South Kashmir is replete with Mughal Sarais, the campsites used by the erstwhile rulers on their travel to Kashmir. But these heritage sites have now been turned into ruins
Javid U Salam
The Mughal-era heritage sites across South Kashmir have been left in ruins as government has failed to check their massive vandalism.
The heritage sites have been neglected by Authorities. The monuments lying in dilapidated condition include Omoh Sarai, Shadimarg Sarai and Aliabad Sarai in Anantnag, Pulwama and Shopian districts here.
Nearly one and half kilometer from famous Verinag, at Omoh village the Mughal Sari lies in shambles. The residents said that the ancient Sarai which was spread over “many kanals of land has been shrunk into few kanals.”
“It has shrunk into few kanals after the encroachment by some families. The Sarai had many rooms but is now reduced to five rooms,” said Mohammad Ayoub, a resident of Omoh. He said that some twenty families have settled on the Sarai land illegally.
The residents lamented the neglect of the heritage site, which according to them, is also used to store cattle dung and firewood. “The people use the ruined structure for defecation,” Ayoub said, adding that authorities have neglected the restoration of Omoh Sarai.
The residents said that they brought the issue to the notice of district administration a number of times but to no avail. “The district development agencies said that the Sarai is to be preserved by archaeology department and they have nothing to do with it,” said Mohsin Ahmad, a resident of Verinag.
Another heritage sites at Shadimarg, a hilly village in Pulwama district has also faced vandalism. This Sarai was built by Emperor Jahangir around 1617 on historic Mughal road at a distance of 15 kilometers from district headquarters, but is now in ruins.
A resident of Shadimarg, Mohammad Shaban said that neither department of archeology nor revenue officials were able to stop people from defacing and destroying the structure.
“The Sarai was spread on 83 kanals of land. It has been shrunk to mere 4 to 5 kanals by encroachment due to official neglect,” he said. Around four to five houses have been raised at the heritage site.
“These people have grabbed the state land. If authorities were serious enough they could have relocated them but no efforts were made either to preserve this heritage site or to stop encroachments,” Shaban said. Villagers said that some families from neighborhood areas have settled at the Sarai site and have raised their houses illegally. Some of the families have turned rooms of this largest Sarai in Kashmir into cowsheds and rear their cattle within the Sarai.
The Sarai is strewn with heaps of cow dung and garbage lies scattered over it. Earlier records reveal that Shadimarg Sarai was one of the most glorious inns and noted archeologist and writer of Kashmir, Iqbal Ahmad, has recorded that Shadimarg Sarai was a great monuments of Mughal period.
The inn lies in utter neglect and its walls have caved in and bushes and trees have been planted there in the absence of any sort of preservation. Iqbal has written, “ The site is missing in the records of departments of archaeology archives and museums. As the site doesn’t figure in the list of protected monuments, one can understand the negligence and disregard we have for our history and heritage,” he writes.
Another Sarai along Mughal road at Aliabad in Shopian district, a green meadow on banks of nullah Panchal, also lies in shambles. The inn has several cells and rooms and door of its stone gate is missing. The Sarai was built by Mughal emperor
Jalal-ud-Din Akbar for convenience of travelers who used to arrive in Kashmir through Pirpanchal route. The campsite came to be known as Aliabad Sarai after it was restored by Shahjahaan in the name his governor Ali Mardan Khan.
Mohammad Rafiq Sheikh, a resident of Shopian said that this splendid Sarai of Mughal era is in complete ruins due to the negligence of authorities. “It is unfortunate that the Sarai lost its splendor to the utter neglect of the concerned departments which never felt a need to preserve it,” he said, adding that this cultural site should be properly preserved and declared as a state protected monuments. He said that shepherds and nomads from Rajouri and Poonch use it as transit shelter for their cattle and sheep which has left it damaged .
Archaeologist and writer, Iqbal Ahmad said that the campsites were constructed by different Mughal emperors for convenience of travelers and served as the passenger sheds of modern area.
“They were constructed with locally available material like rubble stone, mud and small baked bricks. They had a peculiar design with a single door at the main gate and all internal rooms were without any doors” he said, adding that the design had a significant impact on tradition and style of Kashmir following the era. Director Archives, Archaeology and Museums, Mohammad Shafi Zahid, said that most of the Mughal Sarais are being protected by the archaeological survey of India (ASI).
“The saris are not listed as protected monuments with our department,” he said, adding that they have carried out a survey and recommended that these heritage sites shall be included in the list of protected monuments. “We have carried out a number of campaigns for raising awareness among common people on importance of preserving our heritage wealth but the campaigns failed to change people’s mindset”, he said.
