The Lion Capital of an Ashokan pillar discovered at Sarnath served as the inspiration for the design of India’s national emblem, the most noticeable representation of our nation’s identity. This image was chosen as India’s national emblem on January 26, 1950, the day the country gained its independence.
Here is a brief account of the man who would assist in locating India’s national crest.
A seasoned traveler
Oertel, who was born on December 9th, 1862 in Hannover, Germany, emigrated to British-ruled India at a young age. After earning his degree in civil engineering from Thomason College of Civil Engineering (now IIT-Roorkee), he was first employed by the Indian Public Board from 1883 to 1887 as an engineer for the construction of buildings and railways.
After his stay here, Oertel went back to Europe to pursue a degree in architecture before returning to a unified India.
He traveled to Burma (modern-day Myanmar), which was also under British control, and published an extensive report on its monuments with authentic photographs.
He was able to formulate his viewpoint on the establishment of the new capital at New Delhi thanks to his prior building supervision and construction experience, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. On July 21, 1913, he urged architects hired by the administration to construct the new Capital city to draw inspiration from a truly national Indian style during a talk he gave at the East India Association at Caxton Hall, Westminster.
In Sarnath, the national anthem is unearthed
But Oertel is most well-known for the excavation work he did at Sarnath between December 1904 and April 1905. According to Janhavi Patgaonkar’s article on Live History India, Sarnath started to gain the attention of experts for its archaeological value in the early 19th century.
Alexander Cunningham, who would later become the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, continued the 1830s excavations at Sarnath after Colin Mackenzie, the first Surveyor General of India, had first conducted them in 1815.
Oertel naturally picked up on the huge amount of attention in Sarnath. Oertel, who was working in Benaras at the time, obtained approval to dig a site in Sarnath. He started working the following year with help from the Archeological Department.
Of course, the Lion Capital, which capped an Ashokan pillar, was the most important discovery. Following his conversion to Buddhism, Ashoka commissioned a number of pillars to be placed all throughout the Indian subcontinent in order to propagate the teachings of Buddha. According to Patgaonkar, the Lion Capital found in Sarnath is one of only seven capitals of Ashokan pillars that have survived.
The Lion Capital was discovered in the location buried close to the Dhamek Stupa. The Lion Capital was moved to the Sarnath Museum, but the pillar still stands where it was discovered.
Despite making such a remarkable discovery, Oertel was only able to explore Sarnath for one season before being moved to Agra in 1905. He was denied permission to return and organize additional excavations at Sarnath after the famine in the United Provinces in 1907–1908.
From Sarnath, Oertel traveled to Agra, where he worked on the Taj Mahal’s grounds in addition to restoring the Diwan-i-Amm and Jahangiri Mahal in the Agra Fort and the four minarets of the south gateway of the Akbar tomb in Sikandra in 1905 and 1906, according to Bautze-Picron. The sculptures of Yoginis at Rikhian (Rikhiyan) in Banda, now the Chitrakoot region of Uttar Pradesh, were documented by the end of the decade. He would also conduct a more thorough investigation of Mughal architecture.
Oertel undoubtedly had no clue that his work would serve as the cornerstone of India’s national identity after independence from British control when he departed India for the United Kingdom in 1921. Little is known about his passing, yet all Indians can witness the legacy he has left behind.
News Mania Desk
