Excelsior Correspondent
Situated amid a creeping urban landscape having tall modern skyscrapers on one side and some bungalows on another, there lies a land parcel of a considerable size that bears something of extreme historic value to this state. Yes, I’m talking about the Gole Mahal structure situated at Hazuribagh in Jammu.
Standing in an enclosed plot, seemingly witnessing the surroundings gulping it down, this structure is situated on an elevated platform and one needs to ascend a bit to reach its level. The overgrowth has already taken up a major portion of the building and this makes it difficult to assess the floor plan. But a little research and the satellite imagery revealed that the building was having a circular ground plan with some extensions on all the sides. The building is constructed using the Nanakshahi bricks having a uniform size and shapes.
The northern side of the building has surrendered to the vicissitudes of time and circumstances and has crumbled(or perhaps deliberately destroyed). Save it’s northern side, the main central chamber is largely intact. The ceiling ofcourse has fallen at a few places. This portion has a series of arcades with fluted pillars supporting them. Some of these engrailed arches open to other chambers that surround the main one. The upper portion of the central part bears some evidence of wall paintings which have now vanished. The lintel has some vaulted structures undergirding it across the circumference. The other chambers that surround this main hall on all the four sides were in decrepit state as well. Though roughly similar in architecture, they were having some motifs engraved in their walls, which weren’t discernible in the main chamber. The pink walls were faded. Some of them even had the latest overcoat of cemented plaster. The outer brick walls too bear a series of simple arches across the entire length. The arched entrance in the southern side, though present, wasn’t fully visible as it was entirely overtaken by nature. My tête-à-tête with some daily wagers, living in a tenement in the same premises revealed that this building is lying in this state for a long time and no departmental individual has visited in a long time to check on its upkeep.
Looking at the construction style and the architecture thereof, my assumption is that this building was constructed during the later half of the 19th century, probably under the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh. Situated amid the verdant and lush mago orchards, it would have been a major retreat for the royal family from the hustle bustle of the Jammu city. The paucity of local history and literature leaves very little references for us to vet our assumptions but by employing basic common sense and collecting some oral history, one can clearly understand its relevance.
Apart from having a heritage value, gole mahal is also having a critical political significance. It’s the place where Sheikh Abdullah and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad were incarcerated during the Emergency days.
Over a number of years, numerous attempts to dismantle this building have been undertaken by the land mafia. Through their nefarious activities, they have significantly damaged some portions of the building. A media report in 2010 while quoting a senior officer of the government reported that the work to dismantle the building was stopped by some people of their department. As a consequential step thereof, a three membered committee was formed under the chairmanship of the then ADC Ms Rehana Batool. The committee had recommended declaring the monument a protected site which till date hasn’t been done. As per the Department of Archives and Archaeology, J&K government, there are 57 state protected monuments and unfortunately the said structure doesn’t find its place there. It was only when some locals filed a PIL that the High court passed injunctions to preserve the status quo on this building. Some reports indicate that the structure has already been declared as a heritage site. I, however, couldn’t get any confirmation on this behalf.
Jammu and Kashmir Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act 2010 which clearly defined Heritage Site as “those buildings, artifacts, structures, streets, areas and precincts of historic or aesthetic or architectural or cultural or environmental significance…” In the same act, Section 4 illustrates the power of the government by stating that “The Government may, by notification in the *[Government Gazette], from time to time, acquire or take possession of any heritage or heritage site for maintenance”. However, to its contrary, there’s absolutely no indication that the government is serious in protecting this building. When this correspondent visited the site, there was not a single board of demarcation or any government paraphernalia which could have indicated that the authorities are having a stake there.
Despite repeated promises from a variety of Government officials including a former central minister in 2022, the department has failed to come up with a solid plan to preserve this cultural tangible. The apathy that the Archives and Archaeology department has shown towards this building has brought it to a virtual collapse.
Heritage is not something that can be thrown around for wanton vandalism and destruction. Heritage represents the eternal grit of a society to see itself transmogrifying from the old to the new. It shows a sense of attachment to one’s part where one remains connected to his past which may or may not be as pleasant as the benefit of hindsight presents it to be. It’s a realisation of living within a continuum of cultural association traversing centuries. The feeling of nostalgia, that is generally presented as a romantic understanding of the past, gets a revision. Unfortunately, the heritage of Jammu region is either unexplored or underdeveloped and the one that is present is being made to crumble due to nature’s vagaries. As I’m writing this, the front portion of the Ranbireshwar Temple has collapsed as well (not under the government). This is seriously heartbreaking. There needs to be a serious audit of the government’s approach towards the Heritage places of Duggar. The Department of Archives and Archaeology has a lot to answer.
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