In September 2017, the ministry of tourism, government of India launched what it called “Adopt a Heritage, Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan, Project for the development of Tourist Friendly Destinations September 2017”.

As part of it, private or public sector companies/individuals would “adopt” heritage structure for upkeep, and be called “Monument Mitras”.

The rationale given for this was that since India was a culturally rich country and tourism was on steady rise, there was a need to provide basic amenities to tourists on an immediate basis, and advanced amenities on a long-term basis.

The project

The vision statement of the project says, “Ministry of tourism in close collaboration with ministry of culture and Archeological Survey of India (ASI) envisages developing the heritage sites, monuments and any other tourist sites by making them tourist-friendly to enhance the tourism potential and their cultural importance, in a planned and phased manner.”

The objectives of the project listed on the government document are:

• Develop basic tourism infrastructure in and around heritage monuments and any other tourist sites.
• Inclusive tourist experience for heritage site / monument or tourist site.
• Promote cultural and heritage value of the country to generate livelihoods of local communities of respective heritage site / monument/ tourist site.
• Enhance the tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure at heritage site / monument or tourist site.
• Create employment through active involvement of local communities.
• Harness tourism potential for its multiplier effects in employment generation and economic development.
• Develop sustainable tourism infrastructure and ensuring proper Operations and Maintenance therein

Under this scheme, the group selected will provide tourists with amenities such as clean toilets and drinking water, illumination, signage, Wifi, multi-lingual audio guides, cloakroom, canteen, advanced surveillance system (Like PTZ based CCTV cameras), tourist facilitation cum interpretation centres (tourist multi-purpose centre) which will have facilities such as museums, shopping/souvenir shops, cloakroom, toilet, drinking water, money exchange ,digital interactive kiosk, digital (LED) screening, light and sound shows with regular cultural shows, battery-operated vehicles and advanced tourist flow management system linked with carrying capacity of the monuments.

There will be expert committees to oversee the projects, and 93 monuments based on footfall have been identified for it.

In the case of Red Fort

In the case of Red Fort a memorandum of understanding was signed between Dalmia Bharat Limited and the ministry of tourism, ministry of culture and the Archaeological Survey of India on April 9. The ministry of tourism went public with the deal on April 25, and on April 28, the general public got to know via an article in the Business Standard  that the Red Fort was being adopted by the Dalmia Bharat Group.

There seems nothing objectionable to this on the surface. Yet, as soon as the news was announced, social media was abuzz with messages that the iconic Red Fort had been sold.

The supporters were not far behind.

Good for tourism, bad for heritage?

There was speculation that the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) could be involved in the project too, so I contacted Swapna Liddle, the convener of INTACH’s Delhi Chapter, for her views.

Liddle said INTACH was not involved in the process, but “As for the adoption, it is about building and maintaining visitor amenities. Considering that right now, these are really poor, this might be a good idea. The ASI, I trust, will play a proactive role to ensure that the aspects concerned with historical information – signage, interpretation centres, audio guides, etc., will be approved by experts. The building and maintaining of an interpretation centre will also be the responsibility of the group that adopts the heritage building. Interpretation centres give a brief history of the monument, its conservation record, etc.

Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, chairman and coordinator, CAS in History and coordinator, University Museum, AMU, who is an expert in medieval Indian history and archaeology, is more alarmed at the consequences of such “adoptions”. He feels history maybe “tailored” here.

Rezavi has also been protesting the handing over of Humayun’s Tomb and its surrounding area to the Aga Khan Trust. In the 2014 Indian History Congress session held in JNU, Delhi, a resolution was passed against the conservation of Humayun’s Tomb being done by the Aga Khan Trust.

Rezavi said: “Actually, it’s a very sad day for India! Even our monuments and past are being commercialised. This is a step far more dangerous than we can imagine at the moment. The first baby step in this direction was taken when Humayun’s Tomb was handed over to the Aga Khan Trust, and its technocrats destroyed its authenticity to convert it into a modern money-spinning enterprise.”

However, there are arguments that the ASI is too starved of funds to give the monuments the care they need and deserve.

KK Mohammad, regional director (retired), ASI, says: “ASI faces a cash crunch, which has an impact on infrastructure and facilities at the monuments. In the light of this, the adoption is a good step. ASI doesn’t have the manpower to manage these huge monuments. They need toilets, parking pathways and interpretation centres, which is beyond the capacity of the ASI and its straitened finances.”

Money matters

Since there are so many conflicting opinions, let us examine what is really happening here.

The Qila e Mubarak, or Red Fort, will complete 400 years on June 15. It was on June 15, 1648 AD, that Shah Jahan entered the Qila e Mubarak and illuminated the grounds with his blessed presence.

A per the ministry of tourism document quoted above: “The fourth party [Monument Mitra] agrees during the period of adoption that no revenue will be generated from the public as collection fee, convenience fee etc. However, in case any fees are planned to be charged, it will be subjected to specific clearance of the relevant Government parties to the MoU.”

The contract has been given to the Dalmia Bharat group for Rs25 crore for 5 years. According to the Business Standard  report: “The Dalmia Bharat group will charge people visiting the Red Fort after getting specific clearances from the ministry of culture and the ministry of tourism. Any revenue generated through the activities planned by the corporate house would also have to be ploughed back into the Fort’s development and maintenance. ”

The project is supposed to be done from the company’s CSR funds and is a non-profit enterprise.

Since I write on heritage and have an upcoming book on the iconic Red Fort, I have researched its past and present thoroughly. I have also found about ASI ticket sales in monuments. As per figures given by the Ministry of Culture in Lok Sabha, just the Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan, has an average annual ticket sale of over Rs 21 crore (last year saw a drop in visitors to the Taj Mahal and figures stood at Rs 17.8 crore).

The Qutub Complex generates over Rs 10 crore in ticket sales, Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb generate around Rs 6 crore each.

This money goes directly to the ministry of culture, which allocates funds to various monuments. I know the Red Fort got a measly Rs 50 lakh a year allocation till two years ago.

In this scenario, the Dalmia Bharat Group will be collecting Rs 6 crore X 5 years = Rs30 crore.

Once they improve infrastructure, the sales will go up, as they did in the case of Humayun’s Tomb. So how much of their own funds will be pumped in?

Again, according to the Business Standard report: “The Dalmia Bharat Group would be allowed to charge visitors for semi-commercial activities that it plans to conduct. The “reasonability of the rates charged for the services” would be determined by a joint committee headed by representatives of the Archaeological Survey of India, Ministry of Culture and the Dalmia Bharat Group. All revenues generated from these “semi-commercial activities” would need to be deposited in a separate bank account that would be used only for developing and maintaining the monument.”

They will have “semi-commercial activities” at the Red Fort, so are we looking at revenue generation of over Rs 10 crore a year? Will they put back this entire amount into the fort’s maintenance? If that is the case, any heritage organisation could have done the same, and in fact looked after the fort as a beloved heritage and not just a money-making venture.

So, we await clarity and transparency till the exact terms of the Dalmia Bharat group and ministry of tourism contract are released.

Indemnity and responsibility  

Let us now examine the second cause for concern:

As per the Business Standard report: “Two aspects of the Red Fort’s adoption deal stand out from all other aspects. Firstly, the government has promised the Dalmia Bharat Group that it would be held “harmless” in case the Archaeological Survey of India and others like Delhi’s district collector decide to pursue any claims related to the work done on the monument. While the indemnity clause may help against pressure tactics and frivolous activism of the “culture brigade”, it also gives creative freedom for transforming the Red Fort.”

Secondly, the contract also allows prominent visibility to the Dalmia brand.”

Let us take the indemnity clause, which, as per the Ministry of Tourism document quoted above, says:

“First, Second and Third party will identify and hold harmless ……… Fourth party (company/Trust and its officers and employees), against any loss, costs and expenses of any third party claims which the latter may suffer as the result of any claims or proceedings brought against them arising from work performed in accordance with the scope of work and performance of this understanding.”

To clear prevailing confusion, the Dalmia Bharat group will not be doing any conservation work, as Aga Khan and INTACH do. It will only develop and maintain infrastructure of the tourist amenities in the Red Fort complex, and not the monument itself.

However, even the maintenance of a 400-year-old monument is a delicate job. Any mistake could shake its foundation and cause it irreparable harm. So why has the Dalmia Bharat Group been indemnified of any damage that they may unwittingly incur upon our heritage? I am sure with their expert committees, they will not let any harm come to the fort, but every corporation has inbuilt accountability. Why doesn’t this corporate have inbuilt accountability in this case?

The Red Fort is an integral part of our heritage. Apart from the Mughal chapter of the fort’s history, it was here that the First War of Indian Independence was started, where the British Union Jack was taken down, and the Indian Tricolor hoisted. It is from here that the Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on every Independence Day.

Shah Jahan’s Red Fort was called the Qila e Mubarak (the Auspicious Fort). Bahadur Shah Zafar’s Red Fort was called The QIla e Mu’alla (The exalted Fort). Will our Red fort be called The Dalmia Bharat Red Fort?

Published in DailyO.in

When Shah Jahan built the city of Shahjahanabad, Dilli became famous all over the world and attracted many European travellers whose accounts (in English or translated into it) tell us the story of those days. However, we hardly have books in English or Hindi, by those who lived in the city or fort, which describe the life inside the walled city. In 1857, when the British prevailed upon the “rebel sepoys” and captured Delhi after a siege of four months, they put the Mughal emperor on trial and after finding him guilty of sedition exiled him to Burma. Since then we have forgotten about the syncretic society, which flourished prior to 1857, and the interaction of the Mughal emperor with his subjects.

CF Andrews was a Church of England priest, educator, missionary who came to India in 1904 and became great friends with Munshi Zakaullah, an alumnus of Delhi College, a mathematician and social historian. Munshi Zakaullah had seen life inside the Lal Quila and had described it to Andrews.

Andrews in his book, Zakaullah of Delhi, describes the Mughal court and life in Shahjahanabad. He writes, “The intimate residence together side by side in the same city of Musalmans and Hindus had brought about a noticeable amalgamation of customs and usages among the common people…

These older residents, whom I approached, whether Hindus or Musalmans, spoke about this fact with enthusiasm, and contrasted it with the bitterness of modern times.

It was quite common, for instance, in those days, for the two communities to join together in different religious festivals. Hindus would go to a Muslim festival, and Musalmans would go to a Hindu festival. This had become a natural local custom.”

I am putting down translated extracts from two Urdu books that describe that Delhi.

Bazm-e-Aakhir was first published in 1885 and was a commissioned book. Munshi Agha Mirza, manager of Muttaba Armaghan e-Dehli and Akhbar-un Nisa realised that those who had first-hand knowledge of life in the Quila-e-Mualla or Red Fort were either dead or ageing and he should get it recorded. He handed over the task to Munshi Faizuddin, who as a Mughal courtier and attendant of Mirza Ilahi Bakhsh, had spent most of his adult life inside the fort. Munshi Faizuddin describes it thus:

Diwali

Lo! It’s time for the first diya. (literally it means lamp but symbolically it specifies day. Even today we have choti and badi Diwali).

Now, no one will enter or leave the royal apartments. The washerwomen, female gardeners and porters and other female servants will not be allowed to step outside the palace (seraglio). No vegetable will enter the palace. If some lady asks for brinjal, radish, pumpkin or carrot, it has to be brought in peeled for fear that someone may do black magic on the ladies inside.

It’s the third diya (badi or main Diwali) and today the badshah shall be weighed in gold and silver and a huge weighing scale is put up. The Badshah sits on one side and the other is filled with gold and silver equal to his weight. This is distributed among the poor.

One black buffalo, black blanket, mustard oil, satnaja (mixed grains), gold and silver are taken out as the badshah’s sadqa (sacrifice to avoid misfortune) and distributed among the poor people.

Orders are given for the fort to be illuminated. Kheele’n (puffed rice), batashe (candy), candy and mitti ke khilone (sugar toys), sugar cane, lemon and mud houses are distributed from house to house by jasoliniyan (female guards) and female servants.

At night, the mud houses made by the prince and princesses are filled with kheelei’n and batashe and diyas are lit in front of it. The raushan chowki, an ensemble of musical instruments, which included shehnai and drums is played in procession and the naubat (drum) starts playing in the Royal Naubat Khana.

In all four corners of the fort, a sugar cane is fixed and lemons are strung on it.

In the morning, these are distributed among the maidservants.

The rath baan (carriage driver) decorates the bulls with henna on their hooves, gilding on their horns, bells around their necks and gold and silver embroidered and tasseled cloth and parades them before the badshah and is rewarded.

Dilli ka Aakhiri Deedar was written by Syed Wazir Hasan Dehlvi and published in 1934. Syed Dehlvi was the grandson of the famous novelist Deputy Nazir Ahmed and gives an account of the Delhi about which he heard from his elders or read in books. In his own words, as recounted by his grandson Syed Zameer Hasan Dehlvi, in the preface:

These sweet tales of bygone days were sometimes found in books and sometimes heard from the lips of the older generation. My mind became a treasure house of such knowledge and I was able to pen them down.

Now that people are willing to listen to these tales I want to hear these stories in their voice.

So that all the pearls that are lying scattered all over in various books can be threaded into a necklace and made available for readers who are interested in the era which has gone by. So I am collecting eyewitness accounts.

None of us are immortal at least these stories can live.

Just as the good days didn’t last one day the memory of these days will also be erased.

He has shown Delhi’s Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb, its communal amity, colourful festivals and the cordial relations between the inhabitants of the fort and the general public.

Dussehra and Diwali

Dussehra is here and a neelkanth (Indian roller) is let off in front of the badshah. The darogha (superintendent) of the baazkhana (falcon house) brings a falcon and hawk to the darbar and the badshah puts it on his wrist.

In the afternoon, the Hindu nobles offer nazar and after that the badshah comes and sits in the jharokha (balcony of the fort overlooking the Yamuna river) to watch the show put up on the sandy bank.

The people of the walled city also gather to watch the show and disperse after it ends.

The darogha of the royal stables comes with the special horses that have been decorated with gold and silver finery and colourful cloths under the jharokha. The badshah inspects them. Rewards are given to the ones with the best decoration.

The Ramleela is celebrated for nine days and on the tenth there is a Bharat Milap in which every year two brothers – Hindu and Muslim – would embrace each other with love.

Diwali has come and the sounds of drums, musical instruments and raushan chowki are echoing. Stalls with heaps of kheele, batashe, khand (loaf-sugar), mitti ke khilone and pieces sugarcane are set up.

Eunuchs are roaming the streets singing

Challa de de More Tain (Give me a ring O kind sir) and begging at the shops.

Halwais have made all kinds of sweets and their shops are attractively decorated enticing the passersby.

The light from the first diya to the last gives the impression that it’s daylight in the city.

On the third diya (day), the badshah was weighed in gold and silver. One buffalo, a black blanket, mustard oil, satnaja and gold and silver were taken out as the badshah’s sadqa.

The Quila was brightly lit and the Hindus sent trays of food for everyone. All friends set out to wish each other: They roam the city and enjoy the illumination.

The rathban and ghosi (cattlemen) coloured the hooves of their cattle (bulls, buffaloes and cows) with henna.

They were painted in bright colours and their horns were either painted silver or covered with silver foil. In their necks and hooves bells were put. On their backs were beautifully decorated cloths.

They were tinkling as they were taken out and made to dance to the sounds of drums. Everyone rewarded them.

In Dilli ka Akhiri Deedar, there is also a description of what happened after the fall of the Mughal Empire.

The book contains an eyewitness account by Aghai Begum, who was a Mughalani (probably as an attendant to a princess), who had spent her life describes how the festivals were celebrated in the Lal Quila. She speaks to the author of the book in the latter part of the 19th century when the British are in full control of Delhi and indeed India. When asked about celebration of festivals, she is nostalgic about the past and scathing about the present:

Some fair and spectacles still remain but the hearts of the people are not the same. The rich look down on the poor, and I don’t from where communal feelings have entered people’s hearts and there’s a communal divide. The Hindus and Muslims don’t visit each other anymore and at the drop of a hat are ready to fight with and kill each other. Every other day there is a street brawl and if there is a fair or a festival then it is as if the wrath of God has descended on the populace. Everyone is out of control, ready to take offence at the slightest thing and in minutes, stones are thrown, sticks are used for beating each other and in seconds there are scores of bleeding heads. Now the machine guns are out and there is a curfew in the city and jailhouses are filled up. Some are even sentenced to kala paani, some are executed; children are orphaned, women are widowed and families bereft. Instead of festivities, the house is of full of mourning.

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One of the country’s most-visited monuments, the Red Fort is finally getting a chance to erase the scars of war and neglect

Gar firdaus bar ru e zameen ast/ Hamin ast-o, hamin ast-o, hamin ast

(If there is a paradise on Earth/ It is this, it is this, it is this)

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/lal-qila-red-heart-of-mughal-power/article26338591.ece

30/11/2018 11:47 PM IST | Updated 14 hours ago

Rana Safvi

HUFFPOST INDIA

At its zenith, the Diwan-e-Khas was the most beautiful building in India.

After the foundation stone of the Red Fort was laid in 1639 AD, it took nine years to build the octagonal flower with its attractive buildings, refreshing gardens and streams.

On 18 April 1648 AD, it was ready to welcome Emperor Shah Jahan. He entered the Fort in an open sedan chair from the riverside. In a twist of irony, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor, used the same Water gate to exit the fort on the night of 17 September 1857.

The Qila-e-Shahjahanabadi, or Qila-e-Mubarak (The Auspicious Fort), as the Red Fort was known then, was a piece of astounding beauty and architectural perfection and at its centre was the Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Special Audience).

James Fergusson, the historian who worked on Indian and Eastern Architecture, has described it as “if not the most beautiful, certainly the most highly ornamented of Shahjahan’s buildings”.

‘The most beautiful building in India’

The beautiful rectangular pavilion, made of marble from top to bottom, had no rival anywhere on earth. The marble was so pure that the whiteness of dawn would seem darker than the darkest night. Its pillars and walls were decorated with gold paintings and inlaid work of precious stones such as cornelian, corals.

The beautiful rectangular pavilion, made of marble from top to bottom, had no rival anywhere on earth.

Shah Jahan entered the Fort with prince Dara Shukoh sprinkling gold and silver coins over his head and there were grand celebrations.

The hall was used for the reception of ministers, noblemen and ambassadors.

In the middle stood the Takht-e-Murassa (Jewelled Throne) or as it later became famous, Takht-e-Taoos (Peacock Throne).

Shah Jahan had named the hall Shah Mahal (Royal Palace), but since this was the hall of private audience for special courtiers and guests of state, it became famous as Diwan-e-Khas.

At its zenith, this was the most beautiful building in India, but now lies neglected. I invite you to close your eyes and think of it at its prime when above the end arches on both the short sides of the central aisle, the calligraphers had inscribed

Gar bar ru e firdaus zameen ast

Hameen ast, hameen ast, hameen ast

If there is a heaven on earth

It is this, it is this, it is this!

Through its centre ran the four-yard wide Nahr-e-Bahist or stream of paradise, which was covered with marble slabs. Today the marble is yellowed, the inlaid stones have been gouged out and just a few fading flowers remain on the pillars. The stream runs dry, the only water that flows comes from the tears of the royal ghosts.

In City of My Heart, my new book, there are descriptions of the court held here and the festivities and functions in which the emperor and princes and important nobles participated. There is a description of Diwan-e-Khas during the Phool Waalon ki Sair that says, “The Diwan-e-Khas is decorated with carpets and chandeliers like a bride.”

But this bride went through many ups and downs in life. If this Diwan-e-Khas could speak, it would have so many tales to tell.

Triumphs and trials

Its best days were under Shah Jahan, when court would be held to deal with crucial matters of state.

There was an atmosphere of awe and intimidation when the emperor entered the khas darbar and whoever entered quaked in fear, in case they did something wrong.

Those present would give their salutations—Jahanpanah Badshah Salamat (Refuge of the world, may God keep the emperor safe)—by bending low from the waist and raising their hand to their forehead in salute after entering the darbar.

The Royal Gaze would go over the royal princes and they were rewarded.

The last Mughal emperor was just a nominal head and Bahadur Shah II, an accomplished poet with Zafar as his pen name would recite his latest ghazals over here.

If only it could speak, it would describe the scene here in 1716, when the Scottish surgeon William Hamilton, who cured Emperor Farrukhsiyar on the eve of his marriage, was rewarded with the permission of his employers to establish a factory and to maintain a territory of 38 villages on the banks of the Hooghly River. It was this that began the East India Company’s fortunes in India, and ultimately led to the end of the Mughal empire.

RANA SAFVI

The grave of Scottish surgeon William Hamilton at St. John’s Church in Kolkata. Hamilton, who cured Emperor Farrukhsiyar, was allowed to maintain a territory of 38 villages on the banks of the Hooghly River. This began the East India Company’s fortunes in India, and ultimately led to the end of the Mughal empire.

It was here that Nadir Shah the Persian invader received the submission of emperor Mohammad Shah and took the Kohinoor diamond in 1739. He also took away the Peacock Throne and the later Mughal rulers used a pale replica of it.

In the 18th century, when they were in control of Delhi, the Marathas took out all the silver and gold from the ceiling and sent it to be melted and made into coins. At that time, it was valued at Rs 28 lakh.

In 1788, Ghulam Qadir, the Rohila, captured the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II (r.1759-1806), who had been a Maratha pensioner, and imprisoned him in the adjoining Salimgarh Fort. Ghulam Qadir ordered the emperor to be brought into the Diwan-e-Khas and asked him to give up the secret of his treasure house. The unfortunate emperor had no treasure to give up and had already told his captor that many times. The emperor dared his tormentor to do his worst. Thereupon, the Rohila threw him on the floor of the same court where courtiers would quake under the royal gaze and blinded him. The Marathas defeated and killed Ghulam Qadir and once again established their sway over the emperor.

It was here that Shah Alam II thanked Lord Lake for delivering him from the Marathas in 1803 after the latter defeated the Marathas in Patparganj.

On 14 September 1803, the British force under Lord Lake entered Delhi.

Two days later, General Lake had an interview with the poor old blind king in the Diwan-e-Khas and received high-sounding titles. Delhi came under John Company, as East India Company was known.

The last Mughal emperor

By the time Akbar Shah II (r. 1806-1837) came to power, the Diwan-e-Khas was used a storeroom for unwanted items (broken palanquins, empty boxes etc) and no darbars were held.

When the ‘sepoys’ (Indian soldiers of the East India Company) came from Meerut in 1857, and persuaded ageing Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar to lead them in their fight against the East India Company, they took out a silver throne from one of the recesses of Diwan-e-Khas. On 12 May 1857, they crowned him the Emperor of Hindustan once again.

He held daily darbars here during that period, which were attended by the important residents of Delhi and officers of the ‘mutinied troops’.

It was here that one of the sepoys addressed him as “Arre Badshah! Arre buddhe!” (O you Emperor! O you old man!).

During this period, it was often full of soldiers carrying their weapons, much to the horror of Bahadur Shah Zafar—hitherto, only royalty or nobles and courtiers had entered the Diwan-e-Khas, and that too without weapons.

On 14 September 1857, the British army breached the Kashmiri Darwaza and entered the walled city of Shahjahanabad. By 17 September the emperor had fled the fort and on 20 September, he had surrendered to Major Hodson and re-entered the fort as a prisoner.

On 27 September 1857, the British held a Thanksgiving service in the Diwan-e-Khas for the fall of Delhi into their hands.

Having taken control of the Fort, the British soldiers drank to the health of the British sovereign in the Diwan-e-Khas. They established headquarters in it, and on the morning of 21 September, a royal salute was fired to celebrate the victory.

On 27 September 1857, the British held a Thanksgiving service in the Diwan-e-Khas for the fall of Delhi into their hands.

In January 1858, the emperor was put on trial in the same hall where his ancestors had ruled on the fate others. In a trial that lasted for 40 days, he was convicted of having made war against the British, abetting rebellion, proclaiming himself the reigning sovereign of India and causing or being the accessory to the death of many Europeans. He was sentenced to exile for life and sent to Rangoon.

The Diwan-e-Khas is visited by hundreds of visitors every day, but few among them know the triumphs and tragedies it has seen.

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2018/11/30/inside-delhi-s-red-fort-is-the-most-beautiful-witness-to-the-fall-of-the-mughals_a_23605317/

Almost 52 buildings inside the Red Fort broken by British in aftermath of 1857 : what we see now is 20% of the buildings only.

This can be clearly seen in the painting of the Red Fort where there’s not an inch of available space

I was quite heartbroken at the decay but then the resources at their disposal are not enough to undo the willful damage of 160 years.

Bazar e Musaqqaf translated into English means, “covered bazaar”. Its history dates back to the 17th century. It was inspired by another marketplace which Shah Jahan had seen in Peshawar in 1646.