Native name	Meerut
Other name	मेरठ میرٹھ
Nickname	The Sports Capital of India
Type	Metropolitan City
District	Meerut district
Division	Meerut
Locator position	right
State name	Uttar Pradesh
District	Meerut district
Leader title	M.P.
Leader name	Rajendra Aggarwal
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Smt. Madhu Gurjar
Altitude	219
Population total cite
Population as of	2001
Population total	1451983
Population density	8123
Population metro	2086194
Population metro as of	2009
Population metro rank	16
Area magnitude	203
Area total	272
Area telephone	0121
Postal code	250001,2,3,4
Vehicle code range	UP-15
Website	meerut.nic.in
Footnotes	}}

Meerut (, }}) is a metropolitan city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an ancient city located northeast of the national capital New Delhi, and northwest of the state capital, Lucknow. It is a part of the National Capital Region of India. It is the second Largest city of National Capital Region of India after Delhi, the 16th largest metropolitan area in India and the 17th largest city in India. It ranked 292 in 2006 and 242 in 2010 in the list of largest cities and urban areas in the world and is the second fastest developing city in Uttar Pradesh (after Noida). It covers an area of about . The total metropolitan area is , which is the third largest in Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow and Kanpur. It has the 2^nd largest army cantonment in the country.

Etymology

The city may have derived its name from Maya Rashtra, the capital of the kingdom of Mandodari's father and Ravana's father-in-law, Mayasura. This name may have mutated to Mairashtra, Mai-dant-ka-khera, Mairaath and eventually Meerut.

According to another version Maya, a distinguished architect, got from king Yudhishther the land on which the city of Meerut now stands and he called this place Mayrashtra, a name which in course of time became shortened to Meerut. Tradition are so has it that the district formed part of the dominions of Mahipal, Gujjar king of Indraprashta and the word Meerut is associated with his name. It is also said that there was a group of maratha troops group in meerut, so the city was called maarath, which has now turned into meerut.

History

After the archaeological excavations at ‘Vidura-ka-tila’, a collection of several mounds, in 1950-52, a site north-east of Meerut, it was concluded to be remains of the ancient city of Hastinapur, the capital of Kauravas and Pandavas of ''Mahabharata'', which was washed away by Ganges floods.

However, even before the vedic period, Meerut contained a Harappan settlement known as Alamgirpur. It was also the Easternmost settlement of the Indus valley civilization. Meerut had been a centre of Buddhism in the period of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (r. 273 BC to 232 BC.), and remains of Buddhist structures were found near the Jama Masjid in the present day city. The Ashoka Pillar, at Delhi ridge, next to the ‘Bara Hindu Rao Hospital’, near Delhi University, was carried to Delhi from Meerut, by Firuz Shah Tughluq (r. 1351 - 1388), it was later damaged in a 1713 explosion, and restored in 1867.

In the eleventh century AD, the south-west part of the district was ruled by Har Dat, the ''Dor Raja'' of Bulandshahr who built a fort, which was long known for its strength and finds mention in ''Ain-i-Akbari''. He was later defeated by Mahmud Ghazni in 1018. A prominent local landmark, the jama Masjid, dates from this period and is said to have been built by Mahmud's vizir. Shortly after its capture the city was regained by the local Hindu Raja and part of his fortifications, built for the city’s defense, survived until recent times. Though, the first big invasion on the city came later in 1192 AD, from Mohammad Ghori, when his general Qutb-ud-din Aybak attacked the city, and converted all the Hindu temples into mosques. However, a much worse fate lay ahead for the district, which came with the invasion of Timur in 1398, during which the Rajputs offered a tough resistance at the fort of Loni, where he fought the Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad Tughlaq. But, eventually they were all defeated and all the 1,00,000 prisoners his army had taken in since his invasion of India were massacred, according to Timur’s own accounts in ''Tuzk-e-Taimuri''. Thereafter he went on to attack Delhi, where he again massacred the local population, and returned to attack Meerut town, then ruled by an Afghan chief, ''Ilias'', and took the city in two days, leading to widespread devastation, before heading North once again. After that Meerut ruled by Jats & then Marathas. Finally British take meerut from Marathas. During the rule of Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great (r. 1556-1605), there was a mint for copper coins here.

left|thumb||250px|1857 Mutineers' MosqueMeerut is famously associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company. The famous slogan "''Dilli Chalo''" ("Let's march to Delhi!") was first raised here. Meerut cantonment is the place where the rebellion started when Hindu and Muslim soldiers were given rifle cartridges rumoured to have a coating made of animal fat.thumb|120px|right|Statue of Indian freedom fighter Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar at Meerut Chowk. The bullet wrapping was to be opened by mouth before use, which affected the religious sensibilities of both Muslims and Hindus as the fat used was alleged to be derived from lard and tallow; cows are held sacred by Hindus and Muslims consider the pig unclean. Meerut soldiers set fire to the bungalows of English.

During this revolt, Meerut leapt into international prominence, when on 24 April 1857 eighty-five of the ninety troopers of the third cavalry refused to touch the cartridges and after court-martial were sentenced to ten years imprisonment. On Sunday, 10 May 1857, these soldiers, supported by other soldiers, escaped the prison and declared themselves free, attacked and killed several British authorities to take the city in their control. This marked the beginning of a widespread revolt across northern India as these soldiers marched towards Delhi. 10 May is still celebrated as a local holiday in Meerut.

Meerut was also the venue of the controversial Meerut Conspiracy Case in March 1929, in which several trade unionists, including three Englishmen, were arrested for organizing Indian-rail strike. This immediately caught attention back in England, inspired the 1932 play titled ''Meerut Prisoners'', by Manchester street theatre group, the 'Red Megaphones', highlighting the detrimental effects of colonization and industrialization In the 1940s, Meerut movie theaters had a "Don't Move" policy during playing of the British national anthem.

The city and district also suffered from communal (Hindu-Sikh) riots in 1984 and (Hindu-Muslim) riots in 1982 and in 1987, during which the Hashimpura massacre took place, in May 1987, when personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) allegedly shot dead 42 Muslims, the trial of the case is still pending. In 2006, a fire at a consumer electronics "Brand India" fair in Victoria Park Stadium killed over 50 (official counting) people. But, according to some unofficial sources, the number of affected people is pegged at more than 200.

Mythology

Ravana's wife Mandodari (in Ramayana) hailed from Meerut. Thus the city is also known as 'Ravan Ki Sasural' literally meaning Ravana's wife's home.

In the Ramayana, Shravan Kumar carried his feeble parents on his shoulders to all the pilgrimage sites in India, but it is believed that when he passed through Meerut, he put down his parents for a while to get rest and water. It was here that Lord Rama's father, King Dasharatha, mistook Shravan Kumar for a deer and shot him with an arrow by accident. Shravan Kumar's parents declared that the king's own first son would abandon him when he needed him the most.

Climate

Meerut has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate characterised by very hot summers and cool winters. Summers last from early April to late June during and are extremely hot, with temperatures reaching . The monsoon arrives in late June and continues till the middle of September. Temperatures drop slightly, with plenty of cloud cover but with higher humidity. Temperatures rise again in October and the city then has a mild, dry winter season from late October to the middle of March Lowest temperature recorded is . Rainfall is about 80 cm to 100 cm per annum, which is suitable for growing crops. Most of the rainfall is received during the monsoon. Humidity varies from 30 to 100%. The city receives no snow.

Geography

Meerut lies between 28°57’ to 29°02’N latitude and 77°40’ to 77°45’E longitude in the Indo-Gangetic plains of India. It is bound on the north by Muzaffarnagar, in the south by Bulandshahr while Ghaziabad and Baghpat districts form the southern and western limits. The river Ganga forms the eastern boundary and separates the district from Moradabad and Bijnor. The Hindon forms the western boundary and separates the district from Baghpat. The ground is not rocky and there are no mountains. The soil is composed of pleistocene and sub-recent alluvial sediments transported and deposited by river action from the Himalayan region. These alluvial deposits are unconsolidated. Lithologically, sediments consist of clay, silt and fine to coarse sand. Land is very fertile for growing crops, especially wheat, sugarcane and vegetables. The city lies between the plains of Ganga and Yamuna.

Meerut Cantonment

Meerut Cantonment is the 2^nd largest cantonment of India both in land area and population. It was established in 1803. It is the cleanest part of city and a beautiful sight at night. Meerut Cantonment is the place from where the Revolution of 1857 started. The Mall road is one of the oldest and most beautiful roads of Meerut and a very peaceful Dogra Temple is situated here. Mall road is surrounded with clean footpaths, statues and trees. A tank of Pakistan army is standing as an exception in cantonment. One of the most convenient clubs of the city, Wheelers Club, is situated in the cantonment. The cantonment surrounds the city from 3 sides. A Race course, Golf course and RVC center are also situated in the cantonment.

Development

Meerut is the 63rd-fastest-growing urban area in the world. It is the 14th fastest developing city in India. A new report by U.S. financial services firm Morgan Stanley, “AlphaWise City Vibrancy Index: A Guide to India’s Urbanization,” gave Meerut the 5th spot on the “vibrancy” index, ahead of Delhi and Mumbai. Meerut ranked second on both the financial penetration index, which measures things like the presence of ATMs and bank branches, and on the consumption index, indicating the city’s transformation into an urban town. While the city ranked in the bottom 10 in job creations, the report suggests that overall there are plenty of signs of “potential for urbanization,” including future employment opportunities. The infrastructure segment of Meerut is currently going through a boom phase with many new projects coming up in and around the city. There are many new buildings, shopping complexes, malls, roads, flyovers and apartments coming up.

About 100 builders have poured into the city for building townships, IT parks, malls, hospitals etc. Major developers include Supertech Group, MSX Developers, Era Group, Antriksh, Majestic Properties, Ansal Housing & Construction, Parsvnath, DLF. and Godwin Builders.

Delhi-Meerut expressway is expected to be completed by 2013. Upper Ganges canal expressway is also under development. GAIL is also establishing its plant in Meerut and Muradnagar to supply cooking gas within the city. A five star hotel, in Greenwood City, at Baghpat road bypass crossing and a three star hotel at Delhi road near Rithani are under construction.

Shopping malls

Many malls have recently been built by major developers of the country. These include Melange at Pallav Puram, PVS Mall at Shastri Nagar, Rap Magnum Mall and Era Mall at Delhi Road. Many more malls are under construction, namely Ansal Plaza and Shopprix mall at western By-pass road, Phoenix Mall at Delhi Road, MCP Mall (Grand Savy Mall) at EK Road, MSX mall and TDI mall at Mawana road and Alpha One mall at Modipuram. Meerut presently has nine malls and by 2012 there will be 20 malls surrounding the city.

Economy

Industry

Meerut is one of the important industrial towns of western Uttar Pradesh. It is a rich agricultural area with such pockets of land that do not fit in for crop purpose. Being in the proximity of Delhi, it is ideal for industry. It is famous for handloom works and scissors industry from olden age. Meerut is home to 520 micro, small and medium scale industries. As of August 2006, Meerut has about 23,471 industrial units including 15,510 small scale units and 7,922 cottage industries.

Existing industries: Textile, Transformer, Sugar, Distillery, Chemical, Engineering, Paper, Sports Goods Manufacture

Prospective Industries: IT, ITES.

Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) already has two industrial estates in Meerut, namely Partapur and Udyog Puram. Mohkampur industrial area is a private initiative. Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd has unrestricted power at Partapur, Udyogpuram and Mohkampur industrial areas. Bhur Baral industrial area is under development.

Another industrial area has been identified by UPSIDC at Gagol road adjacent to Delhi road. 1200 hectares of land is available for industrial development. Identified industrial areas are at Shatabdi nagar, Delhi road, Baghpat road, Roorkee road, Mawana road, Parikshitgarh (Kila) road, Garh road and Hapur road. Further 2000 hectares land is being proposed for industrial development near Delhi–Meerut expressway. Nipro Glass from Japan has set up a large glass plant for medical use. Investment from outside Meerut has started pouring in as Delhi–Mumbai freight corridor and east freight corridor will be intersecting very near to Meerut, making it a cost effective destination for setting up industries.

GAIL Gas Ltd is laying infrastructure for piped CNG throughout the city for industrial, domestic and transport use. Meerut is also home to some prominent regional pharmaceuticals companies like Perk Pharmaceuticals Limited, Mankind Pharma & Bestochem. Meerut is one of the major manufacturing regions for sports goods in India. The city is especially famous for the manufacture of cricket goods with SG being the largest Indian cricket goods manufacturer and exporter operating in Meerut. Meerut is also the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in India.

Retail

Meerut is home to showrooms of several internationally known clothing and sports brands such as Telebrands India, Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Inc., Puma AG, Killer, Levi's, Spykar, Pepe Jeans, United Colours of Benetton, Cotton County, Koutons, Peter England and many more. Meerut has innumerable hotels. Hotel Mukut Mahal, Hotel Ajanta, Hotel Naveen Deluxe, Hotel Crystal Palace and Hotel Samrat Heavens are the biggest hotels in the city, while, Hotel Mayur Deluxe and Hotel Yadu Residency are other hotels. Popular restaurants include the Blue Lagoon in Hotel Crystal Palace, Delhi Darbar at Hapur Road, Al Kareem restaurant at Ghanta Ghar, Alfa, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Dominoe's, Nirula's, Cafe Coffee Day, Barista Coffee, Coffee Delight, Bikanerwala, and Maanchow with KFC on its way. Famous bars of Meerut are Cellar in Hotel Crystal palace (boundary road), Bottoms Up (Hotel Mukut Mahal - Delhi Road), Indiana (near mall road), Rajmahal (Abu lane). The city also boasts of many clubs, like Wheeler's club, Alexender club etc.

The car market in Meerut is developing day by day and there are a number of car showrooms including Nissan, Volkswagen, Skoda, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda, Tata, Fiat, Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford with Mercedes coming soon. The gold market of Meerut is one of Asia’s largest; it employs over 25,000 skilled craftsmen and around 60 kilograms of the precious metal is processed here every day. The city has over 40 BIS Hallmark showrooms.

According to statistics compiled by the Income Tax department, Meerut contributed a handsome Rs.10,089 crore to the national treasury in 2007/08, outperforming Lucknow, Jaipur, Bhopal, Kochi and Bhubaneshwar.

Civic Administration

Meerut is administered by Meerut Municipal Corporation. It is responsible for performing civic administrative functions. Infrastructure development of the city is looked after by the Meerut Development Authority(MDA).

Meerut it is the headquarter of NCR Zone and upwest zone A of Police. An ADG and an secretary level IAS officer cover west U.P.zone. Both the officers look after the legal and developmental condition and system of Western Uttar Pradesh from Meerut for 6 Division of western Uttar Pradesh, namely Meerut, Agra, Bareily Moradabad, Saharanpur and Aligarh under West Zone, and Meerut Division with Saharanpur is in NCR Zone. A DIG looks after Meerut for legal condition and law, Commissioner also looks for 5 district of Meerut Division.

The office of the Chief Commissioner, Customs & Central Excise, Meerut Zone, functioning w.e.f. 01.11.2002 has jurisdiction over 13 districts of Uttrakhand and 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh. This jurisdiction was carved out of the Lucknow Zone. It comprises the erstwhile Customs & Central Excise Commissionerates of Meerut & Noida. The Meerut Commissionerate was bifurcated into two Commissionerates, namely, ‘Meerut-I and Ghaziabad’ and the Noida Commissionerate was bifurcated into ‘Noida and Meerut-II’. In addition, jurisdiction of Central Excise Division Bareilly was included in the jurisdiction of Meerut-II Commissionerate.

Transport

Air

The nearest airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport which is about 80 km away. An international airport is proposed by the state government in the city to reduce pressure on Delhi airport.

Road

By road Meerut is well-connected to major cities like Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Haridwar, etc. A large number of people commute to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon every day for work. Three national highways (NH-58, NH-119 & NH-235) pass through Meerut. Upper Ganga Canal Expressway which passes through outskirts of the city is under development.

There are 2 main bus terminals, namely Bhainsali bus terminal and Sohrab Gate bus terminal from where Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation(UPSRTC) buses ply to cities all over the state and all nearby cities.

As Meerut has been declared a metropolitan city in 2007, JNNURM scheme has been put in place and many low floor city buses now run on the city roads. Low Floor City Buses, Normal City Buses, auto rickshaws and rickshaws are convenient public transport options to commute within the city. Many new transport infrastructure projects like inner ring road, outer ring road and construction of new flyovers are proposed.

An 8 lane expressway from Ghaziabad to Meerut is proposed under the NCR Transport Plan 2021 which will decrease travel time to Delhi by 60 mintues.

Railways

Meerut has seven railway stations- Meerut City, Meerut Cantt, Partapur, Sakoti Tanda, Daurala, Mohiuddinnpur and Pabli Khas. Meerut City station is the busiest station in the city. Meerut Cantt station was founded in 1865 and serves as a secondary railway station. Meerut lies on Delhi - Saharanpur railway line. The electrification of railway line from Meerut to Ghaziabad has been started.

About twenty thousand passengers travel daily to Delhi and back. Around 27 pairs of trains run between Meerut and Delhi, and four between Meerut and Khurja. Two trains are available for Lucknow daily, namely Nauchandi Express and Rajya Rani Express. A weekly train goes to Chennai and Kuchuvelli. Ahemdabad Mail connects the city to Gujrat, and Chattisgarh Express to Chattisgarh state.

A rapid rail transit system has been proposed for operation between Meerut and Anand Vihar. The proposed system is to have dedicated trains between Anand Vihar and Meerut which stop nowhere in between, and also trains which stop at stations to be constructed after a gap of 4–5 km. Anand Vihar, Sahibabad, Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Moradnagar, Modi Nagar, Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Meerut Centre, Begum Bridge, Meerut North and Pallavpuram are the proposed halts. The High Speed Train project under Rapid Rail Transit system in Delhi(NCR) will start with the Delhi-Meerut line. On December 14, 2010 the NCR Planning Board, Meerut Development Authority(MDA) and Nagar Nigam Meerut approved this rapid rail transit system.

Demographics

Meerut City is the headquarters of Meerut district which, according to the 2011 census, has a population of around 3.4 million.

align="right">18,29,192 align="right"

+District Information (2011 census)<
District	Male	Female
Population	|	16,18,213	34,47,405
Literacy	82.91% ||	65.69%	74.80%

There was an increase of 15.01% in the population since 2001. In the 2001 census, Meerut District recorded a population increase of 24.06% compared to 1991.

The initial provisional data suggests a density of 1,342 in 2011 compared to 1,167 of 2001. Total area under Meerut district is of about 2,569 km².

Average literacy rate of Meerut in 2011 was 74.80% compared to 64.79% in 2001. Male and female literacy were 82.91% and 65.69% respectively. For 2001 census, same figures stood at 75.00% and 53.12% in Meerut District. Total literate in Meerut District were 2,213,483 of which male and female were 12,97,767 and 9,15,716 respectively. In 2001, Meerut District had 16,06,469 in its total region.

The sex ratio stood at 885 per 1000 male compared to 2001 census figure of 872. The average national sex ratio in India is 940 as per latest reports of Census 2011 Directorate.

In census enumeration, data regarding child under 0-6 age were also collected for all districts including Meerut. There were total 4,88,271 children under age of 0-6 against 5,17,960 of 2001 census. Of total 4,88,271 male and female were 2,63,961 and 2,24,310 respectively. Child Sex Ratio as per census 2011 was 857 compared to 857 of census 2001. In 2011, Children under 0-6 formed 14.16 percent of Meerut District compared to 17.28 percent of 2001. There was net change of -3.12 percent in this compared to the previous census.

Meerut District population constituted 1.73 percent of total Uttar Pradesh population. In 2001 census, this figure for Meerut District was at 1.73 percent of Uttar Pradesh population.

According to the 2001 census, the city ranks 6th in terms of population density in Uttar Pradesh. The city also ranks 2nd in terms of population in NCR. Males constitute 53.43% of the population and females 46.56%. The city has an average literacy rate of 65.96%, higher than the national average of 64.8% and the state average of 57.36%. Male literacy is 76.31%, and female literacy is 54.12%. 16.66% of the population is under 6 years of age. Meerut has one of the largest Muslim populations among the cities of India (close to 32.5%). It is the largest Muslim city in Uttar pradesh (more than Lucknow). The city has a sex ratio of 871, lower than the state average of 898 and the national average of 933. As of 2009, Meerut has a crime rate of 208.6, higher than the state average of 88.4 and the national average of 181.4.

align="left">774,670 align="left" align="right" align="right"

+District Population (2001 census)<
District	Male	Female
Urban	|	677,313	1,451,983
Rural	826,908 ||	718,470	1,545,378
Total	1,601,578 ||	1,395,783	2,997,361
Literacy	76.31% ||	54.12%	65.96%

According to the 1991 census, Meerut district consisted of 1,025 villages with a population of around 2.4 million. This does not include the population of Baghpat district which was formed in 1998.

align="right">NA align="right" align="right" align="right"

+District population (1991 census)<
District	Male	Female
Urban	|	NA	849,799
Rural	NA ||	NA	1,567,714
Total	1,301,137 ||	1,116,376	2,417,513
Literacy	64.88% ||	37.67%	52.41%

Education

Meerut is an education hub of Western Uttar Pradesh having a total of 4 universities, 32 engineering colleges, 23 management colleges, 7 pharmacy colleges, 4 colleges offering hotel management, 1 college offering fashion design, over 150 academic colleges and over 50 schools. The city is home to Chaudhary Charan Singh University (formerly Meerut University), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University and Shobhit University. The city has one government-run engineering college "Sir Chhotu Ram Institute of Engineering and Technology", which is a constituent college of Chaudhary Charan Singh University.

'Indian Film and Television Institute' is located at the western bypass of the city. The city has two medical colleges, namely Subharti Medical College' and 'Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College'. The city has many Madarsas which provide religious education as well as modern education with computer learning. The city also has various coaching institutions for preparing students for various entrance exams of engineering and medical fields. By the attempts of local jewellers and Zila Udyog Kendra, a Jewel and Jem training centre will soon be established in the city.

Media

Meerut is becoming an important media center, as journalists from all over Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states are working in Meerut. As media centers are situated in Meerut, the city is getting a good amount of publicity on the national platform. The law and order situation has improved a lot in the recent past and media has had an important role to play in it. Radio stations shared with Delhi are Radio City 91.1 MHz, Big FM 92.7 MHz, Red FM 93.5 MHz, Radio One 94.3 MHz, Hit 95(95 MHz), Radio Mirchi 98.3 MHz, AIR FM Rainbow 102.6 MHz, Meow FM 104.8 MHz, AIR FM Gold 106.4 MHz. Radio IIMT(90.4 MHz) is the only radio station located in the city.

Many popular Bollywood artists like Bharat Bhushan, Mandakini, Vishal Bhardwaj, Chitrangada Singh, t.v. anchor Prof. P.K.Arya, Pravesh Rana(Big boss 3 runner up and Mr. India 2008), Achint Kaur, Deepti Bhatnagar, Raja Chaudhary and the internationally acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah hailed from Meerut. Meerut is also the birthplace of famous Bollywood singer Kailash Kher and Arun Govil who played the character of Rama in Ramayana. Pandit Mukhram Sharma, who has produced, written and provide dialogues for some of the milestone movies during 50's to 80's, such as Humjoli, Dhool ka Phool, Daadi Maa and Vachan, also belongs to the city.

Meerut also shelters some of the most renowned writers of India who have given a major contribution in education like M.L. Khanna, R.S. Aggarwal, Irshad Ali, S.K. Agarwal, O.P. Aggarwal and Dr. B.Raman and poet like Dr. Hariom Panwar, young poet Pushpendra naagar from village birana near mawana. Renowned artist Dr Archana Rani also lives in Meerut. The well known Urdu poet Hafeez Meeruti, also known as Sir Allama Iqbal of modern era in Urdu, is one of the jewel of Meerut. Meerut is home to internationally famous art historian Dr. R. A. Agrawal. The city has various publication houses like Anand Publications, Arihant Prakashan, Bharti Bhawan publications, Ravi Pocket Books, Chitra Prakashan, Jai Prakash Publications, Rastogi Publications, Sadhna prakashan Vidya Publications, and Aryodaya Publications. Referred Indexed International Journal - Journal of Commerce and Trade is also published from Meerut.

Sports

Meerut has given many international players in many sports. Praveen Kumar (aka PK) and Raman Lamba, Indian cricket players, belong to Meerut. There are three sports stadiums in Meerut namely Kailash Prakash sports stadium, Kulwant Singh Stadium at Dogra Lines and Victoria Park (Bhama Shah Park) cricket stadium. Meerut is the top producer of sports goods (specially cricket goods) all over India. Sports industries are mostly located in Surajkund area. Meerut organises many sports tournaments. Kailash Praksah Sports Stadium boasts of a National level Synthetic Basketball court and Olympic Standard swimming pool . There are lots of world class sports companies in Meerut such as BDM, SG, SS, Stag, sports land in Partapur I. E. Area, where International cricket players come. The bat used by Dhoni to strike the six in world cup 2011 final was manufactured in Meerut.

Tourist destinations

Meerut, with its imminent history and luxuriant picturesque backdrop, has a well-developed tourism sector. The notable tourist destinations include: Jain temples of Hastinapur - According to Jain tradition, Hastinapur was one of the earliest Indian cities like Ayodhya and Kashi and came into existence during the time of Rishabhadeva (the first tirthankara) whose grandson, Somaprabha, was the first ruler of the place. It is also said to be the birth place of three Jain tirthankars, Shantinatha, Kunthnnath and Arahanatha.

Jain Temple at Mohalla Teergaran - It is the oldest Jain temple of Meerut amongst 40 Jain temples. Its main statue is of Jain tirthanker Shantinath, which was built at the same time when the main statue of Jain Temple, Hastinapur was built. This temple is preserved by the Indian government for its old art work. The Digumber statues in the temple are really fascinating. Its full name is 'Shri Shantinath Digamber Jain Madir - Teergaran (Meerut)'.

St. John's Church - This church was established by Chaplin Reverend Henry Fisher on behalf of the East India Company in 1819 in the cantonment area and was completed in 1822. It is considered one of the oldest churches in North India. The Church was dedicated to the people by Bishop Wilson. It has a seating capacity of 10,000 people. During the war of 1857, this church was the scene of heavy fighting between Indians and the British forces. Augarnath Temple - This grand temple(also known as Kalipaltan Mandir locally) is located at the site where the soldiers of the war of 1857 planned their operations. The temple also houses a memorial built to honor the martyrs of the revolt of 1857. The old temple has been replaced by a modern version. The Jama Masjid was built by Hasan Mahdi, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi's Wazir (chief minister) in 1019 AD (older than the Qutb Minar). That makes it the first Masjid in North India. And although it was restored by Humayun, it is one of the oldest Muslim mosques in India. Qutb-ud-din Aybak is believed to have built the Maqbara of Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud (Baley Miyan). There are other mausoleams and mosques indicating the strong Muslim presence in Meerut.

Martyr's Memorial (Shaheed Smarak)

Gandhi Bagh - This centrally located garden has a very beautiful and serene environment. Locally known as "Company Garden", it has been present since before independence, when it got renamed to its current name. It runs a musical fountain show every evening. Earlier, the garden used to have multiple entrances like the one shown on the right, which were always kept open, and there was no entry fee. But now, only one entrance is kept open and a ticketing system with nominal charges has been put in place.

Suraj Kund Chandi Devi Temple, Built by great holkar queen Devi Ahiliyabai Holkar Mansa Devi Temple

Kali Temple in Sadar Bazar.

Bale Miyan ki Dargah Shahpeer Sahab ki Dargah - The Tomb of Shah Pir was erected by the empress Nur Jahan in honour of a local Muslim Hazrat Shahpeer. Shahpeer gate was built in 1829 by a local Jagirdar "Raja Ji". The tomb is adorned by intricate nakashi(stone painting). There is no roof on the main tomb. It is said that rain does not fall on the main tomb despite the fact that it has no roof. People say that Shahpeer was the Teacher of Mughal Emperor Jehangir. It is said that the tomb was built in 24 hours before Shahpeer's death and that's why it is incomplete. The tomb is listed by the Archaeological Survey of India as a national heritage monument. Shahi Eid Gaah - It was built by Nasir ud din Mahmud, the youngest son of Iltutmish, and the eighth Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate. It is about six hundred years old and has a capacity of about one lac people to offer prayers(Namaz) on Eid. There is Nakkashi on the walls of Eidgah which reflect the Sulatani Gulam era. Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, Sardhana (Sardhana Church) Parikshitgarh - The place is associated with and derives its name from King Parikshit of Hastinapur (the grandson of Arjuna). The fort was built by Parikshit and restored by Gurjar King Nain Singh in the eighteenth century. Baleni

Trivia

Historic Nauchandi Mela is famous as a symbol of Hindu-Muslim Unity. Dargah of 'Hazrat Bale Mian' and the Temple of 'Navchandi Devi' are situated facing each other. During this 'mela', sound of the temple bells and the Azan from the mosque situated at the shrine of Bale mian creates a 'spiritual echo'. Nauchandi mela is also famous for its dish Halwa Parantha.

Ch. Charan Singh, former Prime Minister of India was born in Noorpur village(Hapur) which was under Meerut district in those days.

Meerut is home to Padmashri awardee hakeem Saifuddin Ahmad, a 7th generation hakeem.

See also

Indian Rebellion of 1857

2006 Meerut fire

Meerut district

Meerut division

Notes

Further reading

''Service and Adventure with the Khakee Ressalah; Or, Meerut Volunteer Horse, During the Mutinies of 1857-58'', by Robert Henry Wallace Dunlop, Pub. R. Bentley, 1858.

''The Chaplain's Narrative of the Siege of Delhi: From the Outbreak at Meerut to the Capture of Delhi'', by John Edward Wharton Rotton. Pub. Smith, Elder, 1858.

''The Mutiny outbreak at Meerut in 1857'', by Julian Arthur Beaufort Palmer. Cambridge University Press, 1966. ISBN 0-521-05901-1.

''Mutiny in Meerut'', by Vivian Stuart. Aidan Ellis Publishing, 1991. ISBN 0-85628-210-3.

''Flashman In The Great Game'', by George MacDonald Fraser, 1975.

External links

Official website of ''Meerut I Commissionerate''

Official website of ''Meerut Zone of Custom, Central Excise, and Service Tax''

Official website of ''Meerut city''

http://meerutdistrict.com/

Category:Cities and towns in Meerut district Category:Places of Indian Rebellion of 1857

ca:Meerut de:Merath es:Meerut eo:Merath fr:Meerut gu:મેરઠ ko:메루트 hi:मेरठ bpy:মীরুট id:Meerut it:Meerut pam:Meerut lt:Miratas ml:മീററ്റ് mr:मेरठ nl:Meerut new:मीरट ja:メーラト no:Meerut pnb:میرٹھ pl:Merath pt:Meerut ro:Meerut ru:Мератх sa:मेरठ fi:Meerut sv:Meerut tl:Meerut ta:மீரட் uk:Мірут vi:Meerut war:Meerut zh:密拉特

name	Rahul Gandhi
birth date	June 19, 1970
birth place	New Delhi, India
residence	New Delhi, India
nationality	Indian
office1	Member of Lok Sabha from Amethi
term start1	2004
office2	General Secretary of the Indian National Congress
term start2	2007
office3	Chairperson of IYC and NSUI
term start3	2007
alma mater	Rollins CollegeTrinity College, Cambridge
relations	Rajiv Gandhi (father) Sonia Gandhi (mother)
party	Indian National Congress
signature	Signature of Rahul Gandhi.svg
date	5 June
year	2011
signature	}}

Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and member of the parliament of India, representing the Amethi constituency. His political party is the Indian National Congress.

Early life and career

Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970 as the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi, who later became the Prime Minister of India and Sonia Gandhi, who later became President of Indian National Congress, and as the grandson of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He is also the great-grandson of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Priyanka Vadra is his younger sister. His mother, Sonia Gandhi, is originally from Turin, Italy; his parents met in Cambridge, England where she was a student at Bell Educational Trust's language school and he, an engineering student at Trinity College. They married in New Delhi in 1968. Rajiv Gandhi later obtained a commercial pilot's license and was a pilot in Indian Airlines when Rahul was born.

Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School, Delhi before entering The Doon School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), also his father's ''alma mater'', from 1981–83. Meanwhile, his father had joined politics and became the Prime Minister on October 31, 1984 when Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Due to the security threats faced by Indira Gandhi's family from Sikh extremists, Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka were home-schooled since then. Rahul Gandhi joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate education but moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year examinations. In 1991, after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE during an election rally, he shifted to Rollins College due to security concerns and completed his B.A. in 1994. During this period, he assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci and his identity was known only to the university officials and security agencies. He further went on to obtain a M.Phil from Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1995. After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, in London. In 2002 he was one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.

In 2004, Rahul Gandhi told the press that he has a girlfriend Veronique, a Spanish architect who lives in Venezuela.

Political career

In 2003, there was widespread media speculation on the issue of Rahul Gandhi's imminent entry into active politics, which he did not confirm. Sonia Gandhi, his mother, had joined politics in 1997 after staying away for years despite the demands by Congress party and had become the president of Indian National Congress. In 1999 General Elections, he appeared with his mother at public events and Congress meetings. He also traveled to Pakistan on a goodwill visit to watch the first cricket series between the countries in 14 years in a One Day International with his sister Priyanka Gandhi.

Speculation heightened in January 2004 about his and his sister's possible entry into politics when they visited their father's former constituency of Amethi, which their mother held at the time. He refused to give a definitive response, stating "I am not averse to politics. I have not decided when I will enter politics and indeed, if I ever will."

In March 2004, he announced his entry into politics by announcing that he would contest the May 2004 elections, standing for his father's former constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament. Before that, his uncle Sanjay held the seat before his death in a plane crash. The seat had been held by his mother until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. The Congress had been doing poorly in Uttar Pradesh, holding only 10 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state at the time. At the time, this move generated surprise among political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more charismatic and likely to succeed. Party officials did not have a curriculum vitae ready for the media, such was the surprise of his move. It generated speculation that the presence of a young member of India's most famous political family would reinvigorate the Congress party's political fortunes among India's youthful population In his first interview with foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions. His candidature was greeted with excitement by locals, who had a long standing affinity with the family's presence in the area. , Politician of Indian National Congress He won with a landslide majority, retaining the family stronghold with a margin of over 100,000 as the Congress unexpectedly defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Until 2006 he held no other office and concentrated mainly on constituency issues and the politics of Uttar Pradesh, and it was widely speculated in the Indian and international press that Sonia Gandhi is trying to groom him for a chance to become a national-level Congress leader in the future.

In January 2006, at a convention of the Indian National Congress in Hyderabad, thousands of party members asked for Gandhi to take a more prominent leadership role in the party and demanded that he address the delegates. He said "I appreciate and I am grateful for your feelings and support. I assure you I will not let you down", but asked for patience and declined to immediately seek a higher profile role.

Gandhi and his sister (married to Robert Vadhera) managed their mother's campaign for reelection to Rae Bareilly in 2006, which was won easily with a margin greater than 400,000 votes.

He was a prominent figure in a high profile Congress campaign for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections; Congress, however, won only 22 seats with 8.53% of votes. The election saw the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents low caste Indians, to become the first party to govern in its own right in Uttar Pradesh in 16 years.

Rahul Gandhi was appointed a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat. In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.

In 2008, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily mentioned “Rahul-as-PM” idea when the PM of India Manmohan Singh was still abroad. Indian Politicians drew own conclusions. Evidently, the Prime Minister also took notice of it.

Youth politics

In his attempt to prove himself as a youth leader in November 2008 he held interviews at his 12, Tughlak Lane residence in New Delhi to handpick at least 40 people who will make up the think-tank of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), an organisation that he has been keen to transform since he was appointed general secretary in September 2007.

Under Rahul Gandhi, IYC and NSUI has seen a dramatic increase in members from a few hundred thousand to several million.

Rahul Gandhi participated in an interactive session with students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. The University student unions have been traditionally dominated by the Left. His party, INC, however, was quick to play up Rahul's visit to JNU as an “excellent example of youth participation in politics”. Rahul's grandmother, Indira Gandhi had to face huge opposition from Left student unions during her visit to the university campus in 1982 because of her decision to impose emergency. Rahul was quizzed by the students on issues ranging from hiearchial politics in India, to his visits to Dalit Houses, economic growth in the country and education reforms. Some papers, however, reported Rahul's visit to JNU as a political attempt to strengthen the newly constituted unit of NSUI at JNU.

In various reports it has been proved that Rahul Gandhi has failed in his promise to eliminate family, patronage, money from Youth Congress. It has been seen that an aspiring delegates need to pay a substantial sum as nomination fee. Hence, an aspiring office-bearer with deep pockets sponsors them thereby allowing money power to have a role in the elections.

2009 elections

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he retained his Amethi constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 333,000 votes. In these elections congress is said to have revived itself in Uttar Pradesh by winning 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats and the majority of the credit for this turnaround is given to Rahul Gandhi. He spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks.

He is referred to as RG in party circles.

Land Acquisition Protests Arrest

On 11 May 2011 Rahul Gandhi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police at Bhatta Parsaul village after he turned out in support of agitating farmers demanding more compensation for their land being acquired for a highway project. He was released after being held for about three hours and later returned to New Delhi. He was to be presented before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate on 12 May 2011.

Political and legal issues

Comparison of RSS and SIMI

Rahul Gandhi has been critical of right-wing groups like the RSS and compared them to terrorist organizations like SIMI. According to a cable leaked by Wikileaks, in 2009, he allegedly shared concerns with the American ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that radicalized Hindu groups may pose a bigger threat to India than Islamic terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba. His comments on radical Hindu groups were criticized by the opposition party, as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Sukanya Devi

It has been alleged that Rahul Gandhi had detained a girl and her parents since 2007. On 01st Mar 2011, the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi., however all the allegations were found to be false. Allahbad high court not only dismissed the case after the girl in question appeared in the court, but slapped a 50 lakh penalty against the petitioner ordering a CBI inquiry against her and websites publishing the story.

13th Jul 2011 Terror Attack remarks

On 14th Jul 2011, a day after the serial bombing in Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi gave a statement that "it was very difficult to stop every single terror attack". The remark resulted in a number of strong criticism from a number of Shiv Sena party members.

See also

Political Families of The World

References

External links

Profile at ''BBC News''

Profile at Govt. of India website

Rahul Gandhi collected news and commentary at ''The Times of India''

Category:Indian National Congress politicians Category:Nehru–Gandhi family Category:14th Lok Sabha members Category:15th Lok Sabha members Category:Doscos Category:Harvard University alumni Category:People from New Delhi Category:Rollins College alumni Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Children of Prime Ministers of India Category:Indian people of Italian descent Category:University of Delhi alumni

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