Parade Ground

This parade ground in Meerut holds a significant place in the history of the First War of Independence. It was here, at the outset of the Indian rebellion against British rule, that Colonel John Finnis, commandant of the 11th Native Infantry, was shot by rebel soldiers, making him the first British officer killed in the uprising. After the rebellion was suppressed, the ground fell out of use. However, 22 years later, in 1879, a racecourse was established on this site. Almost a hundred years later in 1976, a golf course was added, which remains operational under the Indian Army’s maintenance, while the racecourse now stands as a relic of the past.