The more I dig into the history of Ballygunge, the place where my house is, the more I am surprised as to how historical this place is and how dramatically this place has changed over the past century. Sometime back, I had already written about Bondel Road, so this time I shift my attention to another road which connects to this road, which is Rifle Range Road and the lost Ballygunge Rifle Range.
Now, why would someone name a road as “Rifle Range Road” unless there was a rifle range nearby? Was the road leading to the rifle range? If yes, then where was this rifle range located? All these questions kept coming to my mind, and unfortunately, none of the old timers is alive, so I had to dig these out.
Short History Of Ballygunge
Now, this is not going to be a history lesson, but instead just a key set of information that will set the context right. Ballygunge was historically located right outside the main town of Calcutta. If you see old maps, then you would see a clear demarcation near La Martiniere, located on the south-eastern edge, with a road going towards Karaya.
Most of these old maps stopped here, as the rest were native land consisting of open grounds or cultivated lands. The few important places around Ballygunge were the Military Camp, which still exists to date and the cricket ground, which we now better know as CC&FC Grounds. Apart from these, there were large garden houses and mansions belonging to the Europeans.
Ballygunge was also the place where Paperchase, a sport on horseback, was performed. This sport involved riding on a horse over various types of challenges that would include jumps and navigation following a paper trail. The total distance covered during the race would be around four to eight miles. This was a sport, an offshoot of foxhunting, where greyhounds would have followed a scent trail and hunters on horseback would follow, trying to catch the fox. Instead, paper bits were used as markers on the ground for the horse rider to follow and reach the endpoint.
One of the rides mentions the starting point as half a mile beyond Ballygunge Railway Station, and going towards Rifle Range with the Salt Water Lakes on the eastern side. The ride would include traversing through the fields of Ballygunge.
My maternal great-grandfather settled here in Ballygunge more than a century back, and at that time, this place had few scattered native houses while the majority of the portion were rice fields. The place beyond the railway line, belonging to Eastern Bengal State Railway, was just cultivated lands better known as Picnic Garden; beyond that were the last remaining portions of the Salt Water Lake.
Amongst the rich Europeans with their large houses, the natives managed to build from the ground up, one brick at a time, and slowly this part of Ballygunge became an affluent neighbourhood with skyrocketing land value a 100 years later.
This part of Ballygunge had a clear divide when it came to demography. Localities, or what we call as “para”, were demarcated according to the majority of the population living in those localities. That is the reason why we have “Christian Para”, “Bamon Para” (Brahmin), “Haji Para”, etc. Apart from these, we have the localities named after the houses of the Europeans, like Mandeville, Ironside, Mayfair, etc.
With clear demarcation, Ballygunge slowly grew from a lower middle-class locality to a higher middle-class and upper-class society. Even with clear demarcations of locality, it has always been a peaceful locality of the city.
Rifle Range
Now the question comes as to how, among these residential localities, we have the Rifle Range, and the answer is very simple. Rifle Ranges were usually built far away from population, and in the case of Ballygunge, we had the Ballygunge Military Camp, and for the troops and volunteers to train, they needed a rifle range. With limited transport facilities, it was not possible for anyone to go all the way to Barrackpore, which had a firing range regularly.
Apart from military use, some of the rifle ranges also functioned as rifle shooting clubs, which had members from the public, mostly consisting of European men and women. This was a sort of recreational activity and also allowed them to try out their pistols and rifles, which they generally used for hunting or just to show off their skills. These clubs also hosted annual events, often comprising cups and trophies.
Generally speaking, rifle ranges often consist of a long strip of land to let the shooter test out the maximum range of their arms. The length should be sufficient enough to cover the distance an ammunition can travel, plus an additional buffer zone.
Ballygunge Rifle Range
Ballygunge had actually not one but two separate rifle ranges, and both of these were located right next to each other.
The first one that was built in Ballygunge was the bigger one meant for the Calcutta Volunteer Rifle Corps. Since this group of men were not enlisted soldiers and officers, it was important for them to practice firing a rifle, as they were not engaged in daily army-related training activity. Without proper training, these volunteers with a loaded rifle can become a threat to themselves, so practice was essential.
On the 4th of December 1875, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal passed an order requisitioning land for a rifle range to be built in Ballygunge. The land was to be 2400 feet in length and have a width of 90 feet. Rifle ranges were usually built in this matter having a larger length in order to cover the maximum length a bullet can travel from a rifle, plus an addition of a buffer zone on the back.
On the north was Tiljala Road, and on the east was the railway line (Eastern Bengal Railway). So this gives us a clear boundary of the Ballygunge Rifle Range. It is to be noted here that the rifle range also included land that was once part of the Eastern Bengal Railway, which was given up to be a part of the rifle range.
This rifle range was specifically built for the Volunteer Corps so that they can test the rifle to the maximum available range.
Another interesting thing to note here is that back then, Ballygunge was part of 24 Parganas, something which I had already discussed when I had written about the history of Bondel Road.
The Presidency Volunteers started using this Ballygunge Range in 1879, along with the range in Belgharia, for practice shooting. This range had something called as “Sliding Targets” with a 1000-yard distance for shooting. This improved system allowed the shooter to target a moving replica of a human cutout. This enabled them to fire the weapons more realistically. The moving targets could be easily retrieved and a fresh set put up, letting the shooter get a much better understanding of where the bullets had hit. This improved system also had safety measures that let the support staff stay away from the firing path.
Allen’s Indian Mail and Official Gazette 1888 mentions that the Presidency Volunteer Annual Rifle Meeting was held at the Ballygunge rifle range on the 18th and 19th of January. The post also mentions a 2nd stage of the contest for the Viceroy’s prize, which will be on the 27th of February. Here, the National Rifle Association Silver Medal will be awarded to the highest aggregate score in the two contests.
With this set of information, one can conclude that this place was also a place for social gatherings, along with shooting games.
In The Calcutta Gazette of 1883, we see the mention of the construction of a Ballygunge Rifle Range again. The post mentions the requirement of land by the Bengal Government for the purpose of a “third-class rifle range” (March, 1882). The post mentions the size of the land and the details of the person from whom the land was purchased.
This was the second rifle range, which was built with lesser range (length) as it specifically mentions the word “third class”. The information given mentions the location of this second rifle range, which has the railway lines on the west side. This is a critical piece of information that will help us later in exactly pinpointing the location of this rifle range.
The usage of this second rifle range was mostly for private shooting practice. There were many gun makers and retailers in Calcutta, namely Manton & Co., R. B. Rodda & Co., Lyon & Lyon Ltd., etc. These establishments, in order to showcase their products, needed a rifle range. One of the perks of buying a firearm from a shop like Manton & Co., for example, would be the facility to use their private range. So it was not unusual back then to see an advertisement from such an establishment mentioning “private range” in Ballygunge. This private range was the same second rifle range that was built after 1883.
Location Of The Ballygunge Rifle Ranges
This is the trickiest part as I have searched various maps of this locality from the 1850’s to the 1950’s and none mention anything about a rifle range in Ballygunge.
The only possible way to locate its original location was to take the north direction of the first rifle range built in 1879, which was Tiljala Road and on the eastern side was the railway line. Thus, the rifle range would have started from where the Tiljala Road meets Rifle Range Road and then extended south to Bondel Gate railway crossing.
When you look at the map between the 1870s and the 1920’s, you can clearly see a long strip of land clearly resembling the dimensions of the rifle range, just that it’s not specifically mentioned.
This first rifle range started from Bondel Road Railway Gate (now the gate does not exist, instead we have the Bondel Gate Flyover) and ran all the way to Bridge No. 4. Though the names of the roads have changed, and back then most of the roads around here either did not exist or were in different alignments. If we see old maps of the city, then we can clearly see that Tiljala Road back then crossed right in front of Bridge No. 4 over the railway line. Now the road does not exist, but you can still see a railway culvert popularly known as “Loha Poll”, which is nothing but the erstwhile Tiljala Road.
A clearer indication we get when the land belonging to the rifle range was sold, which we will discuss later when we talk about the sale of the land belonging to the rifle range.
The second rifle range, which was smaller in size and more like a private range, was located on the other side of the railway line at present in Tiljala Road (crossing Bondel Gate flyover and going towards Picnic Garden). This we get from the fact that it was clearly mentioned in the gazette that this rifle range had the railway line as its boundary on the western side.
To make things clearer, we find mention of this in Thacker’s Indian Directory of 1931, which clearly mentions 74 Tiljala Road as having the private rifle range belonging to Manton & Co.
Similar to the first rifle range, this also does not exist anymore, and we find the Hindustan Engineering and Industries Ltd. factory with some houses next to it. Since the location of the second rifle range is clearly mentioned, having the railway line as the west boundary, we can safely assume it must have been here. Some houses are still carrying the number “74” Tiljala Road.
Why Did Ballygunge Rifle Range Stop?
By the first decade of the 20th century, Ballygunge had become a major suburb, and the population around this region grew dramatically. Every piece of property was being purchased at throwaway rates by lower-middle-class and middle-class families wanting to start living near central Calcutta. This population increase was contrary to why the (first) Ballygunge Rifle Range was built in this very spot in the first place, which was low population.
There were regular incidents where stray bullets and metal balls would stray off the path and hit someone. There were instances where people were killed due to this. The Hitavada newspaper of 1914 mentions that the usage of the Ballygunge Rifle Range was stopped for this reason. Because of this, enlisted volunteers were having difficulty practising with their guns and rifles.
Sanjibani newspaper on 31st January 1885 mentions an incident when a metal ball veered off course nearly a mile, hitting a worker working on the railway line, which injured him severely.
So, it’s clear that at a later stage, the first Ballygunge Rifle Range stopped being used by the military and the second one was used more or less by private clubs and gun sellers in the city as a private rifle range.
Guns and rifles were not a popular sport with the Indian population. Moreover, the Britishers feared that arms and ammunition training to the natives was not advisable, considering the internal freedom struggle that was already getting popular at that time.
Sale Of Land Belonging To First Ballygunge Rifle Range
By the 1930’s, Ballygunge Rifle Range was not used at all, and a portion of the land located on the southern end was already sold off and was occupied by Mrs M. C. Comens. The remaining portion of a long strip of land denoted as Plot No. 9 was sold off, marking the end of the rifle range.
The Government of Bengal initially asked the railways if they wanted the land back, to which the railway department responded that they did not require the strip of land located next to their railway tracks. After this, with approval from the military department, since the rifle range was a defence land, the Government of Bengal decided to dispose of the land.
By then, already a thin strip of land belonging to the rifle range running all the length from Bondel Road to Bridge No. 4 was sold to Calcutta Municipal Corporation in 1914 and 1920 in order to expand the road. A major portion of the Ballygunge underground drainage was connecting the Ballygunge Drainage Pumping Station located near Bridge No. 4, so the municipal board needed the road to build an underground drainage system. The width of the range was now reduced to 50 feet. Another section between the railway culvert and Bridge No. 4 was also handed to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.
The remaining portion of plot No. 9, belonging to the rifle range, was sold in April 1935 to Mrs Hamida Momen (wife of Khan Bahadur Muhammad Abdul Momen). Muhammad Abdul Momen was a noted person in Indian politics and was also awarded C.I.E. and was Speaker of the Indian Legislative Assembly. The plot was sold for a total sum of Rupees 4,112. There are documents that say that right after buying this property, the new owner again resold it as smaller plots to various people.
This marked the end of the Ballygunge Rifle Range, but the road connecting Bondel Road to Bridge No. 4 still bears the name “Rifle Range Road”, although I am almost certain none of the residents of this road knows the true history of this portion of the city.
Ballygunge Rifle Range Now
This strip of land is still very much present but divided into smaller plots. Small two to three-storied houses are present on the southern flank of the property. On the northern side, we have rows of shops selling bamboo, metal roof sheets, etc. These shops I have seen since my childhood, and these shops had existed even when my father was young, which he had told me long back. The small houses still share their boundary with the railway line.
There is a big temple on the Bondel Road side, after which there are rows of houses, businesses, a school, shops, etc.
The railway culvert and the rest of the portion of land towards Bridge No. 4 still remain the property of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. This portion of the land is more or less taken over by makeshift shops selling fish and chicken, part of the Bridge No. 4 market located below the bridge.
The smaller rifle range, which was used by Manton & Co., located on the other side of the railway tracks, now only has rows of houses and the factory of Hindustan Engineering and Industries Ltd. Google Maps shows house no 74C located somewhere inside this lane. Since this is a very congested residential area with a private road, I could not go inside to click photos of individual buildings.
I have not been able to find any record of the sale of this property as of now. However, if I come across any such information, I will update it here.
Location of Ballygunge Rifle Range on Map
Other Related Blogs
Koch Pukur Archaeological Site
Bondel Road and Dihi Serampore
Reference
The Calcutta Gazette, 1919
The Calcutta Gazette, 1875
The Calcutta Gazette, 1883
Thackers Indian Directory 1925
Thackers Indian Directory 1931
Journal of the United Service Institution of India Volume 41, 1912
Calcutta Paperchasing records – 1867
Report on Native Papers, 1914
Report on Native Papers, 1885
Handbook To Calcutta Historical And Descriptive With A Plan Of A City by W. Newman
National Archives of India
Allen’s Indian Mail And Official Gazette 1888
Allen’s Indian Mail And Official Gazette 1880 Directory And Almanac For 1879