The one place that every child visiting Delhi is dragged to, is, of course, the Red fort. It is a monument that attracts one of the highest footfalls in the country.  That’s perhaps because it used to be the power-center of a greater part of India less than a century ago. But what of the numerous other fortresses strewn around this country? Did you know there are several others in Delhi itself? Seven cities were raised in the capital one after the other, and more than seven forts were built to protect the palaces and the monarchy in each case. Much of that splendor is gone today, but the stones  that remain in some parts of Delhi bear testimony to the immense military power of the kings that ruled here once. Let me take you on a visit to one of the smaller, lesser known forts in the city today.

In the south east fringes of Delhi, very close to the better known Tughlaqabad Fort, lies a fortress of almost identical features but smaller proportions, Adilabad.  Like Tughlaqabad, it lies in fascinating ruins today… Young boys play cricket in the meadows  around it, and except for locals, visitors to the place are few and far between.

Up the entrance into Adilabad fort

Mysterious fort

Lonely Bench for Tourists at Adilabad Fort

It was in 1321 when the first Tughlaq ruler had seized power from the Khiljis that ruled before him. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq was an able administrator and a shrewd military commander, and he had his dream fort,the massive Tughlaqabad, built in 6 years to keep out the menace of the Mongols. Tughlaqabad, however, never flourished as a city, and the curse that was its undoing is an enticing story in itself. In any case, after Ghiyasuddin’s death, his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq inherited the throne. Muhammad was a brilliant man, his ideas far ahead of his time… to the point that many still think he was a crazy man. Among the many projects he took up was the building of the walled city of Jahanpanah. In effect, instead of creating a new city again, this king consolidated all the previous forts inside one great wall- from Lal kot near Qutb Minar, to Siri in South Delhi, all the way to his father’s abandoned fort, the mighty Tughlaqabad in the south east. In the words of famous Moroccan traveller Ibn Batuta, who was visting Tughlaq’s court in those days,

“Dilli the metropolis is a vast and magnificent city, uniting beauty with strength. It is surrounded by a wall that has no equal in the world, and is the largest city in the entire Muslim Orient.”

So far so good. But if the kingdom of Jahanpanah was so well consolidated, and the fort of Tughlaqabad couldn’t be properly settled for lack of drinking water in the area, what led the king to build another fort in its vicinity? No one can tell. Perhaps it was built as a transitory palace between Tughlaqabad and Jahanpanah? Or perhaps it was the prince’s private palace when his father was king? All we know is that Muhammad named it Adilabad after himself, Adil being his assumed title. To add to the confusion, there’s yet another fortress in the distance, tinier and even more ruined, also said to have been built by Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Not much more than a wall remains there, but its name is intriguing: Nai ka Kot (Barber’s fort). Historians haven’t been able to find out much about this place.

Adilabad was originally connected to Tughlaqabad via a causeway. Today there is no direct connection, but you can drive right up to it through ‘kuchha’ roads. Not far away is the well preserved tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, where, it is said, Muhammad bin Tughlaq is also buried beside his father. Though his fortress is in ruins today, its basic structure is still intact. When I went there just after the rains, the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) seemed to have done some beautification of the area. The grass was fresh green, and colorful flowers against the broken rubble walls made a strangely poignant scene. Do visit once.  Surely this mysterious fort deserves a few guests.

In the distance, Tughlaqabad fort to the left, and Nai ka Kot to the right

Through a gate in the wall, a glimpse at Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq’s tomb

Ghiyasuddin’s tomb- where both father and son lie buried

An effort at beautification by ASI at Adilabad Fort

Lone Visitor

Why do I find this poignant?

All pictures in this post have been contributed by my friend Shalabh, who accompanied me on this trip to Adilabad.

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Latest update: This is the picture of Bijai Mandal from the city of Jahanpanah, the 4th city of Delhi built by Emperor Muhammad bin Tughlaq (whom many would remember from old history lessons as a brilliant but crazy king who forced his entire populace to shift from Delhi to Daulatabad and back!)

The famous Moroccan traveler Ibn Batuta described this as the king’s palace and audience hall, and also as an observation tower. Some historians think that the building on the ground floor is actually a remnant of the famous “Hall of Thousand Columns” or Hazaar Sutan palace cited by many travelers of the middle ages.

For directions click here. (Close to the Hauz Khas metro station)

They were written, dated, and appeared at regular and frequent intervals. The stringers reported from different areas of the vast empires.

The stringers used to gather the news and write it in the paper, by hand, for the court of King. Such news sheets provided the rulers with information from all corners of the empire.

Muhammad Bin Tughlaq was the first Muslim ruler who mobilized resources to structure a postal system in the subcontinent. Stringers utilized it to send their news sheets to the capital.

After the British invasion, many people (apart from stringers) started private, secret handwritten news sheets in order to stimulate resistance against the East India Company (EIC).

The first printing press was established by the British company at Bombay in 1674. By the end of eighteenth century, printing presses had been installed at Madras and Calcutta.

The first printed newspaper of the subcontinent, Hicky Gazette, appeared in 1780, published by James Augustus Hicky.

Within twenty years of installation of printing press in subcontinent, dozens of (English) newspapers and periodicals appeared in cities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.

First printed Urdu newspaper of subcontinent appeared in 1822 with the name of Jam-e-Jahan Numa. It was published from Calcutta under the supervision of EIC who appointed Munshi Sada Sukh as its editor.

In the same year, in 1822, first Persian language printed newspaper, Maraat-ul-Akhbar,also appeared in Calcutta. Its founder and editor was Raja Ram Mohan Raaey.

As journalism flourished in subcontinent, several newspapers of regional languages also emerged. These included Bengali, Hindi, Gujrati, Marhati and Tamil newspapers.

Urdu newspapers emerged in Delhi, Lahore, Sialkot, Multan, Gujaranwala, Gujarat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Shimla, Ladhiana, Batala, Amratsar, Agra, Lukhnow, Banaras, Bombay, Breli, Aligarh and Madras.

The East India Company had introduced four press laws in order to curb the notion of free press before 1857. In 1853, there were thirty-five Urdu newspapers. In 1857, only twelve existed, among which, just a single paper was owned by any Muslim.

This catastrophe completely isolated the Muslims from journalism in subcontinent. However, the Muslim press grew again and fruitfully served the cause of independence.

The British men (of EIC) established printing presses and promoted literacy. It helped in increasing the media exposure. The EIC supported the spread of journalism, but with certain limitations. They never endured any kind of criticism, even rightfully.

Historians have discussed the crushing of printing presses; closing of several newspapers and sentences of jail and exile of some of the brilliant journalists and editors.

The press continued to develop despite of difficulties and death blows to press freedom.  The natives of the subcontinent contributed significantly to the development of press.

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]]> http://adatewithdelhi.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/onion-city/ Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:12:37 +0000 wanderfool http://adatewithdelhi.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/onion-city/ My romance with Delhi began precisely a year back. Before that, I hated the place.

When I came here almost 4 years ago, all I knew about the area were the great infrastructure, the swanky malls, the office spaces and the food courts in Noida and Gurgaon. Life revolved around getting to office and back…punctuated by regular visits to the cinema and shopping malls. And dealing with the traffic snarls and rowdy auto-wallahs and the scant respect for anyone of my sex. Of course there were the Red Fort and the Qutb Minar and the Lotus Temple, but those splendid structures meant nothing to me. They were meant for the tourists.

Then, last January, a chance mention of Begumpur Masjid by a friend changed all that. I hadn’t even heard of the place before, let alone see it. When we visited the semi ruined structure and I looked out over the Delhi skyline from atop the Bijai Mandal, I realized what I had been missing so long. Here I was seated in the very lap of history and didn’t know it! All I was doing was lapping up the luxuries of a rapidly modernizing city and ignoring its very soul.

Next I read up about the Begumpur Masjid and Bijai Mandal (which we cover in this quiz). Faint images of a child’s history lessons crept into my mind…a mad king, a great visionary, first building a great capital in Delhi and then, on a whim, ordering the entire populace to move south to Daulatabad, only to return again a few years later. So it was all true! That history lesson, till now confined to a boring text book and an even more boring exam paper, was suddenly alive with color. So this Bijai Mandal must have been the spot where Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq stepped out to greet his subjects every day. And this Begumpur Masjid a grand mosque where the faithful went to pray in the fourteenth century…

And so began my quest for the real Delhi, and after a whole year, it is still on. In the course of my wanderings I have realized how quick and how silly I was to dismiss it all as an unimaginative modern city. Every walk, every ruin, every stone I uncover reveals another layer of this city of cities…and I wonder how many more there are still to peel.

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA           DECEMBER 15 , 2011           01.15 A.M.

On December 12 , 2011 New Delhi completed 100 years of its existence . During British period Calcutta [ now Kolkata ] was the capital of India . During Dilli Darbar of King George 5th ,  foundation stone for the new capital of Indian Empire was laid and thus New Delhi came into existence . It took three and a half months for the British government to decide on shifting the capital . Total cost of shifting was 4 million sterling pound .

1ST AVATAR – HASTINAPUR : It is needless to say that Dilli , now known as Delhi , is much older city . It is one of the oldest existing cities in the world along with Varanasi and Jerusalem . Seat of power since Mahabharat days , Dilli was then known to the world as Hastinapur . Kingdom of mythical Maharaj Shantanu and his descendants ; Kauravas and Pandavas ruled from here and this era ended with Parikshit and Janamejaya . It happened 5,000 years ago . It is said and believed that Purana Qila or Old Fort was built on the same place , where the mythical kingdom of Pandavas once existed . This is the first avatar of Dilli .

Purana Qila

Though modern history starts with the Sultanate Period [ 12th century ] but existence of Iron Pillar near Qutub Minar indicates that Gupta Kings must have some kind of authority over Dilli as the Iron Pillar , which is situated in the Qutub Minar compound , was built by king Kumar Gupta 1 of Gupta dynasty .

Iron Pillar near Qutub Minar

2ND AVATAR – QILA  RAI PITHORA : 2nd avatar of Dilli began to take shape with the Tomar kings . They stablished their capital here . Anangpal was the first Tomar king . Prithvi Raj Chauhan defeated Tomars and stablished Chauhan dynasty . Legendary Prithvi Raj Chauhan was , incidentally , the last Hindu ruler of Dilli . Ruins of his fort Lal Kot , now known as Qila Rai Pithora , is still there . Prithvi Raj Chauhan was defeated by Muhammad Gori and was taken to Ghazni as prisoner , where he died . With his death Chauhan era ended . With the end of this era 2nd avatar of Dilli also lost importance .

3RD AVATAR – MEHRAULI : After Prithvi Raj Chauhan’s defeat and his subsequent banishment , Qutubuddin Aibak became the ruler of Dilli and made Mehrauli his kingdom . Qutub Minar is testimony of his rule . Thus Mehrauli became the 3rd avatar of Dilli .

Qutub Minar

4TH AVATAR – SIRI : 4th avatar of Dilli was built by Alauddin Khilji . Alauddin Khilji made his new capital at Siri . His tomb is situated nearby in Qutub Minar complex .

Siri Fort

Tomb of Alauddin Khilji

5TH AVATAR – TUGHLAQABAD : 5th avatar of Dilli was built during the Tughlaq period . It was built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq and its name was Tughlaqabad .

6TH AVATAR – JAHAPANAH : 6th city was built by Mohammad Bin Tughlaq , named Jahapanah . It was situated between Siri and Qila Rai Pithora .

7TH AVATAR – FEROZABAD : 7th avatar was Ferozabad , also called Feroz Shah Kotla . Firozabad was built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq .

Feroz Shah Kotla

8TH AVATAR – SHERGARH : 8th avatar was built by Sher Shah Suri . It’s name was  Shergarh . It was situated near the mythical Indraprastha of Pandavas .

Sher Shah Suri Gate near Purana Qila

Sher Shah Suri Gate near Purana Qila

9TH AVATAR – LODHI GARDEN : 9th avatar was built during the reign of Lodhi rulers . It is known as  Lodhi garden .

10TH AVATAR – SHAHJAHANABAD : 10th avatar of Dilli is Shahjahanabad . It was built as the kingdom of Shahjahan . It was a walled city with 6 gates . Lal Qila and Chandni Chowk are part of this city built by Shahjahan. Lal Qila or Red Fort is engrained in the memory of every Indian as the symbol of Dilli . Indian Tricolour was unfurled from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 14 , 1947 . It is a custom , which is still followed on the Independence Day .

Purani Dilli.

11TH AVATAR – NEW DELHI : Then comes New Delhi or Nai Dilli , the 11th avatar , which is also known as Lutyen’s Delhi . It is believed to be the 11th city of Dilli within Dilli . Leading British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker were appointed as the main architects of the new city . The new capital was named  New Delhi in 1927 and was inaugurated on February 13 , 1927 by Lord Irwin .

On December 12 , 2011 New Delhi celebrated 100 years of its existence . Magnificent Rashtrapati Bhawan , and the administrative headquarters , known as North Block and South Block amply testify the tale of New Delhi . A city of intrigues , political conspiracies and game Delhi or Dilli stands supreme and was resurrected every time after its destruction .

Along with Jerusalem , Dilli also tells age-old tales of survival and is now a modern metropolis . I conclude this blog with a Hindi poem , which I read years ago and in my opinion these lines tell the tale of Dilli , which is now known as New Delhi .

अपनी करनी के फल तुझ को ,
कुछ तो करते होंगे उदास ;
आखिर तू भी है दिल वाली ,
कुछ तो डरती होगी दिल्ली ||

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

www.vidur.co.in

www.vidurfilms.com

www.twitter.com/VidurChaturvedi

www.jaibhojpuri.com/profile/VidurChaturvedi

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Though ‘Tughlaq’ is a personal name (not referring to any tribe or family), it is customary to use the name ‘Tughlaq’ to denote an entire dynasty. The Tughlaqs provided three competent rulers-Ghiyas-ud-din, Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq and Firuz Shah Tughlaq.

GHIYAS-UD-DIN TUGHLAQ (1320-1325) Ghiyas-ud din restored order everywhere. He built a strong fort called Tughlaqabad near Delhi and strengthened the defences of the northwestern frontier to guard against the recurring danger of Mongol inroads. He conquered Warangal and put down a revolt in BengaL By 1324, the Sultanate’s power reached up to Madurai. Ghiyas-ud-din died in 1325, after a fall from a high-raised pavilion. Historians opine that his death was due to sabotage arranged by his son, Juna Khan.

MUHAMMAD-BIN- TUGHLAQ (1325-1351) Juna Khan, better known as Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq, ascended the throne on the death of his father, Ghiyas-ud-din. He tried to introduce many administrative reforms. But most of these failed due to his impatience and lack of judgement. One of his early measures was to improve the revenue depart ment (1326-1327). He ordered the compilation of a register of revenue and expenditure of the provinces of his kingdom. His next measure was to increase taxation in the Doab with a view to augment his resources.

This step was unpopular with the people and the famine which had occurred at that time added fuel to the fire. The step had to be withdrawn in face of a revolt. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq had advanced ideas about agricultural improvement and he approached it in a scientific way. He created an agricultural department called diwan-i-kohi. Its main objective was to bring the uncultivated land under cultivation by giving direct finan cial support from the state treasury. But it failed on account of the Sultan’s faulty method of giving effect to it.

Another important political measure which he undertook was the transfer of the capital from Delhi to Devagiri, which was renamed Daulatabad. This move caused a lot of human suffering. The reasons for the transfer were: (i) to have a centrally located capital; (ii) it was not near the north-west frontier which was constantly under Mongol attacks; (iii) to establish stability in the Deccan which was a recent conquest; (iv) to cement his relations with the people of the South which he found was a rich region. Ibn Batutah says that Muhamrnad-bin-Tughlaq was disgusted with the popu lation of Delhi and thus wanted to punish them. But most of the historians do not agree with Ibn Batutah.

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq carried out several monetary experiments and has been called a ‘Prince of Moneyers’. In 1329-30, he ordered vast quantities of copper coins to be made with the same value as silver coins. The idea failed as he had done nothing to curb its private and unauthorised issue and thus every house became a mint. He led expedi tions to conquer Khorasan and Quarajal. But both of these proved a failure.
Muhamrnad-bin-Tughlaq was cruel but generous, reli gious but free from bigotry, proud but merciful. For these reasons he is called a ‘Mixture of Opposites’.

A learned man, he knew both Arabic and Persian. He was at home with philosophy, astronomy, logic and math ematics. He was also a good calligrapher. He built the fortress of Adilabad and the city of Jahanpanah. He main tained good relations with foreigners, and received an envoy from the Chinese ruler, Toghan TImur (1341), who carne to seek permission to rebuild Buddhist temples in the Himalayan region which were destroyed during the Quarajal expedition. He, in turn, sent Ibn Batutah to the Chinese emperor in 1347.

Ibn Batutah was a Moorish traveller. He carne to India in 1333 and was appointed chief qazi of Delhi by Muhamrnad bin-Tughlaq. He has left an invaluable account of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s reign. In his old age, Ibn Batutah recorded his adventures in a book called Safarnamah. In 1334, Madurai and then Warangal broke free of the Sultanate. In 1336, Vijayanagar and in 1347, the Bahmani kingdoms were founded.

FIRUZ SHAH TUGHLAQ (1351-1388) Firuz was born in 1309. He was Muhammad’s cousin. Firuz was at Thatta when Muh~mmad-bin- Tughlaq breathed his last in 1351. He was chosen the Sultan by the nobles.

Firuz was of a merciful and pious disposition, and he preferred peace to the glories of conquest. He was a true friend of the peasants and he cancelled the loans which had been advanced by his predecessor. He reduced taxation to the limits prescribed by the Quran. Agriculture was devel oped by the reclamation of waste lands and by providing irrigation facilities. Firuz mitigated the severity of the criminal law by abolishing torture and mutilation as forms of punishment. His other measures included the establish ment of a charitable department in Delhi (diwan-i-khairat).

Firuz re-introduced the system of jagirs or grant of land with its revenue to his military officers in lieu of cash salaries. He decreed hereditary succession to iqta.
Firuz Tughlaq was an enthusiastic builder and is famous for his enlightened public works. He built a new capital at Delhi and named it Firuzabad. Its ruins are the Kotla Firuz Shah. He also founded the cities of Hissar, Fatehabad, Firuzpur and Jaunpur. Firuz Tughlaq constructed the Yamuna canal to supply water to the cities of Firuzpur and Hissar. He built the Kali Masjid and Lal Gumbad. He had two of Asoka’s pillars brought to Delhi; one from Khizrabad and the other from Meerut. Barani and AsH wrote noteworthy historical works in his reign. Firuz Shah himself authored the Fatuhat-i-Firuz Shahi. He got several Sanskrit works translated into Persian. Firuz is also credited with organising the institution of slavery into a system. He took special care to maintain and educate the slaves, and utilise their services as soldiers, bodyguards and artisans.

Firuz declared his principle of levying taxes strictly according to the Shariat. As such, he insisted on the payment of jaziya by all non-Muslims. He was the first Muslim sultan to strictly impose jaziya on the brahmans who had so far been allowed to escape the tax. Surprisingly for a man of humanitarian actions, Firuz was intolerant towards non Muslims especially in his later years; within the Muslim community, Firuz accepted only the Sunnis not the Shias or Ismailis. He is reported to have demolished Hindu temples. He is also supposed to have publicly burnt a brahman for preaching to Muslims. He got the painted murals in his own palaces erased.

Firuz Tughlaq is largely held responsible for the down fall of the Tughlaq dynasty. His revival of the jagir system and establishment of a slave system proved ruinous for the kingdom. On top of this, his intolerant religious policy alienated the Hindus and Shias. His death was followed by succession wars and only a small area around Delhi remained with the Tughlaqs.

TIMUR’S INVASION (1398-99) Amir Timur or Timurlane was a mighty conqueror of Central Asia. His capital was at Samarqand. He invaded India in 1398 during the reign of Mahmud Tughlaq. He occupied Delhi on December 18, 1398 and remained there for 15 days. Delhi was sacked and plundered. The Tughlaq empire could never recover from such a terrible blow and came to an end in 1412.

The first stop would be the midnight of August 14th 1947, to hear Pandit Nehru, give the famous ” Tryst with Destiny”  speech, to see India awaken to its freedom.  I would then happily join the Dandi March with Gandhiji.  Break bread with Bhagat Singh, and Subash Chandra Bose, my heroes of Indian freedom struggle.

I would head off to the Wild West, an era that fascinates me till no end.   Ride the trails as mentioned in the Louis L’Amour books, prospecting, travelling, pioneers. Learn to shoot like the famous gunfighters and ride like the Indians. Travel through the mountains and valleys. What a life I would lead

And also make a stop at Victorian Britain, have 2-3 maids in attendance, do nothing but be beautiful attend the famous balls, go for rides in the park, and look for a rich titled husband. I did read a lot of Barbara Cartland’s romantic historic novels during my teens, and I get this idea totally from her.

The next stop definitely has to be India during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, how the hell did he manage to shift the entire population from Delhi to Daulatabad and back to Delhi again.

Oh and the Scottish highlands, to check out if the lairds were as ferocious and as sexy as portrayed by Julie Garwood in her famous romantic novels.

I have just reached the 10^th century and the cell phone  rang, sometimes I hate these modern wonders, I could have gone on and on , well maybe next time.

O,k did you just read this rambling? well, what can I say, God bless you