The district of Hardoi is testimony to this. An epic battle between the East India Company and the brave-hearted freedom fighters of Madhoganj, Ruiya of Hardoi took place during the First War of Independence in 1857. In memory of this war, a ‘Ghantaghar’ or clock tower was constructed on a memorial built to Queen Victoria, today called the Victoria Memorial.
A ‘Shaheed Smarak’ or ‘Martyrs memorial’ is constructed in Semariya village, Sandi tehsil of Hardoi. In 1932, a group of noble Satyagrahis, giving Satyagraha under the leadership of the brave Mahendra Nath Shahabadi were brutally fired upon by police under the orders of the British. To ensure that their memory is never forgotten, that their deeds are immortalized and their actions live on forever in the annals of history, their legacy has been enshrined in this memorial.
Source: Pratyush, IAS 2020 (Uttar Pradesh)