Author: nadeemrezavi

In the previous blog we saw what were the inspirations and sources for urban design. Now let us turn to the actual plan of the capital city of Akbar, initial orders to build which were given in 1571. In order to do so, we will be analysing a number of primary sources of the period.

Describing the plan of Fathpur Sikri, Abul Fazl writes:

A stone masonry fort (sangīn qila`) was erected and two stone-carved elephants at its gate inspired astonishment. Several noble buildings (kākh-hā) also arose in completion, and although the royal palace (daulatkhāna-i Shāhi) and the residences of many of the nobles are upon the summit of the hill (bar farāz-i koh), the plains (dasht wa sahra) likewise are studded with numerous mansions (manzil-ha) and gardens. By the command of His Majesty, a masjid, a madrasa and a khānqāh were also built upon the hill, the like of which few travellers can name. Adjacent to the town (piwast-i Shahr) is a reservoir (golābi), 12 kuroh in circumference, and on its embankments, His Majesty constructed a spacious courtyard (suffa) (lit. platform), mīnār and a chaugāngāh, where elephant fights are organized. In its vicinity is a quarry of red sandstone (sang-i surkh) whence columns and slabs of any dimensions can be excavated…. Under His Majesty’s patronage, carpets and fine stuffs are woven and numerous handicraftsmen have full occupation.

Arif Qandhari also points out that when in 1571 orders were issued to begin building Fathpur Sikri, the Emperor ordered:

… it (the shahr) is to have a two three kuroh circumference on the face of the earth and for houses (khāna-ha) to be built on the top of the hill and that they should lay out orchards (basātīn) and gardens (bāghāt) at its periphery and centre …. Trees were planted in the environs which had formerly been the habitat of rabbits and jackals, the mosques, markets (bāzār-ha), baths (hammāmāt), caravan sarais (kārwān sarā-ha) and other fine buildings (biqa`) were constructed in the city (shahr).

Arif Qandhari further writes that in 1576-77 the architects and engineers were ordered to:

…draw the picture (sūrat) of the city consisting of a wide rampart (sur) the circumference of whose wall is Akbarshāhi zira` (cubits)…. and the height of the wall from the foundation (bunyād) to the top of the battlements (shuraf) would be approximately thirty gaz. On the sides there are wide gateways (darvāz-ha). It is hoped that very soon it will be completed.

Fr. Monserrate, who visited the court of Akbar in 1580, also gives a very detailed account of the city. Describing the city, he writes:

It is placed on a spur of the mountain range which in former times was called, I believe, Vindius, [Vindhyas] and which stretches westward for a hundred miles towards Azmiris [Ajmer]. This site is rocky and not very beautiful, near to an old town which for this reason is called Purana Siquiris, [Purāni Sikri] (for Purana means ‘old’ in the vernacular and Siquiris is the name of the place). In the past nine years the city has been marvelously extended and beautified, at the expense of the royal treasury and the great nobles and courtiers, who eagerly follow the king’s example and wishes. The most noteworthy features of Fattepurum are, firstly, the king’s audience chamber, which is of huge size and very beautiful in appearance, overlooking the whole city: secondly, a great building supported on arches around which is a very spacious courtyard: thirdly, the circus where elephants fight, gladiatorial displays take place, and a game is played, on horseback, with wooden ball which is hit by hammers also of wood: fourthly, the baths, fifthly the bazar, which is more than half a mile long, and is filled with an astonishing quantity of every description of merchandise, and with countless people, who are always standing there in dense crowds.

Father Monserrate goes on to say:

… the citadel is two miles in circumference embellished with towers at very frequent intervals, though it has only four gates. The Agarena [Agra] Gate is to the East, the Azimirina [Ajmeri Gate] to the west, that of the Circus [Hathipol] to the north, and that of the Daulpurum [Dholpur Gate] to the south. The most striking of these is the Circus gate….

From these passages it becomes clear that (a) most of the Imperial structures and the houses of the influential sections of the nobility were on the top of the ridge;

(b) the civic population inhabited the areas below the ridge, where were also be located the gardens;

(c) the vicinity of the lake was adorned with pleasure resorts;

(d) there was a brisk commercial activity in the township;

(e) the town was oriented towards the lake where was situated the main gateway to the official area; and

(f) the whole town, along with its civic population, was placed within fortified walls.

Walls & Gates:

The fortification wall of Fathpur Sikri is provided with eight gateways to the city (see Plan II) starting from the west, the Ajmeri Darwaza, Tehra Darwaza, Dholpur/Gwalior Darwaza, Chandra Pol, Birbal/Bir Pol, Agra Darwaza, Lal Darwaza and the Dehli Darwaza.

Plan II

Constructed as gate-houses, they comprise an arched opening surround by porticos, guard rooms on the ground floor. Two external flights of steps, one on each side of the complex lead to galleries and rectangular chambers with centralized windows on the top. The arched openings are covered with low domed vaults. The Chandra Pol facing the east and Bir Pol facing south east appear to be less monumental in form than the other gates. The Ajmeri Darwaza, apart from being the grandest, appears to be unique in that the spaces above its arches are filled with rosettes inscribed with “Allah” in a beautiful hand. Each of the gate-house was flanked with a guard room which was situated to the left of the roads passing out of these gates.

As in the case of the Central Asian cities, where the walls encompassed not only the madīna or shahristān (the town proper with the palace), but the rabāt (the suburbs) as well , the city wall and gates of Fathpur Sikri contained within them not only the imperial quarters, and nobles’ houses but also habitation of the common population comprising merchants, traders, professionals and others. This would suggest a fairly close relationship between the political authority and the commercial classes.

Roads & Streets:

If one looks at the Plan II it would appear that the whole town was intersected by two horizontal roads, one (AA) running between Ajmeri Darwaza to the north-west and the Lal Darwaza to the north-east, and a second (BB) connecting Terha Darwaza, to the south-west, with Agra Darwaza in the south-east of the Palace. A branch of Road B branched off from the Agra Gate itself and went straight to the eastern opening of the Diwān-i Ām. Another two roads cut the township vertically. The Dehli Darwaza in the north-east was connected with Chandra Pol through road CC., while the Indarawali area towards the lake was joined with Gwalior Darwaza through DD. Another road (E) led from Birpol and joined BB just before the market area.

These roads were planned on a grid pattern and laid out with stone pieces dressed to wedge shape and set in mortar with their thinner ends projecting downwards. This setting allowed a smooth surface and gave stability and strength to the road. During the excavations it was found that the thickness or packing of the road varied between 5 cm to 50 cm. The main arterial roads (for example B: the road from Agra Gate to the Eastern gate of Diwan-i Am) were 15.40 m wide, with a packing thickness of between 34 and 50 cm.

There were a number of secondary roads which emanated from these arterial roads, which were approximately 3.6 m in width.

Excavations revealed four roads, each with secondary lanes, emanating at right angles from road ‘B’. One such road (Road CC in our Plan II.5) connected it with the Dehli Darwaza. It was constructed with rubble bound by thick lime mortar. A path near the eastern gate of the Diwan-i Am branched off from the main road and led to the structures constructed towards the south. This subsidiary road was 3.5 m wide with a 5.6 cm thick packing. Some portions of Roads ‘AA’ and ‘BB’ too, have survived. The stretch of Road ‘AA’ which survives (near the Indāra Ghāti) and a portion of Road DD (behind Indārāwāli Bāoli, portion on the spurs of the ridge) were located during our surveys conducted in March 1996 and July 1997. The surviving portion of Road AA is 4.36 m. and that of Road DD, 3.60 m in width.

Zones & Districts:

These intersecting roads divide the whole town into ten quarters, of which the central (Zone 3 of Plan II) was reserved for the Imperial establishments and bureaucratic offices. The area between roads AA, BB’ and CC (i.e. Zone 2 of the Plan II.5) was reserved for the higher nobility, while Zone 5 (between Roads, BB, DD & CC) was given to the ‘new’ township of Fathpur. The modern city of Fatehpur is also situated in the same zone.

In the open spaces towards the ramparts were located numerous gardens. Part of the old village of Sikri-Nagar, with its 13th-14th century monuments, was confined to Zone 1 (formed by roads CC & AA). Nagar, with its interesting Khalji mosques, lies outside the city walls, to the north of Zone 1. The Hiran Mīnar encircled with kārwān sarāis, Chaughan gāh, maidān etc. was located in Zone 4 (situated between the lake, and roads AA, DD & CC). Zone 8 (between roads AA & DD) and Zone 10 (between BB & DD) were mostly given to gardens and pleasure pavilions. Some residential structures were also located in Zone 8. Incidentally it was from this zone, the PGW and the associated wares, including the Sunga and Kushana artifacts were located.

Zone 9 can be divided into two districts, one on the top of the ridge, where a number of residential structures, hammāms, etc., are located, and the other, the Indāra Ghāti, where rows of gardens, pleasure pavilions and step-wells were situated. This area requires much closer attention than it has received so far.

The Īdgāh was placed to the west of the zone, outside the city walls. Zones 6 & 7 appear to have formed a single unit. The area, although devoid of standing structures, appears to have been reserved for the garrison, which might also have occupied certain quarters in zones 9 and 10 as well. Thus we see that the whole township was divided into eight functional zones by the interesting roads passing through its eight gates. These, probably, were further sub-divided into various districts by the subsidiary lanes and bye-lanes.

Grid Layout

The maxi grid of Petruccioli (based on that of Satish Davar) also divides the city into eight ‘squares’ .

The Maxi-Grid

This grid, as has been mentioned, is however based on gaz-i ilāhi, a unit of measurement which was introduced a year after Akbar had left Fathpur. (At the time Fathpur Sikri was built the gaz in use was the modified gaz-i sikandari. Before 1586-87, the gaz-i sikandari had a length of 30.36″.The gaz-i ilāhi on the other hand was 32.1 inches or 81.53 cm ).

In spite of this serious lapse, the middle vertical and the upper horizontal external segments of the modular grid traced by Petruccioli, intersect at the point where hiran minar is situated, which thus becomes the starting point for the maxi grid. This is logical. We have already seen that the hiran minar is not only located at the main entry point of the palace complex, but axially aligned with it.

On the other hand, to Satish Davar the focal point of the town (and the grid) lay at a small mosque situated near the city market in the east. This small mosque, which Davar calls “Centric Mosque”, along with the Masjid Sangtarashan behind Akbar’s Jami Masjid acted as the focal position of the plan.

The ‘Centric Mosque’ & the ‘Cross

shaped’ Bazar

In accordance with the Mughal tradition of placement of functional zones around the Imperial court, exemplified by the standard plan of the Mughal Encampment explained by Abul Fazl, the Imperial palaces at Fathpur Sikri were surrounded by the various offices and bureaucratic establishments. The area adjoining the Imperial structures in the east, north and west appears to have been allotted for the buyutat/karkhanas or workshops. A few structures towards the south of the palace also reveal remains of a few structures identifiable as ‘offices’ or bureaucratic establishments (See Plan III).

Plan III

Bazars & Markets:

As in the case of other Central Asian towns (for example Balkh), the markets and shopping complexes at Fathpur Sikri were located between the Shahristān (the town proper with the palace and the bureaucratic establishments) and the rabāt (the suburbs comprising the houses of the general masses).

Our survey of Fathpur Sikri revealed five Akbari markets and at last four sarais which appear to have catered to the needs of the merchants visiting the markets. As in the case of London till the 18th century , the main shopping complex and commercial area at Fathpur Sikri was situated at a distance to the east within the city walls. In both the cities, the industrial area and artisans’ dwellings were located at the farthest point away from the Imperial quarters: the bulk of this area, in fact, was situated outside the city walls. At Fathpur Sikri, the areas of indigo cultivation, leather works, meat sellers etc. were situated either close to the city wall or outside of it. Our survey of a structure excavated by the ASI near the Dehli Darwaza revealed that it was an ironsmith’s cottage comprising two rooms and a masonry furnace.

Residential Areas:

Residential structures could not but be near the markets. There are at least two residential neighbourhoods within the town mentioned by our sources and one outside its walls. The first one of these is the ‘area of Salim Chishti’ also known as Shaikhpura or Nayabad, located behind the Jami’ Masjid and the other, the neighbourhood of Khwaja-i Jahan. The first was the area where the house and the old khānqāh of the Shaikh as well as other houses of the Chishti family and the Islam Khan Chowk were located. The second residential neighbourhood was that of ‘Khwāja-i Jahān’ where Mulla Abdul Qadir Badauni used to live.

Outside the city walls was the neighbourhood inhabited by the prostitutes known as Shaitānpura (the Neighbourhood of Vice). We also hear of Khairpura, Dharampura and the Jogipura situated outside the city limits. But whether these were exclusive colonies / ghettos catering to the Shaikhs, Hindu poor and the mendicants or just structures to ‘feed’ the poor as Badauni alleges we do not know .

We have the testimony of Abul Fazl that the residences of the Akbari nobles were situated on the summit of the hill, while the other residential structures were situated below it in the plains.

Following the excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India and the team from the Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh, it was found that a large number of noble’s structures were constructed on the northern ridge, between the so-called “Tansen Baradari” (near the Dak Bungalow of Lord Curzon) and the sarāi near the Agra Darwaza (Zone 2 in Plan II). The discovery of a marble tablet (sijdagāh) used by Shi`ites while praying, in one of the excavated structures in this area, suggests that this area was possibly inhabited by members of the Iranian nobility.

The second area where the nobility (according to Athar Abbas Rizvi, the Rajputs) had their residences was the Indārāwāli Ghāti (the Indārā Ghāti) area (Zone 8 and Zone 9 — section below the ridge, Plan II.5), situated between the ridge and the lake. The area, although now taken up by cultivated fields, is marked by a large number of gardens and a number of ruined structures. A massive mound, known popularly as ‘Matiya Mahal’, revealed during the course of our survey (July 1997), a massive complex comprising at least three courtyards with foundations of rooms all around them. Nothing more can be said regarding this structure until a detailed study is made possible by cleaning up the mound. It is located to the north-west of a large well known as the Indāra kuān, (from where an inscription of Babur has been taken) and south of the bank of the lake. A little to its south-west is another set of ruins known as the “Kalān Mahal”, comprising a residential structure and a hammām: the name is most probably a corruption of the term kalān mahal which stands for ‘great palace’.

The area also revealed extensive ruins of other houses, gardens, tanks and baths. Kale Khan, a local venerable guide and poet, testifies to the presence of a “Naumahla”, a multi-storeyed structure which was pulled down by his father in the early decades of this century. No trace of it is now extant. The area has spread over its surface a rich amount of painted blue China pottery sherds of very fine and medium fabric which give proof of the presence here of the richer strata of Mughal society.

The third area where the nobles had their houses was on top of the southern ridge (Zone 9) at some distance behind the Shaikh Ibrahim Mosque in the Nayabad Quarters. During one of our (July 1997) Surveys, the author encountered the ruins of residential structures and a hammām at a place where the modern cremation ground is located. A massive square tank (very similar to the Anup Talao in the daulatkhāna) with chambers all around it, is also located in this area. Unfortunately, the area is badly mutilated by stone-mining activity which is taking place in spite of an official ban imposed on it. A small narrow opening in the fortifications (Chor Khirki) towards this side connects this area with the old Mughal cemetery and Idgah outside the city walls. The Idgah and the cemetery have recently become the victim of illegal quarrying, and have been practically completely blasted away.

A fair number of Mughal residential structures (in ruins) and mosques still survive in the village of Sikri (Zone 1 and the district on the lower spurs of the ridge in Zone 2) and Fatehpur town (Zone 4). A large number of Vaishnavite, Shaivite and Jain idols, including those of the tīrthankaras of the 17th century, some of them now adorning the stone platforms in Sikri, have been located and discovered at Fatehpur, Nagar and Sikri, confirming the presence a sizeable non-Muslim population. Apart from the Khalji mosques, one trabeate street gate and extensive ruins of Akbari residential structures are encountered on the main road of Sikri. This and other areas are yet to be intensively explored.

Areas containing separately the votaries of vice and virtue, viz., the Shaitānpura (the district of prostitutes), the Jogipura (the settlements of jogis and pundits) and Shaikhpura (the quarters of the mullas) were all put outside the city limits.

Describing the “red-light” area outside the city limits, Badauni tells us that the Emperor appointed a number of bureaucratic officers and clerks in this “quarter”:

…so that any one who wished to associate with these people, or take them to his house, provided he first had his name and condition written down,might with the connivance of the imperial officers have connection with any of them that he pleased. But he did not permit any man to take dancing-girls to his house at night, without conforming to these conditions, in order that might keep the matter under proper control. But if any one wished to have a virgin, if the petitioner was a well-known courtier, he sent a petition by the Deputy, and obtained permission from Court.

Badauni further informs that a number of nobles including Raja Birbal who were caught breaking the code were reprimanded.

Pleasure Pavilions, Gardens & Water Supply:

The area around the periphery of the town as well as the banks of the lake was given over to pleasure pavilions, open fields and gardens. Within the township our surveys revealed at least 14 gardens apart from the three gardens in the palace complex and in a number of individual house structures. The demand for potable and irrigation water was taken care of by a number of baolis (step wells), tanks and wells dispersed all over the town.

Thus we see that the plan of Fathpur Sikri accords fairly well with that of the Imperial encampment described by Abul Fazl. It also duly takes into account the contours of the site: the main mosque and the Imperial palaces and offices were put on the ridge where water-supply was secured through lifting it by wheels from the lake, and having it carried by aqueducts.

In the plains on both sides where the lake and wells could directly give access to water, the civil population had its quarters assigned, the nobility and the lower strata being well separated. The planned construction of shops on long avenues (see infra), built obviously at Imperial expenditure, and then presumably leased out to private shop-keepers is a very notable feature of the planned city; as is the construction of the caravan sarais, built again under Imperial aegis, to accommodate merchants and travellers. Not only was Fathpur Sikri, then, well planned; there was also a considerable investment of imperial resources in it, to ensure that it fulfilled its proper functions as an Imperial town of a new Empire.

Copyright Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi

Extracts from Fathpur Sikri Revisited (OUP) 2013

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/fatehpur-sikri-revisited-9780198084037?cc=us&lang=en&

MODELS AND THEORIES OF URBAN DESIGN:

The study of planning and building a city during the seventeen century, and the sources and determinants of its urban designs has perhaps yet to receive adequate attention.

The students of urban planning have put forward a number of ‘models’ of planning. Traditionally three models, namely

(a) the European,

(b) the ‘Islamic’ and

(c) the ‘Hindu’

All these three have been put forward as alternative models.

On a closer analysis of these, it appears that there is hardly any difference between them — in all the three, the central place is given to the palace or citadel and the place of worship.

The Shilpa-śāstra (especially the vāstu puruśa mandala) on the other hand categorise the town models on the basis of their physical pattern. Thus according to this categorisation there were towns which were either

(a) Circular,

(b) Crescent or half-moon,

(c) Cross,

(d) Square, or

(e) rectangular.

In each of these ‘models’ as well, the citadel along with the public buildings and the main place of worship is placed at the centre with roads from all sides leading to them. Attention was concentrated on the citadel which was the seat of power. All around it was the fortification; the rest of the city was generally left defenceless and unfortified.

In the recent years, yet another theory of urban design has been put forward for Mughals. Basing himself on the description of the genesis, organization, and decline of the ‘patrimonial’ states formulated by Max Weber , Stephen Blake distinguishes between the European capital cities and the sovereign cities of the Asian Empires, and goes on to show how Shāhjahānabād, the Mughal city of Delhi evolved and developed as a city of the latter type.

The Asian empires, according to him were “patrimonial -bureaucratic empires”, the controlling metaphor of which was the patriarchal family and the “central element” was the imperial household.

According to this thesis, the capital was an enormously extended household. At the macro-level, it was a miniature version of the kingdom. The palace-fortress stood for the city, and the mansions of great nobles for the provinces, districts and other subdivisions of the state. The various mansions, mosques, shops and gardens in the city were elaborations and copies of the buildings of the palace complex. In other words, the capital city in the “Asian Empires” was nothing but the extension of the Imperial household where everyone was bound by personal ties with the emperor who presided over the city — and the whole kingdom — as a father over his sons. The markets, the production relations, the cultural life and every thing else including the process of consumption were all dominated by the great households.

What this in effect meant was what was offered in the Weberian argument that the non-western cities did not generate the same degree of urban autonomy as may be found in the West. These non-Western cities neither achieved significant measures of municipal self-government, nor produced city dwellers conscious of themselves as a distinct class or social group.

Does this model of the city in “Asian Empire” apply to Fathpur Sikri?

Our surveys in fact go out to reject this Weberian thesis. Although having a strong centralizing basis, Fathpur Sikri appears to be no different than London of the pre-Industrial Revolution era as far as the placements of its functional elements are concerned. Its colossal hydraulic works for water-supply, the efficient well-planned roads, streets and bye-lanes and the presence of a large number of monumental gardens, sarāis and well defined suburbs, point to the desire of the Mughal architects to not only redesign the urban landscape but also to provide for public services. The fact that the Mughal towns, including the Imperial cities were flourishing centres of commerce and crafts is not only attested to by the archaeological remains or deductions based on comparisons with European and colonial cities, the contemporary sources and authorities also help to underline this fact. Fathpur Sikri even after it ceased to be an Imperial town survived as an important commercial centre.

Depending on its size, a town in Mughal India was classified as (a) balda or shahr, and (b) qasba. While the qasba was a township, the shahr/balda was a big city.

Whether a balda or a qasba, a typical medieval city had a number of features common to all urban settlements. Containing a civic population which was largely non-agricultural, the city was surrounded by an outer wall (fasīl) and/or a deep trench.

For Western Europe we know that the term ‘town’ or ‘burg’ appear to have been derived originally from names for large areas enclosed by fortifications which served as places of “refuge during wars.” Robert Lopez, thus symbolized the notion of the city as “the cross” or “cross roads” within the “walls”.

This notion suggests a combination of protected social space and intercommunication between those coming from different directions to the crossroads of urban life. Now if we look at the different “Asiatic” cities and Imperial towns we find that almost all these towns were either protected by a fortification or a deep trench encompassing the inhabited areas. Dealing with Trans Oxiana and surrounding regions, Barthold mentions the walls with a number of gates encompassing the towns and suburbs in Balkh, Bukhara and Samarqand.

In the Mughal cities, the towns were usually protected by thick walls with battlements, string-courses and towers. Lahore, Ahmadābād, Broach, Baroda, Cambay, Sūrat, Shāhjahānābād and Fathpur Sikri were all walled cities. Ajmer, Multan, and Koil (modern Aligarh) are examples of cities which had both walls and a deep trench encircling them. Agra and Ujjain on the other hand were towns with no city walls. Agra was protected only with a deep trench. It was only during the 18th century that walls were constructed around these cities.

SOURCES AND INSPIRATIONS OF URBAN DESIGN:

The Mughal emperors being often on the move, the traditional plan of the Mughal Encampment appears to have been the principal inspiration for the Mughals, when they built their towns. Being one of the first organized towns to develop, Fathpur Sikri appears to have drawn on the various principles used in setting up of such camp cities. Even the vocabulary applied by the Persian sources to describe the permanent stone structures is often the same as was used for the temporary portable dwellings. The public audience hall (now called Dīwān-i Ām) is sometimes referred to as bārgāh-i Ām (the large audience tent), the sleeping or retiring room (khwābgāh) of the emperor as khilvat kada-i khās (the tent of privacy), the haram (female quarters) as Sarāpardā, Sarāpardā-i ismat (the screened-in area of Chastity), Shabistān-i daulat (the Imperial bed-chamber or haram) or Shabistān-i Iqbāl, (The Bed-Chamber of Good Fortune or haram), such being the names also of different categories of tents.

Explaining the plan of a Mughal Imperial encampment, Abul Fazl writes:

They pitch the Shabistān-i iqbāl [the haramsarā], the daulatkhāna [the Imperial palace or quarters] and the Naqqārkhāna [the drum house] all within a distance of 1530 gaz (yards). To the right and left of these, and behind them, an open space of 300 yards is reserved for guards. Within the principal enclosure, at a distance of 100 yards from the centre, are pitched the tents of Maryam Makāni (Akbar’s mother), Gulbadan Begum (Akbar’s sister), other chaste ladies, and the tents of Prince Daniyal; to the right, those of Prince Sultan Salim; and to the left, those of Prince Shah Murad. Behind the tents, at some distance, the buyūtāt [kārkhānās or workshops] are placed; and at a further distance of 30 yards behind them, at the four corners of the camp, the bazars (the markets). The nobles encamped on all sides, according to their rank, outside the complex reserved for the Imperial use.

According to this scheme the central area was reserved for Imperial use, flanked by the princes’ area which was surrounded by that of the nobility. Beyond this zone, on the sides were the service areas. The markets were situated at the corners. Secondly, there was a hierarchical progression from the public to the private areas.

Satish Davar was the first to point out that, irrespective of the topography, the Mughals tended to reproduce the same scheme as that of the Encampment in their permanent palace-complexes so as to make a veritable stone encampment. Athar Abbas Rizvi also assumed that there was a similarity between the layout of the Mughal camp and the plan of Fathpur Sikri. It was on the basis of this assumption that he tried to look for the Prince’s quarters and noble’s houses in the areas outside and around the main palace.

If we compare the structure composing the Imperial camp as explained by Abu’l Fazl, a number of parallels can be drawn. While on the move, the Emperor would stay in a portable double-storied pavilion (kākh-i du Āshiyāna) within the eastern corner of a cloth-covered wooden screen known as Gulālbār. Adjoining the du-āshiyāna, within the same enclosure (sarāpardah) was a chobīn rāvati, a wooden structure. The jharokha was provided in the du-āshiyāna, which was also the pavilion where the king would perform his prayers, and the nobility performed kūrnish (bowing) before him.

Between the area of daulatkhāna-i khās (the Emperor’s personal encampment) and the women’s quarters was left an open area known as māhtābi, in the middle of which was a platform (suffa) which was protected by a namgīrah (awnings) supported by four poles. This is where the Emperor would sit during the evenings.

Within the sarāparda-i ismat or the women’s enclosure were raised 24 wooden rāvatis, adjoining which was yet another enclosure, 60 gaz square, meant for Urdubēgis or armed women guards and other female servants.

Another enclosure comprised the bārgāh or the court which had 72 rooms and two openings. Outside the enclosures of shabistān-i iqbāl (women’s enclosure), the bārgāh and daulatkhāna (Imperial quarters) was placed an enclosure used as dīwānkhāna-i khās beyond which stood the Ākāshdiya (lamp bearing pole).

Interestingly at Fathpur Sikri, within the enclosure of the daulatkhāna, to the east is the double storied building which must be the khwābgāh in which the Emperor slept and offered jharokha darshan (morning public appearance). Within the same enclosure, at a little distance from this khwābgāh, is a structure comprising a chamber raised on a platform, which has been explained as Ābdārkhāna (Water Stores). Between the haramsara and daulatkhāna area is constructed a four-platformed structure surmounted with a chhatri (cupola) raised on four pillars, the so-called ‘Panch Mahal’. The affinity between this stone structure and its placement vis-a-vis the suffa or platform of the camp is too close to escape attention. Like the sarāparda-i ismat or Shabistān-i iqbāl, the haram sara area at Fathpur Sikri had a rectangular enclosure beyond the main buildings, which was probably meant for the female guards.

Although Abu’l Fazl does not mention it, it appears that in the Timurid tradition the Imperial camps were aligned on a north-south axis. Secondly, in the Mongol tradition there was a left-right hierarchy with southward orientation —the west being on the right-hand side, so that the king could be seated facing south. Both these axes are found at Fathpur Sikri. Sitting on the jharokha window, Akbar faced the south with his daulatkhāna behind to the north. Further north was the Naqqārkhāna and the Ākāsh diya, the Hiran Minār. To his right (the west) was the Tomb of Salim Chishti, the Jami‘Masjid and the Ibādatkhāna.

Alina Macneal, holding the view that Fathpur Sikri was based on the Timurid plan of encampment, however opines that at Fathpur Sikri due to the topography of the site, the camp’s single north-south axis was broken into two constituents: the axis of progression from public to private and the axis of royal appearance. The axis of progression was laid out from north-east to north-west, aligning Dīwān-i Ām, daulatkhāna and haramsara. The main ceremonial access to the Emperor’s sight was obtained by an opening from Hāthipol to Khwābgāh, on a north-south axis. Further, like a Mughal encampment, the language of the palace at Fathpur was one of pavilion and enclosure. Large spaces alternated with stone pavilions.

As in an Encampment, we find that the palace was surrounded by rings of bureaucratic establishments, nobles’ houses and habitations of the common people. The markets were constructed in a linear fashion along the sides.

Another possible source of its design appears to have been the Mughal-garden, the Chahārbāgh. According to Petruccioli, the centripetal symmetry of the chahārbāgh could be an inspiration for the Mughal urban design. The axes, joints and nodules of a garden were turned architecturally into pavilions, the chabutaras, waterfalls, pools, kārwān sarāis and symmetrical roads. Thus it was the modular grid which became a systematic design instrument. The town was divided into various distinct divisions revolving around a localized central structure on the one hand, and aligned symmetrically with the main centre, on the other.

Bāgh i Fath

For the individual structures and buildings, the inspiration came from a number of traditions. By the time Fathpur Sikri began to be constructed, the traditions of Rajput and Gujarat architecture had already been incorporated in the buildings of the pre-Mughal Muslim rulers of India. At Fathpur Sikri the dominant influence appears to be that of the Timurid and Gujarati Sultanate Architecture. In a number of structures at Fathpur Sikri the central vaults over the chambers are masked by a flat roof. This may at one level be a combination of the structurally arcuate (the ‘Saracen’ or Delhi Sultanate style) with the visibly trabeate (recalling the attractive Gujarat Sultanate style). We have this example in the Khwābgāh, the Emperor’s seat in the Diwān-i Ām, the ‘Daftarkhāna’, the ‘Tansen bārādari’, ‘Todarmal’s bārādari, ‘Hādā Mahal’, ‘Qūshkhāna’ and the city gateways. The vaults consisting of four large intersecting ribs, which create a central vaulted area, four squinches and four rectangular fields are mostly found in the hammāms.

The most typical example is that of the so-called ‘Hakim’s Baths’ (the Imperial hammām). Central Asian features are also encountered in the other hammāms, kārwānsarāis and pavilions on top of palace buildings where Timurid masonry vaults form the ceilings. The Rang Mahal and complexes around it (Petruccioli’s Badi‘ Mahal), the four-storied pavilion erroneously known as ‘Panch Mahal’, and the ‘Hawa Mahal’ adjoining the haramsara are all based on the Iranian and Timurid post-and-beam porches.

In Iran such structures were known as tālār and in Trans Oxiana as Aiwān. The Trabeate construction of these structures is marked by a strong sense of weight and measure. The sense of heaviness encountered in the construction of the palace of Mahmud Begra at Sarkhej and the Nagina Mahal at Khimlassa Fort (15th C. A.D) is overcome here. Geometrical precision appears to be the hall-mark of Akbari structures.

In the so-called ‘Birbal’s palace, the Buland Darwaza, and the Hathipol, arcuate and trabeate styles have been followed in equal proportions. Echoes of wooden architecture are also encountered — the ceilings of the hujra-i Anūptalāo (Turkish Sultana’s house) and the Chahārkhāna (“Ānkhmichauli”), the pillars of the Rang Mahal and the so-called Badi‘ Mahal all remind us of wooden structures.

Extracts from

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/fatehpur-sikri-revisited-9780198084037?cc=us&lang=en&

Copyright: Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi

Carrying forward from the previous session when we were able to hold two Seminars, one International and the other national, apart from Symposiums and Workshops as well as producing Six books ( of which two were important primary sources), the academic activities and programmes of  the CAS Department of History between March 2018 and March 2019 have been as follows:

1) The Centre organised two National Seminars: 

   (a) Indian Business Class Past and Present 

[In Collaboration with Aligarh Historians Society]

   (b) Conflict and Cooperation in Medieval         India 

2) Two Symposiums, viz

    (a) Our Heritage at Risk: The Problem of Managing our National Monuments

    (b) Akbar and His India 

3) We also tried to organise a Workshop for the students of Aligarh Colleges. We invited 20 students each from DS College, Tika Ram Girls College and Sri Varshney College. Unfortunately at the last minute they all declined to come to AMU and their Principals gave various excuses 

4) The Centre also commemorated Gandhiji on his Jayanti and organised an Exhibition and a Symposium on Commemorating the Mahatma: Relevance of Gandhi in Today’s India’ in which scholars like Irfan Habib were invited to deliver lectures.

True to the spirit of Gandhiji’s teachings the Exhibition was inaugurated by our Safai karamchari, Mr Suresh.

5) A two and a half month long Exhibition on Akbar and His India was held by the Centre at the Musa Dakri Museum (17 October to 31 December 2018)

6) Weekly Seminars of the Sultania Historical Society were held in which PG students, Research Scholars and Faculty members delivered lectures and presented papers

7) Publications:

This academic year also saw a number of publications by the Centre:

   (a) Two issues of the Bulletin of the Sultania Historical Society were published and printed. We were also able to get an ISBN number for the last issue. One of these issues is devoted to the theme of Myth and History, and the other to Aurangzeb. 

   (b) Two Monographs:

        i) Iqtidar Alam Khan, Exploring Archaeological Remains From Medieval Times.       

        ii)Zahoor Ali Khan, Studies in Indian Historical Geography.

   (c) Reprints:

    (i) Journal of the Aligarh Historian Research Institute, Vol.1, No.1. 

   (ii) Journal of the Aligarh Historian Research Institute, Vol.1, No.2-3.

8 ) Digitisation of Resources: We have digitised all our photographs of various sites excavated and / or explored. We also have digitised a number of rotographs and transcripts held by our library 

9) A number of Visiting Fellows were called and they delivered lectures. Thus we had Professor Najaf Haidar, Professor Farhat Hasan and Dr Audrey Truchke. Dr Truchke delivered two lectures. She was interviewed by the Sultania Historical Society editors for its bulletin. 

10) The First Mushirul Hasan Lecture was organised on 11th March 2019. Professor Purshottam Agarwal delivered the lecture on the theme ‘Gandhi Today’

11) Project to Digitally Photograph all the archaeological remains and monuments of Agra Region has been initiated. We will be digitally recording all the monuments and sites in detail. This would form a part of the Digital Archives to be maintained by the Centre.

12) The Centre’s Project on recording archaeological sites related to Indigo production launched last year continued.

13) The Centre also initiated a project on Mapping the Archaeological Remains and Monuments of Medieval Period in Meerut. The project is being conducted on the Centre’s behalf by Professor Manvendra Kumar Pundhir who presented his first preliminary report in a Seminar held on 6th April 2019

14) The Catalogue of the holdings of the Archaeological Section has almost been completed and more than 10,000 artefacts have been accounted for. The process of cataloging continues 

15) The renovation and re-wiring of the Building of Archaeological Section has almost been completed and within a few months the Section would be inaugurated formally.

16) An exploratory and Study Tour of those who are offering/ offered Archaeology, Historical Archaeology and or Medieval Archaeology with on site lectures was organised. The Historical sites where the students were taken and on site lectures delivered were the various archaeological sites and monuments at Fathpur Sikri and Bagh-i Nur Afshan at Agra.

______________________________________

We resolve to further this momentum and keep striving to make the CAS Department of History, AMU vibrant again!

Join the movement build an Institution!

Professor Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi 

Chairman & Coordinator 

CAS Department of History 

AMU Aligarh 

The history of Delhi goes back to the period of Mahabharata which is said to be akin to PGW Culture. Painted Grey Ware has been associated with Indraprastha, a village situated within and in the environs of Purana Qila. [Indrapath, along with Panipat, Sonepat, Tilpat and Baghpat are all mentioned in the epic.]

However, the history of Delhi is traced through Seven Cities starting with the Lal Kot of Anagpal. Prithviraja Raso attributes him to be the founder of Dhilli or Dhillika.

In the 12th Century, the Tomar Rajputs were overthrown by the Chauhans of Ajmer who built the Qila-i Rai Pithora (Prithvi Raj III) with massive stone ramparts to defend it from the Turks.

Starting from this fort till Shahjahanabad, there are seven major cities which are counted – however, to be more accurate, there were approximately 14 distinct ‘cities’ concentrated in three main areas of urban population.

The ‘Seven cities’ were in fact citadels, which are:

I.) Indarpat, the first city; then area east of Surajkund, Lal Kot / Qila Rai Pithora (1052 AD;

II) Kilokhari; Siri (1303 AD;

III) Tughluqabad (1321 AD;

IV) Jahanpanah (1334 AD;

IV) Ferozabad (1354 AD;

V) Khizrabad; Mubarakabad; Dinpanah (1530 / 1540;

VI) Shahjahanbad (1648;

VII) New Delhi

Let me dilate a little on the planned city of Tughluqabad:

Tughluqabad is conventionally the fourth city of Delhi. Built between 1320 and 1325 AD by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, it was abandoned within a generation. According to Zia Barani, its construction started soon after Ghiyasuddin Tughluq’s accession. According to Ibn Battuta, its site was in the mind of the Sultan even when he was a minister in the court of Mubarak Shah. The architect was Ahmad bin Ayaz, an Anatolian (Rumi) malikzada.

It was built over a period of around 2 years and it was declared the dar us sultanate in 1322-23. In 1352 Ghiyasuddin died and was succeeded by Muhammad Tughluq who soon after ordered the construction of Adilabad, which was a new citadel. Tughluqabad and Adilabad are connected with each other by a causeway, which was also a dam to hold the lake water. Soon after was founded the new city of Jahanpanah. Thus Tughluqabad ceased to be the capital. A severe draught in North India and the transfer of capital to Daulatabad appears to have caused a total collapse. Firuzshah (1351-88) during his reign shifted to his new city of Firuzabad, far north of Tughluqabad. This led to a total desertion of the Tughluqabad site.

Thus like Fathpur Sikri, Tughluqabad is a fossilized town having buildings dating back to a brief period and a single reign.

For the brief period that it did exist, it was a splendid city, the magnificence of which is attested to by Ibn Battuta:

“Tughluq’s treasury and palaces are located there, and in it is the greatest palace, covered with golden brick, which, when the sun shines, reflects dazzling light, preventing the eyes from looking at it for long…”

This probably was a reference to the lustre painted ceramic tiles, which were extensively used in Iran during the 13th and 14th Century.

The site of this town, spread over some 300 acres, is located on a hill surrounded by a low lying area ( a basin) where water collected during the rainy season. This seasonal lake was regulated by the construction of a number of dams. The result was that a lake was created to the south of the city which supplied water to the town as well as irrigated the fields all around.

The plan of the city of Tughluqabad appears to have been inspired from Khurasanian (or Iranian) models represented by such towns as Bust, Nishapur and Tus: It comprises of three distinct areas – (a) the lower town (pā‘īn shahr); (b) the upper town (bālā hisār); and (c) the citadel (arg). Generally the Iranian towns conspired of two enclaves, the main town (shahristān) and the citadel.

The main town of Tughluqabad appears to have been larger than Siri: its ramparts enclose an area of around 6 Km. The main streets were almost 2 Km long. These ramparts do not appear to follow any geometrical pattern or form, but follow the natural contours of the hill on which the city is located. The general layout of the city is in the form of a trapezium, i.e., a quadrilateral with only one pair of sides parallel. Its massive walls are made of rubble and sand mortar and cased with dressed stones quarried locally. The casing stones are large blocks of stones measuring generally 0.5 × 0.5 × 2 m. Some are bigger and some even as large as 3m.

The thickness of these walls differs: the maximum is 10m. The height reaches up till 30m, but on an average, it varies between 10 to 15m. These walls are pierced with round towers at regular intervals and 12 gates on the outside, while 2 gates are situated between the fort and the town. A single gate connects the fort with the citadel.

Typical of the period, the ramparts, the bastions and the gates are all tapering (i.e. cyclopean / battered) in form.

The citadel is situated to the south of the town, on the highest point of the hill. It comprised private imperial structures, and thus it is here that we find a three-tiered defence system: (a) a sharply battered first tier with a 2m wide ledge protected with battlements (parapet with indentations), loopholes (slits in walls for firing guns), and merlons (crenellations, or solid wall between two openings); (b) a second wall 5 – 10 m high with a barrel-vaulted gallery; and then (c) on top of this arch-shaped battlements with loopholes.

The most prominent structure in the citadel appears to be a pavilion (no.5), the Jahan numa, which possibly was Ibn Battuta’s ‘great palace of golden brick’.

Most of the buildings and palaces in the citadel have disappeared and what remains is only the under ground cells which made up the plinth / platform on which these structures were situated. The only surviving building in the area is a small mosque.

The fort is situated to the south-west of the town. On its south is the lake. The other exposed sides are defended by a moat.

This fort consists of four main gates and two postern gates. A gate from the north leads from this fort to a straight street known as Khās Bazar ending at the Dhoban Dhobani Gate. The East Gate opened on a short processional street leading to the Jami’ Masjid.

Behind the East Gate was the Royal Square (maidan) [no.9] measuring 180 × 120 m to the south and west of which are the ruins of various buildings, probably public buildings including audience halls, stables etc.

Inside the town, most of the street layout is still preserved. There appears to be a well defined grid-plan for the roads which run from gate to gate. The main streets are fairly straight and some of them are aligned with north-south or east-west coordinates.

Three of these streets, which end at the gates, may be called the main streets: two of these commence at the north-east corner of the fort, one leading north and the other east.

The road between the East Gate of the fort and the gate in the centre of the Eastern side (Rawul Gate) although short, appears to be the main ceremonial and bureaucratic passage. Probably just outside the East Gate of the fort, there was a chauk (square) as the Iranian tradition also followed in many Sultanate towns like Nagaur, Bidar and Ahmadabad. And probably as in those places, it was surrounded with buildings and shops, but nothing survives. Probably it was a square for common people and a place for civic and commercial activity. According to Mehrdad and Natalie Shokoohi, an old aerial photograph hints of traces of buildings surrounding this area.

Another road from the north of this square led to the end of the town. This street was parallel to the one of Khas Bazar, and it was along this that two market squares are located in the middle of the town.

These two principal roads are linked with at least 3 streets. A street also ran along the fortifications and was probably meant for access to the walls and their defence.

The house structures and other buildings were generally oriented along the streets. Probably the residential areas of the town were towards the north and the houses were planned around one or several courtyards. The residential areas were compactly built with narrow side-streets giving access to the main streets. Some residential structures also probably comprised private gardens. The residential areas also contained a number of small mosques for each quarter. There were some grander mosques as well.

As far as the commercial areas were concerned, we have noted at least two in the centre of the town. These are rectangular areas which probably were the whole sale grain markets (mandi). Shops and bazaars were also located along the main streets. The Khas Bazar appears to have been the main market street of the town with shops on either side. The ruins of shops have been found in the middle portion of this street. Such shops ran alongside the entire length of the road.

This street is about 20 m wide and at each side of it is situated a platform about 0.65 m high over which the shops were constructed in a row of equal sized units. Each of this shop was 3 m wide and 5 m deep. The platform fronting these shops was around 1 m wide. Although at Khas Bazar, only the lower parts of the shops survive, but it is enough to give the earliest example of how they were constructed.

An east-west street from the Khas Bazar area ran between Nimwala Gate in the north west and passed on to the Bazar squares in the centre of the town and the continued up to the Rawul Gate.

Another remarkable feature encountered at Tughluqabad are the silos – the grain storage chambers – which have been found in large numbers built next to the walls both in the town and the fort. Ibn Battuta mentions anbārs of grain (granaries) in the cities of Delhi ‘some having edible grains from the time of Balban’.

These are massive but simple structures. One such set of silos is found near the Northern Gate: They are in the form of a large platform about 10m high having 10 circular domed chambers which are 6.50 m wide and 9 m deep. They are set 1 m apart from each other. The walls are solidly constructed with rubble stone and mortar. On one side of the flat domed roofs is a sloping chute by means of which the chamber could be filled and the filling would be monitored through a central hole in the dome. Once filled, both the chute and the hole could be closed and sealed.

Similar silos are found near other gates as well, for example the Hathi Gate, Rawal Gate, Bandoli Gate, and other places in the town and the fort.

A number of wells and reservoirs have also been located in and around Tughluqabad. There are two big baolis or step-wells, one in the Palace area and the other in the citadel. The main hydraulic works however are the sluice gates which regulated the lake. They have been initially surveyed by Tatsuro Yamamoto and his team.

Note: The above account is a summary of the recent works done on Delhi, especially those of Shokoohy and Shokoohy, and a host of others. Plans used here are also from Shokoohy

Recent passing away of Professor Mushirul Hasan removed many cobwebs from my memory and I was transported back around half a century to a period when our families were not only very close to each other, but also neighbours. We used to live in an old evacuee property known as Azhar Manzil, situated on a corner of a large fresh-water pond popularly known as “Hāthidūba”: it was rumoured that its depths were enough to drown a fully grown elephant! In fact it was situated just behind the Azhar Manzil.

In front of our house was a large barren field with just a skeletal ruins of a house popular as “Bhūt Bangla”, it being a common belief that if anyone tried to renovate it or roof it, he would immediately die! It’s owner was MC Chhagla, a well-known personality who lived in the newly built Chandigarh. Beyond it, at an angle, was the rambling and ochre coloured Hamid Lodge, the residence of Nawwab Hamid Ali Khan ( Hamid Chacha, as I used to call him!). He was a bespectacled tall thin man with a flowing white beard and an extremely loud voice. I remember him always wearing a sherwani with a slender silver handled walking stick.

And just where the front lawn of Hamid Lodge finished was the road leading to a “chauraha” comprising of a few shops, mostly of a few tailors, one or two very small general stores and a small bakery. This market later on, was going to be known as “Amīr Nishān” due to a house of a similar name situated there.

Between the chauraha and the Hamid Lodge (in fact connecting both) was the Hyder Villa, which had once belonged to the father of Salman Hyder ( and husband of Mumtaz Apa, the founder Principal of Abdullah Girls College). From him it was passed into the hands of a certain Dr. Seymour from whom Dr Muhibbul Hasan (father of Mushir) had bought it after coming back from Calcutta.

Our families, apart from thus being neighbours (at a time when Aligarh was a city of large open spaces dotted with kothis), were also related in another way: My father, before partition had been the chief librarian of the Mahmudabad Estate and been a close friend of the last Raja of Mahmudabad, Muhammad Amir Ahmad Khan. Muhibbul Hasan Sahib was related with that family.

From Left: Raja Sahib Mahmudabad, my father, Professor Muhibbul Hasan (Mushir’s father) and Maharajkumar Mahmudabad at Azhar Manzil, Aligarh

Mushir’s mother was a friend of my mother and that is why we always called her “Khālā” [maternal aunt] and her husband as “Khālū” [maternal uncle]. Not a day passed when either they were not visiting our house, or they ours.

Khālu had first served as a lecturer in Calcutta University and then at AMU. He also served for sometime at Jamia Millia Islamia and the Kashmir University, Srinagar. He authored two very important monographs: one on Babur and the other on Tipu Sultan. Both the works remained the last word for decades. It was only after Stephen Dale’s work on Babur that Muhibbul Hasan’s biography of Babur found a competitor in the field.

Khālu had a daughter (Salma Baji) and four sons: Mujeeb, Najmul, Mushir and Najeeb. Mujeeb was doing Civil Engineering and destined to first go to Pakistan and then to US, where he retired after serving in the US Army and the NATO force as a civil engineer. He first married a Kashmiri girl and then later, after their divorce, one of my sisters, Azra.

Najmul Hasan (Sunny, as he was called by friends and family) after his education became a journalist. His last assignment was as a correspondent of Reuter’s posted to cover Iran-Iraq War, where he died after stepping over an Iraqi landmine. His wife Babra belongs to Rampur and still lives with their daughter in Delhi.

Mujeeb ul Hasan (Mushir’s eldest brother) and my sister, Azra in Mushir’s House during the period of his illness after the accident

Mushir got his early education at Calcutta where Khālu was then posted. He soon joined ST School (Minto Circle) at AMU. From Aligarh he also did his graduation and post graduation in History. Amongst his brothers (including the youngest Najeeb) he was the most social, popular and active. He would take part in debates, recite nauha, as sāhib-i bayāz, in the Shab-i Āshūra procession taken out from our house, and participate in student politics. Once he also fought for the AMU Students Union elections and stood for the post of Vice Presidentship.

At AMU he and his father were identified with the Left. Like most others, Mushir too chose to offer courses in Medieval Indian History and studied from teachers like Muhammad Habib, Irfan Habib, Nurul Hasan and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami amongst others. At one place in his writings, Mushir does lament that Aligarh had hardly anything to offer as far as Modern period in history is concerned. One of his angst was that he was taught about all and sundry in Medieval Indian History but nothing about events much closer in time, especially the history of India’s partition, political role of Muslims or that of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

Let us not forget the time in History that Mushir was studying at Aligarh! It was in 1950’s that the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru had ordained special grants to Aligarh for Medieval Indian History. And then just a decade back, Aligarh had survived the partition with most of it’s staff and students migrating to the newly created Nation! The cross of Partition at that time still lay heavily on Aligarh! The neglect of modern and contemporary period at Aligarh of those days is understandable.

According to Professor Irfan Habib, Mushir was one of the most diligent student of his time. He was not only the topper in his batch but also an active member of a number of cultural and literary clubs on the campus. He was also an active member of SFI.

After a brief stint at Ramjas College, Mushir was destined then to go to Cambridge from where he completed his PhD. His thesis on Nationalism and Communal Politics in India during 1885-1930 broke a new ground when it was published, and subsequently ran into many editions. As if to counter the drawback at Aligarh of having neglected more recent times and the Muslim question, he later, did meticulously well-researched works on India’s partition which too got wide acclaim across the globe.

When he returned back to India from Cambridge, Mushir started his long innings at Jamia Millia Islamia where his father had once served. There he was appointed as one of the youngest Professors and slowly and gradually emerged as its Vice Chancellor.

Mushir Bhai in his Office

Probably JMI doesn’t owe as much to any one else as it does to Mushir: he converted it from being a glorified “madrasa” to a University of world repute! Most of its famed institutes and centres were created by him. He modernised the campus, gave it academic excellence and took up the charge of constructing new buildings and structures. In fact he is taken to be the Shahjahan of Jamia!

As I got the news of his death, I was also reminded of the type of a VC that he was! I will narrate only some instances of which I was a personal witness. Having been used to the regal style of the functioning of the VCs at Aligarh, each of these incidents were not only refreshing but came as a surprise! In AMU a VC is a “khudā-i kul”, of whom even a Balban would be jealous of!

Once I had gone to meet my eldest brother in law, Professor Rizwan Husain, who was a Visiting Professor at JMI. He and my sister, Najma (Bajjo) were staying in one of the rooms of the University Guest House. I found Mushir walking around on the campus un-inhibited and un-escorted. He was simply walking alone!

At another occasion when I had gone to a seminar, we saw him emerge from his office. He saw us standing in the lawns. Instead of taking the road, he simply jumped a fence and came to us all smiling! And then I remember him refusing to take a plate out of turn but standing in the queue and insisting to wait for his turn! That too in a function on his own campus where he was the VC!

His humbleness had always been there! I also remember when I was frequently visiting Delhi at a time when we were waiting for the German Visa for my sister married to his elder brother who was serving in the NATO army those days. Mushir was living in a house at JNU allotted to his wife, Zoya. Express orders were that we (I and one of my friend) were to stay with him. He would see to it that we were properly fed and taken care of! And then he would, in the evenings, sit with us and joyfully hear the “Aligarh Stories”!

Mushir never had any airs or pretensions. While interacting with him you could never make out that he was the same man who had authored around 50 books, or that he was or had been a VC or was the Director General of the National Archives of India: a charge which he took after leaving Jamia. Once I was there at the National Archives for a meeting held to acquire certain manuscripts and documents. There too his unpretentious nature was in the forefront. The way he was interacting with his subordinates was something in contrast to what generally is the case!

He had a very soft corner for anything affiliated with Aligarh, which though he kept calling as a “small town” with “limited intellectual capacity”. He would also condemn those at AMU as “ kueñ ke mendhak” (frogs in a well)! But only a fool would be misled by these epithets. His love for his alma mater was such that he could never ignore anyone related with it. Be it the petty tailors of the Amir Nishān or any student, researcher or teacher of Aligarh: if anyone needed any kind of help or push, Mushir was there!

Professors Shireen Moosvi and Irfan Habib at Mushir’s House paying condolences to Professor Zoya Hasan and Salma Baji (Mushir’s sister)

Amongst us “youngsters” who looked up towards him, he was very much fond of Najaf Haider, who now is himself a Professor at JNU.

Mushir with Irfan Habib and others in Najaf’s house at Oxford in 1991

[Courtesy: Najaf Haider]

Academically I never had any direct contact with him, I having confined myself to themes in Medieval Indian History with which he was apparently never interested. Once however he told me that you keep writing papers and articles. They don’t count in today’s world: What counts is authorship of books! And when I told him, one cannot become an author of multiple books overnight, he say: “edit them!“

He was perhaps correct to some extent!

Mushir did not die on 10th December 2018: He finally left us all on that date. He actually died the day he met with that horrible accident on a Haryana road way back in 2014. The accident left him physically and mentally in a condition that he could not keep himself engaged in his academic and intellectual activities. That year, I remember the Indian History Congress offered him the General President-ship. He had to decline it. It was that day that we realised that we had lost Mushir Bhai!

Mushir Bhai (after the accident) with Zoya and his friend Professor S. Irfan Habib

He finally left as he had lived! Two namāz-i janāza were offered for him: one at the Shi’a centre, Bābul ‘ilm, and the other at the Jama Masjid of Jamia. Not only Shias and Sunnis but even others joined in the prayers. Both men and women walked him through his last journey. He finally came to rest on the campus which he served and of which he was labelled as the Shahjahan! Many a satrap had tried to hound him out, he worsted them all at that: he would instead remain in Jamia till eternity!

It appears that by the thirteenth century, the concept of India as a distinct geographical entity, came into Indo-Persian literature along with an understanding of a composite culture, and, also with it, a sense of love of the country. The most prominent examples of such patriotism and ideas of a common heritage appear in the writings of Amir Khusrau, the poet-laureate of the Delhi Sultanate.

Amir Khusrau was born at Patiali in the modern district of Etah in Uttar Pradesh in 1253. His father, Amir Saifuddin Mahmud was a Turk who had migrated to India during the reign of Iltutmish, some years prior to Khusrau’s birth, from the city of Kush (now known as Shahr-i Sabz) in Uzbekistan. His mother was the daughter of Imadul Mulk, a noble from Delhi.

Khusrau was a prolific writer and has left behind important works like Qirānu-s Sa’dain, Miftahu-l Futuh, Shirin wa Khusrau, Hasht Bihisht, Masnavi Dewal Rani wa Khizr Khan, Matlau’l Anwar, I’jaz-i KhusravI, Khazainu-l Futuh and Nuh Sipihr.

The Nuh Sipihr

Although in almost all these works Khusrau has left behind statements which help us understand his vision and concept of India, the Nuh Sipihr appears to be the most prolific in the outflow of patriotic statements.

The Nuh Sipihr is a masnawi which was completed by Khusrau in 1318 and eulogises Mubarak Shah Khalji. It appears to reflect most perfectly the ideas of Khusrau about India which he had tried to develop in his earlier works.

This work is divided into nine chapters which correspond to the nine skies or spheres (sipihr) of the heavens. It is in the third chapter of this work that we find a long and detailed eulogy of India. Amir Khusrau proudly asserts:

If my adversary taunts me as to why I prefer (tarjīh) Hind over other lands.

(I would say:)There are two reasons for this assertion (hujjat):

The first reason is that this land since time immemorial (has been destined)

To be the place of my birth (maulūd), abode (māwa) and motherland (watan)}

He further justifies the praise and precedence which his motherland deserves by citing a well known tradition of the Prophet: “the love of motherland is an essential part of the true faith (hub al-watan min al-īmān)”.’He asserts that this is an essential part of his creed (dīn).

In the introductory section of this chapter Khusrau clarifies that the praise of India was reserved in this section as the presiding planet of both, the seventh sky (to which this chapter corresponds) and India was zuhl (Saturn). He claims that although ‘Rum (Greece), Khurasan (Iran) and Khotan (China)’ allege (ta’na) their superiority, he had knowledge of the efficacy of this country’s magic and thus could prove that Hind is better than any other country. For:

If the Creator bestows upon me the gift (So that) my easy flowing pen (kilk) may be empowered to express qualities to perfection, I aspire not to leave the greatness of this land on earth (concealed). But raise it to the sky upto the (height) of the heaven (khuld-i barīn).

Proofs of India’s Greatness

Khusrau then goes on to enumerate seven rational (aqli) proofs (asbāt) of the assertion (hujjat) that India was the earth’s Paradise. The first argument is that after being thrown out from heaven Adam found refuge in this country. According to him,

“As Hind was just like heaven (khuld nishān), Adam could descend here and find repose”.

Secondly, India was the land of the peacock, a heavenly bird.

“Had Paradise (firdaus) been in some other country (lit. garden, (bāgh) this bird would have gone thither.”

Thirdly, the serpent, which was a companion of the peacock in heaven, also accompanied it to this land, but as this land was known for its good and beneficial deeds while the serpent had the vice of biting, it was allotted a place below the earth and not above it.

Khusrau puts forward four other arguments, which include the moderate climate of India as compared with the severe climatic conditions of his Central Asian homeland and the tradition of the Prophet that the faithful would receive their reward not in this world but in the heaven while the unbelievers would enjoy here itself:

“Hind was a Paradise for the unbelievers since the advent of Adam till the coming of Islam, Even in recent times, these infidels (gabar) have had every pleasure of heaven like wine and honey.”

After establishing that India was the heaven on earth, Khusrau goes on to discuss the ‘reasons’ of his ‘preference of Hind over Rum, Iraq, Khurasan and Qandhar’ and discourses on the ideal climate of his country, its flowers, and fruits. Discussing the moderate Indian climate Khusrau remarks:

They (Khurasanians) are deafened (by the excessive cold) and do not listen to the arguments (of India being heaven) (And) instead accuse it of possessing an extremely hot climate. In reply (to this) I cite again what the prophet had said. The hot weather is troublesome and that is all But every one is killed through cold weather.

Further praising the Indian climate, Khusrau says that it is so moderate that a poor peasant (dahqān) spends the night in the pasture-land grazing his flock with only a single worn-out cloak (kuhn chadaraki) wrapped around him, a Brahman can take his bath in the cold water of the river early in the morning, while a mere branch of a tree is enough to shade the poor of the country.

Prized Gifts of India

There is the spring season (bahār) all the year round in India and thus an abundance of greenery and beautiful fragrant flowers which do not lose their fragrance even after they wilt. Among the juicy fruits of India, Khusrau mentions mangoes (naghzak), bananas (mazi), which are extremely soft; and nabāti bamri (sugarcane). Cardamom (lāchi), camphor (kāfūr) and cloves (qaranfal) are mentioned by him as the dry fruits of India.

Betel- leaf (tanbūl) comes for special mention as a

‘leaf which is eaten like a fruit (mēvā) and there is nothing elsewhere in the world like it.’

He tells us that the betel leaf, presumably an expensive commodity at the time, was something meant for the elite:

The ordinary people (ahl-i shikam) have no taste (zauq) for it, Only the high (mihtar) and their sons relish it. Its special (preparation) is not for every one Except for the Qutb-i falak (the king).

The Boundaries and Languages

Amir Khusrau’s idea of India and its geographical boundaries, comes out more clearly when he mentions the different languages which the people of this country speak:

There are different languages in every area (‘arsa) and region (nāhiyat) of this land. Having their own special phraseology and rules which are not transient (‘āriyati) are Sindhi, Lahauri (Punjabi), Kashmiri, Kubri, Dhur-Satnandri (Kannada),Tilangi (Telugu), Gujar (Gujarati), Ma’abari (Tamil), Gauri (dialect of Northern Bengal), Bengali, Awad (Awadhi), Dehli. All around, within the boundaries of this land, are these Hindavi languages since olden times, and all of them are spoken by the people for all purposes.

It is interesting to note that Marathi and Malayalam are not mentioned by Khusrau. Malayalam had not perhaps separated from Tamil by this time, but the omission of Marathi is difficult to explaine unless it is represented by ‘Kubri’. Dealing with the commonly spoken languages during his time (Hindavi and Persian) and the regional dialects, Khusrau points out:

Surely! The popularity of Turkish grew similarly. It spread with the Turkish rule on the earth. As it was the language of the prominent people (khāsa). The commoners also adopted it, and it became popular in the world. Hind similarly got its spoken languages. Hindavi is and has been the (spoken language) of India.

The Ghurids and the Turks came, and Persian was spoken by them. The people when they came into contact with them. By and by (beh wa beh) acquired the knowledge of Persian. The other languages which were there Were constrained to be confined in their own areas.

Khusrau also mentions the linguistic versatility of the Indians. He says that whereas an Indian can fluently converse in any of the foreign languages, people outside India (aqsa-i digar) are unable to speak ‘Indian dialects’ (sukhan-i Hindi).

The people of Khita, Mongols, Turks and Arabs In (speaking) Indian dialects get sewn lips But we can speak any language of the world As expertly as a shepherd tends his sheep.

Khusrau’s patriotism was not just theoretical. He claims to have himself mastered the Indian languages:

In most of these people’s languages I have gained knowledge (i.e. learnt) I know them, enquired about them, and can speak them And to an extent, more or less, have been enlightened by them.

Amir Khusrau also mentions Sanskrit and its rich literature but remarks that it was the language of the Brahmans. Even amongst them not all can claim mastery over this language. Like Arabic, Sanskrit has its grammar, definitions, system, techniques, rules and literature. Further:

This language (Sanskrit) has the quality of a pearl amongst pearls It is inferior to Arabic, but superior to Dari (Persian)”

India: A Centre of Knowledge 

Khusrau with great pride mentions that scholars from all over the world come to India to gain knowledge and expertise. However a Brahman never leaves the boundaries of India to acquire knowledge as there is no need for it.

Brahmans in their knowledge and intellect Are far superior to (the knowledge of) all the books of Aristotle… Whatever the Greek revealed in philosophical thought to the world The Brahmans have a greater wealth (of it)”.

However these Brahmans are by nature quite and do not speak much, so that most of their knowledge remains hidden from the world and tends generally to be misunderstood. Khusrau however counts himself amongst those who acknowledge their virtues and qualities:

As nobody has tried to learn from the Brahmans They have remained unrevealed. But I to an extent have done a bit of research in this matter (And after) putting a stamp of confidence on their heart Have gained some insight into their secrets (of learning). Whatever I could grasp has not been contradicted (from any quarter) so far.

Dealing with the superior knowledge and learning of the Indians, he remarks:

I may be slightly biased in my views Yet whatever I will submit, I shall justify Though there are men of letters (elsewhere), Nowhere is wisdom (dānish) and philosophy (hikmat) so well written.”

Logic (mantiq), astrology (tanjim) and scholastic theology (kalām), except fiqh (Islamic law), are found and well understood in India. All rational sciences, the natural sciences (tabi’yi) and Mathematics (riyāzi) originated in India. Regarding the Indian origin of the numerals (hindsa), Khusrau writes:

Even if Wisdom (‘aql) makes a detour of the world It will not find such a gift of hikmat (i.e. arithmetic) Take ‘zero’ for instance, which is a blank mark in itself When used along with something else, becomes meaningful When the science of mathematics (riyāzi) developed from it The Book Almagest (of Ptolemy) and Euclid came into existence When this science of numerals with its addition and subtraction Is not based on this system it becomes zero. The scholars have not been able to add to(the science of hindsa) And it has remained unchanged since its origin. The inventor of it was one Asa, a Brahman And in this there is no doubt From him (this science) got its name Hind Asat Which was shortened by the intelligent to hindsa. Creator of this science was a Brahman And however strange it may appear The Greek science came to depend on it.

Apart from the invention of the numerals, especially zero, Amir Khusrau also mentions the invention of chess (shatranj) by the Indians which according to him was ‘a unique contribution of Hind to the world’. A similar contribution of India to world culture was the ‘Kalila wa Dimna‘ or the Panchatantra, which had such an ‘excellent flight of imagination’. Another singular contribution of the Indians which Khusrau mentions is Indian music and its hypnotising effect even on the animals.

A land of Beauty and Culture

Apart from all this Khusrau’s patriotism makes him sing paeans for the Indian female beauty, Indian clothes, and even its animals. He singles out the Indian parrot (tūti), magpie (sharak), crow, skylark, wood-pecker, crane (bagula), peacock, monkey and elephant which were unique in the world due to their intelligence. As to wine, he exclaims:

“Give me wine, but not of any other country. Give me wine of this country (the juice of sugarcane).”

India in the eyes of Amir Khusrau was not only his watan but a geographic, cultural and multi-religious entity. In one of his works Khusrau mentions a Hindu who worships fire. When asked why he did so, he replied that the burning fire lights a divine yearning in him and a desire to attain annihilation (Fana) in order to gain eternal life (baqa). Khusrau lauds this feeling.

The Climate of the Motherland 

Although a second generation migrant to India, Khusrau appears to have fully imbibed the idea of India as a unique country, distinct in many ways from other countries. To quote:

How exhilarating is the climate of this country Where so many birds sing melodiously. Poets, composers and singers rise from this land As abundantly and as naturally as the grass…. How great is this land which produces men Who deserve to be called men! Intelligence is the natural gift of this land. Even the illiterate are as good as scholars There cannot be a better teacher than the way of life of the people It is this which enlightens the masses. It is a gift of the Almighty!

This is very rare in other countries It is the effect of the cultural environment of this land…. If perchance any Iranian, Greek, or Arab comes by, He will not have to ask for anything Because they will treat him as their own. They will play an excellent host and win his heart! Even if they indulge in humour with him They also know how to smile like a flower.

With the glory of India, Khusrau cannot help linking his own fame!

No wizard in the art of poetry like Khusrau exists under the sun Because Khusrau belongs to India and he is the admirer of Qutb-i Ālam (the Sultan). Even if Jupiter, who is the wisest of the Celestial beings,comes from the sky He would also not raise any doubt (to this statement) And will acknowledge its truth.

• Professor Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi