Hutatma Chowk ("

Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s' Square, (Officially, Hutatma Smarak Chowk) ("

Martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

Memorial Square"), is a square in

South Mumbai, Maharashtra South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbourhoo ...

, India. The square hosts

Flora Fountain Flora Fountain is a Fountain located at the Hutatma Chowk is an ornamentally sculpted architectural heritage monument located at the southern end of the historic Dadabhai Naoroji Road, at the Fort business district in the heart of South Mum ...

and was known by that name until 1961 when it was officially renamed in memory of the members of

Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti Samyukta Maharashtra Movement ( mr, संयुक्त महाराष्ट्र चळवळ), commonly known as the Samiti, was an organisation in India that advocated for a separate Marathi-speaking state in Western India and Centra ...

, who lost their lives when police fired upon their peaceful demonstration in 1956.Hutatma Chowk is a monument to police brutality
''Indian Express''. Retrieved 10 September 2021 A statue of a "Martyr with a Flame" stands next to Flora Fountain.

History

Hutatma Chowk is located in the busy financial district of Fort. It derives its present name from an incident in 1956 when a peaceful demonstration by the

(United Maharashtra Committee) was fired upon by the police resulting in 106 deaths. The incident was part of ongoing struggles of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, amongst others, for the creation of the State of Maharashtra. The shooting proved to be a major impetus for the creation of Maharashtra on 1 May 1960. The Hutatma Chowk square is lined on all sides by buildings constructed during the British Raj. An ornate fountain surrounded by delicately carved figures forms the center of the huge square. This was the Flora Fountain. The fountain itself was built in 1864 and represents the Roman Goddess Flora, the Goddess of Abundance. Today it is a heritage structure. It cost

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

47,000 to build, a large sum at the time, and was constructed by the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India. Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh donated Rs.20,000 towards the construction of this fountain. The fountain was carved from

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

that was imported from Portland. It was built in honour of

Sir Bartle Frere Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a Welsh British colonial administrator. He had a successful career in India, rising to become Governor of Bombay (1862–1867). However, as High Commissioner for ...

, who was the Governor of Bombay at the time. Sir Bartle was responsible for dismantling

Bombay Fort Fort is a business and art district in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. The area gets its name from the defensive fort, Fort George, built by the British East India Company around Bombay Castle. The area extends from the docks in the east, to ...

and shaping much of modern Mumbai. Initially it was to be named after the Governor but the name was changed before the fountain was unveiled. When it was constructed it was in the middle of the city. Flora fountain stands in exactly the same place where the original

Churchgate Churchgate (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʃəɾt͡ʃɡeːʈ is an area in South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid-19th century, Mumbai was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Churchgate, named after St. Thomas Cath ...

of Bombay Fort stood. The area around Flora Fountain is the business center of Mumbai and is surrounded by offices, banks, colleges and shops.

References

Monuments and memorials in Mumbai Martyrs' monuments and memorials Squares in India {{India-struct-stub