The history of meerut is full of a number of eventful happenings. The history of meerut
is an endless saga of hard work and dedication of its inhabitants that comprise of the Tyagis,
Vaishyas, Rajputs, Jats and Gujjars, all of whom were instrumental in the all-round
development of meerut.
During the demanding period of Qutub-ud-din and Timur, Meerut stood up against its
attackers. 24th April, 1857 was a fateful day in the history of meerut, when eighty five
cavalrymen belonging to the third cavalry refused to even touch the cartridges which led to
ten years of imprisonment as a form of penalization.
In meerut, the middle caste and middle class people were attracted towards the
teachings of 'Arya Samaj'. The history of meerut also reveals the fact that the 'Arya Samaj'
movement also gained much popularity in meerut. Meerut was an important seat of religious,
cultural, intellectual and political activities. Meerut has also gained international prominence
because of the fact that during archaeological excavations that were carried out in the
Alamgirpur village, historical remains belonging to the Harappan civilization were unearthed.
An ancient well and painted grey wares stumbled upon during the diggings can be traced
back to the Mauryan Period. It 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 and
it was opened by mouth before use. But now it is a meerut cantonment.
The district of meerut is named after its headquarters city and is said to be associated
with earliest traditions of the Hindus according to which Maya, the father-in-law of Ravana,
founded this place which has, therefore, been call Maidant-ka-Khera. 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, king of Indraprashta and the word meerut is associated with his name.
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