Former Capital Cities In India

"Creighton says, ‘It appears to have been the general practice of the Muhammadan conquerors of India, to destroy all the temples of the idolaters, and to raise Mosque out of their ruins.’ The statement is of course a gross exaggeration, for innumerable contemporary Hindu and Buddhist temples still exist in the cities of India once conquered by the Muslims. ‘Abid ‘Ali seems to have carried the observation of Creighton further when he remarks, ‘It seems to the writer that the builder of the Mosque [Chhoto Sona Masjid at Gaud] had collected the stones containing the figure of the Hindu gods from the citadel of Gaur where temples must have existed in the time of the earlier Hindu kings.’ (...)"

"[Bakhtiar Khilji] established a Muslim capital in Lakhanauti (Gaur) on the Ganga and destroyed, in 1197, its basalt temples. In Odantpuri, in 1202, he massacred two thousand Buddhist monks...."

"…In the second year after this arrangement Muhammad Bakhtyar brought an army from Behar towards Lakhnauti and arrived at the town of Nudiya, with a small force; Nudiya is now in ruins. Rai Lakhmia (Lakhminia) the governor of that town… fled thence to Kamran, and property and booty beyond computation fell into the hands of the Muslims, and Muhammad Bakhtyar having destroyed the places of worship and idol temples of the infidels founded Mosques and Monasteries and schools and caused a metropolis to be built called by his own name, which now has the name of Gaur. There where was heard before The clamour and uproar of the heathen, Now there is heard resounding The shout of ‘Allaho Akbar’."

"The oldest and the best known building at Gaur and Pandua is the Ãdîna Masjid at Pandua built by Sikandar Shãh, the son of Ilyãs Shãh. The date of its inscription may be read as either 776 or 770, which corresponds with 1374 or 1369 A.D… The materials employed consisted largely of the spoils of Hindu temples and many of the carvings from the temples have been used as facings of doors, arches and pillars… In order to erect mosques and tombs the Muhammadans pulled down all Hindu temples they could lay their hands upon for the sake of the building materials…"

"The oldest of the Mosques in Malwa is the Kamal Maula Masjid which was built in Dhar in AH 803/AD 1400. Both this Mosque and the slightly later Jami or Lat Masjid are clearly adaptations of ruined Hindu temple material…"

"...It is the tallest iron pillar so far anywhere in the world."

"Outside this fort (of Dhar) there is a Jami Masjid and a square pillar lies in front of the Masjid with some portions embedded in the ground. When Bahadur Shah conquered Malwa, he was anxious to take the pillar with him to Gujarat. In the act of digging out, it fell down and was broken into two pieces (one piece 22’ long and the other 13’). I (Jahangir) have seen it lying on the ground carelessly and so ordered the bigger piece to be carried to Agra, which I hope to be used as a lamp-post in the courtyard of my father’s (Akbar’s) tomb"

"Tradition attributed the Dhar Iron Pillar to Bhoja, who was well versed in iron metallurgy as is attested by his Yuktikalpataru . The pillar was double the height of the Delhi Iron Pillar and weighed at least one tonne more. It was the tallest and heaviest (7000 kg) pillar in the world."

"The Lãt Masjid built in A.D. 1405, by Dilãwar Khãn, the founder of the Muhammadan kingdom of Mãlvã… is of considerable interest not only on account of the Iron Lãt which lies outside it… but also because it is a good specimen of the use made by the Muhammadan conquerors of the materials of the Hindu temples which they destroyed…"

"No ancient Hindu or Jain buildings have survived at Bijapur and the only evidence of their former existence is supplied by two or three mosques, viz., Mosque No. 294, situated in the compound of the Collector’s bungalow, Krimud-d-din Mosque and a third and smaller mosque on the way to the Mangoli Gate, which are all adaptations or re-erections of materials obtained from temples. These mosques are the earliest Muhammadan structures and one of them, i.e., the one constructed by Karimud-d-din, must according to a Persian and Nagari inscription engraved upon its pillars, have been erected in the year 1402 Saka=A.D. 1324, soon after Malik Kafur’s conquest of the. Deccan."

"…The mosque itself appears from local tradition and from the numerous indications and inscriptions found within it to have been built on the site of, and to a large extent out of materials taken from, a Hindu Temple, known to the inhabitants as Rãjã Bhoja’s school. The inference was derived sometime back from the existence of a Sanskrit alphabet and some Sanskrit grammatical forms inscribed in serpentine diagrams on two of the pillar bases in the large prayer chamber and from certain Sanskrit inscriptions on the black stone slabs imbedded in the floor of the prayer chamber, and on the reverse face of the side walls of the mihrãb."

"Although Indo-Muslim epigraphs are typically recorded near in time to the events they describe, the present one is hardly contemporary, as it was composed some four hundred years after the events to which it refers. ... Central to the story are themes of conversion, martyrdom, redemption, and the patronage of sacred sites by Indo-Muslim royalty, as well as, of course, the destruction of a temple. Whether or not any temple was actually destroyed four hundred years before this narrative was committed to writing, we cannot know with certainty."

"An inscription dated 1455, found over the doorway of a tomb-shrine in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh [mentions] the destruction of a Hindu temple by one Abdullah Shah Changal during the reign of Raja Bhoja, a renowned Paramara king who had ruled over the region from 1010 to 1053. ... Goel does, however, consider it more likely that the event took place during the reign of Raja Bhoja II in the late thirteenth century rather than during that of Raja Bhoja I in the eleventh century."

"This centre became Muhammadan first by him (and) all the banners of religion were spread… This lion-man came from the centre of religion to this old temple with a large force. He broke the images of the false deities, and turned the idol temple into a mosque. When Rãi Bhoj saw this, through wisdom he embraced Islãm with the family of his brave warriors. This quarter became illuminated by the light of the Muhammadan law, and the customs of the infidels became obsolete and abolished. Now this tomb since those days has become the famous pilgrimage-place of the world. Graves from their oldness became levelled (to the ground), (and) there remained no mound on any grave. There was [no place] also for the retirement, wherein the distressed dervish could take rest… The Khaljî king MaHmûd Shãh who is such that by his justice the world has become adorned like paradise; he built afresh this old structure, and this house with its enclosure again became new… From the hijra it was 859 (AD 1455) that its (the building’s) date was written anew…"

"This centre became Muhammadan first by him [i.e., 'Abdullah Shah Changal], (and) all the banners of religion were spread. (I have heard) that a few persons had arrived before him at this desolate and ruined place. When the muazzin raised the morning cry like the trumpet-call for the intoxicated sufis, the infidels (made an attack from) every wall(?) and each of them rushed with the sword and knife. At last they (the infidels) wounded those men of religion, and after killing them concealed (them) in a well. Now this (burial place and) grave of martyrs remained a trace of those holy and pious people. When the time came that the sun of Reality should shine in this dark and gloomy night, this lion-man ['Abdullah Shah Changal] came from the centre of religion to this old temple with a large force. He broke the images of the false deities, and turned the idol-temple into a mosque. When Rai Bhoj saw this, through wisdom he embraced Islam with the family of all brave warriors. This quarter became illuminated by the light of the Muhammadan law, and the customs of the infidels became obsolete and abolished. Now this tomb since those old days has been the famous pilgrimage-place of a world. Graves from their oldness became leveled (to the ground), (and)there remained no mount on any grave. There was also (no place) for retirement, wherein the distressed darvish could take rest. Thereupon the king of the world gave the order that this top of Tur [Mount Sinai] be builtanew. The king of happy countenance, the Sultan of horizons (i.e., the world), the visitors of whose courts are Khaqan (the emperor of Turkistan) and Faghfur (the emperor of China), 'Alau-d-Din Wad-dunya Abu'l Muzaffar, who is triumphant over his enemies by the grace of God, the Khilji king Mahmud Shah, who is such that by become adorned like paradise, he built afresh this house with its enclosure again became new."

"Historical names were on that road down through Karnataka. Bijapur was one such name. It was the name of a Muslim kingdom, established almost at the same time as the Portuguese in Goa (Goa had, in fact, been taken away from Bijapur). The name was associated in my mind not with Goa or Old Goa, but with a fine, Persian-influenced 17th-century school of miniature painting: the very name brought the faces and the postures and the special colours and costumes to my mind. But how did Bijapur fit into the history of the region? What were its dates, its boundaries? Who were its rulers and enemies? It was hard to carry all of that in the mind: I would have to look it up in the books, and even then (though I would learn that it had lasted two centuries) I would get no more than the bare bones of dates and rulers. Its achievements, after all, hadn’t been that great; there was nothing in its history to catch the mind, as there was in the art (and the architecture, from my reading: a certain kind of dome). And so that name of Bijapur, and the other historical names on the road south, were like random memories in an old man’s mind."

"Hamiduddin Khan Bahadur who had gone to demolish a temple and build a mosque (in its place) in Bijapur, having excellently carried out his orders, came to Court and gained praise and the post of darogha of gusalkhanah, which brought him near the Emperor's person."

"Middle of 1698: ‘Hamid-ud-din Khan Bahadur who had been deputed to destroy the temple of Bijapur and build a mosque (there), returned to Court after carrying the order out and was praised by the Emperor.’"

"'The fall and capture of Bijapur was similarly solemnized though here the destruction of temples was delayed for several years, probably till 1698."

"The people of Assam made remarkable contributions at every stage of the freedom movement since 1920 to 1947. Noted activists and freedom fighters include Tarun Ram Phookan, Kuxol Konwar, Gopinath Bordoloi and others. The visit of Mahatma Gandhi to the State in 1921 gave fillip to the freedom movement which had already gathered momentum in both valleys of Assam."

"Guwahati is recognized to be the most critical city in the Northeast India. The city has a well developed connectivity with the rest of the country and acts as the Gateway to the entire North Eastern India."

"Guwahati is located on the Brahmaputra River in Assam, a state in the extreme northeast of India connected to the rest of the country by the narrow Siliguri Corridor, nearly 125 km east of the border with West Bengal and and about 62 miles north of the border with Bangladesh."

"Located on the banks of the Brahamaputra River, it is the largest commercial, industrial and educational center of the NE region."

"Guwahati has several places of historical interest with the biggest attraction being the Kamakhya Temple. The city is donned with several places of religious and tourist attractions such as Umananda Temple situated on an island in the middle of the river Brahmaputra, which incidentally is the smallest river island in the world. In addition to the religious sites, there are splendid water fronts and water bodies, which could be developed as places of tourist attraction"

"Guwahati is the state’s leading business center and the political seat of the Kamrup district."

"It took about 15 years to put the first rail-cum-road bridge across Brahmaputra at Guwahati so that transshipment at Amingaon and Pandu (on the right and left bank of Brahmaputra near Guwahati) assisted by steamers could be avoided. Now even though the broad gauge rail line is ready up to Guwahati, connecting Calcutta and Delhi via Farakka and Barauni, both south and north of Ganga; the speed of train is very slow because of defective or single line tracks."

"Guwahati is considered the site of Pragjyotishpura, a semi-mythical town founded by Asura King Naraka who was later killed by Lord Krishna for a pair of magical earrings. The city was a vibrant cultural centre well before the Ahoms arrived, and later the theatre of intense Ahom-Mughal fighting, changing hands eight times in the 50 years before 1681. Most of the old city was wiped out by a huge 1897 earthquake followed by a series of devastating floods."

"Guwahati since 1972 has been the capital of the reorganized State of Assam, but was never a state headquarter in modern times except for a brief period, though in ancient times the area was location of various pre-historic urban settlements."

"It is a major commercial and educational center in eastern India and is home to world class institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology. According to a survey done by a UK media, Guwahati is among the first 100 fastest growing cities in the world and is 5th fastest growing city among Indian cities"

"Guwahati's 'urban form' is somewhat like a starfish. With a core in the central areas, the city has tentacles extending in the form of growth corridors towards south, east and west. The most important corridor is along the Guwahati-Shillong (GS) Road towards the south (almost 15 km from the city-center). The GS Road is an important commercial area with retail, wholesale and offices developed along the main road;….The city is having notable changes in its morphology with rapid expansion."

"Ancient Guwahati was the flourishing capital of several dynasties during the epic and classical period. It had never been the capital city of the Ahom Kingdom nor the Koch kingdom. The strategic importance of Guwahati was well known to the Moghul invaders. In 1667, the Moghul forces were defeated in a battle by Ahom forces commanded by Lachit Borphukan. Thus in a sense Guwahati became a bone of contention among the Ahoms, Kochas, and the Moghuls during the medieval period. The Ahom king made Guwahati the administrative headquarters of Lower Assam with a Viceroy or Barphukan."

"Modern Guwahati dates back to the British occupation of Assam in 1826 and it is from this date the city came to have due importance. Except few temples, an earthen fort and tanks, there are hardly any medieval remnants and ruins in Guwahati."

"Throughout 19th century and also during the first four decades of the 20th century , the growth of Guwahati was very slow. But, there after, both spatial and population growth of the city was rather rapid. Today, this fast-growing metropolis houses more than 1.8 million people; covering an area of over 360 km2 and rapidly expanding further. During the World War II, the Britishers used this city as their strongholds by establishing the civil lines and cantonment."

"Only a few facts are known about Guwahati and Assam before the coming of the Ahoms. Assam was called Kamarupa in ancient times, and Guwahati then known as Pragjyotishpur, was its capital until the middle of the seventeenth century. The region was settled by a diverse group of tribes."

"Earlier legends arising in the region suggest a dynastic conflict mirrored in the devotees of Krishna, the eight peasant incarnation of Vishnu, and those of Shiva, the god of creation and reproduction, represented with phallic imagery."

"The first historically documented raja of the region dates from late in the first century AD, but names of semi legendary rulers are known from as long as the first millennium BC, including King Narakasura, whose son Bhagadstta distinguished himself in the great war in the epic poem of Mahabharata, which is understood to have real mythological events, chiefly concerning the absorption of the social and religious attitudes of invaders and indigenous Indian culture."

"Guwahati - which received this name sometime after the Ahom conquest – served for a time as the seat of a provincial governor, and 1786 it became the dynastic capital...It was an important city to the Ahoms as indicated by the construction of the Kamakhya temple."

"Ahoms, a tribe from Burma, who controlled the region from thirteenth to eighteenth centuries, who absorbed Hindu culture, were the original builders of Guwahati’ most famous site, a shrine to the goddess Sati, also known as Kali, consort of Shiva."

"The invasion that caused the temple’s destruction was one of a series that menaced Gauwahti and Assam from the thirteenth through seventeenth centuries, although with no lasting success."

"Guwahati came under Mughal control in the 1630s and would change hands frequently thereafter. Gadadhar Singh not only drove out the invaders but resolve internal disputes among Ahom nobles."

"Seated on top of Nilachala hill beside the Brahmaputra River, the Kamakhya temple has long been revered as one of the most powerful centers of goddess worship in South Asia. As one of the oldest of the 51 Sakta peethas or places of power that dot the Hindu mythological landscape, Kamakhya is believed to be the location where goddess’ own yoni or sexual organ lies. As such it is literally ‘the mother of all places of power’, with a history that can be traced at least 1200 years, and it remains one of the most vibrant centers of goddess worship in India."

"Because the goddess has come to the great mountain Nilakuta to have sexual enjoyment with me [Shiva], she is called Kamakhya, who resides there in secret. Because she gives love, is a loving woman, is the embodiment of love, is the beloved, she restores the limbs of Kama, she is called Kamakhya. Now hear of the great glory of Kamakhya, who, as primordial nature, sets the entire world in motion."

"One should worship the Supreme Goddess with blood, meat and wine."

"One of the most prominent sacred sites of goddess(es) worship in India, the Nīlācala (blue hill) of Guwahati in Assam [relates] to the historical evolution of a local goddess cult and its association with the groups of multiple feminine deities. [Demonstrates] three phases of transition amidst political changes: (i) worship of yoni, the local sacred geography, by autochthonous people, (ii) the reorganized Tantric yoginī cult associated with a new regional goddess, who was worshiped by the ruling family of the Mlecchas and the Pālas and ( iii) the magical and comprehensive Mahāvidyās."

"The Goddess Kamakhya at Guwahati is made of eight metals alloys, and seated on a throne with five jewels. To reach her statue pilgrims have to go down a dimly lit flight of steps. Further within the cave shrine is the well and yoni mandala clearly indicating worship began with the spring and cave long before the temple was built. Goddess is also worshiped in the aspects of Durga, Kali, Tara, Kamala, Uma, Chamunda, and Shakti. The temple dates to the 17th century and follows the Assamese style in its design."

"Christ Church, in yellow colour, the most prominent building on the Mall is reputed to be the second oldest church in northern India."

"Gorton Castle is one of the most striking buildings of the British empire. The Castle is a Gothic new-Gothic structure that had the famous Sir Swinton Jacob as its architect, today, houses the offices of the Accountant General of Himachal Pradesh"

"A Town Hall, with many facilities such as library and theatre, as well as offices--for police and military volunteers as well as municipal administration exist in the Upper Bazaar area."

"The enigmatic world that was Simla had the rug pulled from under its feet; the summer capital ceased to be, in the post-Independence India."

"Shimla is a multi-hazard /multi-disaster prone City and it’s mainly because of its geo-climatic complexities and anthropogenic factors."