The Tomb of Emperor Jehangir
The tomb of Jehangir is built inside the walled garden of Empress Noor Jehan Bagh-e-Dil Kusha at Shahdra.
The tomb of Jehangir (Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1605 to 1627) is built inside the walled garden of Empress Noor Jehan Bagh-e-Dil Kusha at Shahdra, on the bank of Ravi in Lahore.
His son Shah Jahan built the mausoleum 10 years after his father's death.
The tomb has state of the art architecture and is the finest ornament of historical Lahore also considered the most magnificent Mughal edifice after the Taj Mahal at Agra.
Red sand stone and marble is extensively used with its facade adorned in fine-looking marble motifs and floral patterns.
The interior is embellished with floral frescos, delicate inlay work, pietra dura and brilliant marble intarsia of various colors.
The ninety nine attributes of Allah are also engraved here.
The tomb suffered a great deal of destruction at the hand of Maharajah Ranjeet Singh who stripped the ornaments off the tomb and sent them to Amritsar in order to decorate a Sikh temple.
The tomb was also used as the residence of a Sikh army officer of Spanish origin and Sultan Muhammad Khan, brother of Dost Muhammad khan of Kabul, caused great damage to the mausoleum. However the British government repaired it in 1889-90.
Presently, the tomb gardens are used to play cricket and also serve as a picnic spot for families visiting from various surrounding areas.
Though the tomb lies in poor state with its facade falling out, no one is really concerned about this great treasure we own. — Photos and Text by Hassan Soherwardy
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Comments (26) Closed
Aug 20, 2013 04:48pm
What a waste of money!! No wonder teh subcontinent is so poor. these Mughals wasted money on self-glorification.
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Aug 20, 2013 06:30pm
Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Lahore Badshahi Masjid, Fort and Dr. Iqbal Mazar.. I was saddened to see the condition of the complex. The magnificent huge wooden entrance door to the fort has sagged and will rot in few more years. This is original door/gate of the fort. I was surprised to see the general poor maintenance of the complex including the Shaimar Gargen. I wrote number of letter to the Governor of Punjab but i never received any response However there was no shortage of maintenance employees and gardners in the Governors Mansion. Go and take a look of the exterior landscaping of the Gen. Commanding Officer's residence and Officers Mess. Shame on us. What happened to the pride of Lahore residents Go and yell at the Archives Minister every day day.
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Aug 20, 2013 08:51pm
@faroukh Bhandara:
Well said. Spend that much money on a dead person... Same can be said about Taj Mahal..but Taj earns living for thousands of people.
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Aug 20, 2013 09:01pm
Improvements to these historical monuments can create employment and bring tourists to view them. A win-win situation. For instance, Humayun's tomb in New Delhi was neglected for a long period of time. It has recently been restored and thousands of local and foreign tourists pay to visit everyday.
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Aug 20, 2013 09:16pm
@faroukh Bhandara:
Your comment is typical Wahabi like. There are other tombs and shrines in the world which are landmark of their respective country. What do you say to them ?
Neither any religion nor any society says anything against it. Be broadminded Mr. Bhandara. Other wise you will be left alone in the world. Even your offsprings will not care about you.
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Aug 20, 2013 09:58pm
The only way to protect this, and prevent further ruin, is for Pakistan to request a 'World Heritage Site' recognition for this glorious site.
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Aug 20, 2013 10:21pm
@faroukh Bhandara:
The money may have been wasted at the time of construction but now it is a thing of beauty and pride for the entire region.
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Aug 20, 2013 10:50pm
Clearly the author is calling it the most magnificent Mughal edifice after Taj Mahal because he hasn't heard of Humayun's tomb in Delhi. Maqbara ho to Humayun jaisa ho, warna na ho.
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Aug 20, 2013 11:35pm
@faroukh Bhandara:
Mughals could have built some universities instead.
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Aug 21, 2013 12:14am
This is Pakistan's inheritance and as such we are/should be duty bound for the upkeep of the such historical places which serve as many things for the nation as well as a tourist attractions.
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Aug 21, 2013 01:34am
@faroukh Bhandara:
But now you can earn money by preserving it & promoting as national heritage.
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Aug 21, 2013 03:46am
Beautiful. I have seen Humayun's, Akbar's mausoleums and of course the Taj. Hope to see Jahangir's mausoleum some day. This one is closer to Akbar's mausoleum architecturally
than to the Taj, even though built by Shas Jahan.
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Aug 21, 2013 03:50am
@faroukh Bhandara:
They bring in tourist dollars to India even today. Agra alone has five such great architectures
(Akbar's mausoleum 8 miles outside Agra, Agra fort, the Taj, Fatehpur Sikri and Itmad-Ud-Daulah Tomb. By the time a foreign tourist is out of Agra he has spent INR 3000 on the entry tickets alone. Put in 2-3 nights at international level hotels, multiply by a few tens of thousands of tourists per year, and soon you are talking real money.
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Aug 21, 2013 05:40am
Mr Bhandara, Mughals wasted money that was not unusual at that time, this does not mean we Pakistanis should not take care of this historical monoment which is a piece of art and architecture and a great attraction for tourist. It is in our blood that we never maintain any thing. See what we have done with Railways, Air line, Steel Mill, Canals etc and Pakistan. We are dependent on UNESCO for help to maintain Moen Jadaro and Harappa cities., .Half the money allotted is eaten away.What a shame for the entire nation.
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Aug 21, 2013 12:51pm
@faroukh Bhandara:
The author should be congratulated on pointing out the state of this magnificent building. The tomb is a heritage piece and should be preserved and repaired to bring to its original condition. Learn from your neighbour India and see how pristine their heritage buildings have been maintained. The Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Qutub Minar and the like - these have been fully restored and kept up. Not only this keeps the history and heritage preserved, it also brings tourism revenue.
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Aug 21, 2013 02:10pm
These Mughals are the ones who have given us Muslims cultural identity, and these monuments are part of that cultural heritage. SO, please refrain from habitual criticism that has became part of every Pakistani and celebrate this heritage and feel sad at our lack of respect towards this heritage.
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Aug 21, 2013 05:34pm
Thank you everyone. Malik from Australia i appreciate your kind words. Mughals gave us the architecture and heritage and if we arent able to carry them that dosent mean we start blaming them. Its our heritage and identity. Most of the Masjids and Islamic places are designed in such manner. Faroukh Bhandara please visit the tomb i hope it will change your mind.
I attended a session with Professor Ebba Koch Earlier This year At Lahore Literary Festival. She is an architectural historian, a professor at the Institute of Art History in Vienna and is considered a leading authority on Mughal architecture. In 2001 she became the architectural advisor to the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative. in the festival She gave a presentation on the Taj mahal and the Tombs of Humayun, Akbar & Jahangir. And she said That taj mahal and tomb of jahangir are very much close in terms of Architecture, as well as the ornaments and much more. The amount of space on which the tomb is built is massive.
Sadly The foreigners are studying our architecture and appreciating it and we are here just to criticize our own things.
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Aug 22, 2013 01:42am
They should increase the entry fee, I have visited many of these sights and the cost to get in is peanuts! While I know that we want it to be affordable for even the poor to go, it is not feasible. We should increase the entry fee and allow these structures to self-generate more money in their upkeep. The additional money can also be used to better equip these sights with educated and well informed tour guides who can impart a healthy education on our Pakistani legacy and history!
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Aug 22, 2013 06:35am
I feel sad at the state of this beautiful building. Mughal architecture is perhaps unmatched on earth for beauty and symmetry and is reflective of a period when our civilisation was at its hight.
Is it possible to have an Indo-Pak body to restore and protect the Mughal masterpieces?
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Aug 22, 2013 08:33am
What is back up information that maharaja ranjit singh destroyed the tomb and stripped the gold from tomb? Please provide that.
Thanks.
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Aug 22, 2013 09:13am
"The tomb suffered a great deal of destruction at the hand of Maharajah Ranjeet Singh who stripped the ornaments off the tomb and sent them to Amritsar in order to decorate a Sikh temple." - Incorrect statement.
Pls read-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranjit_Singh
"Marble plaques removed from Jahangir's tomb at Shahdera were used to embellish the Baradari inside the Fort of Lahore, while the mosques were left intact"
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Aug 22, 2013 10:24am
@Mustafa:
Mughal rule ended in 1702 with the death of Aurangzb. What universities you are talking about for that era. They financed thousands of madrasas which taught up to sixteen subjects until British limited them to impart only religious subjects
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Aug 22, 2013 12:11pm
This is similar to Himayun, s tomb in delhi but more ornately decorated.
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Aug 22, 2013 12:41pm
The Mughals were very far sighted ,they have invested money by building monuments and shrines as a long term investment for future government of the subcontinent to get revenue from the tourists of the world , its living example is the Taj Mahal from which India is generating huge revenue through this monument.
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Aug 22, 2013 05:38pm
@Hassan Soherwardy:
"The tomb suffered a great deal of destruction at the hand of Maharajah Ranjeet Singh who stripped the ornaments off the tomb and sent them to Amritsar in order to decorate a Sikh temple." is factually incorrect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranjit_Singh
"Marble plaques removed from Jahangir's tomb at Shahdera were used to embellish the Baradari inside the Fort of Lahore, while the mosques were left intact"
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Aug 22, 2013 07:16pm
I went to the Tomb about 8 years ago. It was completely empty, I was the only one there in the middle of the day! Seriously we can generate tourism from expats if we put some effort into it. The tourism board should do more to generate income from tourism both expat and domestic to generate funds for restoration and preservation. Given the history its surprising nothing has been done under successive administrations.
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