Zero Mile Stone, Nagpur’s interesting historical landmark

Few years ago, on my first visit to Nagpur, my city guide took me to what looked like an ordinary roundabout, side walls all crumbling and the spot overgrown with weeds and whatever the city crows left uneaten. I asked my guide, “What did I do to deserve this ‘sightseeing’ as my first ever experience in Nagpur?” He laughed and encouraged me to take a few more steps. At that moment I was definitely not having fun.


Second ridiculous thing my guide pointed out was at the base of the pillar. To me, at that time, it was just random information about Hyderabad being 318 miles away. What was I going to do with that information?


Then, I looked some more and found more places inscribed with miles written against them and then curiosity hit me. As a collector of all things strange, I do own hundreds of photos of milestones and road signs from 25 Indian states and three countries. But I digress. So, it turns out, I was standing at the very geographical centre of the undivided India. That must have been quite a cool thing to know back in those pre-partition days!



The Zero Mile Stone was built during the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1907 in Nagpur. The project, basically, was to demarcate the British territories in India. This was the project under which our great mountains were also measured. Basically, the entire subcontinent was mapped. And we make use of this knowledge till date. How about that for a cool travel trivia?



The sandstone pillar came to be known as the Zero Mile Stone. And right next to that is another small structure that represents the GTS Standard Bench Mark. The marker is definitely an important piece of history, right in front of us. Sadly, it definitely looked like it had seen better days.


Another trivia: Post partition, Karaundi village in Madhya Pradesh is the geographical centre of India. Not Nagpur. Nonetheless, the historical landmark – the Zero Mile – has been an integral part of Nagpur’s history, and we are not complaining.

1. Which is the actual geographical centre point of India?
   Pre-partition it was Nagpur, but post-partition, the geographical centre is Karaundi Village in Madhya Pradesh. There is a structure in Karaundi Village that marks that.
2. What is Nagpur most famous for?
   Nagpur is known for its oranges and is also called the Orange City. The city is also known as the Tiger Capital of India as the city is connected to many tiger reserves geographically.
3. Which city is the Winter Capital of Mumbai?
   Nagpur is the Winter Capital of Mumbai.