India colonial tribute Britons get angry reception

LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Indian authorities have warned a group of Britons visiting India to pay homage to British soldiers who died during the 1857 revolt against colonial rule, to stay away from a historic site due to protests.

Dozens of retired British soldiers and civilians were holed up in a hotel on Tuesday in Lucknow, where they had planned to visit the site of a siege that was a key event of what is known in India as the First War of Independence and in Britain as the Sepoy Mutiny.

During the siege, hundreds of British soldiers and their families defended the Residency of Lucknow against thousands of Indian soldiers -- or sepoys -- rebelling against the colonial occupiers. Hundreds died in the fighting.

Small but vocal protests have been led by local members of India's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party. Some protesters pelted the visitors' bus with rubbish and a bottle filled with dirty water when they arrived in the city on Monday.

"A thick security net around them saved the situation from taking any ugly turn," said district magistrate Chandra Bhanu.

"Though we have no objection to their visit as ordinary tourists, we cannot take any chances and expose them to any kind of risk under the prevailing volatile circumstances," he said.

Police were guarding the visitors' hotel on Tuesday.

BJP protesters staged a demonstration on Monday outside the Residency.

The British group is led by Mark Allen Havelock, a descendant of Major-General Henry Havelock, who helped defeat the Indian rebellion at Lucknow.