Delhi Road is one of the many roads and streets named after Indian cities in Australia. There is a Plassey Road in Sydney and a Sabraon Road too. There used to be a Lucknow Road as well whose name has been changed since.
Highlights:
- This road is named after the capital city of India, Delhi.
- Kevin Shaw has researched the history of street names in Ryde district.
- December 30th, 1803 is the date when Martha chieftain Daulat Rao Scindia handed over a large area around Delhi to Britishers.
Kevin Shaw has researched the history of street names in Ryde district. Shaw reveals that all these names are taken from the battles fought by British soldiers in India during the Colonial Rule.
According to Shaw, "One of the earliest names of Ryde district was the Field of Marsh."
"That was because in 1792 Governor Philip granted number of marine soldier’s land grabs in the area. And because they were soldiers and Marsh was the God of war, they called the district Field of Marsh. The names of the major roads in the Field of Marsh when the land was subdivided were given to English battle names."
Shaw researched the history of the names of almost 1000 streets in Ryde. Coincidentally, the idea of this research came to him because of Delhi Road. His office used to be on Delhi Road and for many years he was intrigued by the fact that there was a Delhi Road in Sydney.
In this Wednesday, March 25, 2020, photo, India Gate is seen from the Raisina Hills with clear sky in New Delhi, India. Source: AP Photo/Manish Swarup
Finally, he started this research for the Ryde's Historical Society. And at last, he found out the most likely backstory of Delhi Road. Shaw thinks there are two possibilities - one is after the Maratha-British battle of 1803.
According to an Indian historian Prof. Raghvendra Tanwar, "December 30th, 1803 is the date when Martha chieftain Daulat Rao Scindia handed over a large area around Delhi to Britishers. This treaty is known as Sirjianjangaon pact. This was a major win for Britishers as they gained control of an important area in the north and west of Delhi."
But Shaw finds the second possibility more appealing. He explains, "In this area, there used to be a Lucknow Road too. Delhi and Lucknow were the sieges in the Indian mutiny of 1857. The British count them as the victories even though they were very costly victories for them in both cases."
Listen to Shaw's full interview (in English) with SBS Hindi below:
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Why there is a Delhi Road in Sydney?
So, the Delhi Road is a chapter of the Indian mutiny of 1857 embedded in Sydney. It is a chapter that has remained unopened by many Australians as well. Mr. Shaw points out that many Australians do not know that Delhi Road is named after a city in India.
He says, "I think most Australians do not know the origin. For many Australians, Delhi Road is Dell-Hai Road."
Clearly, this goes to show that what may be of no significance to most could in fact mark an important chapter in the history of another nation.
Related podcast:
Why there is a Delhi Road in Sydney?
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