Heritage activists' plea to safeguard partially demolished Fatehbaug palace, residence of Abdu'r-Rahim Khăn-i-Khānān

By A Representative

A collective of heritage conservationists and social organisations have submitted a formal application to the Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad, urging urgent intervention to protect the remnants of the historically significant Fatehbaug Palace in Fatehwadi. The palace, believed to have been partially demolished recently by municipal bulldozers, was once the residence of Abdu'r-Rahim Khăn-i-Khānān (popularly Rahim), a prominent 16th-century Mughal noble, poet, and governor of Gujarat under Emperor Akbar.

The petition, presented by the heritage advocacy group Saanjhi Virasat and supported by civil society organisations including AJIM, Umang Foundation, and Ibteda Foundation, calls for immediate measures to halt further damage to the site and to consider its restoration as a public heritage space. The group also submitted historical documents and published articles attesting to the palace’s cultural and historical value.

Fatehbaug Palace dates back to the late 16th century, following Akbar’s annexation of Gujarat in 1572. Rahim was one of Akbar’s celebrated "Navratnas" (Nine Jewels) and the son of Bairam Khan, Akbar’s mentor. Though a powerful general and administrator, Rahim is best remembered for his devotional and philosophical couplets – Rahim ke Dohe – which continue to be quoted widely across India even today.

In their letter, the petitioners expressed concern that unauthorised encroachments had reached the very boundary of the monument, posing a grave threat to what remains of the structure. They requested that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) re-evaluate any demolition plans and explore alternative proposals for the site, including the creation of a small heritage park that integrates Rahim's poetry into its landscape.

Describing the palace as a potential "symbol of communal harmony" in the city, the letter appealed to the civic authorities for swift action to preserve the monument and protect its surrounding area from further encroachment and degradation.

The activists have called on the AMC to initiate a comprehensive heritage audit and to involve local communities in reimagining the site as a shared cultural space reflecting Ahmedabad's syncretic history.

Comments

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas* Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Overriding India's constitutional sovereignty? Citizens urge PM to reject WHO IHR amendments

By A Representative A group of concerned Indian citizens, including medical professionals and activists, has sent an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reject proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) before the ratification deadline of July 19, 2025.

Ecological alarm over pumped storage projects in Western Ghats: Policy analyst writes to PM

By A Representative In a detailed letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, energy and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma has raised grave concerns over the escalating approval and construction of Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) across India’s ecologically fragile river valleys. He has warned that these projects, if pursued unchecked, could result in irreparable damage to the country’s riverine ecology, biodiversity hotspots, and forest wealth—particularly in the Western Ghats.

Gurdial Singh Paharpuri: A lifetime of revolutionary contribution and unfulfilled aspirations

By Harsh Thakor* Gurdial Singh Paharpuri, a Central Committee member of the Communist Party Re-Organisation Centre of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPRCI(ML)), passed away on July 2, marking a significant loss for the Indian Communist Revolutionary movement. For six decades, Singh championed the cause of revolution, leaving an enduring impact through his lifelong dedication to the global proletarian movement. His contributions are considered foundational, laying groundwork for future advancements in revolutionary thought. He is recognized as a key figure among Indian Communist revolutionary leaders who shaped the mass line, and his example is seen as a model for revolutionary communists to follow.

Designing the edge, erasing the river: Sabarmati Riverfront and the dissonance between ecology and planning

By Mansee Bal Bhargava, Parth Patel Across India, old black-and-white images of the Sabarmati River are often juxtaposed with vibrant photos of the modern Sabarmati Riverfront. This visual contrast is frequently showcased as a model of development, with the Sabarmati Riverfront serving as a blueprint for over a hundred proposed riverfront projects nationwide. These images are used to forge an implicit public consensus on a singular idea of development—shifting from a messy, evolving relationship between land and water to a rigid, one-time design intervention. The notion of regulating the unregulated has been deeply embedded into public consciousness—especially among city makers, planners, and designers. Urban rivers across India are undergoing a dramatic transformation, not only in terms of their land-water composition but in the very way we understand and define them. Here, we focus on one critical aspect of that transformation: the river’s edge.

Civil rights coalition condemns alleged abduction of activist Samrat Singh by Delhi police

By A Representative The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), a collective of civil and democratic rights organisations, has strongly condemned what it describes as the illegal abduction of psychologist and social activist Samrat Singh by a team of Delhi Police officials. The incident occurred on the evening of July 12, 2025, at Singh’s residence in Yamunanagar, Haryana.

Historic Supreme Court ruling grants tribal women equal right to inherit property

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark judgment declaring that denying tribal women inheritance rights solely based on gender is unconstitutional. The court affirmed their equal right to ancestral property, stating that refusing a share in such property to a tribal woman or her legal heirs on the basis of sex is both unjust and unconstitutional.

Fifteen years after Maoist's death: An unfinished debate, armed insurgency, dissent, peace talks

By Harsh Thakor* July 1, 2025, marked the fifteenth death anniversary of Cherukuri Rajkumar, also known as Azad, a Central Committee member, ideologue, and spokesperson of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). He was killed on this day in 2010, in what civil liberties groups have described as a "fake encounter" with security forces in the forests of Adilabad, Telangana. Azad was involved in public communication for the CPI (Maoist), issuing press statements and interviews that aimed to present the party’s perspective, often at odds with mainstream media portrayals.

Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor* A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

Search This Blog