Meerut

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Meerut
Meerut Location of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and India
Coordinates	28°59′N 77°42′E / 28.99°N 77.70°E / 28.99; 77.70
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
Division	Meerut
District(s)	Meerut district
Mayor
Population • Density	1,276,557 (2001[update]) • 1,190 /km2 (3,082 /sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 219 m (719 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 2500xx • Telephone • +0121 • Vehicle • UP-14
Website	http://meerut.nic.in/

Meerut pronunciation (help·info) is a metropolitan city and a municipal corporation in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an ancient city located 56 km (35 mi) north-east of New Delhi. It is a part of the National Capital Region of India.^[1][2] It is the 16th largest metropolitan area in India and the 25th largest city in India.^[3] It ranked 292 in 2006 and 242 in 2020 in the list of largest cities and urban areas in the world.^[4] Meerut is the 63rd fastest growing urban area in the world.^[5] It is also the fastest developing city of Uttar Pradesh after Noida and Ghaziabad. It has one of the biggest army garrisons/cantonments in this part of the country.

The city is famous for its scissors, sports goods (especially cricket goods), Gazak and Rewri; and is sometimes called the city of scissors or the sports capital of India. Most of all, the city is famous for the Indian Mutiny of 1857, which began here. With the cheap availability of land as compared to Delhi, and being in the proximity of Delhi, the city is fast developing as an industrial and education hub in Western Uttar Pradesh.

Etymology

The city may have derived its name from "Maya Rashtra", the capital of the kingdom of Mandodari's father, Ravana's father-in-law, Mayasura.This name mutated to Mairashtra, Mai-dant-ka-khera, Mairaath and eventually Meerut.^[6]

History

After the archaeological excavations at ‘Vidura-ka-tila’, a collection of several mounds, in 1950-52, a site 23 miles north-east of Meerut, it was concluded to be remains of the ancient city of Hastinapur, the capital of Kauravas and Pandavas of Mahabharata^{[7][unreliable source?]}, which was washed away by Ganges floods.^[8]

Fragment of the 6th Ashoka Pillar in sandstone, with inscription or Edicts of Ashoka, in Brahmi, originally from Meerut, now at British Museum.

However, even before the vedic period, Meerut contained a Harappan settlement known as Alamgirpur. It was also the Easternmost settlement of the Indus valley civilization. Meerut had been a centre of Buddhism in the period of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (r. 273 BC to 232 BC.), and remains of Buddhist structures were found near the Jama Masjid in the present day city.^[9] The Ashoka Pillar, at Delhi ridge, next to the ‘Bara Hindu Rao Hospital’, near Delhi University, was brought to Delhi, by Firuz Shah Tughluq (r. 1351 - 1388),^[8][10] it was later damaged in a 1713 explosion, and restored in 1867.^[11][12]

In the eleventh century AD, the south-west part of the district was ruled by Har Dat, the Dor Raja of Bulandshahr who built a fort, which was long known for its strength and finds mention in Ain-i-Akbari.^[13] He was later defeated by Mahmud Ghazni in 1018. Though, the first big invasion on the city came later in 1192 AD, from Mohammad Ghori, when his general Qutb-ud-din Aybak attacked the city, and converted all the Hindu temples into mosques.^[8] However, a much worse fate lay ahead for the district, which came with the invasion of Timur in 1398, during which the Rajputs offered a tough resistance at the fort of Loni, where he fought the Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad Tughlaq. But, eventually they were all defeated and all the 1,00,000 prisoners his army had taken in since his invasion of India were massacred, according to Timur’s own accounts in Tuzk-e-Taimuri.^[14] Thereafter he went on to attack Delhi, where he again massacred the local population, and returned to attack Meerut town, then ruled by an Afghan chief, Ilias, and took the city in two days, leading to widespread devastation, before heading North once again.^[8]

During the rule of Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great (r. 1556-1605), there was a mint for copper coins here.^[9]

1857 Mutineers' Mosque

Meerut is famously associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company,^[15] when chants of the popular Hindi slogan "Dilli Chalo" ("Let's march to Delhi!") were first raised here. Meerut cantonment is the place where the rebellion started when Hindu and Muslim soldiers were given rifle cartridges rumoured to have a coating made of animal fat. The bullet wrapping was to be opened by mouth before use, which affected the religious sensibilities of both Muslims and Hindus as the fat used was alleged to be derived from lard and tallow; cows are held sacred by Hindus and Muslims consider the pig unclean.

During this revolt, Meerut leapt into international prominence, when on 24 April, 1857 eighty-five of the ninety troopers of the third cavalry refused to touch the cartridges and after court-martial were sentenced to ten years imprisonment. This marked the beginning of a widespread revolt across northern India.^[16]

Meerut was also the venue of the controversial Meerut Conspiracy Case in March 1929, in which several trade unionists, including three Englishmen, were arrested for organizing Indian-rail strike. This immediately caught attention back in England, inspired the 1932 play titled Meerut Prisoners, by Manchester street theatre group, the 'Red Megaphones', highlighting the detrimental effects of colonization and industrialization^[17]

The city and district also suffered from communal (Hindu-Sikh) riots in 1984^[18] and (Hindu-Muslim) riots in 1982^[19] and 1987^[20]. In 2006, a fire at a consumer electronics fair in Victoria Park Stadium killed over 56 (official counting) people. But, according to some unofficial sources, the number of affected people is pegged at more than 1500.

Mythology

• Ravana's wife Mandodari (in Ramayana) hailed from Meerut. Thus the city is also known as 'Ravan Ki Sasural' literally meaning Ravana's wife's home.
• In the Ramayana, Shravan Kumar carried his feeble parents on his shoulders to all the pilgrimage sites in India, but it is believed that when he passed through Meerut, he put down his parents for a while to get rest and water. It was here that Lord Rama's father, King Dasharatha, mistook Shravan Kumar for a deer and shot him with an arrow by accident. Shravan Kumar's parents declared that the king's own first son would abandon him when he needed him the most.
• Lakshagrah (लाक्षागृह) (home of lac) described in the Mahabharata — designed in conspiracy to burn Pandavas alive by Kauravas — was situated here. The place is now known as Barnawa and is situated along the Meerut - Baraut road.

Demographics

Meerut City is the headquarters of Meerut district which, according to the 1991 census, consists of 1,025 villages with a population of around (3.44 million) .

According to the 2001 census, the city ranks 20th in terms of population^[21] and 6th in terms of population density^[22] in Uttar Pradesh. The city also ranks 2nd in terms of population in NCR.^[23] Males constitute 53.43% of the population and females 46.56%^[24]. The city has an average literacy rate of 83.96%^[25], higher than the national average of 59.8%^[26]. Male literacy is 86.31%, and female literacy is 82.12%^[27]. 16.66% of the population is under 6 years of age^[27]. Meerut has one of the largest Muslim populations among the cities of India (close to 32.5%).

Economy

Meerut is famous as an industrial city. It is a rich agriculture area with such pockets of land that do not fit in for crop purpose. Being in the proximity of Delhi, it is ideal for industry. Existing industries: Textile, Transformer, Sugar, Distillery, Chemical, Engineering, Paper, Sports Goods Manufacturing; Prospective Industries: IT, ITES.

Uttar Pradesh State Industries Development Corporation (UPSIDC) already has two industrial estates in Meerut, namely Partapur and Udyog Puram. Mohkampur industrial area is a private initiative. Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd already have unrestricted power at Partapur, Udyogpuram and Mohkampur industrial areas.

Bhur Baral industrial area is under development. Another industrial area has been identified by UPSIDC at Gagol road adjacent to Delhi road. 1200 hectares of land is available for industrial development. Identified industrial areas are at Shatabdi nagar, Delhi, Baghpat, Roorkee, Mawana, Parikshitgarh, Garh and Hapur roads. A further 2000 hectares is being proposed for industrial development near Delhi-Meerut expressway.

The infrastructure segment of Meerut is currently going through a boom phase with many new projects coming up in and around Meerut. There are many new buildings, shopping complexes, malls, roads, flyovers and apartments coming up. Many malls have recently been built by major developers of the country. These include Melange at Pallav Puram, PVS Mall at Shastri Nagar; and Rap Magnum Mall and Era Mall at Delhi Road. Many more malls are under construction, namely Ansal Plaza at By-pass road, Phoenix Mall at Delhi Road and MCP Mall (Grand Savy Mall) at EK Road.

Meerut has innumerable hotels. Hotel Crystal Palace and Samrat Heavens are the two biggest hotels in the city while Rajmahal, Mayur Deluxe and Yadu Residency are other prominent hotels. Popular restaurants include the Blue Lagoon in Hotel Crystal Palace, Alfa, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Dominoe's, Nirula's, Cafe Coffee Day, Barista Coffee, Coffee Delight and Maanchow with KFC on its way. Famous bars of Meerut are Cellar in Hotel Crystal palace (boundary road), Bottoms Up (Hotel Mukut Mahal - Delhi Road), Indiana (near mall road), Rajmahal (Abu lane).

Meerut is home to showrooms of several internationally known clothing and sports brands such as Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Inc., Puma AG, Killer, Spykar, Pepe Jeans, UCB, Cotton County, Koutons, Peter England and many more. The gold market of Meerut is one of Asia’s largest; it employs over 25,000 skilled craftsmen and around 60 kilograms of the precious metal is processed here everyday.

Meerut is the largest supplier of sports goods with SG [1] being the largest Indian cricket goods manufacturer and exporter operating out of Meerut. Also big is the musical instruments in India. One of the leading Pharmaceuticals manufacturer, Perk Pharmaceuticals Ltd., is also located here. According to statistics compiled by the Income Tax department, Meerut contributed a handsome Rs.10,089 crore to the national treasury in 2007-08, outperforming Lucknow, Jaipur, Bhopal, Kochi and Bhubaneshwar.^[28] The Branded Companies like Aircel, The Mobile Store, Hotspots, Spencers, Pantaloons (Big Bazaar) started operations in Meerut.

Media

Meerut is becoming an important media center, as journalists from all over Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states are working in Meerut. Recently a lot of news channels have started showing programs. As media centers are situated in Meerut, the city is getting a good amount of publicity on the national platform. The law and order situation has improved a lot in the recent past and media has had an important role to play in it. Radio stations shared with Delhi are Radio City 91.1 MHz, Big FM 92.7 MHz, Red FM 93.5 MHz, Radio One 94.3 MHz, Hit 95(95 MHz), Radio Mirchi 98.3 MHz, AIR FM Rainbow 102.6 MHz, Meow FM 104.8 MHz, AIR FM Gold 106.4 MHz. RADIO IIMT (90.4 MHz) is the only radio station located in the city with the great voice of cool vinay, pooja, gulshan and yogi. Many popular Bollywood artists hailed from Meerut. Some of them are Mandakini (actress), Vishal Bhardwaj, Deepti Bhatnagar, and the internationally acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah. Meerut is also the birthplace of famous Bollywood singer Kailash Kher and Arun Govil who played the character of Rama in India's most popular religious Telivison serial Ramayana.

Meerut also shelters some of the most renowned writers of India who have given a major contribution in education, like M.L. Khanna, R.S. Aggarwal, M.K. Aggarwal, and O.P. Aggarwal. It has some of the most popular publication houses like Bharti Bhawan publications, Chitra Prakashan, Jai Prakash Publications, Bharat Bharti Publications, Rastogi Publications, and Vidya Publications.

Education

Meerut has always remained great attraction for IIT coaching for Western U.P. students after Delhi. Meerut is an education hub of Western Uttar Pradesh having a total of 4 universities, 50 Engineering colleges, 27 other colleges and countless institutitions and schools. The city is home to the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology and Chaudhary Charan Singh University (earlier known as Meerut University). Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, and Shobhit University, have recently acquired the status of universities.

A few well-known engineering colleges of Meerut are Sir Chhotu Ram Institute of Engineering & Technology, Forte Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), Indian Institute of Management and Technology (I.I.M.T), Bharat Institute of Technology (B.I.T),Radha Govind Engg. College(RGEC) , Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology (M.I.E.T) which was recently visited by renowned scientist & former president of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Vidya College Of Engineering ^[29]. The city currently has two medical colleges, namely Subharti Medical College and the premier Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College. The city's prominent academic colleges are Meerut College, R.G Degree College and N.A.S College.

Delhi Public School, is considered to the best school, due to its high quality education. Other schools include Government Inter College (G.I.C), R.G Inter College, S.D Inter College, Delhi Public School, St. Mary's Academy, Deewan Public School, Guru Tegh Bahadur Public School, Meerut Public School, Meerut Public Girls Schools (M.P.G.S), Sophia Girls School, and Dayawati Modi Academy-I (D.M.A-I), Translam Academy internationl (situated on Mawana road meerut).

Sports

Meerut has given many international players in many sports. Praveen Kumar (aka PK),Suresh Raina(Murad Nagar very Near to Meerut City) and Raman Lamba, Indian cricket players, belong to Meerut. There are two sports stadiums in Meerut, namely Kailash Prakash sports stadium and Victoria Park cricket stadium. Meerut is the top producer of sports goods (specially cricket goods) all over India. Vats sports is a well-known goods producer. Meerut organises many sports tournaments. Kailash Praksah Sports Stadium boasts of a National level Synthetic Basketball court and swimming pool.

Transport

Meerut is the biggest city in NCR after Delhi.The nearest airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport which is about 80 km away. By road, Meerut is well-connected to nearby cities like Delhi, Noida, Hapur, Faridabad, Modinagar, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Haridwar etc. A large number of people commute to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon every day for work. Two national highway (NH-58, NH-119) pass through Meerut. An expressway from Delhi to Meerut is under development.

There are 2 main bus terminals, namely Bhainsali bus terminal and Shorab Gate bus terminal from where Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses ply to cities all over the state. Meerut has two railway stations Meerut City and Meerut Cantt. The city is well connected to Delhi, Ghaziabad, Agra, Dehradun and others by train.

City Buses, auto rickshaws and rickshaws are convenient public transport options to commute within the city. Many new transport infrastructure projects like inner ring road, outer ring road and construction of new flyovers have been passed. An airport (Bhim Rao Ambedkar Domestic Airport) is also under construction and is expected to be completed by 2010.

Tourist Destinations

Augarnath Temple at 2nd Navratri night

Meerut, with its imminent history and luxuriant picturesque backdrop has a well-developed tourism sector. The notable tourist destinations include:

• Jain temples of Hastinapur- According to Jain tradition, Hastinapur was one of the earliest Indian cities like Ayodhya and Kashi and came into existence during the time of Rishabhadeva (the first tirthankara) whose grandson, Somaprabha, was the first ruler of the place. It is also said to be the birth place of three Jain tirthankars, Shantinatha, Kunthnnath and Arahanatha.^[30]
• Jain Temple at Mohalla Teergaran - It is the oldest Jain temple of Meerut amongst 40 Jain temples. Its main statue is of Jain tirthanker Shantinath, which was built at the same time when the main statue of Jain Temple, Hastinapur was built. This temple is preserved by the Indian government for its old art work. The Digumber statues in the temple are really fascinating. It's full name is 'Shri Shantinath Digamber Jain Madir - Teergaran (Meerut)'.
• St. John's Church- This church was established by Chaplin Reverend Henry Fisher on behalf of the East India Company in 1819 in the cantonment area and was completed in 1822.^[31] It is considered one of the oldest churches in North India. The Church was dedicated to the people by Bishop Wilson. It has a seating capacity of 10,000 people. During the war of 1857, this church was the scene of heavy fighting between Indians and the British forces.^[32]
• Augarnath Temple- This grand temple is located at the site where the soldiers of the war of 1857 planned their operations. The old temple has been replaced by a modern version.^[33]
• Martyr's Memorial (Shaheed Smarak)
• Gandhi Bagh (Company Garden)
• Suraj Kund
• Chandi Devi Temple
• Mansa Devi Temple
• Bale Miyan ki Dargah
• Jama Masjid
• Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, Sardhana (Sardhana Church)
• Parikshitgarh
• Baleni
• Barnawa

Trivia

• Mall Road is a wide road in Meerut near what was originally a British Military cantonment. Raghbir Sarang was known to have raced horses and buggies on this road and was whipped for having beaten up an Englishman.
• In the 1940s, Meerut movie theaters had a "Don't Move" policy during playing of the British national anthem.
• Historic 'nauchandi Mela' is famous as a symbol of Hindu-Muslim Unity. Dargah of 'Hazrat Bale Mian' and the Temple of 'Navchandi Devi' are situated facing each other. During this 'mela' , sound of the temple bells and the Azan from the mosque situated at the shrine of Bale mian creates a 'spiritual echo'. Nauchandi mela is also famous for its favourite dish "Halwa Parantha".
• Shahpeer's Tomb is also famous. People say that Shahpeer was the Teacher of Mughal Emperor Jehangir. Before his death Jahangeer's wife queen Noorjahan built a tomb in the memory of Shahpeer in 24 hours. That's why the tomb is incomplete. According to the scholors A colony of Meerut city also called Shahpeer gate in the name of Muslim saint Shahpeer.

Further reading

• Service and Adventure with the Khakee Ressalah; Or, Meerut Volunteer Horse, During the Mutinies of 1857-58, by Robert Henry Wallace Dunlop, Pub. R. Bentley, 1858.
• The Chaplain's Narrative of the Siege of Delhi: From the Outbreak at Meerut to the Capture of Delhi, by John Edward Wharton Rotton. Pub. Smith, Elder, 1858.
• The Mutiny outbreak at Meerut in 1857, by Julian Arthur Beaufort Palmer. Cambridge University Press, 1966. ISBN 0521059011.
• Mutiny in Meerut, by Vivian Stuart. Aidan Ellis Publishing, 1991. ISBN 0856282103.
• mauza-muza dance academy' by Vinay Prakash who is studying in IIIT

See also

• Indian Rebellion of 1857
• 2006 Meerut fire
• Meerut district
• Meerut division
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Meerut
• Hastinapur

References

External links

• Official website of Meerut city
• Official Meerut district website
• First local search engine of Meerut city
• Insights into British era Meerut, plus a look at contemporary Meerut city
• Meerut City Travel Guide, News
• Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology(M.I.E.T) Official Website
• Bharat Institute of Technology(B.I.T) Official Website
• Vidya College Of Engineering Official Website

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