Agra, Feb 3
The Uttar Pradesh government will
renovate the neglected red sandstone structure here that was once the
rich library of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's brother Dara Shikoh, a great
scholar who sought to explore the commonality between Islam and Hinduism
and translated Hindu scriptures, including the Upanishad, into Persian.
Historians
say Mughal history would have been radically different had Dara Shikoh,
had he not been killed, ascended the throne instead of the more
fundamentalist Aurangzeb.
The funds for the renovation project
will come from the World Bank's tourism initiative. The principal
secretary of the state government, Sanjeev Mittal, who was here last
week, has ordered the conservation of the heritage library. Agra
District Magistrate Pankaj Kumar has asked experts to draw up a plan
which will soon be sent to the government.
Conservationists in
Agra had long demanded the restoration and reopening of Dara Shikoh'
library that has been in shambles in the heart of the Taj city.
"People
may have forgotten about its existence. But during Shah Jahan's reign,
it was a centre of scholarship and excellence," said historian Raj
Kishore Raje. "Sufi saints and scholars regularly met and discussed
mysticism and theology, with Dara Shikoh himself initiating the
discussions," he added.
Dara Shikoh (1615-59) was Shah Jahan's
eldest son and would have succeeded him but for being defeated in battle
and then being assassinated at the instance of his brother Aurangzeb.
This was during an intense power struggle following Shah Jahan's
illness, leading to the emperor's ouster in 1658.
Dara Shikoh,
whose name in Persian means "possessing such magnificence as Darius",
set up libraries in several places including one in Delhi. But the best
known library was in Agra, also called his haveli. It was taken over by
the British in 1881 and became the Town Hall, according to the 1921 Agra
Gazetteer.
Dara Shikoh was a great scholar of Persian and
Sanskrit. Despite the ravages of wars and his involvement in a series of
political and domestic crises due to Shah Jahan's ill health, he still
found time to translate and write books. His chief mission was to
explore the commonality between Hinduism and Islam and how the gap could
be bridged.
Several important works, including the Upanishads,
were translated into Persian. The library had separate enclosures for
book binders, painters and translators. Dara bought thousands of books
from Europe for this library.
The Braj Mandal Heritage
Conservation Society has urged the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
to acquire the building and take up restoration work before opening it
to the public.
"This structure does not boast of power or royalty
but symbolises the spirit of Sulah Kul, Din-e-Ilahi and the later day
secularism. The library stands as a testimony to the high level of
intellectualism and recognition of academic excellence," Society
president Surendra Sharma said.
The red sandstone library
building, which should have been conserved and protected by the ASI, is
now with the Agra Municipal Corporation. Parts of it have been sold to
traders at the Moti Ganj Mandi while other parts have been encroached
upon. In its heyday, it was a beautiful building, with airy shelves for
the books, provision of light and air, huge halls and scholarly
ambience.
The central hall with highly decorative painted
windows, stone-carved shelves for books with proper ventilation and air
passages and natural light filters speak of the taste and passion of
Dara Shikoh.
Evidence of this is still visible though the area has been reduced to a wholesale market of rice, jaggery and sugar.
During British Raj, the building was briefly used for the high court and then for government offices and the local body.
An over 300-year-old map of the area at the Agra University's K.M. Institute brings out the strategic location of the library.
An
Archaeological Survey of India official said the property belonged to
the Municipal Corporation and it should restore it. But others want the
ASI to acquire the building and open it to the public so that the rich
literary and academic legacy of Dara Shikoh become known.
(Brij Khandelwal can be contacted at [email protected])
