Erected by the Public Works Department at government expense in 1863 the memorial was hastily designed and constructed. It received much public criticism on completion. In 1972, the 25th anniversary of India's Independence, the Indian Government renamed the monument 'Ajitgarh' ('Place of the Unvanquished') and erected a plaque stating that the 'enemy' mentioned on the memorials were 'immortal martyrs for Indian freedom'.