Kanpur Cantonment

Kanpur Cantonment is a military cantonment in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India,The Kanpur Cantonment was established in the year 1811 and is situated on the right bank of river Ganges and is bound by Kanpur city area on the remaining three sides. The area of the Cantonment is approx. 4243.0084 acres. out of which the Bungalow Area is 3899.1784 acres and the Civil Area is 334.83 acres. As per 2011 Census, the population of Cantonment is 108,035 which is 453rd largest city of India .HistoryThe historical reasons necessitating the formation of individual cantonments are different for different cantonments depending upon the prevailing political and military realities of the times.For example, Secundrabad cantonment was established to assist the Nizam of Hyderabad, militarily against his local adversaries, whereas Lucknow Cantonment was established to maintain pressure on the Nawab of Oudh and to finally capture that state. Similarly the need for cooler climate for the British troops and strategic importance of Doab dictated the setting up of hill cantonments and cantonments in modern-day Uttar Pradesh respectively.However, irrespective of the local factors, the paramount consideration in setting up all these cantonments was the need for military camps in various strategic locations of India to establish, maintain and consolidate the rule of a foreign power.Spread of diseases like, diarrhea, malaria, and venereal diseases among the troops necessitated the cantoning (insulation) of these military camps from the local population.The records of 19th-century British India reveal that health and hygiene of the troops was one of the major areas of concern which the rulers of the day had to contend with. This consideration coupled with the desire of an alien ruling elite to distance itself from the native population led to the development of an insulated type of character in all these cantonments which continues today.