Meerut Cantonment

Meerut
Metropolitan City
Top to Bottom; Left to Right: Mustafa Castle, Meerut City railway station, Martyr Memorial, Ancient Big Temple in Hastinapur, Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, St. John's Church, Meerut
Meerut Show map of India Meerut Show map of Uttar Pradesh
Coordinates: 28°59′N 77°42′E / 28.99°N 77.70°E / 28.99; 77.70Coordinates: 28°59′N 77°42′E / 28.99°N 77.70°E / 28.99; 77.70
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
Division	Meerut
District	Meerut
Government
• Body	Meerut Municipal Corporation
• Mayor	Harikant Ahluwalia (BJP)
• Divisional Commissioner	Prabhat Kumar, IAS
• District Magistrate	Sameer Verma, IAS
• Senior Superintendent of Police	Manzil Saini, IPS
• Municipal Commissioner	Manoj Kumar Chauhan, PCS
Area
• Metropolitan City	141.94 km2 (54.80 sq mi)
Elevation	224.659 m (737.070 ft)
Population (2011)
• Metropolitan City	1,309,023
• Rank	26
• Density	9,200/km2 (24,000/sq mi)
• Metro	1,424,908
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Urdu
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	250 0xx
Telephone code	91- 121- XXXX XXX
Vehicle registration	UP-15
Website	meerut.nic.in

Meerut ( pronunciation ) is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an ancient city with settlements dating back to the Indus Valley civilisation having been found in and around the area. The city lies 70 km (43 mi) northeast of the national capital New Delhi, and 453 km (281 mi) northwest of the state capital Lucknow.

Meerut is the second largest city in the National Capital region, and as of 2011 the 33rd most populous urban agglomeration and the 26th most populous city in India. It ranked 292 in 2006 and is projected to rank 242 in 2020 in the list of largest cities and urban areas in the world. The municipal area (as of 2001) is 141.89 km² (54.78 sq mi) with the cantonment covering 35.68 km² (3,568.06 ha). The city is one of the largest producers of sports goods, and the largest producer of musical instruments in India. The city is also an education hub in western Uttar Pradesh. Meerut is also known as the "Sports City Of India". The city is famous for being the starting point of the 1857 rebellion against British colonial rule.

The city may have derived its name from 'Mayarashtra' (Sanskrit: मयराष्ट्र), the capital of the kingdom of Mayasura, Mandodari's father and Ravana's father-in-law. This name may have mutated to Mairashtra, Mai-dant-ka-khera, Mairaath and eventually Meerut.