New Delhi’s iconic Teen Murti Chowk is set be renamed after Israeli City Haifa in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
Both the PMs are scheduled to attend a solemn ceremony at the Teen Murti Memorial in New Delhi on Sunday for the formal renaming.
The chowk has the three bronze statues representing Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers, who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, which fought the battle of Haifa in World War-I on behalf of the British army. The Indian soldiers came out victorious and liberated the city.
Here’s all you need to know about Battle of Haifa:
The three bronze statues at Teen Murti represent Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.
The battle of Haifa was fought by cavalry regiments of the Indian Maharajas and not the British army.
The brigade carried out the victorious assault on the fortified city of Haifa on 23 September 1918, during World War-I.
The lancers undertook the assault on the garrisoned city protected by a joint force of Ottomans, Germany and Austria-Hungary. The lancers overtook the enemy and captured the town, along with 1,350 German and Ottoman soldiers, artillery and machine guns. The liberation of Haifa cleared a supply route for the Allies to the city through the sea.
The battle was part of a series of battles fought between the Allied powers and Axis powers, and was called the Sinai and Palestine campaign.
Forty-four Indian soldiers died during the liberation of the city in World War I.
The Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers are now represented by 61st Cavalry Regiment in the Indian Army, and still celebrate 23 September as its Raising Day or “Haifa Day.”
(With agency inputs)