Photograph of the Shivala Ghat dominated by the Palace of Maharaja Chet Singh from the Kitchener of Khartoum Collection: 'Views of Benares. Presented by the Maharaja of Benares' taken by Madhao Rao, c.1905. Raja Chet Singh of Benares who built this ghat was taken prisoner in his palace by Warren Hastings in 1781. Hastings (1732-1818) the first governor-general of British India from 1773 to 1784 compelled Raja Chet Singh to part with financial resources under threat of British military power. The Raja raised a revolt against the British but was imprisoned in the palace, he escaped from a small window on the north wall aided by his followers who fashioned a rope out of their turbans.
