MONUMENTS OF THE 1857 UPRISING
1. Fatehpuri Masjid
This Chandni Chowk mosque (see Fatehpuri Masjid) was a hotbed of religious fervour and nationalist sentiment during the 1857 Uprising. The British responded by sacking the mosque and selling it to a local businessman, although two decades later they bought it back and returned it to Delhi’s Muslim community. A number of Indian soldiers killed in the uprising lie buried in the courtyard.
Muslims in the courtyard during daily prayer at Fatehpuri Masjid
2. Flagstaff Tower
Magazine Road, Northern Ridge • Vidhan Sabha Metro
Built in 1828 as a British signalling post, the tower served as a shelter for dozens of civilians fleeing the city after the outbreak of hostilities during the 1857 Uprising.
The exterior of Flagstaff Tower
3. Mutiny Monument
Rani Jhansi Road • Pul Bangash Metro
At the southern end of the Northern Ridge, this grandiose Gothic-style Victorian monument, built in 1863, commemorates the British soldiers (and “native” troops in British employ) killed during the uprising, with panels listing the names, ranks and numbers of military fatalities. An additional panel, added in 1972, offers an Indian perspective on the events described and is worth a look.
4. British Residency
Sham Nath Marg • Kashmiri Gate Metro
The old Neo-Classical British Residency was built around the ruins of a Mughal library erected by Dara Shikoh (1615–59), son of Shah Jahan. It is now home to the Archaeology Department of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University.
5. Northern Ridge
North of Old Delhi, the northern extension of the Aravalli Range forms a long, low ridge. This is where the refugees from Delhi converged during the 1857 Uprising, and where British forces gathered before launching an assault to recapture the city.
6. St James’ Church
This beautiful Colonial-era church holds a number of memorials to British civilians killed in Delhi during the 1857 Uprising. It also contains a memorial to the Reverend Midgeley John Jennings, then chaplain of Delhi, whose rather high-handed Christian evangelizing did much to enflame local religious sensibilities, and who was killed in the Red Fort during the first few hours of the revolt.
7. Magazine
Sham Nath Marg • Kashmiri Gate Metro
Now marooned on a traffic island, this small British magazine was at the heart of the first day of fighting in Delhi. Surrounded by enemy Indian sepoys, the British troops stationed inside the magazine decided to blow it up rather than allow its stock of arms and ammunition to fall into Indian hands. The explosion killed around 400 sepoys and onlookers.
8. Kashmiri Gate
Sham Nath Marg • Kashmiri Gate Metro
Now dwarfed by the vast new Kashmiri Gate Metro, this modest little Mughal-era gateway witnessed the most bitter fighting of the entire uprising, when British troops stormed the gate in order to force a route into the rebel-held city. A plaque at the rear commemorates those who were killed in the assault.
9. Lal Darwaza
Mathura Road • Pragati Maidan Metro
The red sandstone Lal Darwaza (also known as the Khooni Darwaza, or Bloody Gate) marks the site of one of the most notorious episodes of the uprising (see 1857: Indian Uprising), when British officer William Hodson summarily executed Mirza Mughal, Kizr Sultan and Abu Bakr, sons and grandson, respectively, of the last Mughal emperor.
The Lal Darwaza or Bloody Gate
10. Nicholson’s Cemetery
Tucked away in Old Delhi, this atmospheric and rambling Colonial-era cemetery is a haven from the chaotic hustle and bustle of the old city. Beautifully restored in 2006, it is the final resting place of hundreds of India’s early European inhabitants. Of its many graves, monuments and tombs, the most famous is that of Brigadier-General John Nicholson (1822–57), a prominent British army commander and one of the key figures in the history of the 1857 Uprising – he is best known for planning and leading the final British assault on Delhi. Nicholson was killed in September 1857 during the bitter fighting that took place for the recapture of the city.
