Amid the myriad historical and archaeological sites of socio-cultural significance in Lahore lay the Tomb of Shahzada Pervaiz, the second son of Emperor Jahangir.

As mentioned in Tuzk-i-Jahangiri, “Jahangir had five sons named Sultan Khusro, Sultan Pervaiz, Sultan Khurram, Sultan Jahandar, Sultan Shehryar and two daughters called Sultan Nisar Begum and Bahar Bano Begum. Khusro, Pervaiz and Jahandar passed away during the king’s lifetime.”

Sultan Pervaiz had a son and a daughter. The son died during his lifetime while the daughter was later married to Emperor Shah Jahan’s son, Prince Dara Shikoh.

Fond of constructing buildings, like most Mughal rulers, Prince Pervaiz had built a charming palace in Lahore’s Kot Khawaja Saeed area. As the people of Lahore greatly loved the prince, that locality, later on, came to be known as Pervaiz Abad.

There is some controversy about Sultan Pervaiz’s tomb. Maulvi Noor Ahmad Chishti in his book, Tehqiqat-i-Chishti (Researches of Chishti), writes: “This tomb is of prince Pervaiz, the brother of King Shah Jahan. Its dome is higher even than that of Ali Mardan Khan’s tomb. It is surrounded by eight gates that are decaying now. Previously, all the door-frames were made of marble but now everything looks abandoned. Later on, Shah Jahan built a market here by the name Pervaiz Abad and it is still called by this name. The prince died in 1081 Hijra.”

But some observations by Chishti are not authentic. For instance, he wrote that Pervaiz died in 1081 Hijra, which cannot be correct as Pervaiz died during the lifetime of Emperor Jahnagir who himself died in 1037 Hijra.

A magnificent tomb is in a state of disrepair, while mystery shrouds its actual occupant

Other than Noor Chishti, there are some other stories created by several historians. According to them, at the death of Jahangir, Shah Jahan deceitfully called Sultan Pervaiz (who was his elder brother) to Lahore and got him murdered by Asif Jah in Kot Khawaja Saeed. This too seems incorrect. The fact that Prince Sultan died during Jahangir’s lifetime has been mentioned in Maulvi Zaka Ullah Dehlvi, Tuzk-i-Jahangiri, Shah Jahan Nama and other books. The death of Prince Sultan has been described in Tuzk-i-Jahangiri in these words:

“The news of Prince’s ailment reached the palace on Ramazan 23, 1035 Hijra. He had been suffering from colic pain for quite some time. Later on, Khan-i-Khanan related the news that the pain started again. He was an excessive drinker and, like his uncle Prince Murad, died of that pain on Safar 6, 1035 Hijra. The same disease caused the death of Prince Daniyal as well.”

Moreover, in the sixth volume of Tareekh-i-Hindustan (Indian History) Maulvi Zaka Ullah Dehlvi writes:

“The writings of Dakkan relate when King started journey towards India from Ghazna via Kabul, Prince Pervaiz caught liver disease due to excessive drinking. Like his uncle Prince Murad and Daniyal, he passed away as a result of this pain. His date of death is Safar 6, 1035 Hijra and he was buried in the garden in Agra.”

If we accept Maulvi Zaka Ullah Dehlvi’s narrative it means the tomb in Lahore is not that of Prince Pervaiz.

Like other historical places in Lahore, the tomb under discussion, too, has gone through different changes. Before partition, one Chaudhry Mohammad Hussain not only got it repaired but also fixed an epitaph displaying that the tomb is that of Prince Dara Shikoh.

However this, too, cannot be correct. Prince Dara Shikoh’s head and body are buried at two different places: the head was buried beside his mother Mumtaz Mahal’s grave in Taj Mahal, while the body was laid to rest at Humayun’s tomb.

Apart from Mr Hussain’s poor knowledge, other false stories about the tomb were in circulation and after partition people started calling this dome the Tomb of Dai Amma, Dara Shikoh’s governess.

Whose tomb is this actually? We agree with Syed Lateef’s account that this tomb might be that of Prince Pervaiz’s son. Major supporting evidence is the presence of Prince Pervaiz’s garden in Lahore and the fact that the prince’s son had died during his lifetime.

It was one of the charming buildings built during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The palace, as well as the garden, was built under the supervision of Prince Pervaiz himself. Kanhaya Lal Hindi, in Tareekh-i-Lahore (Lahore’s History) [circa 1884], described the condition of this tomb in these words:

“This tomb, an old building, is located in Kot Khawaja Saeed area, towards the South, and to the East of Lahore city. Its seat is as high as one storey and it has been built on a concrete pedestal. Once, the outer as well as the inner

floors of the tomb were covered with marble which was later removed on the orders of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.

Later, it was repaired but it, too, got destroyed. Now, the government has undertaken the work of its repair through me [Kanhaya Lal].”

At present, the tomb looks lost in the crowd of small houses in the narrow alleys. On all four corners of the roof, small minarets can still be seen. There are small doors on all four sides of the tomb. The grave is not properly made and only a small mound of dust exists in its place. Due to the negligence of the archaeology department this site has been left unattended. Not even a nominal plaque, plate or stone can be found here. In the room, under the dome, children play casually. The concrete stature of this tomb has been left at the mercy of this city of unaware people and the elements. It is feared that it will collapse with a heavy rain or a quake.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 4th, 2015