Shahid Smarak

The Martyrs' Memorial stands on the site where soldiers of the Bengal Army rose in May 1857, launching what Indians call the First War of Independence. The monument is a significant pilgrimage site for those interested in the history of the independence movement, marking the spot where the uprising that eventually reshaped the British Empire began.

The memorial has been renovated several times and the grounds include explanatory plaques covering the events of May 10, 1857, and the weeks that followed. The site is maintained by the state government and is most visited on the anniversary of the uprising. The surrounding area of the cantonment gives context to the colonial military infrastructure that the rebels were challenging.

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A story
On 10 May 1857, soldiers of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry were released from Meerut Jail by their fellow sepoys, who had watched them publicly dishonoured and sentenced to ten years' hard labour for refusing to handle the new Enfield cartridges, which were rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat. The freed soldiers marched to Delhi that night, arriving the following morning at the Red Fort where they persuaded the aged Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar to lead what became the largest anti-colonial uprising in Indian history. The entire rebellion grew from this single night in Meerut.

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