Mutiny Memorial, Delhi - Print

DESCRIPTION

This is a vintage photograph of the Mutiny Memorial now known as Ajitgarh. Constructed by the British government in India in 1863 to honor the British as well as Indian soldiers of the Delhi Force Field, who had died fighting the rebels during the 1857 Revolt.

The memorial was built in 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.

The monument was widely criticized by the Indians, especially after Independence, as the rebels were considered freedom fighters fighting against Imperial Britain. In 1972, almost 25 years after Indian Independence, the Government of India renamed the Mutiny Memorial Ajitgarh, Place of the Unvanquished. A new plaque was installed, which declared that the "enemy", as mentioned by the British, were actually brave freedom fighters and martyrs who fought the Colonial rule in the First Indian War of Independence. The names of these martyrs were etched on slabs around the memorial.