In all the hullabaloo of celebrating the 150th anniversary of India’s first war of independence, we are slowly losing out on the heritage and historical buildings in the capital which played a major role in our struggle for liberation from the British rule. These buildings have either been lost in time or confined to the pages of history books.
Take the case of Zeenat Mahal where the last Moughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was kept as a prisoner after the British recaptured the capital in 1857. All that remains of this landmark of history is its rundown gate and the façade in red stone.
The walled city is literally littered with buildings which played an important part in India’s first war of independence. But their present appearance is a far cry from what they looked in the bygone era. A vital link of the future generations with their past history lies in a state of utter neglect and disrepair. It is difficult to imagine how the future generations will see and experience the history of those times.
Another historic building houses one of the oldest schools in Asia, Anglo Arabic School at Ajmeri Gate. It was once known as Delhi College. It was occupied by the British troops when they were planning to attack and recapture the Red Fort. Few people know that the ground of the school was used to film the “Jallianwala Bagh Massacre” scene in the award winning movie, Gandhi, produced by Sir Richard Attenborough. Later Delhi College was renamed as Zakir Hussain College and shifted to another premises.
Maulana Azad Medical College is yet another landmark of the capital. It offers quality medical education and services, but very few people know that it was once a jail.
Other neglected sites include the Qudsia Bagh at ISBT which saw action on its grounds during the First War of India’s Independence. Same is the case with the barracks built by the Britishers soon after 1857. It is the only European style building in the Red Fort. It was used by the Indian army but lies abandoned now.
By neglecting, renaming and allowing rampant commercialization of these buildings – the government is obliterating all traces of heritage for the coming generations. So let us wage another war to preserve our heritage and history.