Mutiny Memorial

The Mutiny Memorial, now known as Ajitgarh, is a memorial situated in front of Old Telegraph Building, Kashmiri Gate, New Delhi.[1][2] It was built in memory of all those who had fought in the Delhi Field Force, British and Indian, during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[3]

Mutiny Memorial in 2012

History

Erected by the Public Works Department at government expense in 1863 the memorial was hastily designed and constructed. It received much public criticism on completion. In 1972, the 25th anniversary of India's Independence, the Indian Government renamed the monument 'Ajitgarh' ('Place of the Unvanquished') and erected a plaque stating that the 'enemy' mentioned on the memorials were 'immortal martyrs for Indian freedom'.[4]

Architecture
The Mutiny Memorial in 1870

The memorial was built in the Gothic style in red sandstone, with four tiers rising from an octagonal base. The lowest tier consists of seven faces containing memorial plaques and one face holding the stairs to the upper tiers.[5]

The memorial was built to be just taller than the Ashoka Pillar, which is situated 200 metres (660 ft) away.[6]

Notes
  1. List of Monuments of National Importance Archived 27 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Archaeological Survey of India.
  2. Mutiny Memorial BBC News.
  3. "Mutiny Memorial in true colours". The Times of India. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  4. Llewellyn-Jones, R (2007) The Great Uprising in India, 1857-58: Untold Stories, Indian and British, Boydell & Brewer, P202-3
  5. Llewellyn-Jones, R (2007) The Great Uprising in India, 1857-58: Untold Stories, Indian and British, Boydell & Brewer, P202
  6. Morris J. Winchester, S (1983) Stones Of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj, Oxford University Press, P191
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