Naya Qila

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Panoramic view over the southern side of Naya Qila from the top of the Golkonda. Golconda View.jpg
Panoramic view over the southern side of Naya Qila from the top of the Golkonda.

Naya Qila ("New Fort", also spelled Naya Quila) is an extended portion of Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad, India. [1] [2] It was built in 1656 by Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah as further defence for the Mughal armies. This integral part of the Golkonda fort contains many historic structures. There are strange figures and animals worked out of stone and stucco on the walls of the outer fort facing the Naya Qila. It is one of the least explored heritage sites of India, [2] [3] partly because it has become part of a golf course, which makes access for visitors complicated. [4]

Contents

History

Hatiyan ka Jhad (Baobab Tree) in Naya Qila Hatiyan ka Jhad (Baobab Tree) in Naya Qila.jpg
Hatiyan ka Jhad (Baobab Tree) in Naya Qila
Battlements of Naya Qila Fort Naya Qila, the extended portion of Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad 24.jpg
Battlements of Naya Qila Fort
Mulla Khayali Mosque Mulla Khayali Mosque 1.jpg
Mulla Khayali Mosque
Golconda Fort towers above the golf course of Naya Qila Naya Qila 3.jpg
Golconda Fort towers above the golf course of Naya Qila

During the rule of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1625–1672), Mughal governor of the Deccan Plateau, Aurangzeb aimed the fusillade against Golkonda Fort in January 1656. The mighty Mughal army kept up the cannon-fire but the fort stood firm. After a four-month siege, the Mughal army withdrew in April 1656. Due to heavy fusillade by the Mughals, the fort became weak and Fort walls started leaning, thus to avoid future attacks and loss Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah ordered for the repair of fort walls and the extension of Golkonda fort, thus the construction of Naya Qila was started in the year 1656 and was completed with more additions by Sultan Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. [5] [6] and nearly, 30 years later when Aurangzeb become the emperor, again he set his sights on the Golkonda he completely avoided the place because the place from where he aimed the fusillade, stood the Naya Qila. A rock masonry structure with moats, it made the Golkonda all the more impregnable.[ citation needed ] In 1687 Aurangzeb annexed Golkonda. [7]

The fort was designed and constructed by Mustafa Khan, the royal architect of the Qutb Shahi dynasty; Makkah Masjid and Toli Masjid was designed and constructed by him. [8]

Attraction

Controversies

The construction of the Hyderabad Golf Course in the Naya Qila area met with a lot of resistance from various NGOs and organisations. [5] [2] According to them, the Golf Course and the almost exclusive access given to its members was against the proper use of the Heritage site which should give easy access and ownership to the public above anything else. There were also protests organised by the farmers who were displaced by the construction of the Golf Course who were eventually offered land in the city in return for their land in the Golkonda fort area. [17] The controversy regarding the historic lands' use as a golf course also sparked debates among scholars part of the heritage and conversation circles around the 'Adopt a Heritage' scheme of the government of India, under which the Dalmia Bharat Private Limited was allowed to adopt the Red Fort. There have also been concerns regarding the negative ecological implications of the Golf Course, outlined in a comprehensive document shared by the NGO, Better Hyderabad.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Indian kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range that were created from the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate and ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. The five sultanates owed their existence to the declaration of independence of Ahmadnagar in 1490, followed by Bijapur and Berar in the same year. Bidar became independent in c. 1492, and Golconda in 1518.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultanate of Golconda</span> Kingdom in Deccan India

The Sultanate of Golconda was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the collapse of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Qutb Shahi dynasty was established in 1512 by Quli Qutb Shah, as one of the five Deccan sultanates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali</span> 4th Sultan of Golconda

Ibrahim Qutb Shah Wali, also known by his Telugu names Malki BhaRama and Ibharama Chakravarti, was the fourth monarch of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India. He was the first of the Qutb Shahi dynasty to use the title "Sultan". He ruled from 1550 to 1580. He lived for seven years in exile at the court of Vijayanagara as an honoured guest of Rama Raya. Ibrahim is known for patronizing Telugu extensively because he was moved by a genuine love for the language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdullah Qutb Shah</span> 7th Sultan of Golconda

Abdullah Qutb Shah was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1626 to 1672.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abul Hasan Qutb Shah</span> 8th Sultan of Golconda

Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, also known as Abul Hasan Tana Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, sovereign of the Kingdom of Golconda in South India. He ruled from 1672 to 1686. The last Sultan of this Shia Islamic dynasty, Tana Shah is remembered as an inclusive ruler. Instead of appointing only Muslims as ministers, he appointed Brahmin Hindus such as Madanna and Akkanna brothers as ministers in charge of tax collection and exchequer. Towards the end of his reign, one of his Muslim generals defected to the Mughal Empire, who then complained to Aurangzeb about the rising power of the Hindus as ministers in his Golconda Sultanate. Aurangzeb sent a regiment led by his son, who beheaded Tana Shah's Hindu ministers and plundered the Sultanate. In 1687, Aurangzeb ordered an arrest of Tana Shah, who was then imprisoned at the Daulatabad Fort. He died in prison in 1699.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golconda</span> 11th-century citadel in Telangana, India

Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani Kings from Musunuri Nayakas during the reign of the Bahmani Sultan Mohammed Shah I, during the first Bahmani-Vijayanagar War. Following the death of Sultan Mahmood Shah, the Sultanate disintegrated and Sultan Quli, who had been appointed as the Governor of Hyderabad by the Bahmani Kings, fortified the city and made it the capital of the Golconda Sultanate. Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds known as Golconda Diamonds. Golconda fort is currently abandoned and in ruins. The complex was put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with other forts in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qutb Shahi tombs</span> Necropolis in Hyderabad

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References

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See also