Shaheed minar Travel Guide

The Shaheed Minar (Bengali: শহীদ মিনার Shôhid Minar; English: Martyrs' Monument), formerly known as the Ochterlony Monument (Bengali: অক্টারলোনি মনুমেন্ট), is a monument in Kolkata that was erected in 1828 in memory of Major-general Sir David Ochterlony, commander of the British East India Company, to commemorate both his successful defense of Delhi against the Marathas in 1804 and the victory of the East India Company’s armed forces over the Gurkhas in the Anglo-Nepalese War. The monument was constructed in his memory. It was designed by J. P. Parker and paid for from public funds.[1] On 9 August 1969 it was rededicated to the memory of the martyrs of the Indian freedom movement and renamed the "Shaheed Minar," which means "martyrs' monument" in both Bengali and Hindi, by the then United Front Government in memory of the martyrs of the Indian independence movement[clarification needed]. The present government has decided to illuminate the tower during evenings and allow visitors to the top. The last people to have been up there were former governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and his family.