Fatehpur Sikri: A Maze of Mughal Monuments

 Panch Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri

About 39 km from the touristy site of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri is considered as an architectural marvel of medieval India. Today the ghost town of Fatehpur Sikri astonishes visitors and history buffs with its majesty and scope. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, the city-palace complex of Fatehpur Sikri is home to tombs, royal palaces and courts.

Built by the greatest Mughal emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri was the seat of his government from 1571 to 1585. The English traveler Ralph Fitch, who has left an eyewitness account of the social life and economic condition of the Mughal India, visited the Mughal court of Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri in 1585 and wrote, 'Agra and Fatepore are two very great cities, either of them much greater than London and very populous.’

However, the capital was abandoned in 1585 by Akbar. Scarcity of water is the popular explanation for this abandonment. The Mughal emperor made Lahore his new capital, which remained so till 1598.

Among important buildings in Fatehpur Sikri are the Jami Masjid, Buland Darwaza (Lofty Gate), tomb of Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, pyramidal Panch Mahal, Naubat Khana, Taksal (mint), Karkhanas (royal workshops), Khazana (treasure), Hakim’s quarters, Diwan-i-Khass, Diwan-i-Am, Maryam's House, also called Sunahra Makan, Jodh Bai's Palace, Birbal's House, etc.

Constructed in 1571-72, Jama mosque is the most dominant monument in Fatehpur Sikri. Buland Darwaza or literally lofty gate is the southern entrance of the Jama Masjid. Buland Darwaza, is an imposing structure with a total height of 52 metres from the ground level.  It was added to the design of the Jama Masjid.

Tomb of Salim Chishti, in whose honour the city of Fatehpur Sikri was built by Akbar, is one of the finest specimens of Mughal architecture. Described as an “architectural cameo” by Percy Brown, the noted writer on Indian architecture, the tomb was built by Akbar in 1580-81. It was Salim Chishti after whom Akbar named his son, Salim, who later on went on to become the fourth Mughal emperor. 

Palace of Mariam-uz-Zamani ('Mary of the Age') is another famous structure in Fatehpur Sikri. Mariam-uz-Zamani was Akbar’s first Rajput queen and mother of Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor.  

One of attractions in Fatehpur Sikri is Hiran Minar, a 21.34 metres tall tower which is entered through a flat-topped door leading to a staircase. 53 steps will take you to the top inside the tower from where you can have a bird’s-eye view of the surroundings. 

Panch Mahal is Fatehpur Sikri’s architectural gem. The structure consists of four storeys of decreasing size. While the ground floor contains 84 columns, the first storey has 56 columns. The second and third stories contain 20 and 12 columns respectively. The top storey contains 4 pillars supporting a chhattri, taking the number of the columns to 176. 

                         Diwan-i-Khass at Fatehpur Sikri /Wikimediacommons

Diwan-i-Khass (Hall of Private Audience) is another highlight of Fatehpur Sikri. Its interior is endowed with a massive, richly carved column supporting an elaborate capital. 

Birbal's House, Fatehpur Sikri image credit

The pilasters and brackets of the residence of Akbar’s confidant Birbal in Fatehpur Sikri show the traditional Hindu influence. Popular belief is that this palace was a part of the Imperial Harem and was occupied by Akbar's two senior queens, Ruqayya Begum and Salima Sultan Begum. 

Birbal Bhavan in Fatehpur Sikri

    

                                                        Image Credit

Birbal Bhavan is beautiful architectural wonder in the Mughal emperor Akbar’s abandoned capital of Fatehpur Sikri. 39 km from Agra, Fathehpur Sikri was was built by Akbar. Fatehpur Sikri was the seat of his government from 1571 to 1585.

Believed to have been built for Akbar’s courtier Birbal, this enticing building in Fatehpur Sikri has been described by Victorian era French author Victor Hugo as 'either a very small palace or a very large jewelry box’. 

Though small in size, the palace is known for its intricate designs. Its double dome structure makes it possible to keep its interiors cool during summers. 

Maitraka rulers of Valabhi

                        Maitrakas of Valllabhi Family Tree / Image Tree

Vallabhi, a famous centre of learning rivalling Nalanda in ancient India, once served as the capital of the Maitraka Dynasty which arose in Gujarat and Saurashtra in western India in the late 5th century AD on the debris of the Gupta Empire. Vallabhi was a port city which was of substantial commercial significance. The Maitraka dynasty ruled from approximately 475 to 776 CE. 

Vallabhi has been described as famous centre of learning and trade in Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of the Streams of Stories), a commentary written in the 11th century AD on the extinct Brihatkatha by Guṇaḍhya. 

Maitraka dynasty was founded in 475 CE by Bhatarka, who was a military governor of Saurashtra under Gupta Empire. He was a commander of Skandagupta, the last great Gupta ruler. Bhatarka did not assume the royal titles and continued to style himself as Senapati (General). He was responsible for setting up the famed university of Vallabhi. 

Bhatarka was succeeded by Dharasena who also called himself Senapati. 

Most important ruler of the Maitrakas was Dhruvasena II (reigned 627-641), a contemporary of Harsha who came in conflict with him and defeated him. However, Harsha thought it prudent to reinstate him to secure the western boundary. He also gave out the hands of his daughter in marriage to Dhruvasena II who was know for his mastery in grammar and the science of polity.

Dharasena IV (AD 645-650) was another important ruler of the Maitraka dynasty. Unlike his predecessor or successor, he assumed the title of Chakravartin.  

Bhatti, the author of Ravanavadha, was the court poet of Dharasena IV. Ravanavadha, (the Death of Rāvaṇa), more popularly known as Bhattikavya (Bhatti’s Poems), is a poem on the story of Rama.    

Shiladitya VI was the last ruler of the Maitraka dynasty. 

Key Points to Know

• A new era named Gupta era (320 AD) believed to have been founded by Chandra Gupta I was in use by the Maitraka dynasty for some centuries after the Gupta empire fell.  
• In the 5th century AD in Valabhi a Jaina Council was held. It was at this council, the oral  traditions of the Svetambar Jains were finally reduced to writing in the form of twelve Upangas or minor sections, and various lesser sections. 

Fauti or Phuti Masjid

                                                Phuti Masjid / Image Source

Situated in Murshidabad in West Bengal, Phuti Masjid is a mosque built by Sarfaraz Khan who had held the role of Nawab of Bengal for only one year (1739- 1740.) 

Sarfaraz Khan had succeeded his father Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan who had become Bengal Nawab after the death of latter's father-in-law Murshid Quli Khan, the first Nawab of Bengal and the founder of Murshidabad and the Nasiri dynasty which ruled Bengal from 1717 until 1740. 

TK Madhavan: The Spearhead of Vaikom Satyagraha

Born on September 2, 1885, TK Madhavan was a prominent social reformer who played a dominant role in the famed Vaikom Satyagraha, a movement for temple entry and abolition of untouchability. He was a follower of Sri Narayana Guru and in 1927 he was elected as the Organizing Secretary of the Shree Narayan Dharma Paripalana Yogam. 

Vaikom Satyagraha, which lasted for 18 months during 1924–25, was a movement to allow temple entry for the avarnas or lower castes at Vaikom (a part of the then princely state of Travancore) in the Kottayam district of Kerala. 

TK Madhavan was arrested in 1924 for participating in the Vaikom Satyagraha. He sought the help of Mahatma Gandhi who arrived at Vaikom on March 7, 1925 and camped there with TK Madhavan, helping in the successful completion of Satyagraha.

TK Madhavan made his contribution in the field of journalism. From 1917 onwards he was the editor of the Malayalam daily Deshabhimani which he started to educate the people of their rights.   

He had participated in the Indian National Congress session of Kanpur in 1925.

TK Madhavan died on April 27, 1930.  

Biography of Behramji Malabari

                                                                    Behramji Malabari. Image Source
An associate of Dadabhai Naoroji, M. G. Ranade, Dinshaw Wacha and other contemporary political leaders and social reformers, Behramji Merwanji Malabari was a Parsi social reformer who vigorously championed the cause of women. He was against casteism and child marriage, advocated widow remarriage. He was in favour of equality of sexes and uplift of the status of the women, particularly the widows. 

Born in Vadodara in 1853, Behramji Malabari had participated in the first session of the Indian National Congress held in Mumbai in 1885.

In 1908 he founded a social service organization Seva Sadan Society for the education and empowerment of women. The branches of Seva Sadan Society, which he founded with another social reformer Dayaram Gidumal, were also set up in Ahmedabad and Surat.

In 1875, he published a collection of Gujarati poems, Nitivinod (Pleasure of Morality) in which he ruminates on the ill effects of child marriage and the widowhood forced on women due to the practice of child marriage. Fluent both in Gujarati and English, in 1877 he wrote English poetry ‘Indian Muse in English Garb’ which enlisted recognition from famous English poet Alfred Tennyson. 

The widespread agitation by Behramji Malabari during the period 1884–1891 forced the British colonial government to pass the Age of Consent Act in 1891.

In 1893, Behramji Malabari published travel memoir The Indian Eye on English Life or Rambles of a Pilgrim Reformer which describes his three voyages to England and gives an account of the British way of life. 

Behramji had translated the speeches of the German orientalist Max Müller. 

Behramji Malabari died in 1912 in Simla. 

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Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh

Yesterday Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of a university in Aligarh named after Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh who is known for establishing a Provisional Government of Free India in Kabul in 1915 with himself as the President and Maulana Barkatullah of Bhopal as the President. 

Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was a freedom fighter, revolutionary and journalist.

Born in a royal family in 1886 in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, Mahendra Pratap Singh was one of the few royals who actively participated in the India’s struggle for freedom. From 1914 to 1945 he lived abroad in the USA, Austria, Germany, China, Afghanistan, Japan and Turkey working for India’s freedom from British colonialism. 

Mahendra Pratap Singh worked closely with the Hindustan Ghadar Party in the USA. In 1926 the Ghadar Part sent him to Tibet to organize a rebellion against the British. He started an Indian League in Japan.

Mahendra Pratap Singh supported technical and vocational education to students by establishing Prem Vidyalaya, a technical college, at Vrindavan in 1909. He believed in the essential unity of all religion and advocated the abolition of the Zamindari system in spite of himself being a landowner.

He started two papers- Prem in Hindi and Nirbal Sewak in Hindi and Urdu.