|PIC1|The grave of missionaries William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward have been restored by the West Bengal Heritage Commission.

The graves of the missionaries – known as the Serampore Trio – are more than 150 years old and were in a state of disrepair until the Commission stepped in.

Funding was agreed for their restoration in 2007 before the work was carried out by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach).

According to a report by Intach, it took two years to complete the restoration because of the severity of the damage to the structures and the discovery of 17 additional graves at the site, all believed to be missionaries who worked with Carey, Marshman and Ward.

Anindya Karforma, director general of KMC's Project Management Unit, said: "We decided to take up restoration of the cemetery because of the crucial role these missionaries played in the history of Bengali language and social reforms."

The three Baptist missionaries founded the Serampore College in 1818, one of the most reputable Christian institutions in India, as well as more than a hundred 'monitorial' schools in the region.

Marshman and Carey together translated the Bible into many Indian dialects and also translated many pieces of classical Indian literature into English.

Carey, who died in 1834, is regarded as the "father of modern missions".