{"product_id":"ww2-british-indian-army-staff-car-pennant-for-a-senior-officer-serving-in-the-lahore-district","title":"WW2 British Indian Army staff car pennant for a senior officer serving in the Lahore District","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a WWII-era British Indian Army staff car pennant for a senior officer serving in the Lahore District (which fell under Central Command, India). The teal\/dark green triangular felt pennant with a gold embroidered cannon is distintive badge for that district. \u003cbr\u003eThe Cannon Symbol: The Zam-Zammah\u003cbr\u003e The cannon depicted is the Zam-Zammah (also written Zam-Zammeh), the legendary gun that sits in front of the Lahore Museum on Mall Road. It came to be known as Kim’s Gun after the protagonist in Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim, which opens with the boy straddling it opposite the Lahore Museum. \u003cbr\u003eThe gun has extraordinary historical significance. It was originally named Zamzama, meaning “Lion’s Roar,” and was used in various battles by the Afghan Durranis and then the Sikhs, before being brought to Lahore by Maharaja Ranjit Singh as a symbol of his conquests. \u003cbr\u003eIts symbolic power is immense. The famous saying was: “Who hold Zam-Zammah, that ‘fire-breathing dragon’, hold the Punjab, for the great green-bronze piece is always first of the conqueror’s loot.” \u003cbr\u003eIt is perhaps the largest specimen of Indian cannon casting, celebrated in Sikh historical annals more as a marvel of ordnance than for its battlefield efficiency. \u003cbr\u003eWhy This Cannon on a Lahore District Pennant?\u003cbr\u003eThe Zam-Zammah was the defining symbol of Lahore, physically sitting outside its most famous museum and embodying centuries of Punjabi military history. It was the natural, instantly recognisable emblem for the Lahore District formation sign. The Wikipedia article on Higher Formation Insignia confirms that “Lahore District, (Central Command)” did indeed have its own formation sign , and the Zam-Zammah cannon was its device.\u003cbr\u003e​​​​​​\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gradia Militaria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53009021403464,"sku":"29.4.26 (8)","price":95.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0924\/1103\/5976\/files\/IMG-0410.heic?v=1777490018","url":"https:\/\/www.gradiamilitaria.com\/products\/ww2-british-indian-army-staff-car-pennant-for-a-senior-officer-serving-in-the-lahore-district","provider":"Gradia Militaria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}