During the 1857 uprising, families of the British officers and others associated with the British rulers huddled at the Flag Staff Tower, located at an elevated point in the middle of the northern ridge near Delhi University, to escape the wrath of Indian sepoys. They stayed put there for months, despite frequent attacked by mutineers, before fleeing to Karnal.
A stone’s throw away is a lake, called Khooni Khan Jheel (Blood Lake). The name was given because of the water turned red after bodies of several British troops, Indian sepoys, women, children, and dead horses were dumped there, following repeated skirmishes between the rebels and English soldiers.
The Delhi government is planning to frame a policy to highlight and popularise the tower, the lake and several other such monuments which are landmarks in the history of the 1857 uprising — what is also often called the first war for India’s Independence.
The tourist department, which will anchor the policy, believes that it would add to Delhi’s tourist map, which is already rich with globally popular historical monuments, said an official.