A Mughal-period mosque in Indian capital Delhi is at centre of trend vs history debate. Right here is how

The mosque used to be the same reveal where poet and nationalist Hasrat Mohani used to be staying when he coined the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad”

Huge avenues, white classical bungalows, gardens, wide roads and rows of trees – that is what defines the center of the Indian capital Unusual Delhi, furthermore known as Lutyens’ Delhi. Standing out on them are tombs, fortress ruins, Islamic schools or madrassas and former mosques which either remain hidden in nooks or corners or invent sudden appearances per chance beside a colonial building or even at a roundabout.

One such mosque from the Mughal duration, which stands at a roundabout come Udyog Bhawan, has advance below contention after the Unusual Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) known as for views from the public over its demolition to make sure sustainable mobility.

To resolve the pickle of net page traffic jam, the historical Sunehri Bagh Masjid is now facing that that it is possible you’ll imagine demolition which has led to locals and historians raising issues, thinking about its historical significance.

“The Sunehri Bagh mosque used to be in-built the late Mughal period, with a Bangla (vaulted) roof, which used to be very current at that time. Or no longer it is a two-storeyed building and the vaulted prayer chamber is accessed by a flight of stairs. In 1912, when Lutyens’ Delhi used to be being designed, this mosque used to be no longer touched because it used to be an active mosque with current prayers being held. It used to be plan in the garden of an unknown Hakimji, usually known as Sunehri bagh from which it derived its establish. The lower arched hall used to be doubtlessly for personal or business exhaust, as used to be the custom,” said historian and creator Rana Safvi, while talking to WION.

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The mosque is similar reveal where poet and nationalist Hasrat Mohani – who coined the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad” and used to be the first person to request a “Purna Swaraj”(corpulent independence for India from the British) in 1930, lived while he used to be attending the Parliament sessions. This used to be attributable to he had refused executive lodging and transport.

Mosque stood as current roads were carved

Two maps personal emerged that display how the mosque stood the trials of times because the city planners carved roads around it, leaving it untouched.

Historian and creator Swapna Liddle said, “When Unusual Delhi started to be deliberate in 1912, the put between Purana Qila and Raisina used to be dotted with former structures, some ruined and deserted, and a few, mostly areas of appreciate, quiet in exhaust. The rationale this plot of 1912 used to be drawn to display former structures namely, used to be attributable to a call needed to be made on which of those structures would possibly per chance be demolished to invent formula for the present city, and which saved.”

Caption: The maps illustrate the city planning accomplished in 1912 and 1942. (Courtesy: Historian Swapna Liddle)

“Many, alongside side tombs and palaces, were in level of fact demolished, nonetheless some remained, amongst which used to be this Mughal duration mosque. The rationale used to be that it used to be no longer handiest of architectural significance, nonetheless it completely used to be furthermore in exhaust. So it used to be made up our minds to incorporate it into town notion by placing it in a single amongst the a gigantic choice of roundabouts in the present city. The plot of the same put relationship to 1942 shows this. This mosque, which survived the ravages of time, and most most critical colonial re-ordering of the put, is now threatened with demolition,” she added.

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