Surrounded by tall Ashoka bushes, in the course of a park adjoining to the Defence Colony market, the centuries-old Gumti tomb of Shaikh Ali stands amid picturesque settings. Constructed through the late 14th or early fifteenth century of the Lodi period, not a lot data has been documented on the octagonal construction. Through the Nineteen Nineties, the constructing underwent a big transformation — not a fastidiously deliberate restoration however a ‘trendy’ one to deal with the workplace of the Defence Colony Welfare Affiliation (DCWA).
Immediately, the arches have been sealed with brickwork and its partitions whitewashed.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Courtroom slammed each the DCWA and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over alleged encroachment of the Gumti tomb. “How dare you (DCWA) enter this? How dare you?” a furious bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah stated. The SC, listening to a plea to guard the construction, then ordered the appointment of an knowledgeable to evaluate the injury attributable to encroachments and counsel measures for restoration.
When The Indian Categorical visited the location Wednesday, it discovered a board exterior sporting the affiliation’s identify. Inside, there are two ACs, almirahs and cabinets stacked with recordsdata, and varied trendy installations — a keys closet pinned to the wall, a portion of the wall painted black with names of the 30 RWA presidents since 1990 written on it. The construction’s dome, as soon as adorned with decorative kangura battlements, has been considerably altered with plaster and paint.
When contacted, no response was acquired from the ASI on this regard.
The DCWA didn’t reply both.
Because the RWA occupied the constructing in 1990, the quite a few unauthorised modifications have been detailed in a report by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Company (SRDC) comparable to set up of false ceilings, tiled flooring, and aluminium doorways and home windows. Extra constructions, together with bogs adjoining one facet of the tomb and a shed on one other, have been added together with modifications like plumbing and electrical installations, the report stated. The unique stonework is now obscured by layers of distemper paint, and two graves that used to as soon as exist round it, talked about in Zafar Hasan’s Checklist Of Muhammadan And Hindu Monuments, are now not seen, it additional stated.
In 2012, Delhi’s Division of Archaeology assigned the conservation of the Gumti tomb, and two different monuments, to the SRDC. The Architectural Cell of Jamia Millia Islamia submitted proposals geared toward elevating these websites from mere “constructed heritage” to recognised “cultural heritage.” Nevertheless, work on the bottom didn’t start.
A number of historians burdened the significance of the monument. Historian Swapna Liddle stated, “I don’t suppose we’ve very a lot on it (Gumti)… There are such a lot of such tombs in Delhi nevertheless it’s of nice significance just because it’s outdated. When… Defence Colony was being deliberate, the planners realised the tomb was of particular significance, in order that they laid a park throughout it and the entire settlement was deliberate round it.”
Writer and filmmaker Sohail Hashmi, tracing the monument’s origins, prompt that the tomb dates again to the Sultanate interval, probably constructed across the identical time as Kotla Mubarakpur — a medieval settlement that has now reworked right into a bustling South Delhi market.
Hashmi stated, “Delhi as soon as had roughly 3,000 such constructions in 1920, however by 2010, solely 2,000 had remained. The truth that over 1,000 have vanished over the a long time means these constructions should be saved. Each misplaced monument is a bit of historical past erased… Not a lot is recorded as to when the Gumti was made or who Shaikh Ali, after whom it has been named was, however given its architectural options, it’s probably a post-Lodi construction from the late 14th or early fifteenth century.”
Rameen Khan, founding father of Metropolis Tales, which conducts heritage walks in Delhi, stated: “Delhi has a doubtful report of getting a number of deserted tombs which were reused in such a method that their heritage will get threatened or misplaced… Gumti Shaikh Ali is a kind of on the unlucky listing…”
