Meston Road is a commercial street in city of

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The road is named after James Meston, Lieutenant Governor of the

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1921; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province had been ...

from 1912 to 1918 and was later, in 1919 a signatory of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

on behalf of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

along with Sir Satyendra Prasanno Sinha. Meston Road also known as 'gun bazaar' (Gun Market) is the centre of arms and ammunition shops in Kanpur.

History

Meston Road has an important association with the Independence struggle. It is the centre of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. Tilak Hall is situated in the bylanes of Meston Road. Meston Road was opened to public in the year 1913. Kanpur Mosque Incident In 1913, Machhli Bazaar Mosque situated on Meston Road was demolished by rioters during Hindu-Muslim riots. In April 1913, Islamic scholars and eminent Muslims moved a petition through Barrister Shahid Hussain to Lt. Governor of U.P. Sir James Meston to prove that the targeted portion was the part and parcel of the mosque from religious point of view. On 6 May 1913, Meston in a letter to the petitioners concluded that the place was not the part of the mosque and must be removed. On 20 July 1913, Meston himself visited Kanpur and inspected the mosque. He exhibited complete disregard to the feelings of Muslims and the authorities abolished the Eastern part of the mosque. The action sparked off an outrage among the Muslims and condemned throughout India. On 3 August, irate Muslims gathered at Idgah and proceeded to mosque with black flags. They began to place the loose bricks over the dismantle structure as a symbol of reconstruction. As the Muslims gathered at the place where the eastern part of the mosque once stood the British Magistrate of Kanpur My.Taylor ordered them to dispense. Failing to do so Taylor ordered his troops of police to fire. 600 cartridges were fired over 15 minutes on unarmed civilians. This was a gory event that was denounce as being “Stupid Blunder” by the then Governor General Lord Hardinge. Lord Hardinge himself visited the mosque and offered condolences. He even ordered for the removal of prisoners. 1931 Communal Riots of Kanpur In March 1931, the riots broke out again between Hindu congressmen who urged a 'hartal' (protest) and Muslim shopkeepers who objected to closing of their shops. This led to riots for several days in the city witnessed by many including V.M Kuruvilla of RAF. Now the place is the epitome of communal harmony as the 'Beech Wala Mandir' is situated next to a mosque. Both religious places came up several years ago and have withstood several riots. But, both continue to complement each other and are amongst a few places where Hindus and Muslims work and pray together.

Landmarks

*Tilak Hall-Tilak Hall, situated on Meston Road, was inaugurated by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

on 24 July 1934. Its foundation was laid by

Jawahar Lal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

in 1931. The building was the head office of the Congress party. *Cawnpore Kotwali-The Police Headquarters of Kanpur. This is one of the few British Raj era buildings in Kanpur where one can still see the old name of Kanpur as Cawnpore. *

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...

's House- The rented house of great writer of Hindi and Urdu novels stayed here from 1905 to 1909. *Jain Glass Temple *Machhli Bazaar Mosque *Beech Wala Mandir *Agrasen Smriti Bhawan *Umbrella Shops

References

{{coord missing, Uttar Pradesh Neighbourhoods in Kanpur Shopping districts and streets in India