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BRIDGING THE GAP Revival of a Former Dutch Cemetery in the Urban Fabric of Surat, India

Kaanan Thakkar RLICC (August, 2021) KU Leuven Promoter: Prof. Thomas Coomans Co-Promoter: Drs. Jean-Paul Corten

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE RAYMOND LEMAIRE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR CONSERVATION KASTEELPARK ARENBERG 1 – POSTBUS 02431 3001 LEUVEN, BELGIUM

Bridging The Gap: Revival of a Former Dutch Cemetery in the Urban Fabric of Surat, India

Promoters:

Prof. Thomas Coomans Drs. Jean-Paul Corten

Thesis to obtain the degree of Master of Science in Conservation of Monuments and Sites Presented by Kaanan Thakkar

KU Leuven, September 2021

© Copyright KU Leuven Without written permission of the thesis supervisor and the author it is forbidden to reproduce or adapt in any form or by any means any part of this publication. Requests for obtaining the right to reproduce or utilize parts of this publication should be addressed to KU Leuven, RLICC, Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, B-3001 Heverlee (Belgium), +32-1632 17 48 or by email rlicc@kuleuven.be. A written permission of the thesis supervisor is also required to use the methods, products, schematics and programs described in this work for industrial or commercial use, and for submitting this publication in scientific contests.

Zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van zowel de promoter als de auteur is overnemen, kopiëren, gebruiken of realiseren van deze uitgave of gedeelten ervan verboden. Voor aanvragen tot of informatie i.v.m. het overnemen en/of gebruik en/of realisatie van gedeelten uit deze publicatie, wend u tot de KU Leuven, RLICC, Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, B-3001 Heverlee (België), 32-16-32 17 48 of via e-mail rlicc@kuleuven.be. Voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de promoter is eveneens vereist voor het aanwenden van de in deze masterproef beschreven (originele) methoden, producten, schakelingen en programma’s voor industrieel of commercieel nut en voor de inzending van deze publicatie ter deelname aan wetenschappelijke prijzen of wedstrijden.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................................... 1 PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 7 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS........................................................................................................................... 12 0

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 18 0.1. 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

STATE OF THE ART........................................................................................................................................... 21 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................. 32 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 39 LIMITATIONS ..................................................................................................................................................... 46 LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................................... 48

1. SETTING THE CONTEXT .................................................................................................................... 54 1.1 GEOGRAPHICAL FRAMEWORK: SURAT AND THE NETHERLANDS ............................................................ 56 1.1.1 Surat / સુરત ................................................................................................................................................... 56 1.1.2 The Netherlands ................................................................................................................................................. 63 1.1.3 Connections ........................................................................................................................................................... 64 1.2 VOC IN INDIA.................................................................................................................................................... 72 1.2.1 The Rise ................................................................................................................................................................... 73 1.2.2 Ancient Surat and the VOC relations......................................................................................................... 87 1.2.3 The Fall and the Legacy .................................................................................................................................. 99 2. VOC FUNERARY CULTURE ................................................................................................................. 104 2.1 AROUND THE WORLD ......................................................................................................................................... 105 2.2 VOC CEMETERIES IN INDIA ............................................................................................................................... 109 2.3 THE DUTCH CEMETERY SURAT: ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION .......................................................................... 112 3. PRESENT DAY ........................................................................................................................................ 119 3.1 THE CEMETERY: CURRENT SITUATION ........................................................................................................... 120 3.1.1 The Site and the monuments .................................................................................................................... 123 3.1.2 Urban Scenario................................................................................................................................................. 135 3.1.3 Legal ...................................................................................................................................................................... 138 3.1.4 Social perspectives .......................................................................................................................................... 140 3.2 EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................... 146 4. RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................................... 157 5. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 166 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................................... 168 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................................................................ 173 ANNEXES ...................................................................................................................................................... 176 INVENTORY: TOMBS PRESENT IN THE DUTCH CEMETERY, SURAT .................................................................... 176 Site Plan .......................................................................................................................................................................... 176 Types of tombs ............................................................................................................................................................. 176 TOMB 1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 177

TOMB 2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 185 TOMB 3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 189 TOMB 4 ......................................................................................................................................................... 194 TOMB 5 ......................................................................................................................................................... 199 TOMB 6 ......................................................................................................................................................... 202 TOMB 7 ......................................................................................................................................................... 207 TOMB 8 ......................................................................................................................................................... 212 TOMB 9 ......................................................................................................................................................... 216 TOMB 10....................................................................................................................................................... 220 TOMB 11....................................................................................................................................................... 223 TOMB 12....................................................................................................................................................... 229 TOMB 13....................................................................................................................................................... 234 TOMB 14....................................................................................................................................................... 238 TOMB 15....................................................................................................................................................... 241 TOMB 16....................................................................................................................................................... 244 TOMB 17....................................................................................................................................................... 248 TOMB 18....................................................................................................................................................... 251 TOMB 19....................................................................................................................................................... 255 TOMB 20....................................................................................................................................................... 260 TOMB 21....................................................................................................................................................... 264 TOMB 22....................................................................................................................................................... 266 TOMB 23....................................................................................................................................................... 271 TOMB 24....................................................................................................................................................... 275 TOMB 25....................................................................................................................................................... 279 TOMB 26....................................................................................................................................................... 283 TOMB 27....................................................................................................................................................... 286 TOMB 28....................................................................................................................................................... 289 TOMB 29....................................................................................................................................................... 291 TOMB 30....................................................................................................................................................... 296 TOMB 31....................................................................................................................................................... 299 TOMB 32....................................................................................................................................................... 302 TOMB 33....................................................................................................................................................... 305 TOMB 34....................................................................................................................................................... 308 TOMB 35....................................................................................................................................................... 311 TOMB 36....................................................................................................................................................... 314 TOMB 37....................................................................................................................................................... 317 TOMB 38....................................................................................................................................................... 320 2

TOMB 39....................................................................................................................................................... 324 TOMB 40....................................................................................................................................................... 327 ARMENIAN CEMETERY ............................................................................................................................ 330

In December 2020, during and for the Master’s Thesis, I was returning to my home country India after a year and a half of studying, living and travelling in Western Europe. I carried strong reflections of the experiences I gained living in a foreign land- for the first time in my life. I was curious to see how my experiences may influence the way I perceive the familiar landscape of the home I grew up in. Alongside the exposure I gained at university during the master’s course, it was interesting to mingle in multi-cultural discussions and understand ‘western’ ideas of India and its people. In the international mix of my classmates during the course, I would often be enthusiastic in answering the curious questions of my fellow so-called foreigners about India. On the other hand, my curiosity to learn about the European cultures were no different from theirs. In discussions, we would often find common ground in cuisines, traditions, and vocabularies. For example, in Western India, a staple bread called ‘pao or pav’ finds similarities in what my Brazilian classmate calls bread ‘Pão’.

These cultural overlaps seemed like random instances of fascinating coincidences until I learned that there was a legitimate term for the overlap caused due to globalisation and its traces. In the very academic course I was studying, we were exposed to the theory and practice of ‘Shared Heritage’. As I decided to venture into the subject for further research as part of my Master’s thesis, I picked up the immediate geographical connection from where I was currently based, that shares a significant past with India – the United Dutch East India Company or VOC (Dutch acronym for Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie), and its architectural traces in India. The idea of developing a study on the conservation of Dutch heritage in India was fuelled further when I came across the ongoing efforts of the Rijksdienst Voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) or the Cultural Heritage Agency of Netherlands, an executive body of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in Netherlands. The agency works in the areas of generating and disseminating knowledge, implementing policy and legislation, administering guarantees and subsidies, searching for innovations in heritage care and providing practical advice in the country. Apart from that, the Cultural Heritage Agency works together with ten partner countries in ensuring a sustainable future of their shared cultural heritage by providing training, advice and instruments. After various meetings, multiple discussions, several case studies, a handful of Dutch archives and an internship with the RCE experts, coupled with 3 months of living and experiencing the life and culture of the Netherlands – here I was an Indian, a foreigner in their home, learning and studying about traces of Dutch culture back home in India.

The efforts of RCE for the conservation of Dutch-Indian shared heritage have been spanning over a decade now, among which the most recent collaborations have been the RCE Advisory Missions towards the sustainable conservation of the Dutch Cemeteries in South-East and South of India. Former missions have been conducted in the region of West Bengal while some collaborative projects have also been steered through local participation in South-West India. As I noticed the RCE missions except some curious researchers’ visits, had not reached the West of India i.e., the region of Gujarat yet, I knew I wanted this to be rediscovered and explored for possibilities as well then. Surat, an important trading post and directorate of the Dutch VOC showcase the traces of its Dutch past even today. But more importantly, the city holds complete and consolidated evidence of this major overlap of Dutch and Indian cultures in its iconic heritage site among 11 others i.e., the Dutch Cemetery. This cemetery can easily be distinguished from others in the Indian subcontinent. The size and grandeur of these European tombs amidst a bustling metropolitan Indian city of today could easily be mistaken for Indo-Islamic monuments, if it were not for its name ‘Dutch Cemetery’, while it stands ‘protected’ as a national heritage site. The idea to conduct my study towards the conservation of the former Dutch Cemetery in Surat was not just an opportunity to establish a lost connection between a shared past and its present but also to culturally rediscover the meanings of these architectural traces through the perceptions of today. I had learnt the Dutch side of the story during my internship, now it was time to learn the Indian side of the story- both were the two sides of the same coin one would assume. But conservation of cultural heritage, after all, is the process of selection and preservation of memory. Who decides the conservation of shared heritage? Whose heritage is it to conserve in case of conflicting pasts and present-day priorities? I carried unanswered questions and one side of the story with me, on my field trip to the Dutch Cemetery in Surat. My perception of a heritage site owned by India had indeed been influenced by my experiences in Europe. I had turned into an advocate of the ‘sharedness’ of a heritage site that was very Indian until now. From learning through the intangible Dutch archival knowledge to finally being amidst the monuments on Indian soil, the journey was irrevocably stirring. It felt different, being the common thread or the connection among the two sides of the same story, being told from two separate hemispheres. Through my Master’s thesis, I have not just attempted to conduct background research and an analysis of the cemetery for its significance in the present day but have further strived to determine the opportunities of its integration among the people and the place

that surrounds it. This thesis is an attempt to rightly ‘heritagise’ the cemetery with valuebased reasoning for all the stakeholders attached to it. ‘In history and heritage, think time and space, together, always’, as Prof. Coomans would always put it, this study demonstrates the parallels and the coincidences of both in various ways. As part of a bigger picture, putting these little pieces together through this study is only the beginning towards the true and sustainable conservation of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat. I hope this Master’s thesis supports and brings enough interest and attention towards the significant needs of the cemetery as well as its future as shared heritage in India.

This thesis work is the result of research, writing and discussions in a time spread out over a year. Many people and institutions have provided support along the way to the completion of this work. I want to thank the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC) at KU Leuven, my home institution where I started my academic journey with one foot in heritage and the other in architecture. From coming in as a young professional, I can now call myself a heritage professional, through a journey that has not only been transformative but also memorable. This thesis has accounted for a major part of that learning. In no particular order, I would like to thank the people without whom this thesis could not have materialized. First of all, I am very grateful to Prof. Thomas Coomans, my thesis promoter, supervisor and mentor who has not only inspired the students from the beginning of the course to look closer to the notions of heritage but also been the constant source of encouragement in action during my thesis. His directions and meetings brought in interesting discussions that led me to theorize and understand my ideas further. At RLICC, I would also thank Prof. Christian Ost for our preliminary discussions for developing methodologies in my research. And most importantly, Prof. Leonard de Wit, for his stirring session on Heritage Law in February 2020, which led me to approach him with my ideas on pursuing a thesis subject at his home institution Rijksdienst Voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) or the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, and his warm welcome by connecting me to the Advisor and Conservation Architect Nanette de Jong. The real journey began in discussions through the first meeting with Nanette de Jong and Funerary Historian Leon Bok, when they shared their inputs on the RCE efforts on the subject of Dutch Cemeteries in India. I was to start a research internship combined with a thesis subject at RCE for which Jean-Paul Corten came into the picture. Jean-Paul has played a major role in my thesis journey. From internship arrangements, welcoming me to the RCE to facilitating my field trip and last but not least, mentoring and guiding me throughout my thesis as a co-promotor. In Jean-Paul’s directions I learnt to consciously keep my focus on the ‘practical and real’ aspects during the study, as it was quiet often easy to get carried away in the vast research subject. I am ever so grateful for his constant support and encouragement, thoughts and all our discussions. In the same regard, I would like to thank him and the RCE for giving me this opportunity and in further supporting my research and providing an allowance for travelling and accommodation during my fieldwork research in India.

I would also like to thank Rene ten Dam at Dodenakkers.nl, who alongside Leon Bok, exposed me to the idea of Funerary heritage. They have been the knowledge box and guides for the subject matter and its technical, historical, textual aspects throughout. My internship at RCE was a memorable experience on its own, I am ever so grateful to Nanette de Jong, for supervising and guiding my research during the internship in 2020, for inspiring me through field trips and discussions in the Netherlands, helping me with archival texts, introducing me to various experts and exposing me to the Dutch side of the story in my research to the fullest! Nanette has been extremely positive and has pushed me throughout to be confident with my thoughts and direction. I would also like to thank Jinna Smit and Lennart Bes for welcoming me into their home for an interesting evening of discussions and exposure to Shared Heritage and their experience on IndoDutch history. I am further grateful to Lennart Bes for offering to help me with the archives and taking me around the Hague and engaging in discussions on VOC history and heritage, a memorable day on its own. The next half of my research was lived in India through the fieldwork. Through the financial support of RCE, I was able to take a field trip to my home country India and my site in Surat. During the field trip, I had the chance to meet Mr Gautam Chauhan, ASI officer and Head of the South Gujarat division. I would like to thank him for his detailed discussions on the state-of-the-art scenario of the cemetery and the shortcomings of its own. Further, I would like to thank Mr Prakash Hathi, the founder of a Surat-based NGO Dharohar, doing pioneering works in heritage awareness in the city, for his enthusiasm and support, as well as the organisation of the workshop which has turned out to be most memorable day among my works, and hence I am grateful to all the 50+ heritage enthusiasts that attended the morning at Dutch Cemetery Surat. And a special thanks to those who stayed back to volunteer with the fieldwork through the day. And last but not the least, the person I can never thank enough - my father for accompanying me at the cemetery, helping me in complicated hand-measurements in the scorching Surat sun, and often just sticking around for moral support while I studied the site through the days. A major part of this subject was to talk about it, to share as much about it. I have also been grateful for an opportunity with ICOMOS Netherlands, for an invitation to engage in discussion on Dutch-Indian shared heritage with 60+ attendees during their monthly virtual meet up, where I had the chance to share my work and gain expert opinions. Last but not the least, I have to mention that although this thesis has been a solitary yet fulfilling journey, in the present times of Covid-19 alongside my other full-time ongoing internship, it has been a major part of not just the academic Master’s Programme but important learning in the school of life. Even in the tough times of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have been fortunate enough to have accomplished all that I have in the past year in this work. I could not have gotten through the completion if it was not for my rock and shelter - my family, friends and mentors, my people back home from India as well as my people in what I like to now call my second home, that resides somewhere between Belgium and 8

the Netherlands. Through these indistinct overseas connections, I am glad to have studied the shared past and lived a shared present. I dedicate my thesis to its sole purpose, the heritage, and its conservation. Kaanan Thakkar August 2021

Figure 1: In discussion with Lennart Bes at his and Jinna’s home in Amsterdam, November 2020 | Credit: Jinna Smit

Figure 2: Heritage enthusiasts meet-up listening intently about the Dutch tombs at the cemetery, January 2021 Credit: Dharohar India

The Dutch Cemetery shares its premises with the Armenian graves amidst a crowded locality of urban Surat, India. Formerly known as a trader’s town during the Dutch East India company’s time in India and a thriving business hub today, Surat shows rapid urbanisation and development pressures on its heritage. The Dutch Cemetery, located within the central zone of the city is surrounded by encroachments, new constructions, and a changing migrant community. The cemetery happens to be the only remaining open space in the neighbourhood today. It demonstrates a unique assembly of asymmetrically arranged tombs comprising of a transcultural character in its IndoIslamic and European blend of architecture, as it gradually weathers away with time. Despite being a nationally protected site, there remains a gap between the community’s needs and the recognition of the cemetery as heritage. In this ambivalence, a question arises of its significance. The presented study explores that gap through an understanding of the lost historical context, derivation of a cultural significance and identification of the opportunities for the future of the cemetery’s conservation. Beyond that, the study conducted partly in the Netherlands, partly in India, becomes a bridge between a shared past and a shared heritage today.

This Master’s thesis is presented in the form of sections 0-5. The synopsis shows the path taken throughout this research and highlights the overall objectives and results obtained during the study at every step. The main body i.e., the chapters are preceded by the Introduction, intent and the problem statement to the thesis. Sections 1, 2 and 3 then strive to answer the research questions in the sequence of the research performed. As the first stages of research were started during the research internship at RCE, Section 1 covers the geographical framework leading to the formation of shared heritage between Surat and the Netherlands by the causes of trade and globalisation. During the internship, various literature and historical data were referred to collect historical data towards the present study of Dutch Cemetery in Surat. Hence, Section 2 recalls the history of VOC in Surat and further analyses funerary architecture through case studies. The internship was then followed by fieldwork in Surat which becomes the Section 3. This section is a compilation of the findings and further assessment and analysis obtained through the fieldwork visit to the cemetery. Based on the combined theoretical and practical analysis, recommendations are drawn towards the conclusion of the study. An essential part from the fieldwork compilations i.e., the record or inventory of the 44 remaining tombs at the Dutch Cemetery in the current state of conservation, is attached in the annexe alongside additional attachments. The inventory is added as annex for the sake of consistency and ease of reference. Introduction, provides an overview of the subject and the motivation towards the case scenario. It introduces the reader to the state-of-the-art and the context of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat. This background is then followed by the expansion on the aims and objectives of the research study while discussing the problem statement hypothesising that there is a disconnect between the community and its Dutch Cemetery as their heritage. The lack of the cemetery in accommodating the current pressures and needs of livelihoods in the present socio-cultural scenario is further justified through a combination methodology is produced based on available data and references. Further, research questions around its current identity, cultural and social significance as well as the future are detailed out. A brief review is produced with an overview of the previously published works that became the defining directions of the thesis on the subjects of VOC history in Surat, past records of the cemetery as well as studies on the state of European cemeteries in India. While reasoning with the scope and limitations of the project, the methodology and the phases of this research are presented at the end of this section. Using the Burra Charter (2013) as the reference point, a reasonable approach towards recognition of the cultural significance and conservation of the cemetery is developed. Section 1, aims to Set the context by delving deeper into the geographical framework with regards to the shared pasts and present relations between Surat and the Netherlands, 12

reasoning Shared Heritage. The two places, Netherlands and India are introduced in their individual contexts and their present-day connections are highlighted briefly. The formation of this shared heritage is explored through the becoming of VOC and its historic timeline in India. The rise of VOC, their activities in Surat and the specific timeline in Surat is discussed. An overview of Surat’s historic origins and background as a trade city in a timeline including European traders is presented. The era of the Dutch society in ‘Dutch Suratte’ through an elaboration of co-existence with the Mughal society, their relationships and diplomacies are highlighted in detail as the essential turning point and cause of the cemetery’s form and occurrence. The section concludes with the decline of VOC in India and the legacies they left behind. This leads to the discussions about the formations of their settlements and funerary landscapes. Section 2, the subject of funerary cultures is explored through case studies around the world. The funerary practices in the Netherlands in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries is understood through a case study at Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Further case studies of VOC cemeteries in Suriname as well as Nagapattinam and Pulicat in India are studied to understand and differentiate their character from the Dutch Cemetery in Surat. The justification of the architectural and cultural significance of the cemetery as more ‘local’ than the others is hence obtained through this study. The Dutch Cemetery in Surat and its historical evolution through mentions is briefly highlighted to introduce the becoming of the site it is today. Section 3, is the compilation of the fieldwork findings and analysis of the Dutch Cemetery in the current times. The fieldwork conducted between December 2020 and January 2021, gathered information on the Dutch Cemetery’s material existence today as compared to its previous phases of study, gathered through the archives and recent studies. The cemetery’s architecture is briefly dissected through a comparative analysis of the remarkable features seen in the 4 different types of tombs, distinguished from European funerary case studies as well as traditional Hindu, Indo-Islamic architecture. The site and the monuments are detailed out through the current state of conservation and its surrounding context. Further, the current urban landscape and social, cultural, legal situation studied during the site visit through mapping and interviews is presented. The section is concluded with an empirical analysis produced in multiple practical ways of information through SWOT analysis, Nara Grid, stakeholder analysis and mapping as well as a multi-criteria analysis. Section 4, presents the Recommendations to become the outcomes after identification of factors and issues around the cemetery. The results attempt to strike a balance towards the top-down approach and bottom-up approach with suggestions on the stakeholder scenario, participation through inclusive conservation, management and use of the cemetery. This step justifies in finalisation of the first three steps of The Burra Charter (2013) of forming recommendations leading to eventual policy and management advice.

Section 5, concludes with an attempt to ‘close the gap’ with perspectives on use and the limitations. It is concluded that there are limits of the legitimate use of the cemetery due to the many shortcomings. The study is concluded with visions for future interdisciplinary approaches and further possible research that can be conducted for the fruitful, holistic and sustainable conservation of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat.

― Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, 1859

Tangible heritage is a finite resource. The built environment that surrounds us is an account of human activity and interactions. The built environment inherited from past generations embodies their livelihoods, skills and infinite investments. When these reflections of a cherished past are ‘valued’ by the people of the present, this built environment in its reflection of knowledge, tradition and meaning becomes the heritage of today. When preserved for the future, built heritage not only provides distinctiveness, identity and quality of ‘place’ to a neighbourhood in its sense of continuity but also becomes a resource of socio-economic growth and learning. In order to sustain the historic built in the present time, often the recognition of ‘values’ is enough to justify their existence and their conservation for the future when surrounded by the same community. But more often in a changing world and its changing communities, the justification of an ‘inherited’ built environment’s existence needs more than just values.

When values are not recognised on their own, they need to be realised through an association that comprises the immediate community’s interest in the place and further justifies their duties and responsibilities towards its conservation, regardless of their ownership. This can be called ‘shaping’ the historic environment by ‘generating’ the values and allowing the people to benefit from and use the built heritage without compromising the ability of future generations of doing the same. By creating this ‘sense of place’ and assisting in shaping one, to intertwine the current community’s needs and livelihoods to the built heritage that it surrounds, sustainability in co-existence can be hence attained.

Such a case of a displaced identity and lost association with wavering possibilities of sustenance for the future, while it currently remains protected yet while it weathers away, amidst a thriving community in its neighbourhood, is the case of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat, India. This cemetery though has another layer to its heritage. It is “shared”. It is a trace of a shared past, created due to meeting of two different cultures, geographically meeting in one place at one time, and hence is now a piece of this ‘shared heritage’. 18

Since the beginning of mankind, people have created tangible structures that remain as traces of their former occupation or use of the place. 1 These built evidences from around the world become markers to form the heritage of those places and in turn help in dissecting and understanding the history and events of a place and its people. As the people leave, the remains of their once lived habitations, administrations, trades and matters continue to ‘tell the stories’. 2 Through the remarkable events of globalisation such as trade and colonisation, a heritage born of dual or multiple identities came into being through shared histories. The Indian subcontinent has seen the fate of globalisation through long and early exposures to foreign invaders, from Persians to Europeans.

The European trade wave came to India in the 15th century. The Portuguese were the first to arrive and establish direct trade links with India from the South-West coast of Calicut. Then came the Dutch, having set up their base in Ceylon, Sri Lanka, followed by the British and the Danish. These seafaring trade rivals established various trading posts with strongholds in different parts of India through the 16th and 17th centuries. With trading posts came the settlements, military forts, administrative infrastructure and the cemeteries. The built environment served the purpose of trade and geostrategic survival of the Europeans on Indian soil. As the Europeans aspired to make a fortune on the Indian subcontinent with trade, their lives were often interrupted due to the extreme effects of the Indian tropical weather and lifestyle. Many European men died early in their twenties or thirties while young women often died during pregnancy or childbirth. The babies would have a bare chance of surviving their first year of birth.3 Hence, the various number of European cemeteries that still stand in India today is not only an essential element of their built environment but also the evidence of the innumerable loss of human lives, showcasing the darker sides of the apparently powerful and glamorous lives of the Europeans in India. Among the Europeans in India, the dynamics of commemorating their dead on a foreign land differed from that of the orthodox way of private memory. While they erected monuments to uphold the memory of their deceased, a lot depended upon their own religion, belief in afterlife, social status, income and the immediate Indian society they prevailed in. Not everyone could afford to build the monuments, and not everyone needed to. As the Europeans left, the memory of their deceased left with them, unless they created lasting impressions on the local Indians. With the selection of memory, comes priority 1 ISC SBH. (2014). What is Shared Built Heritage? Retrieved from ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Shared Built Heritage: http://sbh.icomos.org/index.php 2 ISC SBH. (2014). What is Shared Built Heritage? 3

Krieger, Martin. 2013. European Cemeteries in South India (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries). New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors. p.14 19

and conflict. And with the least of direct and personal associations, there remained limited reasons for India to preserve the structures. However, despite the extreme weather of heat and abundant rainfall, heavy vegetation, growing population and need for land, neglect, vandalism and lack of ownership altogether, many such European tombs and grave monuments have survived around India, till today. Although, the general nature of negligence towards the cemeteries as redundant decaying complexes still prevails. These historic cemeteries are yet known to be idle spaces, inviting nuisance of gamblers, alcohol vendors, etc. and creating insecure environments in Indian neighbourhoods today. This matter of their existence escalates further in urban environments that continue to perceive the European cemeteries as occupiers of large fragments of land amidst growing urban pressures as they provide nothing in return. The state of the surviving cemeteries in India differs from case to case. Some cemeteries survived through time under the maintenance and protection of the British colonial administration until India’s independence4 in 1947 but were since left to return to nature with time due to lack of funds. While some cemeteries are well maintained to an extent to date due to the efforts of the Church of South India and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), some have now disappeared as a result of removal or deliberate destruction. As for the case of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat, the complex that shares its walls with the Armenian cemetery and stands 1 km away from the British cemetery in its vicinity- the precincts are protected, maintained and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India. All the three cemeteries and their tombs are national monuments. In this context, the case of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat has been studied further and investigated through available archival data and present-day field work. From learning through the architectural character that tells stories of its existence to study the current state of protection and conservation of the site, this study aims to dissect and recognise the values and significance of the cemetery towards its preservation for the future. The state of the art of the subject matter, aims and objectives of the study, a hypothesis leading towards the problem statement and the main research questions are explained in the following chapters. The methodology and phases of the research are expanded further based on this backdrop.

After Independence, lack of funds meant that the fate of large number of smaller burial grounds was legally sealed by an agreement between the Indian government and the British High Commission to let them ‘revert to nature’: Krieger, Martin. 2013. European Cemeteries in South India (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries). New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors p.14 20

If one were to look at the European tombs of Surat in India, one would be easily mistaken to think of these eccentric structures as somewhat a Mughal set of monuments. These structures trace their identities to the co-existence and the confluence of two different cultures from two separate worlds, that met to serve one purpose (one would presume) in its physical form of architectural commemoration of death. Although it was not just a memorial that the architectural style and size was meant for, it was also meant to support other deliberate reasons that favoured these European societies and their trade in Surat. The Dutch Cemetery in Surat alongside the Armenian and the British cemeteries, reflect the local language in the architecture of its time and stand still today showcasing the meeting of these two cultures among the multi-layered, multi-faceted and multi-cultured Indian subcontinent. If one were to question the character of the cemeteries today, one would be seeking answers on not just how they came into being, but also on their current values, significance, identity and so much more. The current context of the cemeteries in relation to the dynamic and growing surrounding city that surrounds them is distorted. Today, heritage in the rapidly growing city of Surat is challenged due to various diverse pressures of urbanization, increasing housing demands and socio-cultural as well as climatic changes. A city that once acted as the important corridor of trade and commerce in its strategic location close to the Arabian Sea through time, continues to be known as the entrepreneur’s hub of Western Gujarat. Despite efforts by the local government and multiple local ventures to spread heritage awareness, the city’s heritage landmarks continue to see the fate of deterioration and neglect. The Dutch Cemetery in Surat is a monumental attraction standing amidst the urban sprawl by the river Tapti. The historic site is one of the historic landmarks in the city amongst the few prominent ones, inviting some tourists. It falls inside the historic precinct of Surat demarcated by the old fortification wall remains, unlike the English Cemetery that stands outside the old-walled city. While the site- like many important others in its 2.5 km radius- is owned and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India, it has met the fate of gradual degradation and ignorance in terms of sound conservation, maintenance and management. It is losing its sheen today with increasing vandalism, local penetration, encroachments, lack of security and responsible care. In its proud Indo-Islamic size and architecture, the important tombs such as that of Baron Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede have been deteriorating and losing significant details and character.

Figure 3: Location of Dutch Cemetery in Surat | Credit: Author, Modified from Google Maps

Figure 4: Aerial view of the British Cemetery in Surat, 2012 Credit: ASI

Figure 5: Dutch Cemetery, Surat, December 2020 Credit: Author

The Dutch Cemetery in Surat is a complex housing 44 tombs of various sizes, shapes and order. The cemetery shares the same complex separated by a short compound wall with the Armenian cemetery. While approaching the cemetery through the crowded neighbourhood streets, one would see the tall domes from a distance and spot the cemetery. Taken by surprise, as one would walk in closer to these life-sized domed structures among the concrete buildings that surround it, one would see the largest dome of the Tomb of Adriaan van Rheede. Few other double-storeyed tombs peek above the compound wall. A common entry to the Dutch and Armenian cemeteries through an old wooden gateway with an arch lets the visitor into the ASI protected heritage site between 9 am to 5 pm, all days of the week. Although, a smaller gate towards the South-West side of the site is open more often given the fragility of the old gate. The tombs in the cemetery do not follow any arrangement and are spread around in varying sizes and types. A short compound wall with an opening, separates the Armenian cemetery and a domed chapel on the East side, from the Dutch Cemetery. A site manager and a caretaker, employed by the ASI look after this complex and the English Cemetery today. The largest tomb is that of Baron Adriaan van Reede (1636-1691), who was the Director of the Dutch Company in South India and was and a botanist/author who studied and wrote Hortus-Malabaricus- a series of books on the plants and herbs of Malabar. He died at sea near Bombay (Mumbai) and was buried at Surat.5 The tomb consists of a double cupola and a gallery above and below, supported on colossal, adorned columns. The monument, just like the others on-site, is constructed in brick and mortar, coated with lime and ornamented with carvings and frescoes. With wooden windows and a door intrinsically carved in typical Mughal lattice work, the internal room houses a cenotaph with a decorated high domed ceiling and hanging funerary hatchments made in wood, which were very common in the Netherlands between sixteenth to early nineteenth centuries, especially among the nobility and high-ranking clergymen. The tomb houses hatchments of three different people. The rest of the craftsmanship and the construction, speak the language of the local architecture that evolved from the 15th to the 17th century and replicates the size and grandeur of Mughal imperial tombs in its Indo-Islamic style. Most of the tombs were once decorated in escutcheons, wooden frames and paintingsmost of which are not visible today. Surrounded from West, North and East with a five-storied building, a textile factory, double-storied slums houses – all built over the compound walls, the cemetery stands sandwiched amidst a shambolic developing area. The southern wall of the cemetery runs adjacent to a narrowing access road with a garage and more multi-storeyed houses on

Kempers, August Johan BERNET. (1938). “De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat.” Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 65-92.

the opposite side. According to the ASI protection legislation, the Dutch and Armenian cemetery is protected with a buffer zone prohibiting any kind of construction.

Figure 6: Tomb of Baron Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede at Dutch Cemetery Surat | Credit: Author

The cemetery does not have maintenance plans or regular subsidies for its management today. A broken signboard at the main entrance mentions ‘ASI protected’ while weathered signage in English and Gujarati informs the visitor about the Dutch Cemetery in 4 or 5 lines. With very little vegetation on site, the complex is a mix of concrete surfaces showing attempted levelling of the site, empty pockets with accumulated debris, and two newly constructed structures housing a manager’s room and toilets have been added on the premises. The rooms remain locked unless one were lucky to spot and get a key from the site manager, amidst his rounds during the day. With two underpaid employees taking care of 44 Dutch tombs, an approximate same number of Armenian graves and a chapel, as well as a kilometre away standing English Cemetery with twice the number of graves and tombs to care for, the cemetery faces neglect. With just a few curious Dutch and English tourists visiting once in years and some rare visits from local photographers and heritage enthusiasts, the cemetery passes days in its regular quiet afternoons.

The Dutch Cemetery is frowned upon by the neighbours, especially women, given the insecurity produced by the hidden sheltered spaces on the site that has gamblers and drug addicts occupying the premises. If not for that, either way, the only people to enter the cemetery are young boys and men that use the premises as their playground. The cemetery is the only open space in the neighbourhood. There is nothing much the ASI employees can do in terms of security or to change this, as there are no ‘written’ strict rules to the entry and use of the site, or any other kind of surveillance assistance. The kids play around the strangely arranged structures commemorating foreign deaths. In the pockets of this protected site in their neighbourhood, after the caretaker would lock the little namesake gates at 5 pm for public entry and make his way home, the compounds become their playground. They would jump over the compound walls to enter the site in high numbers after school and leave at sunset. Only when the site is closed, it truly comes to life. Students from art and architecture schools have visit the cemetery for activities of artistic sketching as well as architectural documentation. Heritage enthusiasts and NGOs in the city have attempted to create awareness about the European cemeteries but have not been able to tell its story. There is no historical or archival resource that I came across during this study that is readily available in Surat or with the Archaeological Survey of India. The only historical sources are the memoirs of European traders that recall Surat and the cemetery in their travelogues and diaries. The Indian side of the story is lost.6 The cemetery in its physical form is still present, all Surat must do now, is create the values that demand significance and engagement with its heritage, and not just protection for a sustainable future. This challenging thought now leads us to the point of explanation and justification for the attempts of investigation and its ways endeavoured in this thesis study.

That said, all the resources being developed in the present time in the form of pictures, blogs, research, documentation and memory- are all bound to become the archives for the future. 26

Figure 7: Surrounding infrastructure on the South-East of the Dutch Cemetery, December 2020 Credit: Author

Figure 8: Constructions over the compound wall of the Dutch Cemetery (North-East side), December 2020 Credit: Author

Figure 9: Protected and regulated boundaries around the Dutch, Armenian and English cemeteries are indicated in yellow and green rings respectively Credit: Author, recreated from Google maps

Figure 10: Entrance gate on the South side of the Dutch Cemetery along the street and the peeking tombs above the compound walls, December 2020 Credit: Author

Figure 11: On my visit to the cemetery, Rehaan introducing me to his neighbourhood, December 2020 | Credit: Author

Thought

Once during my field trip to Surat, as the cemetery was to close at 5 pm I left to take a trip to a famous tomb in the vicinity just 2 km away from Dutch Cemetery. This 16thcentury tomb was of Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani alias Khudawanad Khan, a Governor of Surat who died during the battle with the Portuguese in 1546 at Diu and Daman7. It is a nationally protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India as well. The tomb is now known as a holy shrine worshipped by the local Islamic community and holds constant devotees and visitors throughout the day. Only men are allowed inside like other holy shrines as per the Islamic culture. In the shrine, the plaque mentions: ‘This is the honoured and resplendent mausoleum of the auspicious and martyred Khan Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani’, the exalted and dignified Khudawanad Khan’, A plaque in English is an unusual sight at an Islamic shrine and further possibly proves that the tomb was also restored and cared for by the Britishers during their administration before 1947. On the one hand, lay an entire complex of richly decorated tombs with the least of appreciation and visits, and on the other stood the holy tomb of a person whose community lives on. A hypothesis created before the site visit was now witnessed to be partially true. The questions one could ask in further wonderment could be: would the Dutch tombs have survived the loss of importance if the Dutch community would have stayed longer? Will they ever gain significance and value in the perspectives, in their status that is deprived of religious symbolism, within the Surati community?

Heritage sites. Retrieved from Gujarat Tourism website, April 2021: https://www.gujarattourism.com/experiences.html?cid=2

Figure 12: ASI board demarcating 'Protected Monument' at the Tomb of Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani, December 2020 Credit: Author

Figure 13, 14: (L) A regular evening at the Tomb of Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani. (R) Neighbourhood visitors and devotees at the Tomb of Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani Credit:Author

‘Communities keep heritage alive’ This statement drives the aim of this thesis subject. 8 The study is an attempt to analyse the current scenario that surrounds the Dutch Cemetery and recommend a foreseeable sustainable future for the cemetery – through its people. The type of conservation that starts from a dialogue among the decision-makers and residents in the city as well as all the stakeholders attached to the cemetery as heritage, that includes the Dutch community too. At present, apart from the label of protection, the cemetery remains to be ‘ambivalent heritage’9. The label of protection has also been an occurrence during to the British administration. The administration has a huge role to play in the set-up of the Heritage protection law of India through the formation of Archaeological India. Currently, as Surat distributes itself in various urban zones, the Dutch Cemetery falls within the Central zone boundaries alongside the other historic landmarks. The cemetery in its heritage protection status and location is capable of contributing vigorously to the urban congested area that surrounds it yet remains as challenged as any other urban heritage or a funerary landscape. The surroundings of the cemetery remain to be growing with haphazard urban developments of residential and commercial use. The cemetery remains the only ‘open’ space in the neighbouring environment. The conservation framework of the cemetery and other heritage sites in the city presently follow an individual approach that shows a lack of integration with the city development and planning process. The community that surrounds the cemetery is practically disconnected and does not benefit from it to be able to appreciate and take pride in a historic site in their neighbourhood. Hence, the lack of responsibility and negligence towards the cemetery by the ASI does not bother anybody but the visitors. At the Gujarat state level, the urban development policies lack integration of heritage contexts in general. The policy instruments of heritage conservation at the local level in Surat have not seen the light of heritage-led planning and specific local strategies yet. There have been attempts to produce guidelines by the Surat Municipal Corporation in

POPA Adrian M. (2020). Building Common Ground for Cultural Managers in the Balkans. EUNIC Global (26 August 2020): https://eunicglobal.eu/projects/building-common-ground-for-culture-managers-in-thebalkans 9 Chadha, Ashish. 2006. “Ambivalent heritage: Between Affect and Ideology in a Colonial Cemetery.” Journal of Material Culture, Vol.11 339-363. 32

studies conducted by the Urban Management Centre, but the execution and implementation have been a struggle for the local authorities.10 Currently, through a study of the state of the art, the following hypotheses outlining the research questioning can be hence prepared: •

• • • • • • • • •

Shared heritage is a skewed concept unless applied on the ground and adopted by the local community. There is a gap between the idea of shared heritage and its application on the ground. The city of Surat and the community that live around the cemetery do not identify the cemetery as ‘their’ heritage. A justification is needed for the conservation of the cemetery and its beneficiaries. The cemetery has misplaced its identity and has displaced its values, even though it is legally protected. Heritagisation of the Dutch Cemetery in an intangible sense, to generate its significance for conservation in the future. A sustainable survival of the Dutch Cemetery for the future in the growing urban fabric of Surat can further be guaranteed with a synergy of its tangible and intangible. The Dutch Cemetery is a mere assembly of tombs as a museum complex with minimum visitors and no accountable use for the community that surrounds it. There is no sufficient record of the Dutch Cemetery in the archives available in Surat or elsewhere. The local community does not have a ‘sense of place’ in the cemetery to wish for the sought conservation in the future. The cemetery’s future is at stake as a result of the ambivalence and the gaps in the management of heritage in Surat.

Scope and Problem Definition Around the Dutch Cemetery today, in the comparatively new urban fabric of the Katargam area, are residential buildings, small businesses and shops, and a busy flyover. The urban development pressures in and around the historic centre are growing considerably. This calls for immediate attention in terms of maintenance, management and regulations of these landmarks. The state of the Dutch Cemetery remains highly neglected and vulnerable, under constant threat from lack of maintenance and natural deterioration. While most parts of the historic settlements that lie in the radius around it, are seeing the fate of demolition, it is also essential to integrate these other historic landmarks for sustainable conservation considerations, alongside the Dutch Cemetery. The traces of a shared past still linger in the city in their physical form through the monuments. But it is not just the Dutch that left their traces in the multi-layered history Manvita, Baradi, Maghna, Malhotra. 2011. “At the Core: Understanding the built heritage of Surat and Rander.” India: UCD: New Ranip.

of the city. Next to the Dutch Cemetery stand the English and the Armenian tombs and cemeteries with names intact written on the graves – identifying the lives that were lived and deaths that were seen in the city. Although, unlike them, most of the tombs in the Dutch Cemetery are anonymous today. With epitaphs stolen or lost, no one knows where they came from, their background, families, lineages or stories unknown. No one to ‘claim’ them as theirs today. While the future of those cemeteries remains in question- it is important to create awareness and narratives raise awareness and eventually form a well-informed knowledge base, that would contribute to the consistent preservation of the Dutch Cemetery.

The cemetery no longer accommodates the current needs of the community. The community does not associate itself with the cemetery, as the maximum population of Surat comprises of followers of Islam or Hinduism.11 This creates a cultural disassociation. Beyond that, the cemetery is not a place of utility in their neighbourhood. As a place that goes quiet at night and creates issues of insecurity, the cemetery is seen as a burden by the people around it. The problem statements therefore formed are: 1. There is a disconnect between the local community and the cemetery as shared heritage. 2. The cemetery no longer accommodates the needs of the community and its socio-cultural scenario.

As per the Census of 2011, Muslims are 11.63%, Hindus are 85.31% and Jains are 2.3% in Surat. The population of Muslims has increased in the last decade. CENSUS BOOK DISTRICT SURAT (2011). Village and Town wise Primary Abstract. Retrived July 2021 https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/2425_PART_B_DCHB_SURAT.pdf

Figure 15: Diagram showing problem definitions

Does it exist? Or not?

Objectives and Research Questions Since there exists a disconnection between the community’s life and the cemetery’s use, with no one to engagingly look after, there has easily been ample scope of degradation and negligence with time. The challenge hence remains in justifying its ‘purpose’ as heritage. As the importance of heritage remains highlighted, the question of its function to benefit the future of the society that surrounds it often remains unanswered. If interpreted and managed well, the Dutch Cemetery can effectively contribute to the overall quality of the urban fabric it sits in. From past to present, the cemetery has indeed lost its contextual identity, and so has Surat as a city. Surat is currently seeing a newborn and slow-brewing heritage conservation movement among its development pressures. This city is not a touristic one by nature. But in the city’s goals of becoming a ‘SMART’ city and a sustainable one, heritage is starting to gain the attention and interest of initiatives and finances. The initiatives remain top-down, with project plans of ‘physical conservation’. In this early setting, it is essential to include the Dutch Cemetery’s question for its future.

In a constantly changing socio-cultural scenario of the city, the recreation of its importance lies in realising its ‘new function’, hence creating its base of existence. While existing and remaining a part of the urban landscape, it holds the potential to become a possible tool or a contributing factor of development to the livelihoods around. The research direction can be defined with three main goals: heritage values, societal context, consequences. One can question if the cemetery ever will fit into the lives of the community as heritage, given the gaps. Through the thesis, the research questions will be aimed towards ‘closing that gap’ in study.

The research questions hence are as follows:

• How can unidentified heritage be valued and conserved among a new urban community that surrounds it, and for its future generations? i.

What is the identity and value of the Dutch Cemetery in the local heritage context today?

ii.

How to bridge the gap between the cemetery as heritage and the community? How can a significant association be generated for its future survival?

iii.

How can the cemetery meet the current needs of the community that surrounds it and become a ‘place’?

1. This thesis study, based on the above research questions, argues that the Dutch Cemetery, with its future at stake, can be sustainably conserved if the process is started from a new value-based approach that is aimed to provide continuity to the site. 2. While focusing on the generation of values, this thesis aims to justify that the conservation of the Dutch Cemetery is for the community of Surat and it is hence their heritage first. 3. The leverage of ‘shared heritage’ is used to explore the connections and define the values through the links generated in the cemetery’s past and present. The thesis aims to become the basis for the recognition of the Dutch Cemetery among its people. In the process of this thesis, through discussions and on-site work, the thesis aims to start talking about the present value and the future of the cemetery that goes beyond protection. By engaging the people and interest from the Netherlands as immediate stakeholders of the cemetery by the means of ‘shared heritage’ as well as stirring up participatory discussions and dialogues on-site among the people in Surat, the thesis has aimed to develop an analysis that defines the values of the cemetery and further defines the opportunities of its integration and use in the city. The case of the cemetery in Surat is one of its kind wherein it stands as an important monumental site yet alone as a remaining piece of significant heritage testimony of Dutch heritage and society in the new urban landscape of Surat. The study, therefore, is an opportunity for the development of a basis for the holistic and sustainable approach towards the cemetery’s conservation. This needs to be done while investigating and defining the individual scope of the cemetery first and then look for ways to successfully integrate the cemetery with the city and look beyond material conservation. Through interpretation of values, building connections, integration through use and participation, the Dutch Cemetery of Surat holds the potentials of going from a standalone trace of Dutch heritage in Surat to a significant part of the urban environment it currently thrives in. The main target is to develop a better understanding of the built environment of the Dutch Cemetery and its surrounding existing urban setting. In line with the framework of the research questions, the thesis uses a combination of a distant top-down study of the cemetery’s shared, multicultural context and a bottom-up field work approach to understanding the state-of-the-art for data collection and its analysis, in addition to the literature review. Accordingly, the study will reflect through its qualitative, quantitative and empirical results, and derive recommendations and conclusions.

This brings us to the 3 main aspects of the study to form a methodology: 1. Understanding the context of the Dutch Cemetery – India and the Netherlands 2. Deriving the cemetery’s cultural significance – Past and Present 3. Identifying opportunities or issues- Towards managing the future of the cemetery The tools, methodology and phases adopted during the research in doing so, are hence expanded in the next chapter.

The case of Dutch Cemetery, as shared heritage is more complex as urban heritage than the other historic landmarks in the city. As it has been defined in the problem statement previously, material conservation of the cemetery is not enough for its future survival. As long as the ‘value’ and ‘significance’ of the cemetery are not recognised, its conservation cannot be justified among the community. For this, the setting would be to understand the origins of the cemetery in terms of its Dutch as well as the Indian past. In this context, the cultural significance can then be derived in theory. While realising the cultural significance and value through history might often be enough, it might not be in the case of the Dutch Cemetery. While the cemetery in its physical form is still standing protected to an extent, it becomes the most essential tool for the identification and generation of values and association as heritage. This translation is attempted through the approach of studying the architectural character of the Dutch Cemetery and in comparative analysis, defining the identity as Indian. While the background study on the Dutch Cemetery was mostly done from the Dutch side, the tombs in their physical form tell the Indian side of the story. As a vantage point, the conservation approach defined by the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 201312 fit this case the best requiring an independent and bottom-up approach. According to The Burra Charter, conservation aims to retain the cultural significance of a place by embracing not just the aesthetic and historic values but also the social and spiritual values. The Burra Charter acknowledges that cultural significance is synonymous with cultural heritage significance and that its meaning and understanding is subject to change over time and with new information. The Charter further sets itself apart from other charters like the Venice Charter from 196413 which focuses on the safeguarding of cultural heritage through ‘authentic’ preservation of the built environment. The Venice Charter has been widely applicable and is still used in Europe, but its rigid principles can be seen to have limitations in nonWestern places where often the selection of heritage memory is beyond the control of regulations given the complex socio-cultural scenarios. The guidelines of The Burra Charter have become increasingly influential and has been applied over the years in parts of Africa, India, Vietnam and China apart from Australia.14 12

ICOMOS Australia (2013). The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural significance. Australia ICOMOS. http://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/2145/#:~:text=The%20Burra%20Charter%20provides%20guidance,exp erience%20of%20Australia%20ICOMOS%20members. 13 ICOMOS (1964). International Carter for the Conservation and Restoration of monuments and Sites. The Venice Charter, 1964. IInd International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments, Venice. www.icomos.org/charters/venice_e.pdf 14

Rellensmann, L. (2014, November). Dreams not Bricks: The Burra Charter and Australia's Pioneering Role in Preservation. Retrieved from uncube: www.uncubemagazine.com 39

Hence, in line with the approach of the Burra Charter, which is more bottom-up and puts people and their perceptions at the centre of conservation and the emphasis on understanding the places and their association first and then developing the ways to manage them and their changes in the future, the study leans towards learning the onground scenario of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat towards managing its future conservation. The thesis follows the outline of Article 6.1 from the Article 6: Burra Charter Process of the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 2013, that quotes the following: “6.1. The cultural significance of a place and other issues affecting its future are best understood by a sequence of collecting and analysing information before making decisions. Understanding cultural significance comes first, then development of policy and finally management of the place in accordance with the policy. This is the Burra Charter Process.”15 The steps of the Burra Charter process are illustrated in the form of a flow chart which forms part of the Charter:

Article 6.1 from the Article 6: Burra Charter Process of the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 2013 40

Figure 16: The Burra Charter Process (Steps in planning for and managing a place of cultural significance) Credit: Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter 2013

More specifically, in defining the limitations of the thesis, only Steps 1, 2 and 3 are followed with concluding recommendations that could help the future steps of policy development and management for conservation, i.e.: • • •

Step 1: Understanding the place Step 2: Assessing Cultural Significance Step 3: Identify all factors and issues

As seen from ‘community and stakeholder engagement should occur throughout the process’16, the investigation during this research has majorly pressed upon the community perspectives, opinions and participation as a defining major part of the process towards building an all-round analysis and recommendations. Hence in line with the above theoretical framework, the chapters ‘Setting the context’ and ‘Historical Morphologies’ looks for answers to the research questions of ‘cultural significance’ to address the requirements to answer the research questions, the thesis was divided into three main phases of data collection. The structure of this book also follows the stages of the study. Phase 1: Background study: The Dutch Cemetery in Surat, layered in its history of United Dutch East India Company (VOC) presence in the city, had to be essentially understood from the starting point of its cultural origins at home. This was seen as a major advantage during the internship at RCE wherein the Dutch side of the trans-cultural development was deeply studied and understood. The background study mainly covered the aspects of history and funerary culture based on two factors – historical resources and case studies. During the research, a background study was mainly performed during the research internship at RCE. During the internship in the Netherlands, through literature reviews, previous records of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat as well as available data in various publications on the VOC heritage in India were studied. In recognising associations of the cemetery with the VOC funerary culture, various case studies of cemeteries in burial practices that fall in the parallel timeline of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat were performed through site visits. Additionally, in constant guidance and discussions with funerary experts, the specific aspects to look out for in the field visit to the Dutch Cemetery in Surat were drawn out in preparation. Alongside the historical research, various virtual meetings with experts working on the conservation of Dutch cemeteries in India were organised. A few virtual interviews with local stakeholders in Surat, as well as online survey forms to collect first 16

Burra Charter Process Flow Chart, ICOMOS Australia (2013). The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural significance. Australia ICOMOS. http://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/2145/#:~:text=The%20Burra%20Charter%20provides%20guidance,exp erience%20of%20Australia%20ICOMOS%20members.

impressions of public opinions on the Dutch Cemetery in Surat, were collected, in preparation for the fieldwork. Phase 2: Field study: The collection of the data so far and its interpretation had been added to the approach to be considered on-site. The fieldwork mainly comprised of direct observation processes, documentation of the present state of conservation, comparisons of funerary character, interviews and conversations. The plan to visit Surat was at two different times -once in December 2020 and after reflections, again in January 2021. This phase was aimed at collecting observations on the social, cultural, economic and legal aspects of the cemetery as well as build a record of the present state of the cemetery and its remaining tombs. The plan of inventorying the tombs apart from just studying their conditions was adapted on-site. In pretext, a statement made by Martin Krieger in his research on European cemeteries in South India further inspired the need to record the tombs. The statement goes as follows: “A historian writing a book on cemeteries in India must thus pursue three goals: In addition to making use of the surviving cemeteries, monuments and related archival sources for historical research, he or she has to record the present condition of the monuments for comparison at a later time. Finally, there is the hope that such a book would attract the attention of the public, doubtlessly, which are the best means of preserving the surviving cemeteries.” 17

With these goals in mind, the fieldwork consisted of photo-documentation of the tombs and building an inventory with basic hand-measurements and while positioning the tombs on a reference site plan. Beyond that, the architectural character and interventions of the built fabric were studied to compare the funerary aspects to define the Dutch and Indian narratives of cultural significance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in-situ with visitors, the local community, the manager, etc. Ex-situ interviews of the government officials and authorities concerning the cemetery were conducted. Since there were no available archives related to the Dutch Cemetery in the city of Surat or elsewhere in India, the historical aspect of the cemetery could not be studied here again. A heritage-meetup with the local heritage enthusiasts through online registrations was organised with a local NGO Dharohar India. The group of heritage enthusiasts on-site were engaged in discussions about the cemetery.

Krieger, Martin. 2013. European Cemeteries in South India (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries). New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors.p. 15 43

The surrounding urban context was also studied to understand the association to the cemetery. Other fragments of the Dutch built heritage such as a factory and a garden were visited to attain a contextual relationship too. Phase 3: Data analysis and compilation The data collected through the background study and fieldwork were compiled through the presented study. The inventory of the tombs was compiled through distribution as per types and digital one-line drawings. A comparative analysis of the architectural character and state of conservation is presented in the chapter ‘materiality’ ahead. Based on interviews, the community perspectives regarding the current values of the cemetery were understood. After an empirical analysis and recognition of the opportunities and threats, recommendations are then drawn out in conclusion. Main tools used Data collection: • • • • • • •

Study and literature review through archives Online surveys and polls Voice Recordings - for semi-structured interviews of local inhabitants, organisations, officials etc. Photography - for site-surveying, inventory, observations and evidence of details. Hand measurements with measure tape and a laser measuring tool. Mapping/sketching and use of standard base maps on paper- to mark, number and inventory the grave monuments as well as surrounding urban scenarios. Conversations and Observations - also for social context, community mapping in the surrounding vicinities

For data filing and assimilation: • • • • •

A standard file to inventory the graves monuments at the cemetery Site Plan showcasing the various factors in the premise Maps - to compile the surrounding urban observations, community-related social profiles and phases of development Visual representations of information through diagrams, timelines, etc. Written reports

Analysis: The urban character, stakeholder scenario, physical state of the cemetery as well as associated social, economic, cultural and legal aspects were weighed in through various types of analysis. such as Stakeholder analysis and Mapping, Multi-criteria analysis and

SWOT analysis. The values realised through the study have been evaluated through the Nara grid, a value assessment scheme based on the Nara Document on Authenticity.18

VAN BALEN Koenraad (2008). The Nara Grid: An Evaluation Scheme Based on the Nara Document on Authenticity. APT Bulletin: Journal of Preservation Technology, 40, p. 39-45. 45

While the effects of trade and colonisation can never be forgotten in the history of India, an enquiry with a perspective that the Dutch Cemetery is a by-product of a complex era, is left out. The thesis in no-way wishes to glorify the harsher realities brought in by the East India companies, inclusive of the VOC, to India while generating use and values for the Dutch Cemetery. In a similar manner, on a neutral ground, the thesis respects the people who have passed away in their time away from home and lay buried at the cemetery in Surat. Development pressures are the highest of concerns for most of the heritage sites around the world. This site is no different. Often heritage sites can be safeguarded based on the value and significance and community awareness, but that is not enough in the case of Dutch Cemetery. Today, with constructions and new residential buildings in the protected zones of the cemetery, the immediate community is a relatively new one. There are ongoing lawsuits against these illegal constructions that jeopardize the protection of the cemetery. In this context, a certain part community around the cemetery feels threatened by the idea and efforts of ‘heritage conservation’ with fears of losing their homes. This conflict led to being major limitations during the fieldwork. The complex social scenario limited my interactions and interviews with the people. Only a lesser than expected number of people were willing to talk discretely and hence were interviewed as part of the data collection of the study. That said, the urban surroundings could not be studied in depth on site single-handedly too. The mapping of the socio-cultural and urban context that surrounds the cemetery could not be studied and presented comprehensively. Hence, the data compiled to present the social and urban insights and the resultant impacts of the cemetery, is incomplete. As there were not enough archival records, I came across in the Netherlands that documented names and backgrounds of the people buried at the cemetery, while most of the graves on site have lost their epitaphs today, most genealogical connections remain unidentified. This in no way implies that through this research, all the available resources have been studied and there is future scope of studying the cemetery’s Dutch connections. The background study could not be further completed as the records and documentation with the Archaeological Survey of India remained inaccessible. The archives of Surat that might have had records of the Dutch Cemetery have been lost since the floods of 2006 in the city.

Additionally, complete physical documentation of the Dutch Cemetery is not in the scope of this thesis, since the current study aims to look at the potential opportunities of the cemetery’s relevance. During the site work, the drawings in the inventory and photo documentation of the tombs are to be used as observations for future conservation, and 46

are not detailed measure drawings. Damage assessment also does not fall under the scope of this study. Placemaking has often helped gain the highest value in heritage conservation. The scope of the thesis would not be to give an adaptive re-use quality to the site, but rather the thesis aims to look at the possibilities and bring a stir of discussions about the significant aspects that would help better the condition of the site and in turn become a catalyst to a slow brewing heritage conservation movement in the developing city of Surat, India – where its own identity and symbolism is still in question.19 Applied heritage management and engagement recommendations are not the scope of the thesis. Although the final goal is to formulate recommendations that would support the decision makers, managers, policy makers, international stakeholders and the citizens, towards future conservation of the Dutch Cemetery. Although, how these insights and analyses can be used in a plan of action is the more challenging part. And as there will be only one case studied here, we also must know that there is no one-sizefits-all approach to conservation of shared cemeteries in India. That said, due to the limited scope of the thesis that concentrates on the case of Dutch Cemetery, the neighbouring Armenian and English cemeteries in Surat have also been left out.

“What does the community hope to achieve? Today all major cities have their own unique symbol that forges their identity (Char Minar for Hyderabad, India Gate for Delhi, and so on); but Surat doesn’t have any. Or is it? A mall or a food joint cannot be our identity; we felt the need for something more profound- a unifying idea and symbol. As we unearthed more about our history and heritage, we are getting people to connect to it, to their own roots and forge their true identity as Surtis. What kind of value does the community create for its members? - An underlying principle is to treat our heritage as an asset and not a liability...And as the attention flows there, the energy and resources will naturally follow. A saddening inside story is Surtis are often shocked when you tell them that Surat has some beautiful heritage sites that are worth a visit. This means there is a lack of awareness about the same even amongst locals.” DHAROHAR FOUNDATION (2019). Preserving the Past for the Future- Reconnecting to Our Roots, Our Identities-Community Conundrum. Spaceplexx Retrieved from https://www.spaceplexx.com/post/preserving-the-past-for-the-future-reconnecting-to-our-roots-ouridentities-community-conundrum-5

The theoretical framework of the presented study follows the themes of shared heritage recognition and value assessment based on historical analysis, records and state-of-theart of the Dutch Cemetery. The available literature on the aspects related to the Dutch Cemetery was referred to collect as much relevant data as possible. The study of available literature mainly took place during the internship with RCE. 1. Theory The concept of shared heritage as well as previous research approaches towards the subject were understood by looking at examples of past RCE reports on projects executed in close cooperation with counterparts in other countries in the Shared Cultural Heritage programme. A global report of the RCE team’s visit for conservation of Dutch cemeteries in South India was also read before discussions.20 Further exposure to research in transcultural heritage was gained from articles in the journal Preserving Transcultural Heritage: Your Way or My Way? that questions authenticity, identity and heritage approaches towards the safeguarding of architectural heritage created by the meeting of cultures. The paper on ‘Built together and Heritagised together’, defines a collaborative method for developing new knowledge and contributing and safeguarding a threatened transcultural heritage through material analysis and accurate value assessments.21 This approach although is not pursued fully in the present research study, it is applied in a way while documenting the state of the art. 2. History of VOC in Surat and India The effects of globalisation in response to VOC expansion and the exchanges of interaction between India and the Netherlands are explored in the book ‘The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550’ by Jos Gommans. The book is a part of the Country Series published by the Rijksmuseum’s History department wherein the objects in the Rijksmuseum collection are used to explore the shared history of the Netherlands with other countries. The book taps into the various exchanges of the Dutch and the Mughals in Northern India with several leads that detail the associations of a past Dutch society in Surat. This vantage point also opened the idea of shared heritage in the intangible sense that can be related to the cemetery during the research. 20

De Jong Nanette, ten Dam Rene, Bok Leon, Erfgoed, Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel, and Dodenakkers Funerair Erfgoed. (3 to 16 January 2020). “Global Report on the Cultural Heritage Agency Team's Second Visit to India .” 21 Coomans, Thomas, and Yitao Xu. 2017. “Built together, Heritagised Together: Using Building Archaeology for Safeguarding early modern churches in China.” In RODRIGUEZ DOS SANTOS Joachim (Ed.), Preserving Transcultural Heritage: Your way or My Way? (Questions on Authenticity, Identity and Patrimonial Proceedings in the Safeguarding of Architectural Heritage Created in the Meeting of Cultures), Lisbon: Polygraph, p. 197-206. doi: 10.30618/978-989-658-467-2

One of the most massive sources documenting India is the five-part, eight-volume series ‘Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien’ (Ancient and New-East India)22 written between 1724 and 1726 by François Valentijn, a minister employed by the VOC in East Indies. Comprehensive and illustrative Dutch accounts on Surat and the Great Mughals appear in the 4th part of the 2nd volume. The voluminous journal is penned by Valentijn’s research correspondence and documentations during his stay in India. Many such personal accounts written and sketched such as that of voyagers, traders and ministers mention Surat and its inhabitants as well as the cemetery in the wonder of its size and architecture. One such early works by the British Reverend John Ovington, A Voyage to Surat in the Year 168923 is referred to and used in accounts that followed in the 19th century. Apart from the above, several anthropological studies describe the Dutch society in Surat and the relationship with the Mughals, an interesting cusp of cultures in history. Some historians such as Sanjay Subramaniam24, Ishrat Alam25, Balkrishna Govind Gokhale26, Karl Fischer27 and James Tracy28 expand in their essays and papers on the historic developments of life, trade and society at the time of the Dutch and English in Surat, during the 17th and 18th centuries.

3. Dutch cemetery, Surat One of the first mentions of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat appears in an article written by A.F. Bellasis, a British individual who wrote an account on ‘Old Tombs in the Cemeteries of Surat’ in 1861 published in the Journal of Asiatic Bombay29. His account covers the English, Dutch and Armenian cemeteries with slight mentions of the tombs and the epitaphs naming the people buried.

Valentijn, François. 1724-1726. Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien’ (Ancient and the New-East India), Part 4, Volume 2, Dordrecht: Joannes van Braam 23 Ovington, Reverend John. 1929. A Voyage To Surat In The Year 1689. . Edited by H.G. Rawlinson, London: Oxford University Press, Humphrey Milford. 24 Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. 2000. “A Note on the Rise of Surat in the Sixteenth Century.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 43(1), p. 23-33. 25 Alam, Ishrat. 1995. “Trade at Surat, 1648 - Dutch memoir.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress Vol.55 (Indian History Congress) pp. 324-335 26 Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind (1979). Surat in Seventeenth Centur. A Study in Urban History of pre-modern India. Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies, Monograph Series 28, Bombay: Popular Prakasshan. London: Curzon Press. https://www.indianculture.gov.in/surat-seventeenth-century-study-urban-history-pre-modernindia 27 Fischer, Karl. 1967. “The Beginning of Dutch Trade with Gujarat.”Indian History Congres. Volume 27. Proceedings of the twenty-seventh session (1965, Allahabad), Aligarh, p. 206-215 28 Tracy, James D. 1999. “Asian Depotism? Mughal Government as seen from the Dutch East India Company Factory in Surat.” Journal of Early Modern History,3(3), p. 256-280. 29 Bellasis A.F., Esq. C.S. v.6 1861. “Art. X. - Old Tombs in the Cemeteries of Surat.” Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay 146-156. 22

The most detailed account in historic records on the Dutch Cemetery in Surat is an article by Bernet Kempers in Tijdschrift voor Indische taal- land- en volkenkund (a journal on Indonesian language, geography and ethnology, published at Batavia (Jakarta) from 1853 to 1955). The article ‘De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat’ (The Dutch Tombs in Surat) written by the Dutch ethnographer appears in 1938 30. Kempers on his visit to the cemetery with the help of the Archaeological Survey of India provides a comprehensive account with historical references on the evolution and origins of the cemetery. The physical state of conservation of the cemetery, management and social scenario is although left out from the picture and the account majorly focuses on the tombs and their nature. A site plan with its numbered tombs is explained in character, positioning and nature through the article. The article does not provide ample photo documentation for visual comparisons, although the observations made in written descriptions have been accountable historic references guiding the study of the tombs on site today. The record made in this study through the field work follows the methodology of Kempers in documenting each tomb, but with photographs and handmeasured drawings to support the visual representation. The architectural documentation of Dutch VOC heritage around the world in the work by Temminck Groll in The Dutch Overseas: Architectural Survey31, is one of the most recent detailed accounts of mutual heritage documentation and has a detailed chapter on the Dutch cemeteries in India. The book In steen geschreven, Leven en sterven van VOC-dienaren op de Kust van Coromandel in India (Written in Stone. Life and death of VOC-officers and their families at the Coast of Coromandel in India) by Marion Peters and photographer Ferry André de la Porte32 partially deals with the disappearing VOC heritage in India, the graves and monuments through photographs and descriptions. There are comprehensive descriptions of the VOC funerary culture in India and describes the funeral of the VOC Director Adrian van Rheede in Surat as well. Although, the book does not hold a detailed account of the state of conservation of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat. A more recent study on the European cemeteries in South India conducted and compiled in the book European Cemeteries in South India (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries) 33 by Martin Krieger is an exceptionally detailed study that looks into the death in colonial Kempers, August Johan BERNET. (1938). “De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat.” Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 65-92. 31 Temminck Groll Coenraad L., W. Van Alphen, H.C.A. De Kat, Hanneda C. Van Nederveen Meerkerk, & L.B. Wevers (2004). The Dutch Overseas. Architectural Survey: Mutual Heritage of Four Centuries in Three Continents (Cultuurhistorische Studies). Zwolle: Waanders Publishers. 30

Peters, Marion, and Ferry André de la Porte. 2002. In steen geschreven: leven en sterven van VOC-dienaren op de kust van Coromandel in India (‘Written in Stone. Life and death of VOC-servants at the Coast of Coromandel in India’). Amsterdam. 33 Krieger, Martin. 2013. European Cemeteries in South India (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries). New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors 50

South of India and records the evolution and state of conservation of surviving European cemeteries in the region. However, this detailed account of cemeteries leaves out the region of Gujarat from its scope of the study. Although, a compiled study of the state of conservation and photo-documentation of ‘Dutch monuments in India, Gujarat’provides an inventory and recommendations for conservation by Leo B. Wevers, a Dutch engineer who visited India to document the VOC heritage in 1997. 34 The overview of the Surat Dutch Cemetery is described in its physical context and state of conservation with an updated site plan and photographs of some selected tombs. A comprehensive compilation in the book De VOC in India (The Dutch East India Company in India)35 on VOC heritage in Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel and Bengal by the Dutch cultural anthropologist Bauke van der Pol traces the settlements, factories, trading posts and cemeteries. The study refers to the old and new pictures surrounded with historical background and compares the state of conservation of these traces in the present time. Further on, the special relationship between the Dutch and the Mughals is once again highlighted through paintings, stories and examples. A particular chapter on Surat and its Dutch Cemetery brings together the records of Bernet Kempers and Leo Wevers as well as on the funeral of Adriaan van Rheede. While looking at the references used in historical analysis and the available data, it can be seen clearly that the only accessible sources in the context of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat are by the Dutch or the English. After studying the historical memoirs to recent studies, further resources are generated with the help of the on-ground work of data collection in India, since the physical traces of the tombs today are the only accessible resources that tell the Indian side of the story. An essential source of recent work from the ongoing efforts of heritage documentation of cemeteries in Surat comes from the articles of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute Technology, Surat in collaboration with the University of Salford, Manchester, UK. Their recent study recommends thoughtful integration of sustainable heritage conservation into local urban development frameworks and establishes approaches aimed towards the recognition of Surat’s heritage identity and heritage values. 36 34 Wevers, Leo B. 1997. Dutch Monuments in India, Gujarat: Inventory and recommendations for conservation, Utrecht, 72 p. 35 VAN POL Bauke (2014). De VOC in India: een reis langs Nederlands erfgoed in Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel en Bengalen (The Dutch East India Company in India: A heritage tour through Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel and Bengal). Zutphen: Walburg Pers. 36 Udeaja, Chika, Claudia Trillo, Kwasi Awuah, Makore Busisiwe , D.A. Patel, Lukman Mansuri, and Kumar N. Jha. 2020. “Urban Heritage Conservation and Rapid Urbanization: Insights from Surat, India.” Cultural Landscapes Preservation and Social–Ecological Sustainability.

The resources studied so far could define the cultural significance of the cemetery in theory. The architectural narratives of the tombs and their further comparative analysis were also inspired from preliminary studies of architectural history accounts and essays on Indo-Islamic architecture such as that of Ebba Koch in her book The Complete Taj Mahal.37 During the fieldwork, observing the present context of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat and further analysis in the socio-cultural and legal scenario provided the final practical empirical results. Improving Heritage Management in India, a working group report by NITI Aayog that examines the management of heritage sites in India and explores the ways to involve the private sector and local communities in the process of improvement38, supported the legal, social and economic analysis. The available literature provides many points of concurrence that build a strong foundation in defining the cultural significance of the cemetery. Although not many resources bring the voices of the community that surround the cemetery or their associations with the site. There aren’t many discussions that analyse the on-ground scenario aimed towards a sustainable future and conservation of the cemetery. Hence, this synthesised thesis study will attempt, in its theoretical analysis of values and on-site analysis of the state of conservation coupled with a people-centred investigation of the socio-cultural context/needs, the future opportunities of the cemetery in practical recommendations.

37 38

Koch, Ebba. 2006. The Complete Taj Mahal. London: Thames & Hudson. NITI Aayog, G. o. (2019). Improving Heritage Management in India. Govt. of India http://www.niti.gov.in/

Globalization that began centuries ago with trade, technology, culture, politics and military exchanges between people and places has only intensified while advancing to the present times. In the exchanges caused by the meeting of people, there was a meeting of their backgrounds and cultures. While the entire world runs at a certain common pace of modern interactions now, understanding their development through the lens of global historic connections becomes the most important factor of setting a context. While differentiating and understanding the contrast between the individualities of two original cultures, one needs to study the original contexts that lead to the formed connections and their becoming of a ‘hybrid’ and shared heritage today.39

In that framework, it is essential to understand the geographical context of India and the Netherlands, their connections through trade contact in history, their obvious differences and the time of the Dutch in India that lead to the formation of a shared past. The narratives differ and so do the impacts. New conditions demand new contextualisation and new ways to deal with them. Some questions often concern the safeguarding of heritage which involves conflict in the narratives such as the symbolism of oppressors, the debates on authenticities and contribution to selective memory. Hence, it is essential to take into consideration an argument that helps decide the authenticity of the shared heritage by tracing back the connections and forth their impacts today. In this case, the two countries in question i.e., India and the Netherlands should be ideally discussed in a wider context and then narrowed down to the particular city of Surat. Although instead, by directly zooming into the lens of connection concentrated on the

Abstract: In RODRIGUEZ DOS SANTOS Joachim (Ed.), Preserving Transcultural Heritage: Your way or My Way? (Questions on Authenticity, Identity and Patrimonial Proceedings in the Safeguarding of Architectural Heritage Created in the Meeting of Cultures), Lisbon: Polygraph, p. 197-206. doi: 10.30618/978989-658-467-2 54

origin i.e., the Netherlands and the stage i.e., Surat, a direct justification to this intersection can be achieved. In reverse, this section explores the individualities and then the present-day relationship between the two lands and traces itself back to the prevailing past connections. The study zooms out into the presence of the VOC trade and society in India and the creation of its funerary landscape. The justification of the physical traces as ‘heritage’ and the understanding of their significance can then be achieved through this foundation hence laid.

“Surat is of extraordinary interest in the urban history of pre-modern India. A city that grew by “casual accumulation”, it had neither the order of Fatehpur-Sikri nor the grace of Agra. Like Banaras and other ‘pilgrim’ cities, it had no special holiness. It was not even a provincial capital as was Ahmedabad for the province of Gujarat in which Surat itself was located. Its heroes were the most unlikely types, the Banias, customarily regarded with a mixture of contemptuous amusement both be the minions of government and leaders of their Hindu society. In its history, the flowering of the genius of its Banias played a dominant role and Surat was the first Indian city to feel the impact of European commerce in a large way in India. Surat, in a sense, is a ‘palimpsest’ inscribed over with a host of unusual emendations and marginal notes.”40

1.1.1

Surat / સુરત

Surat, a city located on the Western Coast of India in the state of Gujarat sits at the mouth of River Tapi that meets the centuries’ old corridors of trade and commerce at the Arabian Sea. Once known to be the largest seaport of Northern India since the time of the Mughal empire, it became the pivot of trade between southern and western Asia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As European interests intruded on the world of Asian commerce, Surat was frequently an arena of confrontation and accommodation. In the peak of its time, the port was known to have ships of more than 84 countries anchored in its harbour at a given point. While the Mughals remained to be the longestreigning powers of the city and its region, the political scenario changed when the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English landed in the early 1600s. The long prevailed British East India Companies presence, set its first foot in India through Surat. While the origin and history of Surat date back to 300 B.C., the trading era and connections have been the major influences on the character, living patterns and growth of the city. In the eighteenth century, Surat declined from its place as "the blessed port of the Mughals" to the uncertain status and fortune of an isolated provincial town.41 These varied commercial interactions have now left ineffaceable impressions in the form of socio-

cultural development and architectural character all over Surat, more so within the historic walled city area and the adjoining villages.

Figure 17: Locating Surat | Credit: Author, modified from Google maps

Today, Surat is one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing cities of India in terms of economy and population. It is the ninth-largest city in the country and the second-largest in the state of Gujarat. In its identity of being an urban and economic centre alongside the rapidly developing industries, people from all over the country flock in every day for business and employment. It is now the commercial and economic centre in the South of Gujarat, famed for its business community of the diamond and textile market. Surat in its potential vision has been handpicked also as the first IT Smart City of India under a nationwide mission and foresees promising growths and developments in the coming years42. With a total population of 44,66,826 as per the Census of 2011, the city continues to urbanise rapidly with growing demands of urban sprawl and development with an

National Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop smart cities across the country, making them citizen friendly and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for implementing the mission in collaboration with the state governments of the respective cities. The mission initially included 100 cities, with the deadline for completion of the projects set between 2019 and 2023. The effective combined completion of all projects is now at 11%. MISSION SMART CITIES, (2015). Mission Statement and Guidelines, Ministry of Urban Development government of India. 57

area of 326.515 sq. Km. today.43 With the present size, Surat has always been a changing historic city, expanding in its layers beyond the 15th-century fortification walls. With its prevailing special relationship with water, a major part of the city’s urban resilience strategy has been the management of its water. In the 20th century, the city of Surat has suffered from about 20 floods.44 In August 2006, the city experienced a massive flood covering 80-95% of its land and the surrounding villages. Since the massive flood, Surat has been famed for its resilience and development strategies in becoming a sustainable and inclusive city, beyond its identity as an economic city. On the occasion of World Cities Day 2019, around the theme of innovation, a list of 10 cities that won the Netexplo Smart Cities 2020 Prize was announced during debates organized by UNESCO in Paris on 31 October. The partnership between UNESCO and the Netexplo Observatory honours places around the world that have distinguished themselves through innovation in the field of the intelligent, sustainable and inclusive city. Surat was among the ten cities.45

43 MUNICIPAL CORPORATION SURAT (2011) Statistics for Surat Municpial Corporation ; Accessed March 2021 https://www.suratmunicipal.gov.in/TheCity/City/Stml1 44 . Mavalankar, Dileep, and Amit Srivastava. 2008. “Lessons from Massive Floods of 2006 in Surat City: A framework for Application of MS/OR Techniques to Improve Dam Management to Prevent Flood.” Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department, IIMA Working Papers 45 UNESCO. 2019. “World Cities Day: Innovation at the heart of the city and the list of smart cities for 2020.” UNESCO. October. Accessed March 2021. https://en.unesco.org/news/world-cities-day-innovation-heart-cityand-list-smart-cities-2020

Figure 18: Surat city's expansion beyond the historic walled city Credit: Author, recreated from Surat Resilience Strategy

Heritage in the city of Surat

The local life nowadays thrives in a mix of cultural inheritance. While a historic settlement called Rander to the North-West of Tapi River, traces its existence back to the flourishing years of the Mughal empire in the 15th century in its typical traditional houses and streets; the East of the river tells a different story from a later time. This site forms the main historic centre of Surat city with two different old wall fortifications. In about a radius of 2.5 km, lie the major historic landmarks of the city today. With a Surat Castle from the Portuguese-Mughal era, to caravanserais of the trading days, remains of a Dutch warehouse and mansion converted into local government offices, a Dutch garden and a street named after Dutch and to libraries, institutes, houses from the British colonial regime – the historic centre of Surat constitutes to be one of great interest. Amongst all the major heritage landmarks in Surat, the most striking historic sites that attract a great number of heritage enthusiasts and tourists are the Dutch, Armenian and English Cemeteries.

Figure 19:Historic landmarks around Surat main city | Credit: Author, Edited from Google Maps

Figure 21: Merchant houses in residential use in Randher, Surat | Credit: Author (January 2021)

Figure 21: A European Trade Company's merchant house showing exqusiite carvings, Randher | Credit: Author (January 2021)

Figure 23: Surat Fort built in the 16th century by the governor Khudwanad Khan on the banks of river Tapi in Surat | Credit: Government of Gujarat

Figure 23: St. Andrews Library by the Surat fort in the city centre, built in 19th century | Credit: Author (Januray 2021)

1.1.2 The Netherlands In the present study, ‘The Netherlands’ when used in the historical contexts roughly refers to the region of Dutch language and culture, including present-day Flanders (northern Belgium) as well as other European and non-European migrants that shaped the identity of the present nation ‘the Kingdom of the Netherlands’. The Netherlands, informally called Holland, is a country located in Western Europe with territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Figure 24: Locating the Netherlands | Credit: Author, recreating from Google Maps

The history of the Netherlands is widely known for its seafaring people and the country’s thriving lowlands located below sea level on the North Sea. Beginning from the late 16th century, the Dutch Golden Age flourished with trade, arts, industry and sciences. A worldwide empire was developed through the United Dutch East India Company (VOC) which became one of the earliest and significant mercantile companies. As their ships fared the sea from the remarkable ports such as Amsterdam, exchanges began from trading spices in India and Indonesia to founding colonies in North America, South Africa and the West Indies. In setting up various trading posts and developing settlements

around the world, the Dutch colonies developed until the empire and trade started to decline in the late 18th century.46

Figure 25: Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 2020 | Credit: Author

1.1.3 Connections The connections between India and the Netherlands began through the trade contact initiated by the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Although, if it was not for the exchanges through trade, the two countries in their historic timelines, nature and character, literally stand a world apart. Among the obvious differences, if one were to compare the size of Netherlands and India – India with an area of about 3,287,263 sq. km47 occupies an area roughly equivalent to half of the European continent. Whereas the Netherlands is equivalent to almost half the size of the state of Gujarat in India. The individual cultural identities of the two countries remain incomparable given the complex and diverse socio-cultural nature of the Indian subcontinent on its own. While the intersection leading to their mutual heritage of today can be understood in recalling the VOC time in India (to be discussed in the next chapter), understanding the 46

Ward, Kerry. 2009. Networks of empire, forced migration in the Dutch East India Company. Cambridge University Press. 47 (The area figure excludes 78,114 sq. km. under the illegal occupation of Pakistan, 5,180 sq. km. Illegally handed over by Pakistan to China and 37,555 sq.km. under the illegal occupation of China in Ladakh district.) India, PCA 2001. 2001. “Area: India at a glance.” Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed March 2021 64

present connections can be interesting too. The bond between India and the Netherlands is not just a historic one, it has remained and revived with time forming international cooperation over various aspects. Heritage is one of them. Connections beyond Heritage While the international cultural policy is a recent introduction to encourage international cooperation, the two countries have had in-depth exchanges on further deepening the bilateral relationship through other wide-ranging areas of trade, economy, water management, smart cities, agriculture, urban mobility, science and technology, public health and space.48 In the field of education and science, the Dutch and Indian universities are working together. The University of Leiden is one of the few universities which also has a Chair for Contemporary India through an agreed establishment with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Two main factors among all the above and are parallel themes that still play an essential role in the international cooperation among India and the Netherlands are: Water and Trade. These key themes are not only among the other areas of closer co-operation between India and the Netherlands but are also the factors that have led to direct partnerships between Surat and the Netherlands. Both Surat and the Netherlands share a strong relationship with water and trade since their times of origin. If one were to draw a parallel, the cooperation based on trade and water have strengthened the direct scope of international relations between the city of Surat and the Netherlands. While Surati textiles remain a very known type of printed fabric available in the Netherlands. A business community in Amsterdam since the 1970s has become successful in the Amsterdam textile trade. Diamonds manufactured at a large scale in Surat are a direct trade connection with the Diamond hub in the region at Antwerp. The business communities of textiles and diamonds from India thrive even today in the Netherlands and Belgium, since the 18th century. The management of water has brought the Netherlands back to Surat in closer international cooperation and knowledge sharing. As of a plan in 2019, the Municipality of Rotterdam in the Netherlands is to work closely with the Surat Municipal Corporation

Mukherjee, Bhaswati. 2021. “India-Netherlands: A 400-year partnership further strengthened: Dutch PM’s visit and follow-up.” Ministry of External Affairs. April. 48

on urban water management - focusing on flood risk management, urban drainage and wastewater management. Since both the places have had a history of floods, the exchanges attained with the aid of the Dutch expertise in water at Rotterdam are soon to be applied in new flood forecasting and water storage systems to replenish groundwater.49 This partnership fits well with Surat’s aims of becoming a sustainable and inclusive city through urban strategies as well as enhances its resilience accompanying the badge of being a SMART city.

Figure 26: Surat and Rotterdam, Tapi and Maas | Credit: Wikicommons

Connections through Heritage In Europe, the Netherlands has the most inhabitants of Indian descent after Britain. Most of them came to the Netherlands via Suriname. In the nineteenth century, people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were taken as contract workers to Suriname, a Dutch colony back then. After the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands in 1975, almost half of the three hundred thousand descendants of Surinamese Indians moved to the Netherlands. A large group of these immigrants have made the culture of India very relevant in the Netherlands.50 The Dutch Embassy in New Delhi has committed to bringing the VOC heritage to the attention of the Indian people. Recently, the Dutch Embassy in collaboration with the local government and organisations opened three small museums in Pulicat, Cochin and Kannur. 51 India and the Netherlands today are taking mutual efforts in attaching importance to their shared pasts. In a Memorandum of Understanding of 2007. The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Indian Minister of tourism and culture who also leads the Archaeological Survey of India declared together that ‘the common cultural heritage such as the archives, manuscripts, underwater archaeology and built heritage is one of their properties.52 Recently, a book was released by the Indian ambassador to the Netherlands, Venu Rajamony, titled ‘India and the Netherlands: Past, Present and Future’ at a seminar held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in 2019 September. The book is a first of its kind Indian publication on the shared heritage and relations between the Netherlands and India. Apart from the above, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands that plays a role such as that of the Archaeological Survey of India, has extended cooperation and advisory efforts/missions through local collaborations and partnerships in capacity building and visits for the conservation of VOC heritage. In terms of tangible heritage in the urban fabric of Surat, apart from the Dutch Cemetery, the remaining Dutch VOC heritage can be seen on the remnants of a Dutch factory transformed into the India Post office on the ‘Dutch road’ today. The city also enjoys a special kind of Dutch biscuits at a bakery called ‘Dotivala’ that also has an oven passed 50

Hageman, Mariëlle. n.d. India-Amsterdam: historical ties. City of Amsterdam. VAN POL Bauke (2014). De VOC in India: een reis langs Nederlands erfgoed in Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel en Bengalen (The Dutch East India Company in India: A heritage tour through Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel and Bengal). Zutphen: Walburg Pers. p.12 52 VAN POL Bauke (2014). De VOC in India: een reis langs Nederlands erfgoed in Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel en Bengalen (The Dutch East India Company in India: A heritage tour through Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel and Bengal). Zutphen: Walburg Pers. p.12 51

on by the Dutch community before they left the city for good. The biscuits happen to be the city’s favourite treat with chai or tea. As there remains a certain cultural continuum in the influences both India and the Netherlands have had on each other, the remnants of their shared pasts exist in different ways in both places. The ways of telling their stories also differ. The archives and written memoirs of the Dutch in India majorly are kept in the National Archives of the Netherlands, whereas the tangible-built heritage remains back in India. On understanding the present endeavours of saving the shared heritage, it becomes all the more essential to have a brief look at the history of VOC in India and understand the becoming of this mutual heritage.

― William Dalrymple, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India

From time immemorial, India with its large coastlines has attracted trade and commerce from the rest of the world. Until the discovery of the sea routes, the Arabs carried on the trade in India. With an intent to establish dominion in the Indian ocean, Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, arrived at Calicut on the Malabar coast in South-West of India, with a fleet of twenty-five vessels in 1498.53 Despite the monopoly of the Arab merchants on the Indian trade, Vasco da Gama successfully secured trading rights from the Zamorin, Calicut’s ruler. This opened the sea route from Western Europe to Asia through the Cape of Good Hope. For almost throughout the sixteenth century, the Portuguese held a monopolised stronghold on the European trade in the Indian Ocean. The port of Lisbon in Portugal became the hub of Indian merchandise and goods in Europe as large ships full of a variety of textiles and spices harboured on the coast. The Dutch became involved in the purchase and distribution of Indian goods throughout Europe. With a political upheaval caused due to the union of Portugal with Spain and Holland’s independence from the Spanish empire, the Dutch lost their access and rights to Portuguese seaports for trade.54

Figure 27: VOC route from NL to India | Credit: Author, modified from Google Maps

In 1602, the Dutch East India Company, officially known as the United East India Company in a literal translation of the Dutch name Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC) was formed in the consolidation of several Dutch trading companies. The VOC K.S.Mathew. 1979. “Portuguese Trade with India and the Theory of Royal Monopoly in the Sixteenth Century.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 40 389-98. 54 Koshy, M.O. 1996. “The Dutch conquest of Kerala - Compulsion and and Considerations.” Vol. 57 (Proceedings of the Indian History Congress) p.239-244

(1602 – 1795) in the Netherlands consisted of six ‘chambers’: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, Middleburg, Enkhuizen and Hoorn.55 Later known to have become one of the most successful and largest corporations at the time, the VOC set out to form an authority “to make peace or war with eastern princes, to erect forts, chose its governor, maintain garrisons, and nominate officers for the conduct of the police, and the administration of justice”.56 A body of seventeen shareholders representing the different chambers was created called the Heeren XVII. They became the central administration of the VOC. The VOC targeted the Portuguese holds in the East. While conquering Ambonia, Jakarta, Malacca through the early 1600s, the Dutch made Batavia their seat of government and their commercial centre in the East. In 1656, as they occupied Colombo and Jaffna from the Portuguese, the Portuguese powers were now overthrown in the East Indies.57 Although, during this time, another principal competitor of the Dutch East India Company brewed in the establishment of trade between Europe and Asia- the English East India Company (EIC), which was founded in London in 1600.58

1.2.1 The Rise Early in this time, the Dutch realised the potential of an advantageous trade relationship with India, where cotton textiles, being the highest in demand in Southeast Asia, could be commercialised.

VAN POL Bauke (2014). De VOC in India: een reis langs Nederlands erfgoed in Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel en Bengalen (The Dutch East India Company in India: A heritage tour through Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel and Bengal). Zutphen: Walburg Pers. 56 Koshy, M.O. 1996. “The Dutch conquest of Kerala - Compulsion and and Considerations.” Vol. 57 (Proceedings of the Indian History Congress) p.239-244 57 Koshy, M.O. 1996. “The Dutch conquest of Kerala - Compulsion and and Considerations.” Vol. 57 (Proceedings of the Indian History Congress) p.239-244 58 Gaastra, F.S. n.d. “VOC Organization.” TANAP (tanap.net) 73

Figure 28: Dutch India | Credit: Author, modified from Google Maps and Atlas of Mutual Heritage

Figure 29: VOC in India timeline | Credit: Author

South of India: Coromandel and Malabar In 1606, a Dutch ship arrived on the Coromandel Coast in South-East India near Pulicat. Coromandel was known for the manufacturing of the cotton textile varieties most in demoing around South-East Asia. On negotiations with the locals, they obtained a deal to supply the local merchandise aboard their ships in the East Indies.59 In 1608, Queen Eraivi of the Vijayanagara Empire in the region gave permits to the VOC to build a fort and set up a factory for trade. The fort named Geldria was now the mark of the first Dutch settlement in India purposed to defend invasions from its competitors. The Coromandel coast from Ganjam in the north to Nagapattinam in the south now became the territory of VOC factories and settlements with official headquarters at Pulicat until 1690. 60 The south of India was divided into various minor states at the time with the collapse of the Vijayanagara Empire in the late 16th century. The different states in the south-east were the Nayakas, Gingees, Thanjavur and Madurai, while in the south-west was Mysore and Ikkeri. This constantly changing socio-political situation with new regimes and new cities with their new capitals hindered the established trading privileges of the Europeans from time to time.61 This lack of unanimous authority in the South of India led the Dutch to strengthen their hold on the other coasts of India. Although the VOC trade was flourishing in the capital at Pulicat on the Coromandel coast, the Dutch tried to move further up north on the coast, the port of Masulipatnam drew their attention for a different market than that of textiles. Masulipatnam gave an opportunity to trade in fine spices and a way to get closer to the stringent Mughal empire in the inland of North India. Masulipatnam was a gateway to two main Deccan Mughal sultanates – the Golkonda and Bijapur. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the rulers of Golkonda, Gingee and Chandragiri allowed the set-up of VOC trading posts.62 The region around Nagapattinam down south was also a yielding destination in weaver’s villages, where the VOC established an additional operation within easy reach of an important control point of Ceylon in Sri Lanka. Based on the design of the Naarden fort in the Netherlands, the VOC built the fort Vijf Sinnen (meaning ‘five senses’), a new introduction of defensive architecture in the region, different for its time.

Koshy, M.O. 1996. “The Dutch conquest of Kerala - Compulsion and and Considerations.” Vol. 57 (Proceedings of the Indian History Congress) p.239-244 60 Arasaratnam, Sinnappah. 1984. “The Coromandel-South East Asia Trade 1650-1740: Challenges and Responses of a Commercial System.” Journal of Asian History 113-135 61 Gommans, Jos. 2018. ‘Connections: the VOC in India’ The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum. p. 35 62 Gommans, Jos. 2018. ‘Connections: the VOC in India’ The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum. p. 35

Figure 31: Plan of Naarden fort in the Netherlands in 1726 | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection

Figure 31: Plan of Fort Vijf Sinnen in the 18th century | Credit: Atlas of Mutual Heritage

In 1537, the Portuguese colonial policy brought along a spread of Christianity. Especially in the south Indian coastal areas known for pearl fisheries near Kanyakumari. A protection deal against the Arab fleets was struck with the Portuguese on the conditions of the Parvas’ leaders converting to Christianity. In the 1540s, foreign missionaries’ such as Jesuit Francis Xavier began missions in the lower castes at the time of the Tamil societies and made several converts and later expanding to the west coasts. The new religious faith of Christianity mixed with the Hindu caste and culture became a defining identity of the Parvars. With a widespread Christian faith in the west coast when the VOC arrived, the overthrowing of the Portuguese made them the immediate supporters and protectors of the Christian communities along the Coromandel and Malabar coast. In common faith, a cultural gap was starting to fill up with cooperation.

Figure 32: The city of Cochin in India, 1665 | Credit: National Archives, the Hague

Figure 33:View of Cochin on the Malabar Coast in India, Johannes Vinckboons (attributed to), c. 1662 - c. 1663 Credit: Rijksmuseum collection

While at Coromandel, the Dutch eyed the chief capital of the Portuguese trade. Cochin, on the coast of Malabar, was a stronghold and profitable location like Goa. Steven van der Hagen; a Dutch Admiral was the first to visit the Malabar coast to having successfully formed a treatise with the Zamorin king in 1604. The Dutch expelled the Portuguese from Kerala and protect the rulers in the region in return for the supply of pepper and other articles. The Dutch posed to become the liberators of the region from the colonial pressures of the Portuguese and were welcomed in developing the industrial and financial resources. 63The Portuguese had constructed churches and a fortified town in Cochin in their time, The Dutch took down most of the public buildings in the Portuguesebuilt town and besieged the military fort as their hold in 1663. In strong ties with the kingdom, the VOC now had control over the Malabar coast. The Dutch had already established themselves in Calicut, Cranganore, Pallipuram, Purakkad, Quilon, Kayamkulam, Cannnanore, Vengurla and Barselore with factories and forts between 1661 to 1667. With the successful operations, the Dutch Malabar now became an independent directorate of governance.64 A new governor, Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede was hence appointed in 1670, as commander of Dutch Malabar and the king Vira Kerala Varma’s stadtholder (chief-of-state). Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein: The Governor and the Naturalist

Coming from a family of noblemen in Utrecht, Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein, was a fitting candidate for the operations of the VOC patronage. He joined the VOC at the age of fourteen. As he was posted in Asia under the wing of Admiral Rijklof Van Goens, Van Rheede played a crucial role in the negotiations and conquer of Fort Cochin. In close relations with King Vira Kerala Varma in Cochin, Van Rheede soon grew to become the administrative and political confidante of VOC operations in the region. He was appointed to serve as the governor of the Dutch Malabar from 1670 to 1677. Van Rheede’s approach and analytical mindset set him apart from the other VOC governance. In Dutch Malabar, he had a keen understanding of the complex local relationships. He was known to be conscious of the fact that good governance can only be achieved with in-depth knowledge of the local ‘morals, weaknesses and powers.65

Beyond the political scrutinization, Van Rheede became majorly known for his major botanical project and book Hortus Malabaricus which described 740 plants in the region. The project required extensive research for which Van Rheede set up a botanical laboratory in Cochin and started work in 1674. He assembled a team of twenty-five members for studying the effects of medicinal plants. The team included European

Koshy, M.O. 1996. “The Dutch conquest of Kerala - Compulsion and Considerations.” Vol. 57 (Proceedings of the Indian History Congress) p.239-244 64 Panikkar, K. M. 1993. Asia and the Western Dominance. Kuala Lumpur: The Other Press 65 Gommans, Jos. 2018. ‘Connections: the VOC in India’ The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum. p. 86

botanists, translators and Brahmin physicians, one of which is known to be his co-author – Itti Achudem. The Brahmins with their immense ayurvedic knowledge and local experience could also comprehend the Sanskrit scriptures passed through generations written on palm leaves or in recited shlokas. During this time, Van Rheede’s relationship with his mentor and patron Van Goens deteriorated. Van Rheede disagreed to make Ceylon the Asian Headquarters of the VOC that would take away the autonomy of Malabar. As the situation tensed, Van Rheede left Malabar to spend a short while in Batavia and eventually return to the Netherlands in 1677. In his homeland, Van Rheede received further support for his project on Hortus Malabaricus which led him to finally compile a publication. The results of the extensive research were finally published in the period from `1678 to 1693 in a 12-volume publication in four different scripts – Latin, Malayalam in Aryazuthu, Malayalam in Arabic and Konkani in Nagari script. Van Rheede returned to become a VOC envoy in the 1680s and was once again appointed as the Commissioner-General of a large base this time – Western VOC settlements in South Asia. This time although he was called upon for a stringent reason to ‘combat corruption and implement cutback’. Van Rheede now had the authority to dismiss employees of the VOC that were proved immoral. Although, this leads to constant insecurities among the employees about their positions while Van Rheede himself lived in fears of facing personal aftermaths caused due to his radical decisions.66 Van Rheede travelled to the various VOC trading posts from Colombo to Bengal to Hooghly. He spent a year in Coromandel and Nagapattinam. At the end of November 1691, Van Rheede on his way to Surat or Dutch Suratte on the west coast was supposedly poisoned as claimed by some, although he had already been sick. Van Rheede died at sea near Bombay, on 15th December 1691. He was buried at Surat on 3 January 1692, with pomp and grandeur with a procession. A magnificent tomb was then commissioned by his adopted daughter Francine.67 The procession and the events in Surat were the first of their kind on a trading post. The situations that surrounded the funeral and his burial will be discussed in the later chapters, which become an essential context for the past of the Dutch Cemetery in Surat in Gujarat.

Gommans, Jos. 2018. ‘Connections: the VOC in India’ The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum. p. 87 67 Kempers, August Johan BERNET. (1938). “De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat.” Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 65-92.

Figure 34: Etching of Hendrik Adriaan van Reede Tot Drakestein, Pieter van Gunst, 1659 - 1731 | Credit: Rijksmuseum Studio Collection

North of India: Gujarat and Bengal In the Northern bases of Gujarat and Bengal, the VOC had to deal with the Mughal empire. In 1602, two Dutch patrons Hans de Wolff and Lafer were sent to Gujarat to discover the opportunities for trading. On arrival, they reported in letters dated April 20, 1602, to their administrators the demands and prices in the Gujarati market. Textiles and indigo were available in abundance at various prices, whereas tin, saffron, coral and lead were also seen as profitable. As they set out to return through the route of Malabar which was still under the Portuguese hold at the time, they were caught and hanged by the Portuguese in Goa, leaving the first Dutch venture to the port of Surat, unsuccessful.68 David Van Deynessen, a Dutch merchant, arrived in 1606 for a second trial at Surat but was averted by the Mughal authorities convinced by the Portuguese stronghold in the region once again. Although, while the Dutch kept trying to set up base in Surat, tables turned when in 1615 the Mughals collided in war with the Portuguese. The Dutch misunderstood the invitation for a trading relationship instead of an alliance and missed the opportunity. Although, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the Governor-General of the VOC during this time, decided in favour of establishing a factory in Surat once again and the work was entrusted to the Flemish merchant Pieter van den Broeke, who also failed in his attempt to attain privileges from the Mughal authorities, leaving behind P.G. Van Ravesteyn in charge of the Surat affairs.69 Soon after many unfortunate attempts, Raveesteyn received favour and permission with multiple conditions through a farman from Jahangir in 1616.70 VOC had now established a trading post in Surat, from where the network of offices only grew inland towards Bharuch, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Cambay, Burhanpur and as far as the Mughal capital region near Agra. The trading post of Surat or the Dutch Suratte was the most important portal to a huge market of fine spices with natural interaction with the Arabian Sea. It was only in the 1630s, that the VOC managed to establish a factory at the other maritime gateway to the Mughal empire, Bengal, which also grew to become one of the most important and expansive settlements of the VOC in India. From 1615 the administration in Coromandel sent ships to Bengal although the vessels could only operate in Pipli in the part of Orissa given a stronger complicated political situation of the Mughals and the Portuguese. The Portuguese control over the rover Hugli, which was an important trade mart in seventeenth-century Bengal was the actual restraint in the

Fischer, Karl. 1967. “The Beginning of Dutch Trade with Gujarat.”Indian History Congress. Volume 27. Proceedings of the twenty-seventh session (1965, Allahabad), Aligarh, p. 206-215. pp. 208 69 Fischer, Karl. 1967. “The Beginning of Dutch Trade with Gujarat.”Indian History Congress, Volume 27. Proceedings of the twenty-seventh session (1965, Allahabad), Aligarh, p. 206-215. pp. 209 70 Gommans, Jos. 2018. ‘Connections: the VOC in India’ The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum. p. 51 68

state. The Dutch alongside the Mughal forces drove out the Portuguese from Hugli in 1632, paving the way for a VOC establishment and regular trade relations.71 The VOC was benefitting from the Mughal expansion gradually. They established various branches inland in Chinsurah, which became the head office that lay very much inland on the banks of river Hugli closer to the Ganges (Ganga) delta, posing another gateway inwards and up north.72 The VOC expanded as far as the regions of Cossim Bazaar and Patna by the river Ganga. The Bengal trade by the Bay of Bengal served many overseas markets in its principal products of opium, cotton, raw silk fabrics, saltpetre, etc. and soon became a worldwide distribution and production centre. The VOC found security in the systematic and careful negotiation through farmans with the Mughal authorities rather than the use of force and political strategies. The process was not so simple yet operational with only some limitations on the use of resources available. 73 The political hold of VOC in Bengal and Gujarat remained only unto trade, although they became the nerve centres of the Dutch business in India. Unlike the North of India, South India remained beyond the reach of the Mughal empire and VOC trade posts could take forms of settlements and forts with local negotiations. In Surat factory though, there was a strategic position of being the terminal between the trade routes to Agra and Delhi – capitals of Mughal emperors in the seventeenth century: Jahangir (1605 – 1627), Shah Jahan (1627 -1658) and Aurangzeb (1658-1707). The VOC depended on the trading privileges of the farmans that were reorganised and regranted by each new emperor.74 As James D Tracy mentions in his study on the Mughal government from the Dutch point of view in Surat, the Surat factory is hence the best vantage point to understand the information of the Mughal politics, VOC trade and their cooperative and interesting relationship. The activities in co-existence of the VOC trade society and the growing city of Surat, based in the Gujarati environment, was an interesting juxtaposition that led to developments of meetings beyond trade.

Prakash, Om. 1972. “The Dutch East India Company in Bengal: Trade Privileges and Problems, 1633-1712.” The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 261 72 Prakash, Om. 1972. “The Dutch East India Company in Bengal: Trade Privileges and Problems, 1633-1712.” The Indian Economic & Social History Review p. 258-287 p. 262 73 Gommans, Jos. 2018. ‘Connections: the VOC in India’ The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum. p. 33 74 Tracy, James D. 1999. “Asian Depotism? Mughal Government as seen from the Dutch East India Company Factory in Surat.” Journal of Early Modern History,3(3), p.262

Figure 36: "Logie van Suratte," a view of the Dutch East India Company's warehouse and living quarters in Surat as seen in April 1629 by Pieter van den Broecke, etching by Joannes Janssonius, Amsterdam, 1646 | Credit: www.columbia.edu

Figure 35: The Trading Post of the Dutch East India Company in Hooghly, Bengal Painting by Hendrik van Schuylenburgh, 1665 | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection

Figure 37: Akbar's triumphal entry into Surat in 1572, from Akbarnama | Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum collection

Figure 38: History of Surat, timeline | Credit: Author

1.2.2 Ancient Surat and the VOC relations

Surat, known to date back its origins to 300 B.C, has been mentioned in travelogues as a business town, as early as that of the explorer Hiuen Tsang who was a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim and monk, who travelled through India in the seventh century. Pre-historic accounts speak of Surat known as ‘Suryapur’ when inhabited by the Brahmin Pundits in the 13th century. During this time, the region was part of the Chalukya kingdom in Gujarat.75 The city had ignited centuries of imagination in the eyes of the landlocked Mughal emperors with their origins from Central Asia, never having seen the route and potential of the sea. Akbar aka Jahangir, had heard the glorious stories of the city by the river Tapi that flowed through Surat and its massive trade circuit made of enormous number of ships that sailed out into the ocean every day to far and wide places.76 As the Mughal Sultanate centred itself in Delhi and its capital known then as Hindustan, Gujarat remained in control of the local Sultan. European contacts in Surat began in the 1530s, as the Portuguese expanded from Goa, Diu and Daman on the Western Coast. The Portuguese raided and burnt the port of Surat in an attack to capture the Mughal administration which was reserved and protected by the Fort constructed by its governor Khudawanad Khan. The governor was defeated in the battle against the Portuguese in 1546 and was buried in a Mausoleum, ornately carved and decorated, a few miles away from the Castle.77 In 1573, Akbar driven by his fascination of the city, defeated the Sultan of Gujarat and captured the province, taking over the legacy of the former governor in Surat and holding the Castle. The city was then constituted to the sarkar (administrative and revenue division) ruled from the new capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad.78 In doing so, as Akbar witnessed the fleets at Surat for himself for the first time at Tapi river, he decided to base the Mughal Empire’s first naval fleet stationed at Surat. 79The river opening into the Arabian Sea grew into a major port for exports and became an essential stop for the Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca. Surat was now growing progressively under the Mughal empire until it reached the point of becoming the most cosmopolitan and famous trade post and a destination for commerce. The Mughal emperors called Surat ‘Bandar Mubarak’ or ‘the blessed port’ as 75

Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind (1979). Surat in Seventeenth Centur. A Study in Urban History of pre-modern India. Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies, Monograph Series 28, Bombay: Popular Prakasshan. London: Curzon Press. https://www.indianculture.gov.in/surat-seventeenth-century-study-urban-history-pre-modernindia, 7-8. 76 Mir, Moin. 2018. “So Deeply Coveted.” In Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince: Defeat of the East India Company in the House of Commons, Roli Books.p 12. 77 ASI Protected monument today – Tomb of Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani aka Khudawanad Khan. 78 Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind (1979). Surat in Seventeenth Centur. A Study in Urban History of pre-modern India. Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies, Monograph Series 28, Bombay: Popular Prakasshan. London: Curzon Press. https://www.indianculture.gov.in/surat-seventeenth-century-study-urban-history-pre-modernindia, 7-8. 79 M Mir, Moin. 2018. “So Deeply Coveted.” In Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince: Defeat of the East India Company in the House of Commons, Roli books p.13

it crowded itself with powerful and rich merchant communities from Jains, Hindus, local Muslims, Turks, Parsis and Jews – all trading through enormous trade networks their merchandise in cotton, spices, gold, silver and indigo.

Figure 39: Cloth Map of Surat, early 18th century | Credit: City Palace Museum, Jaipur

As the city bustled with a thriving market and open-air street bazaars, pilgrims to Mecca and a mint producing the coins of Hindustan near the castle, Surat reflected a new mix of cultural fabric. Lined with Parsi merchant houses and decorated Jain temples across the city, Sufi shrines and a maidan between the mint and the castle for trade assemblies, the city expanded beyond the centre with its multi-cultural use. The layout of the city had straight grid streets that led to the major gates of the city. The residential patterns followed the caste and occupations of the Banias (and separate localities of Brahmins, Jains and Muslims. The Portuguese still willing to share Surat’s trade with Europe, managed to establish cordial relations and agreements of trade with the Mughal emperor in the late 1500s. Their monopoly in the Surat trade was soon challenged by the arrival of the English and the Dutch in the opening decades on seventeenth century. The Dutch as mentioned in the previous reference, established themselves with a farman and agreement with the Dutch in Surat in 1616. The English in an attempted and attained the treaty with Jahangir and set up a factory in Surat alongside the Dutch. The French were the last to arrive in Surat 88

(1667) and their stay in Surat was the briefest.80 The Dutch and the English soon overthrew the Portuguese powers in Surat and became absorbed to develop into essential parts of the Surat society over time. “The histories of Islamic fundamentalism and European imperialism have very often been closely, and dangerously, intertwined. In a curious but very concrete way, the fundamentalists of both faiths have needed each other to reinforce each other's prejudices and hatreds. The venom of one provides the lifeblood of the other.” — William Dalrymple, The Last Mughal81

Figure 40: VOC in Surat timeline | Credit: Author

Figure 41:Map of the mouth of the Suratte River. Map no. 9 from Valentijn's 'Oud en Nieuw OostIndiën'. With indication of 'the Hollantsche Tenten' | Credit: Atlas of mutual heritage

Figure 42: A panoramic view of Surat, in which the Dutch logie is marked with "3"; an engraving by Jacob Koppmayer from Wagner's 'Delineatio provinciarum Pannoniae et Imperii Turcici', Augsburg, 1687 | Credit : columbia.edu

VOC trade and society in Surat: In Surat, the evidence of VOC economic developments was far less in than in Coromandel. The Dutch had no territorial jurisdiction or possession such as the Fort Geldria in Pulicat. They lived as foreign merchants on the strength of farmans which were renewed about 28 times between 1618 and 1729, received from the Mughal emperors. On each occasion, considerable amounts of money were paid and multiple negotiations were made to get a renewal of the VOC’s privileges.82 The first notable farman that the Dutch received from Akbar in 1616. The document contained the following assurances:

1. The Dutch may come and go for their trade whenever they like, and nobody should forcibly interfere with them; and at the same time, they (the Dutch) should not use force against anybody. 2. On all imports and exports by the Dutch the normal customs of Surat would be taken and nothing more. 3. Nobody should prevent the merchants of Gujarat from buying any merchandise from the Dutch, if they wished to, and they should not be penalized for that. 4. Any rarities, brought for presentation and sale (i.e., to the King or big nobles) should not be opened at the customs-house, but be kept sealed and in this state brought before the throne. 5. If any of the Dutch die in India, no Indian should claim his belongings, but these should be returned to the countrymen of the deceased. 6. In all judicial matters regarding affairs of the Dutch they should be dealt with by their own authorities. 7. We (the Mughal authorities) should not try to convert any of the Dutch to Islam by force. 8. All the victuals required by the Dutch ships may be taken free of customs.83

The farman, a positive answer for trade and merchandising set the standards of the treatment of the Dutch in the Indian society as well. They were allowed keep their Christian faith and remain secure about their lives as there could be no Dutch merchant sacrificed in competition as per rules. A comfortable environment to begin in. The Mughal authorities rarely interfered with the economic developments of the VOC, although in some accounts, the Dutch complained of certain Mughal randomness and oppressive attitude while they still depended on the Mughal cooperation, military and political control with provinces in Asia.84

Kail; Owen C. “Dutch Commercial & Territorial Influence in India”,Journal of Asiatic Society of Bombay, vol.43-44. 1968-69, p. 167. 83 Fischer, Karl. 1967. “The Beginning of Dutch Trade with Gujarat.”Indian History Congress. Volume 27. Proceedings of the twenty-seventh session (1965, Allahabad), Aligarh, p. 206-215. 84 Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind (1979). Surat in Seventeenth Centur. A Study in Urban History of pre-modern India. Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies, Monograph Series 28, Bombay: Popular Prakasshan. London: 82

In some cases, though the Dutch managed to build individual relationships with personal gifts and presents to the local governor. Especially, such as Mir Musa was once pleased with gifts and presents from the Dutch factors to such an extent that he gave a “fine garden near Surat worth 10-12000 mahmudis”85 In 1620, Pieter van den Broecke returned to Surat and took over Surat as Commander and Director and also expanded the port of Surat as the economic centre of the factories in Gujarat, Persia and Arabia. He held the post for nine years. The Dutch factory in Surat supported the most profitable objective of buying indigo and cotton goods that eventually financed the Dutch trade.86

The Mughal administration was stringent as one went inland. The unpredictability of the governmental bodies kept the VOC wary of venturing away from the Indian coasts.87 On investigation of the early relations between Dutch and the Mughal authorities, one might understand the reasons why the VOC aimed to remain in the good books and maintain a high degree of confidence of the diplomatic arrangements with the Mughals. This worked very well in the favour of the Dutch for two straight centuries i.e., seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On the counterpoint, the Mughals had their very own personal interest in the relations with the VOC. The VOC provided in the sea networks, protection and control, wherein in cases of piracy and conflicts on sea routes traders would often appeal to the Mughal authorities for compensation and help from VOC. In a certain sense, somewhat like the South of India, the VOC became the protectors of the community in the North, still at sea. Even more so, the Mughals appreciated the flow of metals that came with the VOC traders bringing merchandise from Japan and South America, such as silver, copper and gold.88 The local perceptions in the Mughal courts and its historians such as Abul Fazl and Khafi Khan, the Europeans were perceived as “the sea-nomads who carried their homes on their backs who belonged to a faraway Frankish archipelago or jazair-i-firang.”89The cultural expression took a form of exoticism with the term firangi which literally meant ‘Frank’ for all Europeans and was much widely used in the region of Gujarat and Rajasthan.90 `

Curzon Press. https://www.indianculture.gov.in/surat-seventeenth-century-study-urban-history-pre-modernindia 85 Fischer, Karl. 1967. “The Beginning of Dutch Trade with Gujarat.”Indian History Congress. Volume 27. Proceedings of the twenty-seventh session (1965, Allahabad), Aligarh, p. 206-215. 86 Fischer, Karl. 1967. “The Beginning of Dutch Trade with Gujarat.”Indian History Congress. Volume 27. Proceedings of the twenty-seventh session (1965, Allahabad), Aligarh, p. 206-215. p. 211 87 Gommans, Jos. 2018. The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum., p.59 88 Gommans, Jos. 2018. The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum., p.63 89 Gommans, Jos. 2018. The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum., p.63 90 Gommans, Jos. 2018. The Unseen World: The Netherlands and India from 1550. Rijksmuseum., p.63 93

Dutch envoys frequently visited the court of the Great Mughals, where they had to adjust to manners and etiquettes that were very much unusual to them. The greetings and paying of respects with exchanges of welcomes and gifts were the protocol before proceeding to business discussions.91 When Dircq Van Adrichem became the head of Surat department (1661-1665), he decided to make a journey in 1662 to negotiate and improve the trading conditions in an audience with the Great Mughal Aurangzeb in Delhi.92 It is also said he spoke Hindi or Hindustani as it was called in the era, and Aurangzeb was all the more impressed. In owning up to the Mughal culture and creating an impact, the Dutch received more flexibility and acceptance.93 Dircq van Adrichem died at Surat in 1665 and was buried there. Another such court journey was taken in 1711 to Delhi by the new appointed head of the VOC settlement at Surat, Johann (Joan) Josua Ketelaar. He took the western trading inland route from Rajputana to Ahmedabad to Udaipur while stopping at VOC settlements in Bharuch and caravanserais. The Maharaja of Udaipur welcomed and extended security in his region for the VOC envoy while also hosting a special assembly.

VAN POL Bauke (2014). De VOC in India: een reis langs Nederlands erfgoed in Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel en Bengalen (The Dutch East India Company in India: A heritage tour through Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel and Bengal). Zutphen: Walburg Pers.p.17 92 VAN POL Bauke (2014). De VOC in India: een reis langs Nederlands erfgoed in Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel en Bengalen (The Dutch East India Company in India: A heritage tour through Gujarat, Malabar, Coromandel and Bengal). Zutphen: Walburg Pers.p.18 93 Kempers, August Johan BERNET. (1938). “De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat.” Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 65-92. 94

Figure 43: Maharana Sangram Singh receives the VOC Dutch envoy Johan Josua Ketelaar at his court in Udaipur. Ketelaar had travelled from the Dutch factory at Surat through Rajasthan, leading a delegation to the Mughal court to try and negotiate trading privileges from the emperor for the Dutch East India Company. (ca.1711, 152 x 268 centimeters) | Credit: Rijksmuseum

Figure 45: Detail of the painting showing the VOC envoys sitting cross legged. | Credit: Rijksmuseum

Figure 44: Detail of the painting showing Dutch envoy and musketeers dressed in red coats, blue trousers and black shoes. | Rijksmuseum

VOC society in Surat: In Surat, the Dutch had integrated themselves well with the environment and it was quite common to see the Dutch merchants present at social events and festivals. They imitated the Mughal sense of glamour blended with their European foreign-ness. As the Dutch and the English operated together in the city, there was constant competition yet a kind of harmony where they both faced the same rights and limitations under the Mughal empire. They would often go distances to show their power by walking the streets dressed extravagantly or in commute in decorated carriages to place their importance higher than the merchant community. The English and the Dutch archives mention very little of the attempts these European factors made in blending themselves into the context and culture of the society. This would remind one of a statement about the intermingling of the European and Indian backgrounds in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, by William Dalrymple in his novel White Mughals: “It was as if this early promiscuous mingling of races and ideas, modes of dress and ways of living, was something that was on no one’s agenda and suited nobody’s version of events. All sides seemed, for different reasons, to be slightly embarrassed by this moment of crossover, which they preferred to pretend had never happened. It is, after all, always easier to see things in black and white.”94 ― William Dalrymple, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India

Figure 46: Inhabitants of Surat, with the city in the background; 1726, Carel Allard | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection

The Dutch and the English in Surat could never build their settlements as they lived in rented merchant houses while the managers lived within the warehouse and its quarters. 94

Dalrymple, William. 2002. White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India. London: Harper Collins. 96

The Dutch during their Golden Age back in the Netherlands, spent their new capital on the beautification and the building of cities, the interiors of their houses and their exteriors. Although in India, except the ruling regime, the middle-class Indian would focus and spend and his express through festivities and daily family life – the birth, marriage or death of someone. It was through these necessities and social requirements, the social context of the cities manifested. The Dutch adapted to the environment and adopted the way of life. On opportunities, they learnt to express their best in windows of celebrations that agreed with the city. Despite the rivalry among the Europeans in the commercial realm, they supported each other and displayed a harmonious and homogenous community through their own expressions of baptism, weddings and funeral ceremonies. Ovington mentions in his account on Surat: “The Chapel, where they meet at Prayers, is within the Factory, decently embellished so as to render it both neat and solemn, without the Figure of any living Creature in it, for avoiding all occasion of Offence to the Moors (Mughals), who are well pleased with the Innocence of our Worship. For want of a Minister qualified for the Administration of Baptism among the Dutch at Suratte, they request that Favour from the English, who performs it for them in their Chapel; which at first sight might be very well taken for a Guard-Chamber, because they keep their Arms in it. The English and all the Europeans are privileged with the convenient repositories for their Dead, within half a mile of burying from the city.”95 Hence, apart from the intangible expressions, the Dutch and the English found just one way to create their own enclaves in establishment of architectural credentials and buildings in the only land that was given to them, the cemeteries in Surat. The Mughals, were known the most in respecting their dead, in creating of large, exquisite tombs and burying their beloved in pomp. The Dutch and English architects were fuelled with the intense competitive creative culture and aimed to make a mark on the city. They added a new dimension in commemorating their dead with the size and splendour of the monuments built over the graves of mere company directors and presidents. Many historians and travelogues mention the magnificence and the eccentric characters of the cemeteries and were fascinated at the juxtaposition of a cosmopolitan yet a local order. The Dutch and the English imitated the Mughal tombs in the construction of their graves which were implemented by the local craftsmen but in these poor imitations one can see the how hard the Europeans simply tried to fit. They go to show how the

Ovington, Reverend John. 1929. A Voyage To Surat In The Year 1689. . Edited by H.G. Rawlinson, London: Oxford University Press, Humphrey Milford. 97

agreement and approval of the Mughal authoritarian order mattered for the necessity of their arrival and existence in the Surat society – trade.

A visit by a Swedish traveller Christopher Hendrik Braad visited Surat between September 1751 to January 1752. Although the Europeans that came as visitors would often hire one or more local armed men for their presence in public, Braad pretty much went around the city independently like a curious explorer to look at the cosmopolitan trade centre’s everyday life. He witnessed merchants and coiners at work by the factory and the mint by the noisy city centre and even visited the European graveyards by the city’s fortification walls. In the quiet, he jotted down funeral inscriptions and even found some large trees by the river, to spend afternoons in peace.96 The cemeteries within few years of their existence had now become an essential part of the city’s landscape and character.

Figure 47: Christopher Hendrik Braad's sketch of the Dutch graveyard in 1751 | Credit: Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek

Franks Jeremy (1999). “Extracts from the diary of Christopher Henrik Braad, a Swede in Surat” Translated from the original, unpublished manuscript with a biographical note. http://www.onsnumis.org/ 96

The details of the funeral processions, their holding and mixing of funerary cultures and especially the pompous funeral of the Dutch Malabar Governor Adriaan van Rheede are explored in the coming chapters to understand how Death played a major role in cultural expression of the Dutch in Surat. 1.2.3 The Fall and the Legacy The Dutch activities in Surat were indeed subject to complexities of the socio-cultural scenario and the stringent atmospheres under Mughal authorities. The impact of Dutch hence on the institutions was nominal. There was no or negligible impact of the Dutch tradition, culture or language on the local fabric. The VOC, in order to have had an impact on the Indian milieu, lacked a cultural support system, unlike the Portuguese, with their Jesuit orders and the Church. 97 The resilience of the traditional structures and complex tensions between the Rajput rulers and the Great Mughals in the North India acted as the barricades against the diffusion of European cultures in the political system and society until colonisation. In terms of trade, the Dutch contributed to a large extent in the pepper trade with advertisements in the world market and brought profits to Surat. New methods of improving the weave of cotton fabrics and new systems of dyeing and printing were explored and introduced. The VOC came to India as merchants and their intentions remain unchanged as they never planned colonisation and so the records say. The role of VOC as European traders demonstrated less meddling with the politics and social systems of India unlike the English, Portuguese and French. They were perceived as the most sovereign trade authorities to an extent in the region. Often, Mughals favoured the Dutch over the English for the same reasons. The VOC trade fell substantially in Surat by 1759. With the founding of British Bombay, trade moved largely to the new Western trade hub leaving Surat in a secondary role. The English took over the port of Surat in 1795 completely as they grew colonised the rest of India. The Dutch were allowed to continue trade in their factories, although under the English authorisation, only English flags be seen flying around the city. VOC saw a rapid decline all over India at the same time in mid-eighteenth century. As India’s internal political instabilities urged the need for strong diplomacy, the Dutch failed to reassess and officially revise their timid policies. The political aggressiveness in other regions of the world coming from the English, the VOC was urged to choose between a revision of policies or the preservation of their other establishments.

Maloni Ruby. 2007. Experience and Environment: the Dutch in 17 th century Gujarat. Vol. 67 (Proceedings of the Indian History Congress) pp. 275-285 99

Additionally, VOC on their own in their posts around India lacked a sense of unity and were divided in loyalties and conflict of interests, unlike the English and French.98 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, East India was divided into the Dutch and British spheres that led to the handover of all the Dutch trading posts to the English. As the Dutch left, the only remains in the city of Surat today that are reminders of their past is a Dutch warehouse and a Dutch road adjacent to the river Tapi, a Dutch garden sits between the road and the river. The most commented upon and recalled Dutch structures if the city are the tombs in the Dutch Cemetery that sits by the English and the Armenian cemetery. It tombs today reflect the competitions of the show of power among the Dutch and the British and it can be seen today how the Anglo-Dutch rivalry was truly taken to the graves.

Figure 48: The Dutch warehouse as the India Post office in Surat, January 2021 | Credit: Author

Maloni Ruby. 2007. Experience and Environment: the Dutch in 17 th century Gujarat. Vol. 67 (Proceedings of the Indian History Congress) pp. 275-285 100

Figure 49: The Dutch Road, January 2021 | Credit: Author

In Chinsurah, Bengal, much of the Dutch structures and the settlement remain, including the Dutch Cemetery. The Governor’s residence, merchant houses, the old factory building now being used as the Divisional Commissioner’s office in Chinsirah as well as the Dutch Cemetery in Cassim Bazaar still remain today. The Dutch church in Chinsurah was demolished after 1980s and the epitaphs on the graves within the church were donated to Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The Dutch possession of the trading posts in Coromandel especially Pulicat lasted 214 years between 1606 to 1825. In silent testimony, one can see the Dutch fort Geldria in ruins, a Dutch church, a Dutch hospital and the cemetery in Pulicat. Additional remains on the coast of Coromandel such as the Fort Vijf Sinnen and the cemetery in Nagapattinam, a Dutch fort and a cemetery in Sadras as well as other cemeteries in Masulipatnam and Bheemunipatnam were left behind. The coast of Coromandel with its Catholic communities understood and respected the churches and the cemeteries to an extent one might say, although the British rule played a major role in the maintenance and use of the structures. As the Dutch left their legacies behind, the most remarkable structures that told stories physically often were the epitaphs of the graves in their cemeteries. Funerary landscapes and settlements often go hand in hand, but in the case of the Dutch in India, there were often just the cemeteries that were allowed to be built. It was in fact a larger part of their lives. The Europeans easily fell victim to the tropical climate and caught deadly diseases in the East. The need for a number of cemeteries and the monuments erected are witness to this dark side of the tough yet glamourous lives of the Dutch in India. As Rudyard

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Kipling mentions in his autobiography ‘Death was always our near companion’99, stands true as it turns out death indeed was a common event for the Europeans. Perhaps, this what prompted the VOC’s need for medication and extensive demands of research in local herbs and medicines against tropical diseases. Perhaps, this is why, the Dutch Governor studied and wrote Hortus Malabaricus, as he lies buried in Surat, while his book even today, continues to travel the world. The ambivalent feelings towards the VOC heritage as cemeteries.

Kipling, Rudyard. (1990) “Something of Myself and Other Autobiographical Writings”. Cambridge University Press

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The VOC made much more capital in the second-half of the seventeenth century than the Portuguese enterprises in the East. The official religious denominations within the United Netherlands and their possessions overseas were reformed Calvinism. Although, a large number of Dutch communities still kept their traditional faith in Roman Catholicism during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.100 The collection of wealth in the Dutch republic brought the Golden age wherein the region’s arts and architecture flourished, cities grew, while the wealth gradually grew to spread overseas. The Dutch painters and artists also travelled to the east with serving in the VOC which suggests that there has been a significant transfer, influence or exchange of knowledge between the Netherlands and Indian ocean region, especially during the seventeenth century which proves to become an inspiration for the funerary architecture and expression seen in India.101

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Krieger, Martin. 2013. European Cemeteries in South India (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries). New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors. p.133, 134 101 Krieger, Martin. 2013. European Cemeteries in South India (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries). New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors. p.134 104

The VOC funerary practices around the world are studied through various cases. The first case discusses the funerary practices in the Netherlands in fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. The second case discusses briefly the several VOC cemeteries on other subcontinents. In the Netherlands Up until the fifteenth century, the rituals of death were more important than burial, and the graves would be often left anonymous. The religious necessity of being buried inside the churches remained after the Reformation and for the reasons of social representation, continued. The burials inside churches were floor the immediate stone slabs one would walk on. People would be buried within the church floors with a foundation separated in brick vaults. Although, with time, due to lack of space, unsanitary situations due to the burial practice itself in the centre of the build-up area, the burials started taking place outside the cities. With statutory warnings there would be stipulated standards that forbade the burial in churches and within the confines of the cities in the late seventeenth century. The new rules required a municipality of 1000 inhabitants to have their own cemetery, with 50m built-up area and a fence of at least 2m height.102 The foundations of cemeteries were seen as expensive. Although, numerous surviving stone slabs in the churches of Amsterdam, Haarlem, Groningen, Delft and other places in the Netherlands showcase an acceptance of in-situ or intra-mural burials in the Netherlands. For example, ‘between 1410 and 1865, about 10,000 people were buried inside the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, while only a small share of them was commemorated by a ledger. Some burials within the churches were carried during the nineteenth century, even though the intra-mural practices were banned. Most of the church floors with ledgers inside churches are rather plain except for a few decorated with coat of arms and names. One such example studied was at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam.

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Guinée, Anja. “Design of the Dutch cemetery”, 105

Oude Kerk, Amsterdam The Oude Kerk or Old Church, in Amsterdam is close to the city centre and currently functions as place of worship, often housing museum exhibitions and frequenting with tourists and visitors every day. The church was consecrated in 1306 and in 1587 was transformed into a Protestant church.103

Figure 50: Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author

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Figure 51: Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author

The interiors of the Oude Kerk reflect as a place of remembrance in the 2,200 tombstones laid over the church floors. The church houses approximately 12, 000 graves, with most of the graves dating to the seventeenth century. Most of gravestones are marked with 103

KERK Oude Nl. “Monument” www.oudekerk.nl 106

simple numbers bearing no decoration, while some are commemorated with a decorative coat of arms with symbols and names. The most highly decorated tombs within the church are placed in the centre closest to the alter. There are often decorated funerary hatchments put on the wall with a slab marked in corner of the church. Most of the slabs measured 1.75m in height facing West to East and were 0.7m in breadth. Underneath the symmetrical narrow gravestones on the church floor, the foundation shows a vaulting system for the burials. The floor slab with a slight gripping niche could be lifted to bury. Often, people of the same family owned a certain number and were buried in the same vault one above the other.

Figure 52: Funerary hatchments on the wall, Oude Kerk Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author

Figure 53: Funerary hatchments on the wall, Oude Kerk Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author

In the Romantic era in the Netherlands, death was seen with a deeper emotional perspective. Monumental buildings and landscaping were used in the design of cemeteries that were now moved outside the cities. The garden fashion although was seen more among the richer ones, the cemeteries of the poor were burial fields that could be easily cleared.

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VOC cemeteries around the world

Figure 54: VOC Cemeteries around the world | Credit: Leon Bok

The VOC cemeteries in other locations were not studied in detail although are worth mentioning as a comparable example to the VOC funerary practices in the Netherlands and India. Most of the cemeteries re simple complexes with engravings on slabs showing coats of arms and inscriptions. The graves at Orange garden in Suriname, an eighteenth century example, have a typical characteristic in the raised platforms and typical brick masonry construction. Although the slabs in Nagasaki, Japan show a certain curve to their surface, standing out in architectural character. A ’Flemish cemetery’ in Turkey simply bears the name but does not suggest a burial of Dutch people, from the inscriptions. The tombs of 2 Dutchmen in Levorno, Italy are made in Carrara marble and showcase the coat of arms with skulls and weapons. Scythe here is a depicted weapon, very much commonly used in funerary symbolism.

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Most of the Dutch cemeteries in India render a sight of effort and affection in the commemoration of the dead. The significant character and adornment seen in the political and cultural indication of the burial monuments develop its very own unique typology of burial practices in India. Although every VOC cemetery in India is different than the other. The three cases studied here belong to the South, North and East of India through the cemeteries of Pulicat, Chinsurah and Agra. Pulicat (Het Binnenkerkhof or the Inner Graveyard) The Dutch cemetery in Pulicat is located just beyond the VOC Fort Geldria and showcases a detailed engraving of a skeleton and making it a foreign yet aptly fine gateway. The cemetery dates back to 1656 and presently has total 62 graves. The gravestones are carved with coat of arms and skulls, cherubs and leaves. The cemetery has one domed structure and two obelisks. The rest of the graves in the cemetery are slabs with inscriptions in Dutch.

Figure 56: Pulicat - Binnenkerkhof | Credit: René ten Dam 2020

Figure 57: Pulicat - Gate to the Binnenkerkhof | Credit: René ten Dam 2020

Figure 55: Pulicat - Overview of the Binnenkerkhof | Credit: René ten Dam 2020

Chinsurah (Hugli, West Bengal)

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The Dutch cemetery in Chinsurah, West Bengal is the largest Dutch cemetery in India with about 200 graves dating back to 1656. As Chinsurah was the most established VOC settlement in India, the Dutch legacy that surrounds it has lived longer than the other places in India. The cemetery shows small scale domed structures, obelisks and simple graves tones. The cemetery is one of the well-tended ones and is a centrally protected monument the Archaeological Survey of India.104 The cemetery is a desirable landmark attracting tourists and local visitors.

Figure 58: Dutch Cemetery, Chinsurah, 2014 | Credit: Tripadvisor

The Red Taj (Tomb of Jan Willem Hessing, Agra) The tomb of Jan Willem Hessing in Agra, a man from Utrecht, was commissioned to be built by his wife and is in entirely Indo-Islamic style with no influence of western architecture. The striking similarity of the fourteen metres high replica of the Taj Mahal 104

See http://dutchinchinsurah.in/ for a complete cultural mapping project of the old Dutch settlements, cemetery and archives - ‘Dutch in Chinsurah’. 110

also goes to displays the Agra craftsmanship. The tomb also goes by the name ‘Baby Taj’. The tomb in its splendour stands amidst a Christian cemetery and has been mentioned by several writers as: ‘the edifice is entirely Indian without any western influence at all. A Dutch soul has taken permanent refuge in an Indian body’.105

Figure 59: The Red Taj, Agra | Credit: Nerd's travel 2020

The Dutch cemeteries in Gujarat in India were close in character of the Red Taj. Evolving during the Mughal era, the Dutch cemeteries in Surat, Ahmedabad and Gujarat showcase an exquisite and extreme transcultural character. Hence, one of the understudied cases among the three, is studied through the Dutch Cemetery in Surat, India.

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The Dutch Cemetery in Surat traces its origins to mid-seventeenth century and was used until mid- nineteenth century. The site has been mentioned in many accounts of travellers and merchants that arrived to Surat. The VOC was based in the city centre of Surat around the castle with a warehouse and a few rented merchant houses. An entire land for a cemetery was the only space they owned for use beyond trade. The land sanctioned by the Mughal empire in the region to build the cemetery within the walled city is a surprising fact on its own. While the English Cemetery stands just a few meters away from the Dutch and the Armenian ones, it was built right outside the old city’s fortification walls.

Figure 60: Map of Surat in 1720 | Credit: William L. Nelson.

The structures of the cemetery have always fascinated the travellers, one such account by Ovington from 1689 was as follows: “The English and all the Europeans are privileged with The convenient Repositories for their Dead, within half a Mile of Burying the in City. There they endeavour to outvie each other in places of magnificent Structures and stately Monuments, whose large Extent, beautiful Architecture, and aspiring Heads, make them visible at a remote distance, lovely Objects of the sight, and give them the Title of the Principal Ornaments and Magnificencies about the City. The two most celebrated Fabricks among the English, set off with stately Towers and Minorets, are that which was Erected for Sir John Oxonian, 112

and the other for the Renown’ d and Honourable President Aungers. The two most noted among the Dutch, is one, a noble Pile rais’d over the Body of the Dutch Commissary, who died about three Years ago and another less stately, but more fam’d; built by the order of a Jovial Dutch Commander, with three large Punch-Bowls upon the top of it, for the Entertainment and Mirth of his surviving Friends, who remember him there sometimes so much, that they quite forget themselves.”106 Ovington points out the grave of Dircq van Adrichem who had died in the in 1665 and was the largest before 1690s. The Dutch and the English took their rivalry to their graves literally in Surat. Since they were constantly trying to impose their importance and power to attain commercial relations with the Mughals. If compared, each tomb built with time, tried to outdo the previous one. The largest among all though turns out to be that of Adriaan van Rheede at a height of eighteen meters, built in 1692. The tombs were never commissioned by VOC revenues. The Dutch made expenses for the construction of the tombs from their own pockets. Hereen XVII, the administration of the VOC never agreed to the building of the tombs that they supposedly called ‘grave cities’.107 It was considered against the simple living and attitude of the Dutch Protestant belief to build towering tombs unlike the humble graves with coats of arms that one would see in the Netherlands. A letter from 1678 to the trading post of Surat reads: “..the display of heathen off Mahometan temples, then resting places of Christians, through which the widows and children suffer… that is also forbidden, and understand, that no one may have any burial cities checked, costing more than two hundred rupees.”108

The most pompous and grand funeral ceremony that the city of Surat ever saw was that of Henrdik Adriaan van Rheede. He died at sea on 15th December 1691 and was brought to the coast of Surat. After almost an 19 day preparation and wait for the guests, the funeral ceremony took place on 3rd January 1992. The procession was described and etched in the Netherlands as per the descriptions of VOC employees in Surat. The funeral procession in the city was the largest after the Mughal processions. People dressed in long robes with capes and a hat with a broad ribbon that reaches different heights above pr below their waist walked in long queues to the cemetery. Oxen covered in black cloth are pulled the card draped and held by robed bearers. People with weapons and flags walked throughout the procession. The local inhabitants of Surat watched from the sides climbing their roofs from far away to witness the pompous procession. Van Rheede was buried in January while his tomb took about a year to be built above him. 106

Ovington, Reverend John. 1929. A Voyage To Surat In The Year 1689. . Edited by H.G. Rawlinson, London: Oxford University Press, Humphrey Milford. 107 Valentijn, François. 1724-1726. Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien’ (Ancient and the New-East India), Part 4, Volume 2, Dordrecht: Joannes van Braam. 108 Translated from Kempers, August Johan BERNET. (1938). “De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat.” Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 65-92. 113

Figure 61: Funeral of Adriaan van Rheede in Surat, Januar 1692 | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection

Figure 62: 17th century funeral in the Netherlands | Credit:

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Figure 63: Christopher Hendrik Braad's sketch of the Dutch graveyard in 1751 | Credit: Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek

After the Dutch left in 1824, the British continued to maintain and take care of the cemetery. Although most of the epitaphs were borrowed by the neighbouring committees to use marble for making ‘chutneys’ in the kitchen, most of the graves became anonymous in the late 1800s. The first mention of the Dutch Cemetery was in a published article by A.F. Bellasis for the Journal of Asiatic Society of Bombay where he describes the Dutch, Armenian and the English tombs in brief. From Christopher Hendrik Braad’s sketch in 1751, to the documentation plans by the Dutch Ethnographer Bernet Kempers and the inscriptions he found, as well as the visit of Leo Wevers in 1997, the following evolution of the Dutch Cemetery can be found:

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Figure 64: Evolution of the Dutch Cemetery since 1640s to Present day | Credit: Author

As the origins, and the situations that brought about the cemetery’s construction and the events that surrounded it, the rich context a missing piece of Surat’s history is partially glued together. The Dutch Cemetery was never a lone-standing historic site. It was always different from the general definitions of cemeteries. The cemetery was always surrounded by people and places that made the city. The Dutch Cemetery has watched the city of Surat grow from afar, hence becoming a witness to the testimony of Surat’s becoming through time. As the cemetery is studied in the historic context, its presentday conditions must also be studied to integrate the past into the future of its conservation.

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Burial after all, binds you to a place in a way…

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The main site of the Dutch Cemetery shares a compound wall with the Armenian cemetery and the surrounding buildings. Two aspects of the cemetery are explored here - materiality of the site and the socio-economic interaction of the site with the surrounding scenarios. This chapter on Materiality discusses the current state of the site in its existence and the monuments today. This consists of the built and the unbuilt parts of the site as well as the architecture and characteristics of the tombs. The chapter dives a little bit further into dissecting the features of the 4 main types of the tombs and enquires the sharedness in terms of identity. Further on, the materials used in the past as well as today are discussed. The chapter ends with the state of conservation of the tombs while pointing out the physical conditions of the tombs and the site.

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The Dutch Cemetery site sits in the central zone on the Northern side of the city and covers an area of about 3405 sq. with a perimeter of about 247m. While it shares the compound wall with the Armenian cemetery, the complex makes up a total area of about 6013 sq.

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The site is surrounded by 5-6 storied buildings that share the compound wall. The compound walls are about 400 mm thick and as one were to proceed to the site from the adjacent road - one would notice the tomb of Van Rheede being the tallest structure as well as the main gate first. The main gate has a slope which gives the impression that the site is raised on a plinth of about 2 m high. The compound walls vary in all directions but are about 3m tall.

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The site has a number of trees and open spaces in between tombs that show traces of attempted levelling. As one enters through the new small gate of the site - there is an ASI sign board written in English and Gujarati that informs in brief about the site and its history and showcases the protection status of the site.

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The Dutch today have a total of 44 tombs and graves. Although a lot of empty places on the site shows the possibility of some other graves in the pockets which might be absent today. The following site plan shows the site with its built and unbuilt spaces today. The tombs in their shadows showcase the possibility of one spending their leisurely afternoons under them. All the tombs were counted, inventoried and hand measured to create single line drawings to justify the study of the state of conservation today. The inventory can be found in the annex.

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The site faces the threats of losing character due to natural weathering and deliberate vandalism. The broken debris is collected on one corner of the site. Since the site sits in close proximity to a primary road, the tombs have black crusting. Some structures show structural damages. The tombs in the extreme corners show deterioration due to vegetation. Most of the graves have lost their epitaphs today.

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Figure 66: The Dutch Cemetery is marked showing the location in the central zone | Credit: Author, Recreated from SMC zonal map

Figure 65: Locating Dutch cemetery Surat | Credit: Author, modified from Google maps

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Figure 67: Site showing the monuments marked on site alongside vegetation slopes | Credit: Author

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3.1.1 The Site and the monuments

Figure 68: Site and the monuments today

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Architecture It is fascinating to learn of a world that accommodated blending cultures. This reflected on the architecture directly. The Dutch adopted the much-influential Mughal architectural language and made it their own. If one overlooks the indistinctive foreign features, the tombs could be easily mistaken to be a complex of Mughal tombs. The tombs in this cemetery are dated between the 17th to 18th century. The principal features of Mughal architecture like the intricate adornment, neat motifs on the pedestals and capitals of columns, domes with classic Mughal finials, are observed. The cemetery does not have a specific layout and is in fact an asymmetrical spread of different tombs. All the graves face West to East. Each tomb on site is unique. Although, to better understand the architectural language of cemetery, the tombs are categorized into four salient typologies. Explained briefly below are the four types:

Figure 69: The four types of tombs on site | Credit: Author

Figure 70: One line drawings, 4 types of tombs on site | Credit: Author

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Double Storeyed Domed Tomb – As the name suggests, it is evident that this type of tomb has two storeys. The Mughal architectural features are very interestingly used to build the tomb. Presumably, the size and location of the tombs in the cemetery portrays the importance of the person buried. (Tombs: 1, 3 and 10)

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Single Storeyed Domed Tomb – We notice that these tombs are single storey, ground floor structures. This is the second most common type to be found in the cemetery. Although, these tombs maintain the Mughal architectural language through the domes, finials, motifs and so on. They are placed more centrally than near the periphery. (Tombs: 2, 4, 9, 11, 19, 22, 23, 25, 29)

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Obelisk – Obelisks are monolithic solid forms, consisting of two parts. First, a bulky base, and second, a tapering top. Even though the obelisks do not seem to follow the common architectural language, they possess a peculiar characteristic. The solid mass is as tall as the Type 1 and Type 2 tombs, which is taller than usual obelisks and is not normally seen in the Orthodox Christian/European Churches. (Tombs: 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 18, 20, 34)

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Simple Gravestone – A simple gravestone is a solid block, or cenotaphs109, extruded from the ground. The maximum number of tombs in the cemetery is simple gravestones. Many of these solid masses are carved in a way that greatly resemble the cenotaphs of distinguished Mughal tombs. (Tombs: 5, 6, 13, 15, 16, 21, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37/ABCDE, 38/AB, 39, 40)

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Type 1

• • • • •

The tombs which have two storeys are seen to be situated in the central portion of the cemetery. The Dome is a single shelled dome with a finial at the crown. The columns have a base and/or capital in the form of a lotus flower (mention which tombs is it observed in). The arch used is the classic portuguese colonial arch. With the increasing importance of the person buried, the plinth is observed to be higher as well.

Type 2

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• • • • • •

The tombs that are simply ground floor structures are closer to centre than to the periphery. The domes are single shelled as well and are onion shaped with a finial at the crown. We see quandrangular plans, as well as octagonal plans for such tombs. The columns taper as they go higher. The columns don’t stop at the dome drum but run higher than them and form mini-finials as seen on the crown of the dome. The arches are not indifferent than the ones seen in Type 1. The classic Portuguese Colonial arches are the only predominant foreign feature seen in the structures of the cemetery. The plinth is observed to be slightly lower to Type 1 tombs. Nevertheless, functions like a robust base to withsatnd the load of the structure.

TYPE 3

• • • • •

Obelisks are monuments used as gravemarkers in Orthodox Christian cemeteries. The obelisks at the Dutch Cemetery are noticeably larger than the obelisks generally seen at Orthodox European cemeteries. They are situated near the Type 2 tombs, more centrally located than near the periphery. This might also explain the size of the monument. The size is apt keeping in mind the over-powering – Type 1 and type 2 – tombs around it. While the obelisks have no similarity with the local architectural language, symmetrical artistic motifs are crafted on the vertical surfaces of the base.

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TYPE 4

• •

The simple graves are situated more towards the periphery of the cemetery than in the centre. The cenotaphs of the simple graves are not protected under a tomb.

The following are the predominant features that are observed in Types 1 and 2: 1. The cenotaph is built in an enclosed space, away from direct view of the public

Credit: Author, modified

2. Mughal fresco is seen on the intrados of the dome

Credit: Author, modified

3. In reference to the Wooden frameworks which are observed in the door and window frames of Tomb 1:

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• • • •

The material of the framework is supposedly taken on from the local Pol Architecture style which can be predominantly seen along the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad. Although interestingly the carvings done on the framework is very commonly seen in Mughal structures. In Mughal floral motifs, Narcissus and Iris are frequently seen and likewise, are observed in the wooden carvings of tomb 1 as well. Another such element which common in Mughal art and architecture is to mirror the motifs along a central vertical axis. Hence, the carvings are seen to be mirrored along its central vertical axis.

Credit: Author

4. The column capital has motifs in the form of a lotus (Padma), widely seen in Mughal structures, holding the abacus of the column

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Credit: Author “Padma (Lotus): Another ancient symbol of Hindu origin is the Lotus which can be found in varied form in plenty of Mughal buildings of Agra. The symbol of Padma in Hindu culture represents life and principle of growth. This motif can be found sitting on the pillars of archways in circular ornamental placement at Fatehpur Sikri. Several other places where the lotus symbol is used are- Salim Chishti’s Tomb, Sultana’s Palace, Panch Mahal, Khwabagh and rest of the opulent mansions in Fatehpur Sikri. The representation of the Lotus symbol is more of an aesthetic impression. He indicated that Lotus was without doubt considered to be an auspicious motif, but it would not have been acceptable in Mughal decorative art without substantial merit.” – Prof. R. Nath110

Additionally, use of timber in tomb 1 is similar to the funerary hatchments seen in Oude Kerk in Amsterdam:

Figure 72: Funerary hatchment of Paulus de roo | Credit: Author

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Figure 71: Funerary hatchment at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam | Credit: René ten Dam

Nath.R. 1990. “Chapter 2: An Analysis of Agra’s Mughal Monuments” Washington University Press

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5. The Chakra is seen alongside the arches on the exterior surface. “Chakra is also known as the spinning wheel of a time. It represents the cyclic movement of the universe. Mostly this motif is used in circular ornamental pattern on the pillars and the arches of Mughal monuments of Agra” – Prof. R. Nath

Credit: Modified by author from Wikicommons, Buland Darwaza

6. The use of blind arches, with minimal fresco work, is observed (Tombs 2, 19, 23, 25 only)

Credit: Modified by author Wikicommons, Itimad-Ud-Daulah Tomb, Agra 7. As observed in the Taj Mahal, the onion dome is placed on an octagonal drum. We notice the same in tombs 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 19, 23

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The following features are observed in type 3 The obelisks are a common European burial monument. It is four-sided with a pyramid shape and a often marks a burial plot. The obelisk shaped monuments on the site could also mean that members of a certain family were buried near or around the tall pyramids.

The following are the predominant features that are observed in type 4

The cenotaphs of the Dutch Cemetery are different from the normal cuboidal shaped cenotaphs in European cemeteries. The cenotaphs have a Mughal style to it – elevation, size, motifs

Figure 73: Credit: Author, modified

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Types of Damages

Figure 74: Debris on site | Credit: Author

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3.1.2 Urban Scenario • •

The land use plan of the city’s development plan from 2035 shows the Dutch and Armenian cemetery site as ‘residential’. The ratio of unbuilt and built ratio within the regulated boundaries of the site show the density of buildings and the lack of open spaces.

Figure 76: Land use map | Credit: Author modified from DP 2035 SMC

Figure 75: Built and unbuilt ratio | Credit: Author, modified from Google maps

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Existing condtions around the site in terms of use and activity are pointed out in the map below. Three different types of residential buildings were identified that surround the cemetery. Type A, is the informal settlements extending up to 2storeyed heights and are developed right above the cemetery’s compound wall. The encrochment on the North-East corner of the cemetery is the highes as the house surround the relatively empty area of the site. Primary road running under a flyover on the West side of the cemetery and an immediate connecting secondary road passing by the cemetery are busy vehicular streets. The secondary road is one of the few wide roads in the neighbourhood. A pedestrian pathway passes by two difffernt types of housing developments adjacent to the cemetery. Type B residences are private houses subletting newcomers with rooms to rent. Most of the houses of type B belongs to a relatively older community from about 70 years ago, most of which has now moved to the suburbs of the city. The Type C are five to eight storied structures that hover over the cemetery blocking the vista of the cemetery from within the prohibited zone. The Type F is a commercial textile factory that opens at 8am and closes at 6pm, a constant noise to the ambience of the cemetery. Most of the type C buildings are mixed in use with their ground floors as shops or private businesses that open towards the street. There is only one open spaces Type E, which is often used as playground for permitted cricket matches, although as per the Development plan of 2035, the playground is marked for future development by SUDA.

Figure 77: Map showing the surrounding context of the Dutch and Armenian Cemetery | Credit: Author

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Figure 83: Type A in the North-East side, December 2020| Credit: Author

Figure 80: Primary Road, December 2020 | Credit: Author

Figure 82: Type C on South-East side of the cemetery, December 2020 | Credit: Author

Figure 79: Secondary Road, December 2020 | Credit: Author

Figure 81: Type B and C on the West and South west corner of the site, December 2020 | Credit: Author Figure 78: Pedestrian Pathway | Credit: Author

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3.1.3 Legal The Dutch cemetery in Surat is listed as a nationally protected monument since before 1947 during the British administration alongside the British cemetery. As per the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010 construction activities around the centrally protected monuments and sites such as the Dutch Cemetery are to be regulated as follows: • Prohibited Area: Every area beginning at the limit of the protected area or the protected monument, as the case may be, and extending to a distance of one hundred metres in all directions shall be the prohibited area in respect of such protected area or protected monument. [Section 20-A]111 • Regulated Area: Every area beginning at the limit of the prohibited area in respect of every ancient monument and archaeological site and remains declared as of national importance under sections 3 and 4 and extending to a distance of two hundred metres in all directions shall be the regulated area in respect of ancient monument and archaeological site and remains. [Section 20-B]112 • Regulation of construction activity: Construction of new buildings within the prohibited area is not permissible under the act. Reconstruction or repairs or renovation of existing buildings within the prohibited area, requires prior permission from the Competent Authority under the act. Construction of new buildings, reconstruction or renovation or addition to/alteration/modification of existing buildings within the regulated area requires prior permission of the Competent Authority under the act. Undertaking construction activity within the prohibited or regulated area without the prior permission of the respective authority under the act will result in penal action under the act against such person(s)/organisation who undertake such construction activity. • Penalty: Imprisonment up to a period of two years and/ or a penalty to the maximum of rupees one lakh.113 The law enforcement systems that comprise of the protection of the site are not stringent against the sanctioning of the local authorities for new constructions. Hence, the developments within the protected and regulated zones of the cemetery are in constant conflict and lawsuits.

India, Central Government of. 2010. “Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.” Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. 20A 112 India, Central Government of. 2010. “Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.” Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. 20A 113 India, Central Government of. 2010. “Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.” Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. 20A

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Figure 84: Map showing ASI buffer zones around the Dutch, Armenian and English cemetery | Credit: Author, modified from Google Maps

Figure 86: Construction over the compound wall of the cemetery, January 2021 | Credit: Author Figure 85: The only signage within the protected site by the entrance mentioning a paragraph about the cemetery, January 2021 | Credit: Author

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3.1.4 Social perspectives Existing social activity, use and problems around the cemetery are displayed in the map below. With the urban developments around, the view of the site is blocked from all the potential sides leading to main roads. Apart from a lack of hygiene and planned infrastructure, the secondary road running adjacent to the site houses a make-shift garage (A) by the main gate of the cemetery. Multiple auto-rickshaws, cars and twowheelers from around the neighbourhood remain parked in queues or in a haphazard arrangement spread around the street. The secondary road, as it turns around the south-east corner of the site, is a usual afternoon and evening retreat spot for men of the ages 40 and above. They pull out chairs and sit in the ‘chowk’. Some children, mostly males are seen on this periphery. Although, often young girls and women are seen chatting on the stairs of the shops along the street. Women hangout by these ‘modern verandahs’ while the cemetery and the tombs do not attract them to the site due to the insecurities generated in the atmosphere. Only men and boys are seen playing cricket in the pockets of the cemetery. In most hidden tombs of the site in the northernmost corner, is the space for a usual afternoon gathering of men in their twenties smoking and drinking, or playing cards. The people on the site do not come from the immediate neighbourhood but travel about 2kms to spend time at the cemetery. While women still remain at the periphery, some women from the adjacent building plant curry leaves in the small garden in the west corner, and often come to pick the leaves in company of their husbands. They occupy the pedestrian closed street and have their evening teas together often chatting away, spending leisurely afternoons while cleaning their pulses or doing embroidery. The women when asked if they would like to spend time at the cemetery, responded their desire to do so, only when the present activities on site could be stopped and if lesser men could come to the site, they would feel comfortable using the cemetery as their neighbourhood space. On the northern corner of the site, an open space, is being used as a garbage dump alongside a pile of broken pieces from the tombs in a debris (B). The garbage is often burned on the site in the open space around the obelisk. The ambience of the cemetery is taken over majorly by the noise from the textile factory (C) sharing a wall with the cemetery’s compound in the north-west corner. The volume of the noise generated, makes the cemetery even less desirable to spend quality time at.

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Male (5-15 age)

Figure 87: Activity mapping in and around the cemetery | Credit: Author

Figure 88: Activities on the secondary road, January 2021 | Credit: Author

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Figure 90: Young boys playing cricket in the cemetery, December 2020 | Credit: Author

Figure 92: The accumulating debris and garbage on site, December 2020 | Credit: Author

Figure 89: Older boys spending time at the cemetery, December 2020 | Credit: Author

Figure 91: A woman picking leaves in her husband's company on the site, December 2020 | Credit: Author

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Through semi-structured interviews questioning the community’s association to the site and their opinions about reuse of the site, the following perspectives were collected:

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Figure 93: Suggestions of using the cemetery from around Surat, March 2021 | Credit: Author

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Based on the analysis of the architectural and urban aspects associated with the Dutch Cemetery, the multi-faceted values associated to the site and its fabric are evaluated through the schemes of a Nara grid, stakeholder analysis and mapping, a multi-criteria analysis and a SWOT analysis. Nara Grid

Aspects

Artistic

Historic

Form and Design

A specific design that combines the architectural details of the seventeenthand eighteenth-century Indo-Islamic character.

The cemetery is the one of the only typical Dutch cemeteries in Gujarat.

Materials and substance

The materials used are lakhauri bricks typically used in the construction of Mughal structures in the region

The masonry used and the bricks come from different historic kilns in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Use and function

The cemetery was the only kind of establishment and architectural expression of the Dutch in Surat, to bury their dead while adapting to the regional style of tomb and temple architecture

The cemetery is the evidence of a designated space to the Dutch in the stringent Mughal society. The typology and placement of the tombs in the cemetery show the hierarchy and importance of the people buried

Tradition, techniques and workmanship

The architectural details and type of construction is the work of local craftsmanship coming from Rajasthan and the region of Gujarat itself demonstrating skills of intrinsic carvings from the seventeenth and eighteenth century.

The techniques of frescoes and carvings show the traditional workmanship of the region in seventeenth and eighteenth century.

Location and setting

The cemetery complex is positioned within the old fortification walls and is a part of the central historic zone of Surat city.

The cemetery placed in the North zone within the historic wall shows the historic setting in the seventeenth and eighteenth century and today is the one of the only few heritage sites in the urban fabric that surrounds it.

Spirit and feeling

The cemetery offers a quiet and peace in the bustling city of Surat and the pleases a visitor in its shaded verandah, galleries and open spaces.

The cemetery shows the approach of commemorating of the dead in the Dutch community that lived in Surat in demonstration and creation of a cultural landscape.

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Aspects

Social

Scientific

Form and Design

The cemetery demonstrates the building process of hybrid of and transcultural architecture adapted to the budget and abilities of the people involved.

The tombs are created in the proportion and symmetry of scared geometry, a typical characteristic used in the construction of Mughal architecture.

Materials and substance

The original materials used show the use of the local industries, hence a direct contribution of the masonry materials from the region.

The tombs and their structural abilities of withstanding more than 400 years of existence show the exceptional durability of the materials and engineering used.

Use and function

The cemetery is the evidence of the socio-cultural and legal scenario of the European trade society in the region of Surat.

The empty spaces around as compared to certain crowded areas demonstrate the possibility of archaeological exploration to find the lost graves and date the earliest grave in the cemetery.

Tradition, techniques and workmanship

The architecture and craftsmanship show a mix of three typical regional architectural styles of the seventeenth and eighteenth century – Portuguese, Hindu-temple architecture and IndoIslamic architecture.

The brick masonry and domed vaults used for the construction of the structures showcase accuracy and symmetric proportions. The intrinsic details also go to show the floral motifs with exquisite carvings on wood and lime surfaces.

Location and setting

The cemetery has been one of the leisure places outside of the city and even today provides an open space for use in a crowded locality.

Spirit and feeling

The place carries the cultural significance of an overlap of a transcultural community and hence is a reminder of the social fabric of the city of Surat.

The play of light and shadow at various points of time witnessing the sunrise and sunset, create desirable vistas to become the city’s skyline.

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Stakeholder Analysis and Mapping No. Stakeholders

Power

Influence Values/Stake

Types

Magnitude

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

High

- Protection of site - Economical and - Legal decisionmaking - Subsidies - Control over permits, interventions and modifications - Control over the development and decisions in the protected and regulated protection boundaries - Leisure use

Civic

Positive

Surat Municipal Corporation

Medium

Civic

Positive

Low

Surrounding communities/neighbours Residents of Surat city

Public

Positive

Low

- Touristic and leisure use

Public

Positive

Tourists and visitors

Low

Medium

- Leisure

Public

Positive

Local Businesses around

Low

None

Public

Positive

Non-Governmental Organisations – Surat Heritage Trust, Dharohar, INTACH Educational InstitutionsSVNIT, SCET, Art schools, etc. Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA)

Low

Medium

- Awareness and activities

Public

Positive

Low

Medium

- Architectural and artistic study visits

Public/ Private

Positive

High

Civic

Negative

Gujarat State Tourism

Medium

- Control over the new development proposals and decisions in the protected and regulated protection boundaries - Awareness and Touristic

Public

Positive

BACSA (British Association of Cemeteries in South Asia) and RCE (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) International Genealogical connections/ Families

Low

Medium

- International awareness - Archives - Knowledge on funerary culture

International

Positive

Low

Medium

- International awareness - Conservation value

Public

Positive

Researchers, Historians and Heritage professionals

Low

Medium

- Tangible heritage in

Public

Positive

Corporate Companies

Medium

High

evidence for studies of different connected aspects - None

Private

Negative

Surat Smart city Development Ltd.

Medium

- None

Public/ Private

Negative

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Figure 94: Power-Interest Grid showing present distribution of stakeholder participation and values at Dutch Cemetery, Surat

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Multi-criteria Analysis Pillars

Criteria

Score (/5)

Cultural

Conservation of heritage

Economic

Contribution to the quality of environment of Surat city Property value

3 3

Job creation

Tourism growth

Public function

Community usage

Diversity of use and function

Security

Reinforcing sense of community

Community involvement on site

Hygiene and cleanliness

Sustainability

Social

Environmental

Conservation of heritage 5 Sustainability

Quality of environment

4 Hygiene and Cleanliness

Property value

2 1

Community involvement for site

Job Creation 0

Reinforcing sense of community

Tourism Growth

Security

Diversity of use and function

Public function

Community usage

Figure 95: Diagram showing distribution of different criteria showing the imbalance of aspects related to Dutch Cemetery, Surat

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SWOT Analysis Strengths

Weaknesses

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• • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

Interesting transcultural architectural character Historical significance to the city’s evolution Shared heritage, hence bringing international interests and collaborations to the city Open space amidst a crowded locality, hence open for immediate leisure use to the community Protected national monument Low maintenance issues Holds a transcultural identity in contribution to the city’s cosmopolitan character Attracts tourism to an extent Attached non-use values are converted to a degree of use values today Improves the city’s identity by contributing to the heritage character Accepted as a neighbourhood space by the surrounding community with no immediate stake Used by the male age groups of 5-30 years old as an essential part of their day Provides an aesthetic value in being a desirable location attracting artists and photographers seeking inspiration amidst an urban fabric Site attached to a main road with immediate pedestrian and vehicular access Uncomplicated terrain with a flat land and symbiotically located tombs creating vistas Secured with a compound wall and gates Towering domes adding identity and variety to a homogenous, newly developed neighbourhood, creating a unique environment for leisure and to

• • • • • •

• • • •

• • • • • • •

Under constant deterioration and neglect Lost historical narrative, no background to the anonymous structures known Most of the epitaphs are lost today, leaving the tombs anonymous Lost genealogical connections Absence of direct easy access to the site, just a small gate open for entry No views or attractive visual vistas from surrounding areas such as the flyover on the primary road Prohibited and Regulated boundaries of buffer zones around the boundary, directly affected with constructions within Disturbed skyline due to new high-rise constructions shadowing the cemetery complex Secondary street adjacent to the site and the vehicular ways of access are congested Surrounding environment has a haphazard mix use Lacks hygiene and cleanliness on the main street that is overlooked by the cemetery, giving a dilapidated image of the tombs on the outside Broken architectural details are collected in a debris on site No context of functional use Damages mostly caused by natural damages and often deliberate damages due to rough use of the site One of the only few remaining heritage sites in the city Lack of awareness and significance of the site in the city No core commercial relation or value Lacks interest and diversity of use by different communities in the city and different age groups

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live around the splendid architectural • character of the tombs •

•

• • • • • • • • • •

• •

•

No lights or security in and around the cemetery, making nights unwelcoming Surrounded by a new migrant community while the historic community around the cemetery has left to live in the suburbs with better amenities Social and cultural rift between the surrounding communities (among Hindus and Muslims) leading to lack of collaborative action Intense bureaucracy in decision making and development leaving little scope for holistic conservation and consideration of the Dutch Cemetery No regular subsidies for the maintenance and timely restoration Lack of employee strength, with only 2 caretakers and 1 Manager of the Dutch and the English Cemetery No direct employment and participation from the surrounding community Barren land and attempted concrete payments broken on site today Lack of accessible amenities such as public toilets, drinking water, etc. Lack of signages with information on the Dutch Cemetery and its tombs Lack of warning signs or prohibition signages around the tombs for protection of the physical fabric Lack of management planning No touristic awareness Lack of stakes, participation and decision-making power in the hands of Surat Municipal Corporation leading to lack of involvement No dependency or inclusion of the private sector Lack of attempts towards community engagement in decision-making or realization of needs to fulfil values through the site No scope of a buffer zone with permanent constructions that sandwich the heritage site in immediate vicinity

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•

Noise of the textile factory taking over the ambience and the peace of the cemetery

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Opportunities

Threats

•

• • • • • • • •

•

• •

•

Scope for use of the open spaces within the site since there is lack of other open public spaces in the neighbourhood Capable of attracting international stakeholder-ship and interest due to the transcultural character Scope for innovation through heritage in a developing SMART city of Surat Can host educational awareness meetups within the premises and host visitors Develop architectural and aesthetic interest Resides in a newly developed area as a heritage asset, hence scope of contributing to the local character Scope of supporting businesses of the community around the cemetery Possibility to employ a local member of the community for the management of the site Scope for Corporate Social Responsibility private sector investments or being a part of the ‘Adopt a heritage’ scheme Entrepreneurial opportunities for revenue generation through tourism, visits, workshops on skill developments etc. Capacity building through international stakeholders Capable of reviving an interest and positive perspective towards use of the site by simple maintenance, hygiene and security Surroundings can be restored and developed to create a welcoming urban fabric and infrastructure to host visitors or simply support the community While other heritage buildings remain in the city centre and much more cramped today, the cemeteries are open spaces – creating opportunities and flexibility of use. Open complexes are always an asset for a congested city.

• • • • •

•

• • • •

• •

•

The site is presently used for haphazard and unrelated purposes – drug abuse corners, playground for neighbourhood cricket, etc. Loss of heritage value Lack of monitoring and periodic documentation Lack of security of women on site Encroachments with new development from the compound walls of the cemetery itself Lack of disaster risk management with an existing history of intense flooding of the city and the site causing irreversible damages to the structures The cemetery is marked as ‘residential’ in the Surat Urban Development Plan of 2035, proving the lack of recognition of heritage sites in the urban fabric Ongoing political conflicts and pressures Constant physical damages and loss of architectural elements such as epitaphs and details Lack of intervention and conservation planning No inclusion in the urban management with functional integration into the city, hence leading to continuing ambivalence in the future Biased bureaucratic decisions of the local authorities leading to uncertainty of proper preservation in the future Immediate community in the neighbourhood perceives the cemetery as foreign and disassociates itself from the cemetery in negative perceptions Visitors hesitate to visit due to the haphazard surrounding infrastructure and lack of hygiene in the vicinity

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Back on earth, the architecture of death is not about withering and decay so much as living and buildings. It is about how we design, occupy and ritualize the structures intended to accommodate the last act in the hatch, match, dispatch trilogy of civic duty. It’s all about function- with just a little bit of legacy thrown in.114

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DEATH: Uncube Blog Comment https://www.uncubemagazine.com/blog/14886293 156

The Dutch Cemetery in Surat is rich combination of transcultural tangible and intangible assets. Neither can be disassociated from the other. The city of Surat is a palimpsest of the various historic layers through centuries and the Dutch Cemetery accounts for the main era of its evolution. The Dutch Cemetery in its literal phases has developed through the seventeenth and eighteen centuries, when the city was actually growing. Hence, the conservation of the cemetery’s values as well as the tangible heritage protection is more essential now than ever, before it is left out while the city develops to become a metropolis. The identification of the factors justifies in finalisation of the first three steps of The Burra Charter (2013) of forming recommendations leading to eventual policy and management advice. Based on the analysis and discussions in the previous chapters, there is a necessity to reorganise the stakeholder structure, the heritage policy and the function of the cemetery to meet the needs of the community that surrounds the cemetery today. The sustainable future of the cemetery relies on the state of conservation, potential use and a profitable management of the site as heritage. The protected site and the immediate surroundings fall within the ASI regulations of prohibition and regulation. Although the heritage protection laws have been overlooked today, the integration of the buffer zone in the revival of the cemetery’s purpose can become an added asset. Within the defined buffer zone of 200m radius around the cemetery, the aspects or ‘urban revival’ aimed towards the community’s need while using the Dutch Cemetery as the factor of change, an integration of the heritage protection of the Dutch Cemetery can be achieved.

Tangible and intangible aspects: Values and interpretations • • • • • •

Heritage conservation in relation to the changing environment and the multi culturalism, lifestyles and digital transformations should be adapted to the changing values of the new communities. Suitable interpretations and awareness possibilities must be explored not only for the visitors but for the communities around the cemetery The manifestation of intangible values in physical fabric of the cemetery should be portrayed to the visitors in direction translations While inter-linking the elements of history and the likes of intangible traces of the Dutch period in the city and the state of Gujarat a series of awareness can be generated. The transcultural character of the cemeteries and documentation drawings can be displayed to the people around in workshops with architectural universities in the city. In understanding and attraction to the cemetery, ownership value can be generated among the immediate communities.

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Capacity building for the preservation of the craftsmanship that comprises of the structures, must be conducted aimed at trainings of the immediate communities and formation of local experts. The history of the European society beyond the British in Surat must be included on a larger scale in the school curriculums Focus should also be on developing a new audience for the strong recognition of the transcultural values by hosting digital exhibitions, VR tours, etc. in places apart from Surat.

Initiation of dialogues and collaborations •

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The UK, the Netherlands and Armenian can join forces while assimilating the relevant archival data, promoting international awareness and initiating advisory mission visits can be the beginning of their role as stakeholders of the cemeteries in Surat. This would promote multinational cooperation and encourage development of methodologies that harmonise the overall ‘European-shared’ heritage in the city as a historic urban landscape. Such international and intergovernmental organisations can facilitate public understanding and involvement in the implementation, through dissemination of examples of best practices, case studies and lessons learned and executed in the different parts of the world. This builds the thinking capacities and possibilities of ‘using’ the city’s heritage to combine the needs. Special focus on assistance programmes and projects conducted in complex urban areas should be given. BACSA (British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia), the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) alongside the Armenian missions conducted before, can combine their efforts in stimulating the value-recognition of the cemetery with the local authorities. ICOMOS Netherlands and ICOMOS India can also collaborate and bring about workshops for exchange and capacity buildings towards the conservation of their shared heritage. The efforts of conservation of VOC heritage in India today is in fragments. In combining awareness and conservation efforts through exchanges of expertise, a larger dialogue can be attained. Surat and Kochi, hitherto two different cities, can collaborate in sharing efforts for the conservation and awareness of the East India Companies’ heritage on the Western Coast. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) should initiate a dialogue to consider heritage protection laws in defining the urban development and planning of the city. As the Netherlands and India- specifically like in the example of Surat and Rotterdamcooperate on the management of aspects such as water and build other business relations today, common heritage threads can become another stronger aspect of collaboration.

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Urban adaptability • • • • • • • • •

In direct context, as the regulated buffer zones for heritage protection are considered, the concentration of improving the urban infrastructure can be achieved. The cemetery is directly connected to a primary connecting road, this gives scope to improve the access to the site through public transport. In improvising a tourism infrastructure on the streets that lead to the cemetery, more visitors can be attracted. The immediate surroundings of the cemetery if focused for revival alongside the conservation of the protected site, a balance can be achieved in deriving the Dutch Cemetery in its historic open space as an iconic landmark in the neighbourhood. The resident in the neighbourhood may not be appealed to enter the gates today because of the haphazard use of the street as a garage, parking and unhygienic dumping of scrap iron right against the compound wall and the gates. As SMC does not have a decision-making stake or a development stake on the cemetery as an ASI protected site, as local authorities with SUDA, the urban scenario outside the cemetery can be revived. For the resident, once a revival of the main street is achieved, a general invitation to the open gates of a revived cemetery can then be achieved. The street outside the cemetery in order to become a safe landmark place for the neighbourhood communities, should have general seating amenities, plantations, garbage bins, street lighting and organized parking spaces. The community through a use of a directly associated street of the cemetery may then feel easily connected to the cemetery, not just as tombs, but an integral part of their daily life contributing to the improvement of their quality of life today.

Policies • • •

• • •

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The land use distribution in the city of Surat shows the site of protected sites of the European cemeteries marked as ‘residential’. SUDA must incorporate historic landmarks as separate markers or recognize protected and listed monuments. Surat with its heritage spread around the city must adopt a heritage policy that combines the historic urban fabric to the developing landscape. In that case, UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape must be explored to develop an integrated urban and heritage management plan for the city. The city must address the serious lacuna that currently exists in the legislative environment for the protection and management of the heritage properties w=in collaboration and defined scopes with the ASI. The activated buffer zones must be considered as part of the process to ensure the functioning of the defined protection and management regulations. Heritage Impact Assessments and independent Impact assessments should be made mandatory before the construction of new infrastructure in the sensitive zones of general heritage structures and that are already under the pressures such as the heritage sites such as the Dutch Cemetery. The community around the Dutch Cemetery is a relatively new one, hence, constant periodic awareness and participation opportunities must be generated for a wellinformed community. 159

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The community must be involved not just for dialogue but participation for the implementation of the heritage conservation.

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Figure 96: Revival of the adjacent street | Credit Author

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Management: Proposal, Implementation and Financial Revenues • • • • • • • • •

• •

• • • • • • •

The association of the community to the cemetery can only be derived through an involved management and contribution to the site in return of a positive influence. While ASI protects the cemetery as a national monument, landscaping and decoration of the historic site remains in the scope of the legal limitations. In that order, through a subsidized maintenance revenue model, the cemetery can be converted into a ‘memorial garden’. The tombs in their structural abilities are capable of standing the test of time and do not require constant repairs. Timely periodic reporting of the state of conservation, inventoried tracking and monitoring of changes, damages and requirements of repairs alongside periodic documentations should be implemented. The landscaping around the cemetery will allow the use of the site by the neighbourhood which lacks a green pocket in the vicinity. A revival of the cemetery as a garden will not only improve the quality of life of the neighbourhood but also bring an influx of visitors to the site. A preservation of the site with a twist can be proposed with equal distribution of stakes to ASI for protection, SMC for maintenance and the community for management. The site does not require an entry fee at this point. Hence there is no revenue model that constantly supports the site. The site can be sublet and used for young entrepreneurship ventures, artistic collaborations, skill development workshops and trainings. The space can be made secure for women, with skill development activities on site by using the ‘verndah’ culture that the cemetery brings in its architectural form – to spend leisurely afternoons or evenings. The finance of the cemetery can even be realized through involvement of the private sector. Through their Corporate Social Responsibility, private companies can contribute for the upkeep and maintenance of the tombs and the landscape as well as bring about social activities on site using the cemetery as an incubation space. In India’s, Adopt a Heritage programme, the corporate companies can come forward to take the responsibility of management, maintenance, conservation of the Dutch Cemetery. Projects of public interventions can be developed in collaboration with the budgets of SUDA. International organizations and Funds can contribute in the initiation and the implementation Law enforcement for the conservation of the Dutch Cemetery should be imposed with the help of stringent penalties – increasing security and protection The site itself should have more signages imposing the protection and prohibiting the unwanted set of activities with warnings Additional information should be added to the Dutch Cemetery on signages, perhaps translating the Dutch epitaphs in English and narrating the associated historic context in Gujarati, Hindi and English. NGOs and communities such as Dharohar and Global Shapers, can use the cemetery for heritage meetups, entrepreneurship workshops, etc.

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The Dutch Cemetery and the community that surrounds are bound to feel connected if the site is in an overall better condition, a well-informed background and an essential use value. Local members of the community should be appointed as managers and caretakers of the cemetery, probably a strong yet liked leader to instigate the sense of responsibility and followership The bottom-up approach must be strengthened with a strong stake in participation and agreement towards the conservation of the cemetery as the top-down authorities are always changing. The community is more constant, stable and sustainable than the policy makers. A disaster risk management plan should be made for the cemetery to strengthen the heritage structures against the risks of floods and heavy rains, which are common in Surat.

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Figure 97: Revival of the Dutch cemetery premises for use | Credit: Author

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Figure 98: Revival of the Dutch Cemetery premises- landscaping | Credit Author

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The thesis study bases the discussion on the evolution and becoming of the cemetery from past and places it in the present-day context. In understanding the historical background, one might understand the cultural significance the Dutch Cemetery brings to the city. The values of the cemetery are derived from its parallel evolution with the city of Surat at the same time as the city’s peak era. The community of Surat has always been changing. The migrant communities that surround the Dutch Cemetery are relatively new, yet the cemetery has adapted to the changing environment for about 400 years now. While the perspectives can be combined to form the identity of the cemetery today, the most promising one remains that of the ‘city’ as the community. Since the generations of the community that once lived around the cemetery have now moved away, the softapproach of reviving values cannot be enough. The protection of the cemetery is the most positive aspect that keeps the site alive in the present context of the city. In the lacunae of the heritage legislation and the disconnect between the urban development and heritage protection, there is are less possibilities of a site like that of a Dutch Cemetery to be prioritised. Only when a functional value is added to the cemetery, overlooking the preservation legislation of the cemetery, can the cemetery survive to become an important aspect of the lives of the people that surround it. The city looks at the Dutch Cemetery as an important landmark, but does nothing about it. The lack of stakes and responsibilities by the local authorities, while the ASI tries to manage the cemetery from kms away in Daman, Vadodara or Delhi, the actual local situation on site is completely overlooked. A revival of the cemetery to suffice the needs of the people around the cemetery is indeed possible in its scope of becoming an essential open space in the neighbourhood. On proper implementation of at least one revival attempt, the doors to potential change in the people perspectives can be realized. The present thesis study has attempted to learn about the historical background from a distant perspective, but on attempting the fieldwork, the on-ground reality is very much different. Shared heritage as a concept for conservation can be called one-sided unless an implementation is derived on site with collaboration with local authorities and community engagement. In that context, this study on the Dutch Cemetery, opens a doorway, but is not complete. In-depth ethnographic analysis, essential detailed interviews with experienced heritage stakeholders, identification of factors and issues beyond heritage, detailed digital documentation, completion of archival resources and interventions by ASI and much more completes the study. In realization of factors mentioned in the present study, a certain gap between the community and the cemetery, between India and the Netherlands for their heritage, and the past and the future of the cemetery, is hence partially bridged. 166

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Figure 1: In discussion with Lennart Bes at his and Jinna’s home in Amsterdam, November 2020 .............. 10 Figure 2: Heritage enthusiasts meet-up listening intently about the Dutch tombs at the cemetery, January 2021 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 3: Location of Dutch Cemetery in Surat | Credit: Author, Modified from Google Maps .................... 22 Figure 4: Aerial view of the British Cemetery in Surat, 2012 ........................................................................ 23 Figure 5: Dutch Cemetery, Surat, December 2020 ........................................................................................ 23 Figure 6: Tomb of Baron Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede at Dutch Cemetery Surat | Credit: Author .............. 25 Figure 7: Surrounding infrastructure on the South-East of the Dutch Cemetery, December 2020 ............... 27 Figure 8: Constructions over the compound wall of the Dutch Cemetery (North-East side), December 202027 Figure 9: Protected and regulated boundaries around the Dutch, Armenian and English cemeteries are indicated in yellow and green rings respectively .......................................................................................... 28 Figure 10: Entrance gate on the South side of the Dutch Cemetery along the street and the peeking tombs above the compound walls, December 2020 ................................................................................................ 28 Figure 11: On my visit to the cemetery, Rehaan introducing me to his neighbourhood, December 2020 | Credit: Author ........................................................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 12: ASI board demarcating 'Protected Monument' at the Tomb of Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani, December 2020 .............................................................................................................................................................. 31 Figure 13, 14: (L) A regular evening at the Tomb of Khwaja Safar-e-Sulemani. ........................................... 31 Figure 15: Diagram showing problem definitions ......................................................................................... 35 Figure 16: The Burra Charter Process......................................................................................................... 41 Figure 17: Locating Surat | Credit: Author, modified from Google maps ..................................................... 57 Figure 18: Surat city's expansion beyond the historic walled city ................................................................. 59 Figure 19:Historic landmarks around Surat main city | Credit: Author, Edited from Google Maps ............. 60 Figure 21: Merchant houses in residential use in Randher, Surat | Credit: Author (January 2021).............. 61 Figure 21: A European Trade Company's merchant house showing exqusiite carvings, Randher | Credit: Author (January 2021) .............................................................................................................................................. 61 Figure 23: Surat Fort built in the 16th century by the governor Khudwanad Khan on the banks of river Tapi in Surat | Credit: Government of Gujarat ......................................................................................................... 62 Figure 23: St. Andrews Library by the Surat fort in the city centre, built in 19th century | Credit: Author (Januray 2021) .............................................................................................................................................. 62 Figure 24: Locating the Netherlands | Credit: Author, recreating from Google Maps ................................. 63 Figure 25: Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 2020 | Credit: Author..................................................... 64 Figure 26: Surat and Rotterdam, Tapi and Maas | Credit: Wikicommons .................................................. 67 Figure 27: VOC route from NL to India | Credit: Author, modified from Google Maps ................................ 72 Figure 28: Dutch India | Credit: Author, modified from Google Maps and Atlas of Mutual Heritage .......... 74 Figure 29: VOC in India timeline | Credit: Author ......................................................................................... 75 Figure 31: Plan of Naarden fort in the Netherlands in 1726 | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection .................... 77 Figure 31: Plan of Fort Vijf Sinnen in the 18th century | Credit: Atlas of Mutual Heritage .......................... 77 Figure 32: The city of Cochin in India, 1665 | Credit: National Archives, the Hague .................................... 78 Figure 33:View of Cochin on the Malabar Coast in India, Johannes Vinckboons (attributed to), c. 1662 - c. 1663 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 78 Figure 34: Etching of Hendrik Adriaan van Reede Tot Drakestein, Pieter van Gunst, 1659 - 1731 | Credit: Rijksmuseum Studio Collection ..................................................................................................................... 81 Figure 35: "Logie van Suratte," a view of the Dutch East India Company's warehouse and living quarters in Surat as seen in April 1629 by Pieter van den Broecke, etching by Joannes Janssonius, Amsterdam, 1646 | Credit: www.columbia.edu ........................................................................................................................... 84 Figure 36: The Trading Post of the Dutch East India Company in Hooghly, Bengal Painting by Hendrik van Schuylenburgh, 1665 | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection ................................................................................ 84 Figure 37: Akbar's triumphal entry into Surat in 1572, from Akbarnama | Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum collection ....................................................................................................................................................... 85 Figure 38: History of Surat, timeline | Credit: Author ................................................................................... 86 173

Figure 39: Cloth Map of Surat, early 18th century | Credit: City Palace Museum, Jaipur ............................ 88 Figure 40: VOC in Surat timeline | Credit: Author ......................................................................................... 90 Figure 41:Map of the mouth of the Suratte River. Map no. 9 from Valentijn's 'Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën'. With indication of 'the Hollantsche Tenten' | Credit: Atlas of mutual heritage .................................................... 91 Figure 42: A panoramic view of Surat, in which the Dutch logie is marked with "3"; an engraving by Jacob Koppmayer from Wagner's 'Delineatio provinciarum Pannoniae et Imperii Turcici', Augsburg, 1687 | Credit : columbia.edu ................................................................................................................................................ 91 Figure 43: Maharana Sangram Singh receives the VOC Dutch envoy Johan Josua Ketelaar at his court in Udaipur. ........................................................................................................................................................ 95 Figure 44: Detail of the painting showing Dutch envoy and musketeers dressed in red coats, blue trousers and black shoes. | Rijksmuseum................................................................................................................... 95 Figure 45: Detail of the painting showing the VOC envoys sitting cross legged. | Credit: Rijksmuseum... 95 Figure 46: Inhabitants of Surat, with the city in the background; 1726, Carel Allard | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection ....................................................................................................................................................... 96 Figure 47: Christopher Hendrik Braad's sketch of the Dutch graveyard in 1751 | Credit: Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek ...................................................................................................................................... 98 Figure 48: The Dutch warehouse as the India Post office in Surat, January 2021 | Credit: Author ............ 100 Figure 49: The Dutch Road, January 2021 | Credit: Author ........................................................................ 101 Figure 50: Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author ............................................................ 106 Figure 51: Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author ............................................................ 106 Figure 52: Funerary hatchments on the wall, Oude Kerk Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author ...... 107 Figure 53: Funerary hatchments on the wall, Oude Kerk Amsterdam, October 2020 | Credit: Author ...... 107 Figure 54: VOC Cemeteries around the world | Credit: Leon Bok ............................................................... 108 Figure 55: Pulicat - Overview of the Binnenkerkhof | Credit: René ten Dam 2020 ..................................... 109 Figure 56: Pulicat - Binnenkerkhof | Credit: René ten Dam 2020 ............................................................... 109 Figure 57: Pulicat - Gate to the Binnenkerkhof | Credit: René ten Dam 2020 ............................................ 109 Figure 58: Dutch Cemetery, Chinsurah, 2014 | Credit: Tripadvisor ............................................................ 110 Figure 59: The Red Taj, Agra | Credit: Nerd's travel 2020 .......................................................................... 111 Figure 60: Map of Surat in 1720 | Credit: William L. Nelson. ..................................................................... 112 Figure 61: Funeral of Adriaan van Rheede in Surat, Januar 1692 | Credit: Rijksmuseum collection .......... 114 Figure 62: 17th century funeral in the Netherlands | Credit:...................................................................... 114 Figure 63: Christopher Hendrik Braad's sketch of the Dutch graveyard in 1751 | Credit: Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek .................................................................................................................................... 115 Figure 64: Evolution of the Dutch Cemetery since 1640s to Present day | Credit: Author ......................... 116 Figure 65: The Dutch Cemetery is marked showing the location in the central zone | Credit: Author, Recreated from SMC zonal map................................................................................................................................... 121 Figure 66: Locating Dutch cemetery Surat | Credit: Author, modified from Google maps ......................... 121 Figure 67: Site showing the monuments marked on site alongside vegetation slopes | Credit: Author .... 122 Figure 68: Site and the monuments today .................................................................................................. 123 Figure 69: The four types of tombs on site | Credit: Author ....................................................................... 124 Figure 70: One line drawings, 4 types of tombs on site | Credit: Author .................................................... 124 Figure 71: Funerary hatchment at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam | Credit: René ten Dam .................................. 131 Figure 72: Funerary hatchment of Paulus de roo | Credit: Author ............................................................. 131 Figure 73: Credit: Author, modified ............................................................................................................ 133 Figure 74: Debris on site | Credit: Author ................................................................................................... 134 Figure 75: Built and unbuilt ratio | Credit: Author, modified from Google maps ....................................... 135 Figure 76: Land use map | Credit: Author modified from DP 2035 SMC .................................................... 135 Figure 77: Map showing the surrounding context of the Dutch and Armenian Cemetery | Credit: Author136 Figure 78: Pedestrian Pathway | Credit: Author ......................................................................................... 137 Figure 79: Secondary Road, December 2020 | Credit: Author .................................................................... 137 Figure 80: Primary Road, December 2020 | Credit: Author ........................................................................ 137 Figure 81: Type B and C on the West and South west corner of the site, December 2020 | Credit: Author137 Figure 82: Type C on South-East side of the cemetery, December 2020 | Credit: Author .......................... 137 Figure 83: Type A in the North-East side, December 2020| Credit: Author ................................................ 137 Figure 84: Map showing ASI buffer zones around the Dutch, Armenian and English cemetery | Credit: Author, modified from Google Maps ....................................................................................................................... 139

174

Figure 85: The only signage within the protected site by the entrance mentioning a paragraph about the cemetery, January 2021 | Credit: Author ................................................................................................... 139 Figure 86: Construction over the compound wall of the cemetery, January 2021 | Credit: Author ........... 139 Figure 87: Activity mapping in and around the cemetery | Credit: Author ................................................ 141 Figure 88: Activities on the secondary road, January 2021 | Credit: Author .............................................. 141 Figure 89: Older boys spending time at the cemetery, December 2020 | Credit: Author ........................... 142 Figure 90: Young boys playing cricket in the cemetery, December 2020 | Credit: Author ......................... 142 Figure 91: A woman picking leaves in her husband's company on the site, December 2020 | Credit: Author142 Figure 92: The accumulating debris and garbage on site, December 2020 | Credit: Author ..................... 142 Figure 93: Suggestions of using the cemetery from around Surat, March 2021 | Credit: Author .............. 145 Figure 94: Power-Interest Grid showing present distribution of stakeholder participation and values at Dutch Cemetery, Surat .......................................................................................................................................... 149 Figure 95: Diagram showing distribution of different criteria showing the imbalance of aspects related to Dutch Cemetery, Surat ................................................................................................................................ 150 Figure 96: Revival of the adjacent street | Credit Author ........................................................................... 161 Figure 97: Revival of the Dutch cemetery premises for use | Credit: Author .............................................. 164 Figure 98: Revival of the Dutch Cemetery premises- landscaping | Credit Author ..................................... 165 Figure 99: Location of Dutch Cemetery in Surat | Credit: Author, Modified from Google MapsCredit: Dick de Jong, 1993 ................................................................................................................................................... 217 Figure 100: Location of Dutch Cemetery in Surat | Credit: Author, Modified from Google MapsCredit: Dick de Jong, 1993 ................................................................................................................................................... 217 Figure 101: Location of Dutch Cemetery in Surat | Credit: Author, Modified from Google MapsCredit: Dick de Jong, 1993 ................................................................................................................................................... 217

175

Site Plan

Types of tombs

176

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

1 Name of the person(s): 1. Adriaan van Rheede 2. Paulus De Roo 3. Theodora D’Le Boucq

Date(s) of Birth: 1. Unknown (Died at the age of 56 years old) 2. Unknown 3. 15th of May, 1708

Date(s) of Death: 1. 15th December, 1691 2. 9th August, 1695 3. 10th May, 1743

Orientation and location on site:

177

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Archaeological Survey of India Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

178

Hand-drafted documentation drawings of Tomb 1 by SCET students | 2015

Hand-drafted documentation drawings of Tomb 1 by

Interiors of Tomb 1 | Credit: Author (December 2020)

179

External details of Tomb 1 | Credit: Author (December 2020)

180

Inscriptions: 1. Adriaan van Rheede

Hier Rust Het Lichaam Van Zijn Hoogedelheyt d'Hr Hendrik Adriaan Baron van Reede tot Drakesteyn Heere Van Meydregt Onder De Ordre Van De Ridder schap En Uyt De Selve Ordre Gecommitteerd In De Ordinaris Gedeputeerde Van D'Edle Mogend Heeren Staaten 'S Lands Van Utregt Commissaris Van De Generale Nederlandse Geoctroyeerde Oost Indische Compagnie Over India Representerende In Dier Qualite De Vergaderinge der Edle Hren XVII Overleeden Den 15en december A˚ 1691: Op 't Schip dregterlant Zylende Van Cochim Naar Souratta Op De Hoogte Van De Engelse Sterkte bombai : Oud Ongevaer 56 Jaaren115 Translation: Here Rests 115

KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 67 181

The Body Of His High Noble Lord Hendrik Adriaan Baron van Reede tot Drakesteyn Lord of Meydregt In The Order of Knighthood And from this Order Committed as Delegate in the Council of Utrecht Commissioner Of The Dutch East India Company on India Representing in The Meeting of Heren XVII Died December 15th Anno 1691: On the ship ‘Dregterlant’ sailing from From Cochin To Sourat Near The English Stronghold Bombay: Old About: 56 years

Paulus De Roo Dit aanschouwende Leser! gedenkt dat hier mede ten saligen opstandinge rust ; het lichaam van wijlen Den Edelen Agtbaren Heer Paulus De Roo van… In sijn Edele. Leven Commissaris vanwegens de belangen der verenigde nederlands geoctroyeerde Oost-Indische Compagnie in Souratta en langs 182

de Custe Mallabaar; mitsgaders g'eligeert Gouverneur van het weyduytgestrekte eyland Ceylon Overleden den 9en Augustus Anno 1695 In den ouderdom van ... Jaren... Maanden en.. Dagen116

Translation: Behold this Reader! remember here blisfully rest until the resurrection; the body of the late Honorable Lord Paulus De Roo from ... In his Noble Life Commissioner of the Dutch East Indian Company in Surat and along the Coast of Mallabar; likewise Chosen Governor from the wide Island of Ceylon Passed away the 9th of August Anno 1695 In the old age of ... Years ... Months and .. Days 3.

Paulus De Roo

Hier onder rust mede ter saligen opstandi(n)ge het lichaem van wylen vrouwe Bastiana Theodora D'Le Boucq. Gemalinne van den E. E. Agtb. Heer Jan Schreuder Directeur en Opper-Gebieder van wegens den staat der Vereenigde Neder 116

KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 70-71 183

landse g'octroyeerde Oost-Indische Compag nie in de Ryken van Gou-Souratta en Hindoestan, met den aankleve van dien. Geboren aan Cabo de goede Hoop den 15 May A˚ 1708. En alhier overleden den 10 (?) May A˚ 1743. Oud sijnde 34 Jaren 11 Maanden en 22 Dagen. 117 Translation:

Here under rests for blessed resurrectionthe body of the late lady Bastiana Theodora D'Le Boucq. Wife of the Honorable Lord Jan Schreuder Director and Upper Commander the Dutch East-Indian Companyin the realms of of Gou-Souratta and Hindustan, and what belongs to it. Born at Cape of Good Hope on the 15th of May, 1708. And died here on the 10 (?) May Anno 1743. Being of age 34 Years 11 months and 22 days.

117

KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 70 184

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

2 Name of the person(s):

Date(s) of Birth:

Dirq van Adrichem

Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

185

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Archaeological Survey of India Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Credit: Leo B. Wevers Source: WEVERS Leo (1997). Dutch Monuments in India, Gujarat: Inventory and recommendations for conservation, Utrecht, p72 p.78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

186

187

Interiors and external views of Tomb 2 | Credit: Author (December 2020)

188

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

3 Name of the person(s):

Date(s) of Birth:

Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

Historic Photographs:

189

Credit: Archaeological Survey of India Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Leo B. Wevers Source: WEVERS Leo (1997). Dutch Monuments in India, Gujarat: Inventory and recommendations for conservation, Utrecht, p72 -p.78(1), p. 65-92

Credit: Leo B. Wevers Source: W

Leo (1997).

Credit: Author | December 2020

190

191

External views of Tomb 3 | Credit: Author (December 2020) External views of Tomb 3 | Credit: Author (December 2020)

192

Internal views of the 1st floor in Tomb 3 | Credit: Author (December 2020)

193

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

4 Name of the person(s):

Date(s) of Birth:

Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

194

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Archaeological Survey of India Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Leo B. Wevers Source: WEVERS Leo (1997). Dutch Monuments in India, Gujarat: Inventory and recommendations for conservation, Utrecht, p72 -p.78(1), p. 65-92

Credit: Leo B. Wevers Source: W

Leo (1997).

Credit: Author | December 2020

195

196

Tomb 4 | Credit: Author (January 2020)

197

Tomb 4 | Credit: Author (January 2020)

198

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s):

Date(s) of Birth:

Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

199

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Archaeological Survey of India Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Credit: Leo B. Wevers Source: WEVERS Leo (1997). Dutch Monuments in India, Gujarat: Inventory and recommendations for conservation, Utrecht, p72 -p.78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

200

201

Inscription:

Frederic Boudaen soone des raatsheeren Balthasar Boudaen ontsliep out sijnde XX. Jaaren den VIII January MDCXLIX. Translation: Frederic Boudaen son of the counselor Balthasar Boudaen passed away being XX. Years on VIII January MDCXLIX. (Pg. 87 in De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat)

202

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s):

Date(s) of Birth:

Unknown

Date(s) of Death: 1. Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

203

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Archaeological Survey of India Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

204

205

206

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Henricus Sissingh

Date(s) of Birth: 1 January 1750

Date(s) of Death: 19th September, 1808

Orientation and location on site:

207

Historic Photographs:

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

208

209

210

Inscription:

Hier Onder Rust Voor Het Eeuwige Opstanding het lichaam van wylen den Weledele Heer Henricus Sissingh, van Geertruydenburg in le ven opperchirurgijn in dienst der Edele Nederlandsche Oost Indi sche Compagnie in de Directie gebo ren den (1) January 1750 overle den den 19e September (1808). Oud sijn de (58) jaar 8 maanden en (19) dagen … ens sterven… Translation: Here Under Rests For The Eternal Resurrection the body of the late noble Lord Henricus Sissingh, from Geertruydenburg during his life chief surgeon in the service the Dutch East India Company born 1 January 1750 Died on the 19e September (1808). Being ofage (58) years 8 months and (19) days ... ens dying… (Pg. 87 in De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat)

Found by Bernet Kempers in 1938, but can no longer be found.

211

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

212

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Dick de Jong, 1993

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

213

214

215

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

216

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Archaeological Survey of Indi Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Credit: Dick de Jong, 1993

Figure 99: Location of Dutch Cemetery in Surat | Credit: Author, Modified from Google MapsCredit: Dick de Jong, 1993 Figure 100: Location of Dutch Cemetery in

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Dick de Jong, 1993

Credit: Author | December 2020

217

218

219

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

220

Historic Photographs: Credit: Archaeological Survey of Indi Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

221

222

223

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Magdalena Hayers

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

224

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

225

226

227

Inscription:

Hier Leyt Begraven De Eerbare Deugtrye Juffrouw Magdalena Hayers In Haer Leven Huis Vrouwe Van D'E. Hr Directr Paulus Crooq Overleden Adi : 29: Novembr A˚ 1642 sijn: Oudt: 27: Jaeren Translation: Buried Here The Honorable Virtuous Miss Magdalena Hayers In Her Life the wife of the Honorable Director Paulus Crooq Deceased 29 November AD 1642 being of age 27 Years (Pg. 88 in De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat)

228

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): 1. 2.

Christiana Hendrietta Geertruida Cornelia

Date(s) of Birth: 1. 25 February 1781 2. 16 May 1789

Date(s) of Death: 1. Died on 29 November 1787 2. 12 September 1789

Orientation and location on site:

229

Historic Photographs: Credit: Dick de Jong, 1993

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

230

231

232

Inscription:

Hier onder Leggen Begraaven Christiana Hendrietta en Geertruida Cornelia beide Dochters van den Boekhouder en Eerste Geswooren Clercq van Politie Abraham Leopoldus Gratiaan Eerste Gebooren den 25 February 1781 Overleeden den 29 November 1787 de Tweede Gebooren den 16n Mey 1789 Overleeden den 12 (?) September desselven Jaars.

Translation: Here Underneath are buried Chistiana Hendrietta And Geertruida Cornelia Both daughters of the accountant and First sworn clerk at the civil administration Abraham Leopoldus Gratiaan First born on 25 February 1781 Died on 29 November 1787 The second born on 16 May 1789 Died on 12 (?) September of the same year. (Pg. 90 in De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat)

233

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s):

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

234

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

235

236

Inscription:

Hier Onder Rust Voor Het Eeuwige Opstanding de Lichaam van den Wel Edele Gestrenge Agtbaare Heer Egidius Meyer Van Sweeden In Leeven sijnde Onderkoopman Fis caal Soldij Boek(houde)r Provision(eel) Hoofdad ministrat. en Waarneemende de Gesag Van de Edele Nederlandsce Directie Gebor. Den 2de Decemb. 1733. Overleed Den 26e November 1800 Oud sijnde 67 Jaar. Translation: Here Under Rests For The Eternal Resurrection the Body of the Well Noble Strict Honorable Lord Egidius Meyer From Sweeden In his life junior merchant, Tax accountant, temporary head administrator And acting authority of the Dutch management. Born The 2nd December 1733. Died The 26th of November 1800 Being of age 67 years old. (Pg. 89 in De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat)

237

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

238

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

239

240

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

241

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

242

243

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Augustina Relict

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: 31st December 1818

Orientation and location on site:

244

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

245

246

Inscription:

Sacred To the Memory of Augustina Relict of the late Ms Monte, Wsqr, Dutch chief At Surat, Who departed This life on the 31st December 1818. Aged 65 years Virtuous while living In death she rests here In the glorious hope And expectation of a blissful futurity and resurrection.

(Pg. 90 in De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat)

The complete text found on the epitaph found by Bernet Kempers in 1938, the text is gone today.

247

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

248

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Leo Wevers, 1997

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

249

250

251

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

252

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Leo Wevers

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

253

254

255

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

256

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

257

258

259

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

260

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

261

262

263

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

264

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

265

266

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

267

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

268

269

270

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Carolus Pelgrom

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

271

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

Bernet Kempers mentions : Tot besluit vermelden wij nog, dat Bellasis omstreeks 1860 nog de volgende grafschriften aantrof, die thans niet meer te vinden zijn: Carolus Pelgrom 1655. Jacob, zoontje van Jan Schreuder. Translation: In conclusion, we mention that around 1860 Bellasis found the following epitaphs, which can no longer be found: Carolus Pelgrom 1655. Jacob, little son of Jan Schreuder.

272

273

274

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

275

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

276

277

278

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

279

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Dick de Jong

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

280

281

282

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

283

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

284

285

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

286

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

287

288

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

289

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

290

291

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

292

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Leo Wevers, 1997

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

293

294

295

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

296

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Leo Wevers

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

297

298

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

299

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | January 2020

300

301

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

302

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Leo Wevers

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | January 2020

303

304

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

305

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

306

307

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

308

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Dick de Jong, 1993

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

309

310

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

311

Historic Photographs:

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

312

313

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

314

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

315

316

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

37 (A, B, C, D, E)

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

317

Historic Photographs:

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

318

319

320

Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

321

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

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Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

324

Historic Photographs:

Credit: Archaeological Survey of India Source: KEMPERS August J.B.(1938). De Hollandsche Grafmonumenten te Surat. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 78(1), p. 65-92

Present Day Photographs: Credit: Author | December 2020

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Tomb no.:

Type of monument:

Name of the person(s): Unknown

Date(s) of Birth: Unknown

Date(s) of Death: Unknown

Orientation and location on site:

327

Historic Photographs: -

Present Day Photographs:

Credit: Author | December 2020

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The Dutch Cemetery shares its premises with the Armenian graves amidst a crowded locality of urban Surat, India. Formerly known as a trader’s town during the Dutch East India company ’s time in India and a thriving business hub today, Surat shows rapid urbanisation and development pressures on its heritage. The Dutch cemetery, located within the central zone of the city is surrounded by encroachments, new constructions, and a changing migrant community. The cemetery happens to be the only remaining open space in the neighbourhood today. It demonstrates a unique assembly of asymmetrically arranged tombs comprising of a transcultural character in its IndoIslamic and European blend of architecture, as it gradually weathers away with time. Despite being a nationally protected site, there remains a gap between the community ’s needs and the recognition of the cemetery as heritage. In this ambivalence, a question arises of its significance. The presented study explores that gap through an understanding of the lost historical context, derivation of a cultural significance and identification of the opportunities for the future of the cemetery ’s conservation. Beyond that, the study conducted partly in the Netherlands, partly in India, becomes a bridge on its own between a shared past and a shared heritage today.