Kānpur (known as Cawnpore before 1948) is one of the largest cities in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Kanpur is located on the banks of the Ganga and is an important industrial center. It has an area of over 1000 km² and a population of around 2.4 million in the 1991 census. Kanpur is home to several educational institutions, including one of the Indian Institutes of Technology. Kanpur also enjoys the dubious reputation of being the most polluted city in India, a result of vehicular pollution and the poisoning of the Ganga by sewage and toxic effluents from textile and leather industries.

History

In the 19th century, Kanpur was an important British garrison, and had barracks for 7,000 soldiers. In the Great Mutiny of 1857, 900 Europeans (about two-thirds of which were women and children) were besieged in the fortifications for 22 days by the rebels under Nana Sahib. They surrendered on the promise that they should be allowed to go safely to Allahabad, but as soon as they got off the boats to go down the river they were fired upon by cannon. Many were killed and the rest brought back to shore. The prisoners were then killed by their captors, and the corpses were discarded into a deep well. Three days afterwards (July 18), the British under General Havelock entered the city.

A beautiful tomb has since been built over the well, and around it a splendid eight-sided building.

After 1857 it became an important center of the leather and textile industries.