The Lal Qila at the heart of Mughal Dynasy

In the pages of history, Shah Jahan” ( Shihab- Ud-Din Muhammad Khurram), the 5th Mughal Emperor is credited to have built the Red Fort His reign lasted for 30 years (1628-1658 ) which some historians mention as the golden period of the Mughal dynasty for arts and architecture. However, the person who should have been bestowed the glory is Ustad Ahmed Lahori the chief designer and architect of the Red Fort.

Incidentally, he is the same person responsible to design and construct the Taj Mahal. As the name suggests Lahori dwelled in from Lahore in present-day Pakistan. While Lahori etched his name in the pages of history for building the Taj Mahal, Emperor Shah Jahan’s favorite architect was Mir Abid ul Karim who was actually the main supervisor responsible to build the Taj Mahal

The construction of the Red fort started in the Islamic holy month of Ramazan in May 1638 and was completed in 1648.

The Mughals shifted their capital multiple times during their rule. To begin with, Akbar shifted his capital from Fatehpur Sikri to Agra. The glorious Lal Qila at Agra was built very close to what we encounter in the present day. Akbar was forced to shift the capital due to severe water shortages in and around Fatehpur Sikri. Although I am forced to wonder how the mighty Mughals with outstanding architectural and engineering prowess miss the basic requirement of water in the first place! Maybe, someday I will find the answer to this puzzle.

Shah Jahan on the other hand shifted base from Agra because the city turned to be extremely populated making it difficult for the royals to move around with their grand processions. I guess when someone’s treasury is filled to capacity then do have the liberty to decide the unthinkable. This led to the birth of a new city in Delhi called Shahjahanabad.

As they say, destiny always has the last laugh, and unfortunately for Shah Jahan, he became the living testimony of this age-old proverb. Given his extravagant spending for art and architecture his son, Aurangazeb imprisoned him under house arrest inside Agra Fort. Life came back in a full circle and the only solace, probably, was the unobstructive view of the Taj Mahal from his Palace for the rest of his mortal life.

Without digressing much, let me inform my readers that Aurangazeb kept the tradition alive by shifting his base from Akbarabad( Agra) to Aurangabad to have a better stronghold in the Deccan where the Marathas started getting stronger by the day.

The Red fort was built on the banks of the Yamuna River. It’s a no-brainer that a fertile river will ensure an unlimited water supply to the town. The notable reason however was the ability to create an escape route in case of enemy breach through the line of defense of the fort. If such a situation had to occur a quick retreat through the inner chambers to the bank of the river could have been accomplished in a few minutes. While the enemy will look for an answer to the disappearance, this critical time provides an opportunity for the royals to cross over the river on a boat and meet their loyal friends awaiting on horseback to take them away to safety

The boundaries of the Red fort are asymmetrical, unlike other Mughal Forts. It was a conscious effort to contain the Salimgarh Fort within its wall due to its special significance to the Mughals. Does the name ring a bell?

Salimgarh Fort was built by Salim Shah Suri the son of Sher Shah Suri ( aka Farid Khan) whom I completely adore from my childhood days. The 2nd Emperor of the Mughal dynasty Humayan was ousted by Sher Shah Suri resulting in the establishment of the Suri dynasty based out of Sasaram in Bihar. Unfortunately, his early accidental demise brought his 5 years rule to an end. This is indeed a regrettable chapter in the pages of Indian history. Sher Shah was an outstanding administrator and a prolonged rule would have surely changed the course of history in the Indian subcontinent for the better.

He was the one who introduced the system of modern currency ( Rupiah) in India and is known across the globe for this feat. Although my affinity towards him was owing to the construction of The Grand Trunk Road. For a traveler, the GT Road presents an unimaginable diversified experience that is probably an experience for multiple lifetimes. There is a story waiting to be spotted as the highway passes through an ever-changing land, vegetation, people, food, and culture. This is the oldest national highway stretching over 2400 Km starting from modern-day Bangladesh through the Indian hinterland and ending in Peshwar in Pakistan. Thus, it is no mystery that the creator of GT Road will always be my superhero!

Humayan camped and launched his successful strike to regain back his empire from the Salimgarh Fort. Larter on, Shah Jahan camped here too for a brief period during the construction of Shahjahanabad. Even during Aurangazeb’s reign, the fort doubled up as a prison. Both the Red fort and Salimgarh Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage structures and can be accessed through a bridge from the Bahadur Shah gate of the Red fort.

After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal empire started degenerating due to the absence of strong leadership. In 1712 Jahandar Shah became the Mughal Emperor and was killed within a year by Farrukhsiyar. The worst happened in 1739 when the Persian emperor Nadir Shah easily defeated the strong Mughal army of 200,000 soldiers resulting in uncontested plundering of the Red Fort. He not only departed with the coveted Peacock Throne but an inexplicable and ridiculous amount of wealth, that can never be accurately accounted for.

After 3 months Nadir Shah returned to Persia leaving a destroyed city and a fragile Mughal empire under Muhammad Shah. The Marathas were already a dominant force by that time and thus this incident motivated them to take full control. The Mughals were forced to sign a treaty with the Marathas in 1752 for the protection of Delhi and chose to be mere titular rulers of Delhi.

History always has its unpredicted twists and turns. At that time another strong leader, Ahmad Shah Durani emerged in the Northwest frontier of the Indian subcontinent and later on became the actual founder of modern-day Afghanistan. His ambition to plunder Delhi in 1758 turned out to be unsuccessful. At that time the Marathas with the assistance of the Sikhs won a skirmish and sent them retreating. History was again awaiting a renewed attempt by the Durani’s and we all know the result of it as the next battle at Panipat was fought.

In 1760, the Marathas removed and melted the silver ceiling of the Diwan-i-Khas to raise funds for the defense of Delhi from the armies of Ahmed Shah Durrani. The Third Battle of Panipat was fought in 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the Afghan along with Baloch invaders. The Maratha Empire forces led by Sadashivrao Bhau had 75,000 troops and 1,00,000 pilgrims ( even women) who joined to fight. Unfortunately, just the mere number of strength did not help the Marathas!

To add to the Maratha’s woes the Afghans stopped the supply line of the Marathas. This was of course not possible unless the spineless friendly empires of the Marathas abstain to support and cooperate with their friend. The Afghans on the other hand were ably supported by Najib-ud-Daula and Shuja-ud-Daula for their share of food and supplies. The Maratha soldiers soon lost their plot due to the lack of accessibility to food and water

On 14 January 1761, over 100,000 soldiers were killed on the battlefield. This enormous loss of life somehow brought back the Hindu empires together. Thus the Afghans had to retreat back to Afghanistan primarily due to hostilities in Northern India. This battle served as a precursor for the East India Company to establish Company rule in India as most of the North and Northwest Indian princely states were weakened and lacked any considerable willpower

Ten years later, the Marathas, acting on the behest and as mercenaries of the exiled Emperor Shah Alam, recaptured Delhi from the Rohilla Afghans. Strangely, Mahadji Scindia, the commander of the Maratha army bowed to Mughal Emperor Shah Alam to demonstrate his submission allowing Shah Alam to be restored to the throne. After this, anarchy continued and the Red fort changed hands bringing death, destruction, chaos, and unbearable suffering to the residents of Delhi and the Red Fort.

In 1764 Maharaja Jawahar Singh of Bharatpur attacked Delhi and was able to capture the Red Fort on 5th Feb 1765. The Jat ruler obviously had no intention to rule from the Red Fort and thus decided to leave in 2 days’ time, after the Mughals whole hearted gifted them a wealthy tribute. Nevertheless before leaving the Jats took away the throne of the Mughals thus ridiculing them and demolishing their pride. They also took away the doors of the Red Fort as a souvenir that is currently present in the Lohagarh Fort of Bharatpur. My next mission is to visit the palace of Deeg soon to catch a glimpse of the Mughal throne.

This incident opened the door for further incursions and thus in 1783, the Sikhs landed at the door of Red Fort ably led by Baghel Singh. The Mughals were so weak that this mission was accomplished by a mere 40,000 troops. Needless to say the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II agreed to all the demands of wealthy tribute to the Sikhs and also agreed to construct seven Sikh Gurdwaras in Delhi, including the Gurudwara Sis Ganj in Chandni Chowk. This is probably the biggest payback in the history of the world where a dynasty of plunderers and destroyers of Hindu temples were forced to build Gurdwaras. Karma has its own ways of maintaining balance!

In 1788, Mahadji Scindia signed a new treaty with the Sikhs wherein the latter agreed not to enter Delhi and thus the Maratha continued to hold a garrison inside the fort and provided protection to the fort. Finally, the fort came under the control of the East India Company following the Second Anglo-Maratha War in 1803. Although Bahadur Shah II was a resident in the fort and was known to participate in the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.

After the Sepoy mutiny was outrightly defeated, Bahadur Shah II left the fort on 17 September and was apprehended by British forces. He was kept as a British prisoner inside the fort during his trial and was exiled to Rangoon on 7 October 1958. The British wanted to send a strong message against the rebellion and demolished 80% of the fort’s buildings.

Barbarically enough even the stone screen that connected the pavilions along the fort’s river-facing façade, was demolished by the most self-declared civilized country of the World. Only the marble buildings on the east side of the imperial enclosure escaped complete destruction for reasons unknown.

Thankfully Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905, understood the strategic importance of the fort and ordered repairs to the fort including reconstruction of the walls and the restoration of the gardens complete with a watering system. The British recovered and plundered whatever valuable was present and professionally sold to private collectors or the British Museum, the British Library, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The jade wine cup of Shah Jahan and the crown of Bahadur Shah II are all currently located in London. Various requests for restitution have so far been rejected by the British government. This is a clear reference to the British mindset towards Indians whom they still probably look down on as slaves. India has come a long way from the point of extinction when the British left it and that probably does not go well with the British administrator.

Personally, I will never understand how in the 21st century a country can refuse to part their ill-gotten loot. It is to be noted that the self-righteous British press also selectively decide to keep mum on this subject, but with any untoward incident in India, they raise alarm about human rights violations! Well, we are still the largest diversified democracy in the world, and however, and people want we are not to break down again!

In independent India, the Red Fort was used as a military garrison. A large portion of the fort remained under the control of the Indian Army till 2003 and then subsequently was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India for restoration.

The Red Fort is probably the only fort to experience the most amount of bloodshed. At present time it continues to witness blood loss and human death and sometimes I wonder whether it is destined for eternity. On 22 December 2000 six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists made a cowardly attempt to storm the Red Fort and hurt the pride of India. Two soldiers and a civilian were killed before the security forces gunned down these infidels alleged from Pakistan. Did I mention Infidels? Yes, I did because a person irrespective of any religion decides to bring harm to another human being and thus in my mind is not just a coward but a nonbeliever in God’s vision and mission.

In April 2018, Dalmia Bharat Group adopted the Red Fort for maintenance, development, and operations, for a contract worth ₹25 crores for five years, under the government’s “Adopt A Heritage” scheme. The adoption of the fort by a private group left people divided and drew criticism from the public, opposition political parties, and historians. It also led to the #IndiaOnSale hashtag on Twitter. In May 2018, the Indian History Congress called off the deal until there is an “impartial review” of the deal “by the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology or any other recognized body of experts.