After he was appointed the heir presumptive to the British throne, the grandson of Queen Victoria, frequently visited Her Majesty’s domains on hunting and shooting excursions. He infused a fair amount of style, fashion, etiquette and fervour in these activities. The related brouhaha reached its’ zenith when he was declared King of England in 1910 and was fondly known as George Pancham (George V) to the people of the Indian sub-continent. Maharajas, Nawabs and the titled gentry of the Raj in India left no stone unturned to emulate his style and related paraphernalia. Shooting sports emerged as the favourite hobby of the high and mighty in the days of the Raj as it bore the stamp of imperial approval. In fact it constituted the very epitome of what the empire stood for and keenly perpetuated amongst the ruling classes of India.
For the ruling elite of the Indian sub-continent, importing
high quality bespoke firearms from Great Britain gained popularity by 1900s.
Never to miss an opportunity, British gunsmiths created fine pieces of sporting
guns for sale at exorbitant prices to rich individuals, maharajas and the
nobility. Custom made, individually crafted and highly decorated guns with
personal names engraved were sought after. The ruling class during the days of the Raj were an
adventurous lot, spending considerable time outdoors. They had to govern and
rule over vast tracts of land and in the process had a good time, albeit at the
cost of others. Shooting “game” had become ideally suited for people whose
persona comprised of some western education, political and social influence and
a good amount of money to spare. To go
on “Shikar” and own high quality, made to order firearms became
inextricably interwoven with the lifestyle of the power elite. Much like possessing
a Rolls Royce, owning bespoke firearms and related accoutrements was now a distinguishing
feature between the privileged, who hunted for pleasure and those who poached wild
life for sustenance.
British manufacturers of bespoke firearms who
supplied sporting guns for India’s elite in the late 19th and early
20th centuries were James Purdy & Sons, Holland & Holland,
Westley Richards, EJ Churchill, Boss & Co, John Rigby and WJ Jeffery. For
big game hunting in India, British gun makers also developed exclusive calibres
for India. Starting with black powder 500/450 Express in the initial years,
followed by 375H&H, 416 Rigby, 275Jefferys, 30Super and the famous 577 Rewa
named after a then incumbent Princely State.
For small game and bird shooting which was plentiful across India, the
popular choice was 12, 16 or 20 bore shotguns. All game birds were sought after
but only on the wing. Shooting a sitting bird was now considered unsporting, frowned
upon and seriously discouraged.
Sand grouse, teal, duck, partridge, quail were found in large numbers then and
presented challenging targets on the wing. Thus arose the need to order a pair of
guns so that precious time was not lost in reloading and gun bearers were
trained to quickly hand over loaded guns to ensure uninterrupted shooting. Records
of Imperial Sand Grouse shoots at Gajner in Bikaner and duck shooting in
Bharatpur bear testimony to immensely large bags, as several VIP guns blazed in
organised shoots. This was followed by elaborate al fresco lunches and photo
sessions featuring the high and mighty of the Indian sub-continent. Very often
the days’ bag comprised various species of game birds and hence the term “Mixed
bag” became popular in the English language. In addition to pairs, those who
could afford, used triplets of the same gun make. The Viceroy of India in 1880,
Lord Ripon was recognised as the finest shot in the British Empire and the last
word in shooting on the wing. He had an enviable record of shooting 556,500
game birds in his lifetime.
In big game shooting, to shoot a running animal
during the course of a beat was considered fine sport, much like shooting only flying
birds in small game. Beats or “haakas” were organised for this type of serious
Shikar in Princely States of the Raj. A large group of villagers were ordered
to walk through the forest beating drums and trumpets in an organised manner to
move out the big game towards a pre-determined forest clearing. As the animals
crossed a forest clearing bereft of trees and undergrowth at break neck speed
they provided a sporting chance of a few seconds to big game enthusiasts. The
shooter had to be a good shot with a rifle and very quick on the uptake or
forego the chance till the next beat commenced. This unique feature gave rise to the
manufacture of high quality double rifles which looked like shotguns but were
in fact breech loading double barrelled rifles. Later bolt action rifles were added
to the collections of discerning big game shooters. Tiger, Leopard, Bear, Stag,
Wild boar and various antelopes were felled by these made to order rifles.
Each of these unique made to order guns of the Raj had a serial number and to
this date the original owners of these priceless pieces can be traced. With
heavy engravings, carvings, year of manufacture, name and title of the owner was
prominently mentioned on the gun. Very often the metal engraver, himself an
artist of repute, left his initials on the insides of the engraved side plates.
A large part of the global
business of these British gunsmiths was for the Indian ruling elite. Made from
the finest gun metals available at that point in time, the guns were test fired
and proofed by specialists who stamped each weapon individually. Safety and
quality was paramount and therefore assured for the most discerning clientele. In the Princely States
of Rajputana it appears that Bikaner had a liking for Holland & Holland (H&H)
and was responsible for developing a hybrid called the “Paradox”. This was a 12
bore shotgun but could fire slugs for big game and bird shot when required. The
last six inches on the fore end of the barrel had rifled grooves much like in a
conventional rifle. The H&H Paradox were used for big game shooting by the
Bikaner Royals and became a favourite topic of discussion at post Shikar
celebrations across the Raj. A Paradox now owned by a friend, was kindly allowed
to be used by me to get a taste from a bygone era when sporting guns, like
clothes, were tailor made to fit individuals. The Maharaja of Alwar focussed
mainly on Rifles from Westley Richards as big game was plenty in the State.
Bharatpur was another aficionado for shotguns and the Maharaja had organised a
duck shoot as late as 1961 for Prince Philip where a 20 bore pair made by James
Purdy was used by my father who also attended the shoot. Much later, accompanying
my father, we visited the Maharaja. He was kind enough to show us the same pair
of 20 bore shot guns and allowed me to fire a few shots. The Maharaja of
Kishangarh in addition to importing, also procured some of these fine guns from
Bikaner State. There was hardly a Princely State with a gun salute or a famous
person featuring in the Who’s Who of India 1942 (Imperial Publishing) who did
not possess a bespoke firearm. The Maharaja of Jodhpur had a huge collection
across all makes, brands and calibres as they were fond of both small and big
game shooting.
Some of the owners developed a strong emotional bonding with a favourite
weapon, an emotion which can be appreciated by present day gun aficionados. In
1948 when Pakistani tribesmen closed in on Srinagar, the Maharaja of Kashmir was
advised to vacate his palace without much notice. Understandably only precious
items and jewellery would be carried in such a situation but the Maharaja added
his favourite pair of Purdy shotguns before commencing his journey.
People of
our generation had the chance to experience the tail end of this unique
phenomenon of the Raj which dominated the lives of the social and economic
elite. The larger than life stories around hunting excursions, the great
outdoors and the fine quality guns used, find some audience even today. I
recall one such story recounted by an erstwhile noble. Villagers requested him to
eliminate a leopard which frequently attacked their livestock. The young Prince
ventured out to shoot the Leopard and selected his grandfather’s hammered 500
H&H for the task. He had never used it but had heard many a Shikar stories
featuring this weapon. In the late evening when they were sitting near a goat-kill
and were about to confront their quarry he tried loading the rifle only to
realise that the cartridges he had brought along were marginally sleeker than the
Chamber of the Rifle in hand. It struck him then that the cartridges belonged
to his 375 H&H double rifle. Realising they were now unarmed and a
dangerous quarry was lurking, he looked at his tribal hunting assistant who was
armed with a catapult. The fellow was a great shot with his catapult and wasted
no time in loading a round lead ball in his catapult. In a few moments the
leopard approached, the assistant took careful aim and pulling the catapult to
its’ full length, released the projectile to hit the leopard on his forehead.
The leopard was stunned and was speared before it could regain consciousness.
Later when they examined the skull of the leopard it was found that the metal projectile
had cracked the skull and was lodged firmly in the brain. For several years the
leopard skin and the projectile were proudly displayed in the palace and formed
the topic of excited conversation over drinks. What the mighty Holland &
Holland could not achieve was performed by a lowly catapult. I heard this story
around 1970 on one such evening when accompanying my father for dinner to the Prince’s
palace.
From the beginning of the 20th century
till Indian independence this great interest in made to order, high quality
rifles and shotguns flourished. As the sun finally set on the Raj, the proverbial
cat had vanished but the smile remained, at least for a while. Classic hobbies,
interests and past times including sporting guns continued among the social
elite for some more decades. The death knell for these and related interest was
finally sounded by the unceremonious removal of the privy purses of the Indian
Princes in 1971. The famed British manufacturers of these exclusive weapons started
visiting India to buy back most of these exclusive guns. They were purchased
for meagre amounts of money, reconditioned in England and marketed, like a
piece of Indian history, to rich buyers in the Middle East, USA and Europe. Subsequent enactments of laws and rules by the
Indian government ensured that this last vestige of the Raj was completely obliterated
for all times to come and another fine and glorious Indian heritage was
consigned to the dustbin of history.
