial and the William Jones obelisk at the South Park Street Cemetery. Lascar War Memorial located on the Napier Road in the Hastings area, is a memorial dedicated to the memory of 896 Lascars (sailor or militiaman from Indian subcontinent), who died fighting for the British Navy during the World War I.

Kolkata is full of statues celebrating British heritage and the Indian Renaissance and freedom movement. The Maidan is a particularly good place for statue-hunting. A few of the more notable landmarks are as follows:

• The statue of Netaji, by Marathi sculptor Nagesh Yoglekar is located at the Shyambazar five-point crossing.

• The statue of Sir James Outram by Irish sculptor John Henry Foley built in 1874 is located in front of the Victoria Memorial, originally at the Park Street and Chowringhee Avenue crossing.

• The statue of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar by Bengali sculptor Pramod Gopal Chattopadhyay built in 1899 is located on the premises of Sanskrit College.

• The statue of Rabindranath Tagore by Russian sculptor Aizekovich Azgur built in 1963 is located at the premises of Jorasanko Thakur Bari, the Tagore family residence.

• The statue of David Hare was built in 1847. It is one of Kolkata's few marble statues, on the precincts of Presidency College.

• Besides, the statue of the celebrated Bengali film star Uttam Kumar stands at the Deshopran Sashmal Road.

• The statue of Karl Marx near Maidan