Arizona state capital

I visited the state capitol building of Arizona.
Inside is a museum, outside is a nice park.

Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is the stretch of park between the Arizona state courthouse and the capitol building museum.
The park holds numerous different war and veteran memorials.

As a plus, Arizona's blue sky makes a fantastic backdrop to it all.

Kalinga War Memorial

The Kalinga War Memorial signs like to point out that it is the only memorial of it's kind in the entire world.
Why?
Because it was set up by the victorious army to honor their foes.

The British fought with the Gurkhas in 1814 and finally defeated them here.

The Gurkhas caame from Nepal and overtook the fort, but they were unable to take the rest of the territory from the British.
They retreated into the fort where they fought until the last man. For six weeks they defended the fort without food or water and held it against the British.
Finally, the British completely demolished the fort, the remaining Gurkhas were killed, and the British claim over the territory was secured.

To show just how much the bravery and courage of the Gurkha army impressed them, the British put up a memorial.
And, incidentally, started recruiting Gurkhas into their own army--there's still a Gurkha regiment in the UK today.

A former Chief of staff of the Indian army once said, "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha."

The British may have been impressed by their fighting spirit, but if some historical accounts are correct, the local people probably were not.  They saw the Gurkhas as infamous bands of gangs.  Even so, the British may never have intervened if they hadn't decided the area was a strategic one.
After this battle and the ensuing treaty with Nepal, the land included in the territory of the East India Company grew considerably.

Today there is little left of the fort--just the walls that must have towered over the valley, and the small (protected, as shown in the warning) monument.

Few people stop along the busy road to visit even the surrounding park.
It's so quiet that it takes a lot of imagination to conjure up a battle-to-the last man or cannons soaring over the valley where there are now buffalo grazing.

But still, the monument is there, so it must have happened.

Mutiny Memorial

The British built this Gothic style tower in 1863 in memory of the soldiers who died in 1857.
It seems they really took this event to heart, as it is covered with elaborate detail and plaques filled with information of who and how many died or were wounded.

But it's a controversial bit of history, and could easily be thought of as insulting, calling the Indian freedom fighters "the enemy".

In 1972, a new plaque was put up, clarifying who the enemy and heroes really were.

The tower stands above the treeline and can be seen from a distance. But, understandably, it is not often visited.
It was even difficult to explain to a rickshaw, driver where I wanted to go. I pointed to the tower in the distance, called it by different names, including the local one of Ajitgarh, but I couldn't make myself understood by any one who wanted to find such a place.

Maybe they just didn't want to go uphill?
Who knows.
I did find it. I did photograph it. I did add it to my collection of Delhi experiences.