Cannons of Baroda

Cannon, Weapons By No Comments

Baroda State has had a long history with cannons, and while roaming in the city, one may come across small cannons placed at the different locations. And the most famous of the cannons/guns associated with the State are probably the ones cast out of solid gold and silver.

The Guns of Gold and Silver :

The State once had a pair of solid gold guns along with at least 6 guns of solid silver with each weighing about 200 kgs. The pair of the golden guns was commissioned by the infamous king Malharrao Gaekwad between 1870-75. As for the silver guns, 2 were commissioned by Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad while the other four were later commissioned by Maharaja Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad sometime after 1939. According to the book “A year with the Gaekwar of Baroda” (written by Rev. St. Clair Weeden in 1911) these guns were stored in a mud building across the Nazarbaug Palace.

Like every other royal thing, these guns used to have special status and were worshiped by priests daily with offerings of flowers and incense. The guns even had special set of carriages along with two special milk-white bulls. All the equipment needed for the guns, the ornaments for the bulls etc were also made from the precious metal !!!

Unfortunately one of the two gold guns was melted by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1929, during the Great Depression. The other one is said to have remained in the state treasury until 1991.

The gift of King George VI :

One notable cannon that led to the commissioning of four silver cannons was actually a gift from King George VI. It is placed on Bagikhana Road opposite entry of Gate No 3 of Lukshmi Vilas Palace, which is entry Gate for Motibaug Palace.

This cannon specifically, marks an important episode in the history. The pedestal that it sits on, bears the inscription “Presented by Indian Army in Remembrance of the Services of Baroda State and Contribution by its Armed Forces to the Common Effort (1939 – 1945)”. It was actually presented to Maharaja Pratapsinhrao by King George VI for the contribution of Baroda’s State Army in World War II, via the Indian Army. After this, to truly present this gift to the Baroda State Army, Pratapsinhrao had four solid silver cannons made. These four cannons were then presented to four different Regiments of the State Army.

This specific cannon was cast by W.G. Armstrong & Whitworth and is a Light Weight Cannon Battery. Sometimes called as a Fast Charge Cannon, it had an ability to fire 2-4 shots in a minute, and had a firing range of up to one mile !!!!

Apart from this, two normal cannons can been seen flanking the main gate of the Lukshmi Vilas Palace, while other two can be seen at the Memorial of Yuvraj Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad.

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Once the pride of the State and it’s citizens, the current whereabouts of the surviving guns of gold and silver, are unknown.

 

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