A
village with historical links to Alexander
From
our ANI Correspondent ( Dailyindia.com)
Amritsar,
Sept. 6: Bandala, 20 kilometers away from Amritsar and close to
the River Beas is like any other village of Punjab, but for an
interesting historical link attached to it.
Residents
of the village claim that in 326 BC, Alexander, the Great camped
at Bandala while on a campaign to conquer India.
The
Macedonian King's visit is substantiated by the existence of period
structures, inscriptions and faded paintings.
Historians
and archaeologists, however, assert that more research is needed
to unearth the truth of Alexander's camp."There is a need
for deeper research from three angles. One, from documentary angle,
second a proper research on these buildings, and third, material
from here should be properly tested to find out how old are they,"
said Professor Balwinder Singh, an expert in historical archaeology,
at the Guru Nanak Dev University.
Some
villagers are so eager to strengthen the tale of Alexander that
they term the village to be thousands of years old.
"Our
village is very old and the buildings are almost 1000 to 1500
years old," said Amarjeet, a villager.
Further
these votaries of Macedonian links relate how the Maharaja of
Kapurthala, on the basis of the Serai and the remnants of the
old buildings and the pictures inscribed on the walls of those
buildings, had subscribed to the belief of Bandala being the place
where Alexander and his army had camped.
The
local Panchayat has identified the village as the place where
Alexander was defeated.
"About
Alexander, it has been said that he faced a strong resistance
from rulers. It is also said that Alexander wasn't able not cross
the Beas River and was defeated here," said Kahan Singh Pannu,
Dthe eputy Commissioner of Amritsar.