DELHI: A History – An Excerpt

Delhi has been ruled and ruined, loved and lusted, lost and found by so many of its rulers and inhabitants; yet Delhi survives it all. Delhi: A History by Manisha Choudhary is a historical portrait of a city whose past has reference in mythology and whose present is rooted in modernity. A city destroyed and populated by events of history, its journey has been unparalleled when compared with other ancient cities of the world. The following is an excerpt from the book, expressing how the city continues to charm generations with its rich soul.

The Charisma Of The City

This section of the book is more about the way this city has been sensed by its inhabitants and how diverse souls who arrive in this city respond to the changes and interact in the cultural arena of this political capital. Migration and emigration is nothing new to this city. It has been a feature of Delhi for centuries. Many studies have highlighted the significance of certain cities in terms of their economy or history. Most of the studies miss the cultural aspect due to the vastness of the idea or the impossibility to tackle and integrate all the diverse subjects. No doubt it is difficult to weave together a smooth fabric about many centuries of the cultural past of a city which has been dyed in various hues of pleasure, trauma, atrocities and struggles. Interestingly, the city of Delhi is also like many other cities of the globe in terms of its historical glory which has been highlighted in the preceding discussions. The fact of this city lies in its acceptance of its geographical location which has made it a candle for all kind of moths.
In historical terms, the city rose to prominence only after the settlement of the Delhi Sultanate. Prior to the sultanate, it was an ordinary settlement as is proven by archaeological findings. Stories and anecdotes are integral to the formation of any city. Many stories about its founders are circulated by self-appointed guides, which include tales of ghosts and unaccomplished love projects of the city makers. The battles for acquiring various sources that were required for state formation are an integral part of such histories. Delhi is no exception to this, and the battles that took place clearly indicate that they were the mechanisms to ensure a share in the resources that would boost the economy of the state.
The early medieval period has seen a lot of political and economic upheaval. Each episode stands for its own, and has to be approached sympathetically and with critical acumen. Many a time, political dispensations try to erase the past by creating a clout and rewrite the history of a city and its structures. In this process, the state machinery and bureaucracy are involved at various levels to generally elevate the position of the state to a new level, and as a result of this process the past gets crucified for the needs of the present.
The city of Delhi is no exception to this historical and political process, and its history has been told, retold and redone at various diverse levels, many times over. In this, many groups, sects and communities also bring in their versions to assert their historical existence. It is therefore essential for a researcher to be conscious while recording these versions, and apply the necessary filters before bringing these versions into the main historical writing. An innovative approach in writing history is visible in the much-acclaimed work of Sunil Kumar, who has investigated the sites and has been able to notice the very recent changes made around the monuments of his study by relying on Persian documents and intense fieldwork. Following a similar theme, this chapter will deviate a little but will emphasize on the historical events and the glamour that Delhi has been maintaining in different ways over the centuries.

Delhi under Alauddin Khilji
The resources at hand that were accumulated after the popular price regulation and market reforms of Alauddin Khilji allowed the Sultan to defend the city against the Mongol threat. The most terrifying and heinous genocides of the world were carried out by the Mongols who destroyed city after city, not even sparing the lives of animals and children.164 In his phase, the economically flourishing, culturally effluent and prosperous cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, Nishapur and Baghdad were also targeted by the Mongol armies, and were destroyed in such a manner that not even a single full structure remained behind, that can testify to the event. This barbarous and heinous slaughter forced much of its population to move out and look for safe spaces for survival. In this search, many scholars of literature, religious jurisprudence and artisans came to the threshold of Delhi which was then a flourishing city.
The arrival of people of pen and thought helped the slaves who were on the highway of ruler ship. They were in need of a learned class that could organize their kingdom and govern through an organized system of administration and revenue collection. The sultanate was surviving and sustaining itself only through revenue collection. Therefore, the state required a large section of literates to draft and maintain the revenue records and make periodic entries. The educated shelter seekers were best suited for these clerical jobs. The conversion of the socially alienated, boycotted and neglected classes also created a section of indigenous Muslim population who were culturally rooted in the Hind. These new converts were also looking forward to the religious leaders who would serve as teachers (alim/ulama/maulvi) for guiding and helping them on the path of religion (din) where the initial and prime activity was reading the Holy Quran. Reading the religious script was an essential requirement for abiding by the principles of religion. Thus, religious training was carried out by teaching the hadiths, sunnat, followed by religious literatures. The educated class was also required in the madarssas and the mosques for producing copies of the Quran. These demands absorbed nearly all the literates who arrived in the city to make a living. The Sufis were also active in political and religious activities. They continued to maintain a superior position through their spiritual and religious influences. Of course, this was due to their training in religious scriptures, Islamic theology, jurisprudence and constant engagement with varied sections of the society who were coming to them for the fulfilment of their unattained wishes, believing in the mystic power of the saints. The network that was at work was very cohesive and always kept the saints at the centre. The influence of the saints helped him to acquire a significant position in the city as is evident in case of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awaliya (popularly called Hazrat-i-Dilli).165 The influence of a few saints rose to the extent that it became a cause of conflict between the Sufi saints and the sultans, as both groups attempted to assert the ‘claim to authority’. In one of his interesting works, Simon Digby has explored the relationships that have existed between the various sultans of the Delhi Sultanate and the contemporary Sufi Sheikhs during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.166 Anecdotes from the tazkiras literature enrich his work and keep the reader engaged with the text. The assertion of authority is evident through the actions employed by the sultans and apparently by the saints. Thus, the city of Delhi during the sultanate times was emerging as an economic centre enshrined with the best features of art, culture and religion. For many, Delhi was Durul- Islam (an abode of Islam), which was being built on the principles of Islam. More or less a similar kind of polity and administration continued to guide the Mughal state. Babur was the founder of Mughal rule in India during 1526, but soon he shifted to Agra. A long exile was imposed on Humayun after loss of territories to Sher Shah and it kept the former away from Indian territories. After regaining control over the lost territories, Humayun spent some time in Delhi. Akbar and Jahangir continued to rule from the Mughal capital of Agra. Delhi served as a garrison ground for their armies and the environs of Delhi were used as the imperial hunting grounds. It was only Shah Jahan who paid attention to Delhi and decided to make it his capital. In pursuit of his objective, he laid the foundation of Qila-i-Mubarak (Lal Qila) after the death of Mumtaz Begum. The city came into prominence and attained power during the introduction of Islamic rule, and the inauguration of Shajahanbad was unrivalled in its reputation as the most looked-forward to metropolis in the world. The death of Aurangzeb seized the fate of the city irreversibly and the period of tragic court struggles, civil wars, rebellions and invasions set in. With the coming of the British in the nineteenth century, it regained its popularity and was expended further, and there it attained the status of the ‘Rome of Asia’.167 This pre-eminent centre of trade and culture was also a ‘metropolis of Asia’.168 The British toned up the falling administration of the city. Until 1809, Delhi was treated as a Suba, and it was only c.1819 that it was divided into districts. Charles Metcalf was the second Resident, and he developed a ‘Delhi System’ to improve the administrative management of the city, along with the revenue and the judicial setup. The city continued to lure new rulers and its unobliterated charisma pushed the British to hold three darbars in Delhi, even when it was no longer a capital. At the third darbar which was staged c.1911 under the patronage of King George V, the shift of capital from Calcutta to Delhi was announced. This transfer of the capital re-affirmed the lost glory of the city and once again Delhi was made the capital city. The reasons for transfer of the capital from the initial capital town of the company (Calcutta) were explained by Lord Harding in a letter dated 25 August 1911. It was addressed to the Secretary of the State for India:

…political advantages of the transfer…Delhi is still a name to conjure with. It is intimately associated in the minds of the Hindus with sacred legends…in the plains of Delhi that the Pandava princes fought…the epic struggle recorded in Mahabharata and celebrated on the banks of the Jumna the famous sacrifice…site of city which they founded and called Indraprastha…to the Mahomedans it would be a source of unbounded gratification to see the ancient capital of the Moguls restored to its proud position as the seat of Empire. Throughout India…every walled town has its ‘Delhi Gate’ and among the masses of the people it is still revered as the seat of Empire. The imagination of the people of India as nothing else can do, would send…a wave of enthusiasm throughout the country and would be accepted by all as the assertion of an unfaltering determination to maintain British rule in India.

This letter conveyed the charisma of the city, and its acceptance as a capital by the masses of the country. It also reinforced the need for the British to work along the same lines and shift the capital to Delhi, in order to survive in the subcontinent. Here, Lord Harding has tried to see Delhi through the eyes of both the Hindus and Muslims, and subsequently invoked separate connections felt by both the groups. This appropriation cannot be accepted with full consensus as the inhabitants of the city were not yet so divided along religious lines in the early decades of the twentieth century as was highlighted by the official in his letter.

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