Meerut
From Free net encyclopedia
Meerut is an ancient city located to the north-east of New Delhi in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Meerut also has one of the major army cantonments in this part of the country. Meerut can also refer to the district in which Meerut is located.
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History
Meerut is famously associated with the Indian rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company when chants of popular Urdu slogan "Dilli Chalo" (lets 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 with a coating made of animal fat. The bullet wrapping was to be opened by mouth before use, which affected religious sensibilities of both Muslims and Hindus as the animal coating was alleged to be composed of pork and beef.
Meerut was also the place of severe religious strife between Hindus and Muslims in 1987. The city was afflicted with more communal violence in the late 80s and early 90s. Things have somewhat calmed down since the early 90s and there have been no major communal skirmishes between Hindus and Muslims for over a decade now.
Meerut District
Meerut City is also the headquarter of Meerut district which consists of 1025 villages with a population of around (3.44 million) according to the 1991 census. The majority of the population of Meerut District is Hindu with a substantial Muslim population. In a way, the city of Meerut is composed of almost equal population of Muslims and HIndus.
Business
Meerut has seen a boom in its construction business for the past decade and the city is now a flush with new high rise shopping complexes, apartment buildings and businesses. Meerut is the largest manufacturer of Musical Instruments in India and is also one of the largest suppliers of sports goods.Now a days meerut is emerging in jewellry desiginig also.
Mythological significance
- Ravana's wife Mandodari (in Ramayana) hailed from Meerut. The town may have derived its name from "Maya Rashtra", the capital of the land owned by Mandodari's father Mayadanava.
- Lakshyagrah (home of lac) described in Mahabharata — designed in conspiracy to burn Pandavas alive by Kauravas — was situated here.
Trivia
- On December 21, 2005, Meerut gained notoriety when a video showing police officers physically abusing men men and women (Yahoo News) as part of Operation Romeo surfaced in the national media. This so called 'operation', specifically targeted young couples out on a date, ostensibly to "prevent the sexual harassment of women."
- Mall Road is a wide road in Meerut near what was originally a British Military cantonment. Raghbir Sarang was known to have raced horse Buggies on this road and was whipped for having beaten up an Englishman.
- In 1940s Meerut movie theaters had a "Don't Move" policy during playing of British national anthem. Violaters were beaten up by British soldiers.