Did you ever wonder where the 'mutiny' of 1857 started in Lucknow? Well obviously the picture shows that spot. The granite memorial is on the spot where once stood the Residency bungalow occupied by Sir Henry Lawrence.
The Muriaon or Mandiyaon cantonment was garrisoned by 13th, 48th and 71st 'native' infantry units. Most of the troops from these 'mutinied' on the night of 30th May 1857 and burnt down almost everything except the Polehampton bungalow about which you have already read on my blog.
Thanks to the British that they left behind this memorial otherwise we Lucknowites have done everything in our power to destroy all tangible signs of that great episode in our history. About a decade and a half back I had to climb private boundary walls of several people, like a thief to reach and photograph this place. I wrote in local newspapers about the building after which now ASI has cleared the approach to this monument from the Sitapur road. At that time the gate to the monument was through a bog populated by pigs and was the dumping ground for all garbage from nearby areas.
What I find amazing is that after 152 years the government has not thought it fit to erect a single brick in memory of our brave forefathers who raised their voice against injustice and challenged the mightiest power of those times. Bravo!
The Muriaon or Mandiyaon cantonment was garrisoned by 13th, 48th and 71st 'native' infantry units. Most of the troops from these 'mutinied' on the night of 30th May 1857 and burnt down almost everything except the Polehampton bungalow about which you have already read on my blog.
Thanks to the British that they left behind this memorial otherwise we Lucknowites have done everything in our power to destroy all tangible signs of that great episode in our history. About a decade and a half back I had to climb private boundary walls of several people, like a thief to reach and photograph this place. I wrote in local newspapers about the building after which now ASI has cleared the approach to this monument from the Sitapur road. At that time the gate to the monument was through a bog populated by pigs and was the dumping ground for all garbage from nearby areas.
What I find amazing is that after 152 years the government has not thought it fit to erect a single brick in memory of our brave forefathers who raised their voice against injustice and challenged the mightiest power of those times. Bravo!
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