Pariksha SaathiAmit Shah inaugurates the Martyrs' Memorial of the First War of Independence of 1857 at Ambala, Haryana, built on 22 acres at a cost of Rs 594 crore
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the Martyrs' Memorial of the First War of Independence of 1857 at Ambala, Haryana, on 5 November 2026, in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union Minister Manohar Lal, the Ministry of Home Affairs said. According to Shah, the memorial has been built on 22 acres at a cost of Rs 594 crore and has 22 galleries; it weaves historical documents together with Haryana's art forms using modern technology such as virtual reality, holography and interactive projection, and features Phulkari and Sarkanda craftsmanship, an open-air theatre seating 2,500 people and a light-and-sound show designed to take visitors back to 1857. In his address, Shah said that it was on this land - Ambala Cantonment - that revolutionary heroes sounded the bugle of armed revolution against British rule on 10 May 1857, and that Veer Savarkar had said the revolution of 1857 was not a revolt for the children of Mother India but a freedom struggle. He named Nana Saheb Peshwa, Rani Lakshmibai, Tatya Tope and Begum Hazrat Mahal among the warriors of 1857, and Raja Nahar Singh and Rao Tula Ram as having fought the freedom struggle on Haryana's land, and appealed to young people across the country to visit the memorial and pay homage to the martyrs. Shah said a National Highway built at a cost of Rs 1,260 crore was also inaugurated the same day.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
A profile in New India Samachar, PIB's magazine, notes that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar called the 1857 revolution not a mere revolt but India's first struggle for independence. Born on May 28, 1883, near Bhagur village in Nasik, Maharashtra, he graduated from Fergusson College, Pune, and established an organisation called 'Abhinav Bharat' in 1904; in 1905, against the backdrop of the partition of Bengal, he burnt foreign clothes in Pune. In London, where he went on a scholarship to study law, he formed the 'Free India Society' and stayed at India House, the centre of the freedom movement spearheaded by Shyamji Krishna Varma. In 1908, after much research, he authored the book 'The History of the War of Indian Independence', in which he called the revolution of 1857 the first war of India's independence; the British banned it before it could reach the masses. Sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to 'Kala Pani', he was released from the Cellular Jail of the Andaman in 1921 after spending 10 years in prison.
Reference: New India Samachar (PIB), 'Firebrand Son of the Soil: Veer Savarkar', May 16-31 issue
Check yourself: according to the profile, in which year did Savarkar author his book calling the revolution of 1857 the first war of India's independence, and which organisation did he establish in 1904?
In 1908; 'Abhinav Bharat'.
Revision task: from this release, note where and by whom the memorial was inaugurated, its area, cost and number of galleries, the theatre's seating, the date Shah gave for the start of the revolution at Ambala, and the 1857 warriors and Haryana's freedom fighters he named; from the note, Savarkar's book on 1857 and its year, the organisations he founded, and where he was imprisoned.
Test yourself
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Martyrs' Memorial of the First War of Independence of 1857 on 5 November 2026. In which city is the memorial located?
Show the answer
Answer: Ambala
The memorial is at Ambala, Haryana; according to Shah it has been built on 22 acres at a cost of Rs 594 crore, with 22 galleries. He said it was on this land, Ambala Cantonment, that revolutionary heroes sounded the bugle of armed revolution against British rule on 10 May 1857.
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