The Postcard
A postally unused Collo-Photo Series postcard that was published by Raphael Tuck & Sons, Art Publishers to Their Majesties the King and Queen.
The card was published on behalf of Cook & Mody of Kashmere Gate, Delhi. The card, which has a divided back, was printed in England.
Purana Qila
Purana Qila (literally 'Old Fort') is one of the oldest forts in Delhi. Built by the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and Surid Sultan Sher Shah Suri, it is thought by many to be located on the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha.
The fort formed the inner citadel of the city of Dinpanah. It is located near the expansive Pragati Maidan exhibition ground, and is separated from the Dhyanchand Stadium by the Mathura Road.
History of the Purana Qila
Excavations point to traces from the 3rd century BC, the pre-Mauryan period. The first two rounds of excavations – in 1954–55 and 1969–72 – by B. B. Lal, the then-director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), unearthed traces of Painted Grey Ware culture.
Historian Alexander Cunningham identified the fort with that of Indraprastha, though he referred to the present structure as built by Muslim rulers.
Dinpanah
The origins of the Purana Qila lie in the walls of Dinpanah, the new city of Delhi that was constructed by Mughal emperor Humayun, in the general vicinity of the ancient Indraprastha ruins.
Abul Fazl stated that he built the fort in the place of that of ancient Indraprastha.
The founder of the Suri Dynasty, Sher Shah Suri, defeated Humayun and made changes to the fort, strengthening its fortifications and completing its walls. He also had another fort built there called Shergarh, where the governor resided.
His project, however, was a continuation of Humayun's construction of a citadel for a royal city. He also built many structures inside the fort. Further additions to the fort were made after his rule.
The extent of his contribution to the fort's construction is disputed. The historical attribution of its construction is also uncertain judging from primary sources. Muhammad Khwandamir claims that the construction of the walls and fortifications were almost finished by Humayun's time.
Tarikh-i-Da'udi states that Sher Shah Suri's royal city remained incomplete upon his death, and that he had named his fort Shergarh. Abbas Sarwani states the two forts being constructed by him were incomplete when he died.
Purana Qila and its environs flourished as the "sixth city of Delhi". On the 7th. October 1556, Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, who had defeated Akbar's forces at Battle of Delhi (1556) was crowned in Purana Qila.
The Purana Qila During The British Era
Sir Edwin Lutyens, who designed the new capital of British India, New Delhi, in the 1920's, aligned the central vista, now Rajpath, with Purana Qila.
During the Partition of India, in August 1947 the Purana Qila, along with the neighbouring Humayun's Tomb, became the site for refugee camps for Muslims migrating to newly founded Pakistan.
This included over 12,000 government employees who had opted for service in Pakistan, and between 150,000–200,000 Muslim refugees, who crowded inside Purana Qila in September 1947, when the Indian government took over the management of the two camps.
The Purana Qila camp remained functional until early 1948, as the trains to Pakistan did not start to run until October 1947.
The Purana Qila in World War II
During the Asia-Pacific War (1941-1945), plans to intern Japanese civilians living in British India, along with surveillance of persons of interest, were put in place, with preparations to open internment camps made from February 1941.
After war broke out between Japan and the Allies, Japanese civilians in India, along with those of other now-enemy nations, were joined in internment by civilians from various British colonial territories, including Malaya and Singapore.
Two key civilian internment camps in India were Purana Qila, the Old Fort, in Delhi, and Deoli in the deserts of Rajasthan.
The fate of the Japanese in India threw a shadow over the whole business, and the British believed, with some justification, that the ill-treatment of Allied prisoners of war by the Japanese was a reprisal for this.
By December 1942, there were 2,115 Japanese internees in Purana Qila camp, including 554 women and 224 children. The vast majority were from Singapore.
They were housed in tents that gave little protection from the cold in winter, or from temperatures that rose to 120 degrees in summer. The Japanese government protested that the food and the cooking, washing and sanitation facilities were inadequate.
The British dismissed this. According to a December 1942 report `Treatment of Japanese internees in India':
"The Japanese are notoriously
unable to cope with extremes
of heat or cold'.
A note by R. N. Gilchrist to the Under Secretary of State, Foreign Office on the 19th. October 1942 stated:
"According to Asiatic standards,
the rations are adequate for
proper nourishment".
Purana Qila in Recent Years
In the 1970's, the ramparts of Purana Qila were first used as a backdrop for theatre, when three productions of the National School of Drama were staged there.
In later decades it has been the venue of various theatre productions, cultural events, and concerts. Today, it is the venue of a daily sound and light presentation after sunset, on the history of the "Seven Cities of Delhi", from Indraprastha through to New Delhi.
Excavations of Purana Qila
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out excavations at Purana Qila in 1954–55, and again from 1969 to 1973 by B. B. Lal, and in 2013-14 & 2017-18 by Vasant Kumar Swarnkar.
The findings and artefacts are exhibited at the Archaeological Museum, Purana Qila. This includes Painted Grey Ware, dating to 1000 BC, and various objects and pottery signifying continuous habitation from Mauryan to Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput, Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods.
The homes built during the Rajput era were built of bricks used in other structures, and also mud bricks. A fortification wall about 30 metres long was also found.
During the Delhi Suntanate, structures were made from re-used bricks and over the ruins of earlier structures. The Mughal era structures were characterized by a deep pit dug over those of the preceding eras.
Physical Features of the Purana Qila
The walls of the fort rise to a height of 18 metres and run for 1.5 km. There are three arched gateways:
-- The Bara Darwaza (Big Gate) facing west, which is still in use today. This is the gate in the photograph.
-- The South Gate, also popularly known as the 'Humayun Gate,' probably so known because it was constructed by Humayun, or perhaps because Humayun's Tomb is visible from there.
-- The Talaqi Gate, often known as the Forbidden Gate.
All three gates are double-storeyed sandstone structures flanked by two huge semi-circular bastion towers, decorated with white and coloured-marble inlays and blue tiles.
They are replete with detailing, including ornate overhanging balconies, or jharokhas, and are topped by pillared pavilions (chhatris). These features that are reminiscent of Rajasthani architecture were amply repeated in later Mughal architecture.
Despite the grandeurs of the exterior, few of interior structures have survived except the Qila-i Kuhna Mosque and the Shermandal, both credited to Sher Shah.
