Situated between Ganga and Jamuna, close to the imperial capital, Meerut Distt. has been a centre of varied activities throughout the course of history. The fertility of the soil, its temperate climate and its proximity to Delhi bestowed orderly progress in the times of peace and wrought bloody upheavals in times of political commotions. Inhabited by sturdy Tyagis, Rajputs, Vaishyas, Jats, Gujjars, etc. - all of whom have contributed towards its progress by either agricultural skill, enterprise and sweat, the people of Meerut faced the onslaught of Qutub-ud-din and Timur with courage and tenacity.
Coming under the control of the �Company�s Government�, the Meerut district assumed its present geographical features in 1836. Prior to 1836, it formed a part of Moradabad and then Saharanpur. In 1818 it was separated from Saharanpur, in 1824, Bulandshaher was separated from Meerut and finally, in 1836, after the death of Begum Samru, Sardhana was added to it�s territory .
Meerut leapt into international prominence during the revolt of 1857, when on 24 April, 1857, eighty-five troopers out of ninety 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 general movement of freedom from the British yoke, with the support of the civilian populace.
However, the events of 1857 established the British authority firmly and they began to create an elaborate system of transportation and communication; and a chain of English schools to turn out an army of intermediaries between the rulers and the ruled. Since Meerut was the most important town in the western part of the United Provinces, and a better centre of commerce, education and politics, it contained a higher proportion of men engaged in the liberal professions, in the judiciary and in business.
The socio-religious reform movements of the nineteenth century moulded the social orientation of the English educated middle class. Dayanand Saraswati, Col. Olcott, Annie Besant, Vivekanand and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan visited Meerut, profoundly influencing the thought process of the people.
The Arya Samaj Movement gained popularity in Meerut and started publications of magazines and newspapers,opened schools and laid emphasis on anti-untouchability campaigns, Swadeshi and Swaraj. A number of prominent middle class and middle caste people of Meerut were attracted towards the teachings of Arya Samaj.
There is a village called "Balani" in Meerut District. It is said that here was the Ashram of Balmiki where Sita stayed after getting disposed by Lord Ram. It is same place where Love-Kush was born and Sita submerged into Earth.
There is another village named as 'Gangol' just 7km away from Meerut on Meerut- Delhi road. It has a pond and an ancient temple. It is said to be the place of Vishvamitra Yaga Bhumi. It now has a big Milk cooperative dairy plant and supplies milk in the district with the trade mark 'Parag'.
There is an ancient Shiv temple in the City just at the back of Sadar Police Station. It is called as 'ValleshwerNath Mandir'. It is said to be the place of worship of Mandodari, daughter of Maydanava and later wife of Ravana. Meerut was city of Maydanava due to which it original name was also said to be 'Maya rastra'.
Near Meerut is the temple called 'Pura Mahadev' at Bagpat Road. The 'Shiv Linga' in this temple, is said to be placed by Loard Parushrama.
Meerut is situated in between 'Indraprastha' (Delhi) and 'Hastinapur'. It has various places related to Mahabharat time.To get to Hastinapur take the Mawana Road from Meerut.
There is a village named ' Birnava' which is said to be place where a 'Lakshaghaha' was bult by Duryodhan to kill all Panadvas. There is also a kasba called 'Parikshat Garh' which was developed by King Parikshat grand son of Pandava. It also has the Gandahari Talab.
It is not generally known that Meerut was one of the 16 major towns of Ashokan times . An Ashokan pillar was erected here which means that this was a major Buddhist center . This pillar was shifted to Delhi Firoz Shah around 1300 AD.
The picture which best represents Meerut is the spectacular Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU) Gate. It is no easy job to label the style . Futuristic - Modern - Indian - Western - Ancient - Rural - Urban - Take a good look, it is perhaps all of these. The pillars go all the way back to ancient Greece or Rome. And the security cabins? A roof under a roof ? It is perhaps the only one its kind in the world. Help !! Talking about labels.. why should one have a neat label for everything ? And as usual the name of the architect to whom the honours go is not easy to find. Not to a casual observer at least.
That is Ghantaghar in the picture on the left. Easily the most magnificent structure in Meerut. Built by the British in 1914, in place of what used to be Shambu Darwaza(Gate). The window on the left looks out from a little room on the first floor where the old man the keeper of the big clock lived and ran a little shop for clock repair. He died in the early 1990s. Sure enough the big Clock stopped.. short.. when the old man died, nobody rewound it. It is a great change from the open and vacuous Cantonment area. Need a Calculator cheap clock transistor radio or want to get a mechanical/pendulum clock ( yes even Grandfather Clocks) repaired then this is the place. Further down is Lala ka Bazaar - ideal for cheap toys in bulk for Christmas trees, Birthday party favours, all sorts of plastic and glass jars are also available.
This milestone is about 400 meters north of Begum Bridge. This area is now known as the Zeromile point after the Meerut Cantonment Board very graciously looked up its records and put back the names which had become invisible on this, well, signpost. The distances are in miles.
Some facts and figures about Meerut. The latest census puts it in the above 1 million category. It has about the same population as Indore, Faridabad, Thane. It is the 24th largest town in India (populationwise), and the 4th largest town in UP after Kanpur and Lucknow, and Agra. Kanpur is larger than Lucknow with a population of 2.5 million. It is about 6 hours drive from the Taj Mahal Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. It is less than 50 Km from Hastinapur the seat of both Hinduism and Jainism. Haridwar - in the region where both Ganga and Jamuna enter the plains - is a little over 100 km.
The entrance to Mustafa Castle is shown here. Belongs to the family of Nawab Ismail. One of the sons was a signatories of the Indian constitution. There is a huge photograph of all the signatories of the constitution in the main room. It is not a public place .
Perhaps the Grandest old building in Meerut. It is called Mustafa Castle. 'Palace' may not be off the mark . Still occupied by the descendants of the original owners. The Drawing room is retained in its original layout as a tradition . Among many antique items is an old floor standing candlestand , which can hold 7-8 candles . Still used because of a very unreliable electric supply. It has been visited by Mahatama Gandhi,Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Nehru, Jinnah.
