MONUMENTS

Eminent Town planner S.S. Shafi on Slow Destruction of Jama Masjid

Built by Shahjahan almost 400 years ago, the Jama Masjid on the Bhojia Pahari was placed at the highest point in the city of Shahjahanabad. Thus it become the focal point, not the Lal Qila.

As an aftermath of the Revolt of 1857, the Jama Masjid was closed. No prayers were held for quite some years and the British had canons placed in the beautiful verandahs; their cavalry was parked inside the mosque as well. As a sequel to 1857, the entire area between what is now an open space between the Lal Qila and the mosque was demolished, including the famous Akbarabadi mosque. It was years later (in 1862), when the Muslims were permitted to pray in the Jama Masjid and, as a gesture, a hospital was also built facing its northern facade till it was demolished during the 1975 Emergency.

 The most unfortunate was the senseless demolition of the structure at the mosque's western rear side. It was a pavilion integral to the Jama Masjid providing foot- support to the portion of the mosque carrying the heaviest load.

 As of now, Shahjahanabad, the seventh city of Delhi and its Jama Masjid form an integral part of the living heritage of India and deserves conservation. The Conservation Society of Delhi and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) are striving for Delhi to be recognized as the World Heritage City by UNESCO.

 On every Independence Day when the Prime Minister of India addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Lal Qila, it is the Chandni Chowk and the magnificent Jama Masjid that forms the magnificent backdrop, furnishing a living panorama of India's composite culture.

 Delhi's Jama Masjid is known the world over and is acclaimed as one of the most magnificent and elegant mosques in the world; universally acknowledged as one of the finest masterpieces of India's Islamic architecture, a noble edifice constructed by man to invoke the blessings of the Creator. Ironically, it is not "protected" by the Archaeological Survey of India; and as such it is the most "unprotected" of all the monuments within the Delhi metropolis! Its precincts have been used, misused and abused without let or hindrance by one and all.

Since 1977, the space adjacent and around the Jama Masjid has been usurped, of all people, by the so-called Shahi Imam and his son, Naib Imam Ahmed Bukhari. Both the Wakf Board (a body responsible to take care of its upkeep) and the Delhi Development Authority have, more or less, abdicated their legitimate responsibilities. Its space has been mercilessly usurped by a mindboggling array of uses and activities, most of them out-of-place, out-of-tune and contrary to ambience of the place. What E.M. Foster described as the most noble of all mosques that he had seen, finds itself encircled by an ugly quagmire of chaos and confusion. Its beautiful domes have been tarnished into shades of grey due to the accumulation of flash and soot emitted daily by the Indraprastha, the Rajghat and other power stations; and on its walls can be seen peepal saplings germinating. Sadly, nobody seems to be bothered about it in the least, such is our respect and regard for heritage.

 Delhi's Jama Masjid is the distinguished landmark of our nation's capital. It is visible from the East and the West; even Lutyens who thought rather little of Indian architecture, nonetheless, furnished an extraordinary visual connection between this structure and Parliament House, thus linking New Delhi with the immediate past city-Shahjahanabad. The exquisite domes and minarets the Jama Masjid are visible all through the length of the Parliament Street now called Sansad Marg.

 There are many ways to destroy heritage ignorance, indifference, apathy, neglect and callous disregard towards upkeep and maintenance are some of them. And more recently by planning an orchestrated agitation. Yet another equally sinister way to defile a monument is destruction by construction. It is currently being perpetrated on the southern facade of the mosque facing the only Urdu Bazaar in India. In the name of a Wuzu Ghar (Wuzu Khana) an (un)authorized construction is going ahead without clearance or permission of either the municipal authorities (MCD) or DDA.

 Such an (un)authorized construction is lamentable but it also poses a challenge to all authorities functioning in India's national capital, for there seems to be no one capable of taking up the challenge thrown to the authorities. The whole project is insidious in the extreme. what is being done is cunningly conceived and timed within the known parameters in the belief that, given the propensities of an impending election, no one would dare interfere in the nefarious activities. The construction commenced on January 5 this year.

 Meanwhile, the Wuzu Ghar will become a fait. accompli and no one would dare to demolish this illegitimate structure actually built on the public right-of- way. In fact, it is yet another example of an ever- increasing vandalism.

 The tragedy is real: instead of taking genuine pride and keen interest to care and protect the mosque and to improve its environs; the community which should be the most concerned through their apathy are not only "destroying" the noble edifice, a priceless piece of world heritage, they are greatly undermining themselves.

 Future generations will never forgive us for letting us destroy our heritage. But there does not seem to be any authority which can take the courage to stop the sacrilege and vandalism.

 How very appropriately an Urdu poct once lamented: "Iss ghar ko ang lag gaye ghar ke chirag se (This house was burnt by its own candle).

 (Source: The Indian Express)