1857 mutiny’s monumental legacy

Kept alive in popular imagination by books such as William Dalrymple’s ‘The Last Mughal’ and movies including Ketan Mehta’s ‘Mangal Pandey: The Rising’, the 1857 mutiny or the Indian rebellion of 1857 was one of the pivotal moments in the country’s history.

To provide the Delhiites with a much more visceral experience of this important piece of history, heritage activist Vikramjit Singh Rooprai recently organised a trail walk amid major monuments related to the mutiny. While walking the participants through the route, the Youth for Heritage Foundation President also discussed the architecture of these monuments.

The seeds of the mutiny were sown way back in 1806 in Vellore and thereafter 1824, Bindee Tiwari led Indian sepoys against the British Army at Barrackpore. The rebellion of 1857 caused a great impact on Delhi and its nearby areas. The main idea behind the mutiny was to remove Delhi from the map; there was a huge loss to the Indian army, with a 1:10,000 casualty ratio between British officers to Indian men.

Vikramjit Singh Rooprai, President of the Youth for Heritage Foundation, talks to participants

Rooprai, who resigned as the Digital Marketing Head for a leading MNC, will be organising these walks on first Sunday of every month. “These walks are organised to break the misconceptions that surround the historical events and is a better way to experience them,” he says.