Graves of three missionaries, including William Carey, restored

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) spent Rs 20 lakh to restore the graves of three very important missionaries in India - William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward.

The decaying cemetery in Hooghly's Serampore, according to the Times of India, was lying in complete neglect for over 150 years till the West Bengal Heritage Commission (WBHC) took notice.

The WBHC placed these graves as Category A heritage structures and requested the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to help in the restoration.

The KMC, in 2007, agreed to fund the complete rebuilding of the graves, owing to the significant role played by the three Baptist missionaries in the country.

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) was assigned the job for the restoration.

According to the TOI report, it took two years for Intach to complete the job not only because the structures were severely damaged, but also because an initial amount of excavation at the site uncovered 17 other graves, all of missionaries who worked with Carey, Marshman and Ward.

Says Anindya Karforma, director general of KMC's Project Management Unit, "We decided to take up restoration of the cemetery because of the crucial role these missionaries played in the history of Bengali language and social reforms."

Due to Poor drainage that caused permanent waterlogging inside the premises, "it took a lot of time to first construct a drainage system and then start the clean up jobs of the 20 tombs," explains GM Kapur, state convener of Intach.

William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward - known as the Serampore Trio - were the founders of Serampore College in 1818. The College is one of the greatest and most historic of India's Christian institutions. It was the first in Asia to award a degree.

The Baptist missionaries established more than a hundred 'monitorial' schools in the region. Carey made an outstanding contribution by founding the Serampore Mission Press in 1800 that ushered in a glorious era for the printing industry.

Also, Marshman and Carey together translated the Bible into many Indian Languages as well as translating much classical Indian literature into English.