If there are any perks to being an intern, a lot of us aren’t privy to them. From getting some chai for the office, clearing out documents or spaces, to sitting around sorting through paperwork no one else wants to do; interns are quite literally the physical embodiment of Jack of All Trades. However, in some cases, (like mine) interns do luck out!
A few months ago, while working at my previous internship, it required me to visit the Naya Qila, the lesser-known extension of the Golconda Fort. The latter is a protected heritage site and presumably, Naya Qila should have enjoyed the same status. A security guard was stationed at the entrance, who only let me in after displaying credentials. On entry to your left, lies a lush golf course and to the right, a stretch of unkempt overgrown grass hiding a dilapidated structure in one corner, what I found out later, to be that of the Persian gardens (Bagh-i-Qutb). Right ahead of me, set on top of a hill, were the remains of what used to be a fortified watchpost. On inquiry, I was told nothing beyond the fact that the public had restricted access to the Naya Qila. On going back home, I looked into the medieval and modern history of the Naya Qila, and that shed some light on what turned out to be a serious issue.
The Naya Qila’s construction was ordered by Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah as a defense against Aurangzeb’s Mughal army after the walls of Golconda weakened due to heavy fusillade. It made the Golconda nearly impregnable.
Its main attractions used to be the Persian garden and the oldest baobab tree in India, whose branches form a cave. It also houses two mosques, both examples of the early architecture of the Golconda - the Mosque of Mustafa Khan and the Mosque Mullah Khiyali, built in memory of the royal architect and the royal poet of the Qutb Shahi dynasty respectively. The Naya Qila Talab and the Shah Hatem Talab form a part of intrinsically connected irrigation systems inside the Naya Qila.
This was accessible to the public until the interference of the Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA). With the objective of “building a golf course to meet international standards” and “protecting” the Qila, the HGA and the Tourism Department collaborated on this project. The process of land “acquisition” & such began in the 1990s. Excavation began in 2009 and the golf course was inaugurated in 2014.
The Impact on Farmers
Vasundhar Jairath, an activist, in a detailed article, discusses the impact on farmers. Some of the land was originally allotted to farmers 250 years ago by the Nizam and has been used for agricultural purposes ever since. The land drew water from Jamalikunta, a historical water body, and used the Qila’s intrinsic irrigation system. In 2000, thumb impressions were taken from the farmers, most of whom were illiterate, and their land documents taken from them. In 2006, District Collector Arvind Kumar set up a Committee that was to include state officials, the local MPs and MLA and farmers’ representatives to identify alternate land of equivalent value to be exchanged for the “acquired” land. The process came to a halt when Arvind Kumar was transferred, until 2008. The new District Collector, Naveen Mittal declared to the farmers that an alternate land had been identified – it was rocky, infertile land. This offer was declined as the terms of exchange were unacceptable to the farmers.
The Land Contours
In 2001, ASI gave a letter of conditional consent for setting up the golf course inside the Naya Qila subject to meeting eight conditions, one of which stated that “the golf course will develop along the existing contours of the land”. Initially, the Qila was built in such a way that the five lakes, including Jamalikunta, around the fort were a source of water for the lake within the premises and also to water the Persian Gardens.
It was discovered with time that the contours of the land changed with large-scale dumping of mud and there was change in elevations of the land due to construction work within and outside the Fort walls. The change in land contours has led to change in the land elevation. As a result, the water from the lakes, inundated and caused floods initially, now the water levels have come down to a point where settlements have developed on the lake bed and the Persian Gardens have fallen into ruin.
A Reckless Abandon Towards Architecture & Environment
“The place is an absolute paradise for birdwatchers,” said avid birdwatcher Adnan, stating that the Qila was home to more than 40 bird species including migratory birds like the Common Sandpiper, Rosy Starling and Ashy Drongo. The wilderness in and around the fort was home to different forms of flora and fauna. Fires were set to the wilderness for ease of taming it for construction of the golf course, this killed a number of birds and animals, as did the felling of trees in hundreds.
In 2008, a section of the moat wall was deemed “unaesthetic”, and was subsequently demolished. The Constitution prohibits the owner or occupier of a protected/heritage area, from constructing any buildings and from carrying on any excavating and blasting activities within the area without the permission of the Central Government. After an appeal by the Forum for a Better Hyderabad (FBH) and People’s Union for Civic Action and Rights (PUCAAR), the Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered the ASI restore the moat wall within 15 days.
This was done with much delay and dilatory tactics and resistance by HGA. More so, the ‘restoration’ was faulty as the inside remains hollow and the original material was thrown away.
Public Access – To Be or Not to Be?
Another one of the conditions in the letter issued by ASI in 2001 granted access to the mosques of Mullah Khayali and Mustafa Khan; both these sites are not for public access today. The entrance to the Qila is heavily guarded and though visitors are allowed, some of the more important sites within the premises are not accessible to the visitors, which is a violation of the treatise between the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), GAH and the State Government.
The words “genuine tourist” were used in a letter, as reported by the Siasat which the ASI had addressed to the HGA after visitors complained about being denied entry. This grants selective entry to the heritage site, which is unconstitutional, according to activist Jasveen Jairath.
Latest reports suggest that visitors are made to fill in their details in a register, failing which security personnel would accompany visitors while sight seeing. On questioning, officials claimed this to be a “security precautions”, although the there construction has been completed and there are no hazardous areas on the site.
Heritage sites in India are considered public property and therefore, the public should be allowed to access it without any restrictions. Naya Qila’s limited access, imposed by the HGA, accompanied by the inert state of the government despite the many appeals, seems to suggest that both the organizations are hand-in-glove.
India’s architectural heritage is exquisite and thousands of sites like these are peppered across the country; of these, 35 are recognized as World Heritage Sites while less than 500 are protected by the government. Naya Qila came close to being declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, but the DeccanPost has unearthed that the status was reportedly denied owing to the presence of the golf course and the resulting destruction on the site. Thanks to this lack of foresight and general ambivalence, yet another piece of India’s history has been lost to the march of modernisation.