Dargah Shahe Mardan is the oldest and holiest Shiite’s (Shia Asna Asha’ri) shrine in India. It is probably 700 years old ‘Dargah’, although the detail of its construction is unknown. It is located in Aliganj, currently known as B. K. Dutt Colony in South Delhi neighborhood of Jor Bagh, just two kilometers away from Prime Minister House. During the Mughal era the village here was then known as ‘Aliganj’. This area had been called Aliganj till recent times. The name from Aliganj to B.K.Dutt colony was changed just two decades ago by the then Govt. This village was called ‘Aliganj’ on account of Imam Ali (R) ibn Abu Talib (R). The name Dargah Shahe Mardan is also derived from the same name. ‘Dargah‘ means a court and ‘Shahe Mardan’ means the ‘king of Heroes’, a title of Maula Ali (as). Dargah Shahe Mardan means the ‘court of the king of Heroes’. A sacred white marble stone having a clear footprint of Maula Ali (R) ibn Abu Talib(R) known as ‘Qadam-e-Mubarak’ or Qadam Shareef, is also placed inside Dargah Shahe Mardan.
Originally the enclosure of Dargah Shahe Mardan was developed and secured by Qudsiya Begum Zamani, the mother of Mughal emperor Ahmad Shah Bahahdur and the grandmother of last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. An inscription on a marble slab set over the arch of the northern gateway reads as –
Translation “Muhammad (pbuh) the friend of God said ‘I am a city of learning and Ali (R) is its gateway” “In the auspicious reign of Ahmad Shah Bahadur, the king and champion of faith, the building of the fort, the Majlis Khana (the congregation house), the mosque and the tank, was completed in one year, according to the orders of Her Highness Nawab Qudsiya Sahiba Zamani, under the supervision of Nawab Bahadur Jawaid Khan Sahib, and under the control of Lutf Ali Khan in 1164 A.H.(1750 A.D.)”
Nawab Qudsiya Begum professed ‘Shia‘ faith. During the reign of her son Ahmad Shah, she possessed a ‘mansab’ (title) of ‘Nawab’ of 50,000. When her influence was at its peak, she had constructed a few religious buildings here in the vicinity of Qadam Shareef of Imam Ali (R), which already existed here. She enclosed those structures with a massive para petted wall. The enclosure had a bastion at each of its four corners and was furnished with four gateways and two posters. The wall, all its bastions and posters do not exist now. The northern gateway had an inscription referring to the buildings erected by Qudsiya Begum and alludes to the enclosure as a fort.
Enclosure of Dargah Shahe Mardan includes Qadam Shareef, Bibi ka Rauza or Bibi ki Chakki, Kazmain, Imam Bara also known as Baradari, Nawab Qudsia Mosque, Majlis Khana, Red Mosque and Dargah Arif Ali shah. Its surrounding waqf land includes Naqqar Khana, Zeenat ki Masjid, Baoli, Qanati Masjid, Karbala and Chotti Karbala.
It is also said that Enclosure of Dargah Shahe Mardan was founded by Nawab Qudsiya Begum. Mahabat Khan, a prominent Mughal general and statesman, who died in ‘Deccan‘ (Hydrabad) in 1634 A.D. (1144 A.H.), has expressed a desire to be buried close to the Qadam Shareef in Dargah Shahe Mardan. Upon his death his corpse was brought to Delhi from ‘Deccan’ and was buried close to Qadam Shareef.
Timur Lang, a ‘Mongol‘ conqueror had made the world’s first ‘Tazia’ (replica of Shrine of Imam Hussain (R) and buried it in 1399 A.D. (800-01 A.H.) in the vicinity of Qadam Shareef. He called that portion of land as ‘Karbala’. (Ever first Karbala after the original Karbala in Iraq, in the world)
These two incidents indicates that Dargah Shahe Mardan has been standing here much longer and building Dargah Shahe Mardan by Qudsiya Begum cannot be accepted as true. Dargah Shahe Mardan was existed well beyond the time of Qudsiya Begum. Nawab Qudsiaya Zamani only developed it in an organized way with the resources at her command. An inscription on the northern gateway itself is a proof that the buildings constructed by her were only the additions to the latter.
In her last days Nawab Qudsiya Begum was imprisoned and blinded along with her son Ahmad Shah Bahadur. She spent the remaining years of her life in prison and died in 1765 A.D. (1178-79 A.H.)
Prior to the partition of India this area was inhabited by Shia Muslims in a very small population, around the Dargah Shahe Mardan including some members of the Royal family. However, in 1947 when Delhi suffered the pain of partition, this area was no exception and the complete Muslim population had to flee from the area. After the Shia community migrated from the vicinity, Govt. rehabilitated the ‘non Muslim’ migrants from Pakistan here on the waqf land. The big gates, boundary walls and properties of the Dargah Shahe Mardan and in its surrounding were brutally vandalized and encroached by the refugees.
It was during this time that Mr. Agha Mirza concerned about the safety of Qadam Shareef and shifted this sacred stone having the footprint of Maula Ali (R) to Dargah Panja Sharif at Kashmiri Gate, Old Delhi. However, when conditions became conducive, the Qadam Shareef was again put back in its original and rightful place at the Dargah Shahe Mardan.
The area of Aliganj, and partially part of current Jorbagh was used as the Shia cemetery. At one time this area was second in importance (in the whole Delhi) only to the Dargah Shahe Mardan, because of ‘Qadam Shareef’. Dr. Khaliq Anjum, a renowned scholar and a great litterateur once persuaded Mr. Lal Bahadur Shashtri, the Prime Minister of India to stop the car in which they both were traveling in, to inspect the damages. Shashtriji was very shocked and gave orders immediately for remedial steps. Thus, a great part of Dargah shahe Mardan and its surrounding waqf was saved, which enshrined the heritage of the Shias down the ages.
People from all walks of life belonging to all religions, castes and creeds come here as devotees for offering their prayers and getting their ‘mannats’ (wishes) fulfilled. Not only local Shia Muslims but Ministers, Members of Parliament, other Govt. officials, Foreign Diplomats from various Embassies especially from the various Muslim countries come to this Dargah on regular basis. Moreover, eminent personalities have addressed the gatherings on several occasions. These include Dr. Zakir Hussain, the President of India, Mr. Lal Bahadur Shashtri, the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Mahavir Tyagi, a prominent freedom fighter and famous parliamentarian, Mr. Krishan Chander, a prolific writer, Mr. Jon Dayal, from Christian Council and Aacharye Pramod Kirishnan to name a few.
With special thanks of the site devoted to Dargah Shahe Mardan
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