Will Bahawalpur’s historical Sadiqgarh Palace be able to be repopulated?

On the way from Bahawalpur to Fort Dravid, a road leads to the Sadiqgarh Palace, which is about a kilometer long. The view of this road is strange, a stream flows on one side and all the trees on the other side have dried up and turned black as if some demon has sucked their greenness. This demon scares you even more when you enter Sadiqgarh Palace through a giant gate.

At first sight you are wowed. Its beauty is in no way less than the White House, but as soon as you enter this palace, you start to ah-ahh as if a demon has gripped you and started sucking your blood. This demon is actually the national apathy that has turned this magnificent palace into a ruin.

Dera Nawab is next to Ahmedpur Sharqia. It was once the seat of the Abbasid rulers, whose reign lasted for two and a half hundred years. Of which 50 years were spent in the formation of the state and when it became a state, they also built new settlements and built palaces for themselves. Sadiq Garh Pil in Dera Nawab is actually a vast complex with three residential palaces located right behind it called Mubarak Mahal, Rahat Mahal and Sadiq Mahal. These three residential areas are also connected to each other through internal tunnels and then these tunnels open to the fields outside.

Between the front of the main gate and the palace, there is a twelve-door, surrounded by what used to be lawns decorated with colorful flowers, where butterflies would circle, but now herbs rule. White marble steps from the palace veranda lead to the first balcony. Ahead is a very beautiful fountain made of white marble and next to it is the main court. The glory of which can be estimated here from a huge glass which was specially ordered by Nawab Sahib from England. It is said that when this mirror was unloaded from the ship at the port of Karachi, it was brought to Bahawalpur by railway, for which several platforms had to be widened. In front of this glass is the royal platform where the Nawab sat with his advisers and conducted the affairs of the state, but now the wood used in this platform is also falling apart and the Iranian carpet on it has rotted. The carvings on the ceiling of this hall-like royal palace and the splendor of the balconies opening into it cannot be described in words. Ancient Roman and Indian architectural styles are combined in it.

The foundation stone of Sadiqgarh Palace was laid by Nawab Sadiq Khan Abbasi IV in 1882 and was completed in ten years at a cost of Rs.15 lakh. 15,000 workers and artisans worked here, supervised by Italian architects. Covering 24 squares, this palace is a masterpiece of beauty. Its 50-feet high ramparts spread over a kilometer with military barracks at each corner where guards would stand with archers holding their bows. In the center of the palace is a magnificent dome. There are towers all around, basements at the bottom of the towers. Where the treasury of the state was kept. The heavy iron safes used in this treasury are still open today as if they were the victims of a rare royal attack. In one place the wall has been breached and a hole in the middle of it reveals a treasure further on which may have been found and taken out.

Inside the main hall are the Durbar Hall and adjacent to it there are eight complete sets on either side where there are spacious dining halls. Prince Qamar-ul-Zaman Abbasi, the grandson of the Nawab of Bahawalpur, described it in his book ‘Baghdad Se Bahawalpur’ in these words, ‘From the bedroom to the drawing room, dressing room, bathroom and office rooms with all royal accessories. are self-sufficient. The ceiling, floor and door walls of each room reflect sophistication and beauty. The furnishings and furnishings are of a high standard, with floor-to-ceiling mirrors and crystal chandeliers in the rooms. Chairs, tables and vases have the same color. Fine art pieces, antiques and precious draperies add to the grandeur of this grand palace. There is also a zoo in the palace which has different types of birds and animals. Many animals have been tamed inside the palace.

The palace also has a cinema building which has now fallen down. The mosque stands in all its glory, but there is no one to call the call to prayer. There was also a power house for generating electricity, whose sky-high chimney still reflects the lights of the past. Adjacent to the palace is a garage for parking a dozen cars, where two or four Rolls Royces are still lying around. There is also a workshop for repairing these vehicles.

On the second floor of the palace there was also a wonderful library which had a collection of rare and rare books and next to this library is the room of Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Nawab Sahib had special devotion to Khawaja Sahib. About this, the young researcher and poet Irfan Shahud writes in his book ‘Baoni’ that ‘According to a tradition, Nawab Sadiq Khan brought his second Begum Gaman Gadohkan as a bride to this palace. Nawab Sahib saw this woman in a jail or prison in Bahawalnagar and became enamored with her. A lover’s mood came over Samabi’s nature. Immediately released her and decided to marry her. He was very fond of this Begum, and used to adorn her clothes according to her mood. The rain of love continued to rain, but no flower could bloom. The splendor of the Begum’s splendor with which Khusrawana continued to decline in those years never again could be achieved because the Begum died within a short time of marriage. After his death, Nawab Sahib started to be very indecisive. He would even refuse his mentor Khwaja Ghulam Farid to bring him back from the world of spirits. At the age of only 37 years, Nawab Sahib left this world on 14 February 1899.

Sadiqgarh Palace, where many kings of the time, Maharajas, members of the British royal family, viceroys and important political figures visited, has a history of greed, white blood and cunning. The palace whose occupants were prophets of justice and justice was crossed into ruins by crossing all limits of injustice.

The destruction of this magnificent palace began when Sir Sadiq Khan Abbasi, the Nawab of Bahalpur state, died in London in 1966, and a dispute arose over the ownership of the palace. Nawab Sahib had ten sons, ten daughters and three widows who mobilized to divide the property. The circles of Ahmadpur Sharqia who are privy to the stories that originated inside the palace also tell another reason that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto wanted to tie his daughter Benazir Bhutto to Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi and this message was conveyed by Begum Nusrat Bhutto herself. She went to Dera Nawab.

Bhutto himself visited the Sadiqgarh Palace twice, the first time in 1973 and the second time in 1975, along with about 70 foreign ambassadors, he brought them to show this beautiful palace. The proposal of Benazir and Nawab Salahuddin’s relationship failed, which greatly worried Bhutto. In Bhutto’s cabinet, Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi’s uncle Saeed-ul-Rashid Abbasi was the Minister of State. Two or three months later, after a fierce resistance, the palace was recaptured. But in 1985, Lt. Gen. SM Abbasi, who was the governor of Sindh during the Zia era and belonged to the royal family of Bahawalpur, used his influence to get the palace sealed again in 1984, which remained sealed for 21 years until 2005. .

What happened to this palace during this time? In this regard, in 1992, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Bahawalpur Rao Manzar Hayat, who later retired as Federal Secretary, told Independent Urdu that ‘in 1992, he was accompanied by a government team from Islamabad to see this palace from inside. When the opportunity arose, the palace was deserted and all its valuables were taken out through underground tunnels.

The palace was closed on the order of the Supreme Court because the heirs were in litigation. So the commission that went to inspect the palace, I was also included in it. In the palace, even the eyes of the tamed leopard were removed, probably with precious stones in place of the eyes. There was a large picture on the wall of the palace showing a group of British soldiers attacking the enemy. This picture was created by world famous artist Tomas John Baker. One picture was displayed at Buckingham Palace and the other at Sadiqgarh Palace. It would be worth two to three million pounds at the moment.

‘Later it was found that she too had been stolen. All the antiquities disappeared from here. Crystal chairs and chandeliers made from Holland were also stolen from the palace. There was an armory in the basement of the palace, which housed the world’s most valuable guns, ‘Holland & Holland’. There were also valuable Belgian and English-made pistols numbering in the hundreds. Which cost between 20,000 to 300,000 pounds and were gold plated.

In the garage of the palace, there was a Jim Gaffir of the world’s most expensive car, Rolls Royce. There is a tradition about him that Nawab Sahib went to Rolls Royce manufacturing factory, there were three vehicles there. When Nawab Sahib asked the price, the salesman replied with insulting eyes that it is much more than you think and pocket. On which Nawab Sahib called the manager and said that as many Rolls Royce vehicles as are made this year should be delivered to Bahawalpur. Few people know that the carriage on which Quaid-e-Azam went to take the oath of Governor-General from Lord Mountbatten was also given by the Nawab of Bahawalpur.

Today, nothing valuable remains in this palace, everything has been demolished. Most of the thefts in the palace took place during the 21 years that the palace remained sealed. These precious items were either smuggled abroad or adorned the drawing rooms of some of the most powerful and wealthy people.

Now what is the future of this palace? Will this valuable heritage become a thing of the past or can there be any way to restore it?

When Independent Urdu put this question to Prince Bahawal Khan Abbasi, the current caretaker of Sadiqgarh Palace, he replied, ‘We want to turn it into a magnificent five-star hotel. Considering its historical status and architectural style, its restoration is a very difficult task, but the Aga Khan Foundation has the expertise and experience in this regard, and discussions are underway with them, which will lead to a conclusion soon. If it is restored to its original state, tourists from all over the world will find it a memorable experience to come and stay here.’

Regarding the heritage of Bahawalpur state, when he was asked why it is in a state of ruin, he said that bad times have been coming to the state, this heritage has also been damaged in internecine battles, but this bad time will also pass. . Our ancestors had made the Sutlej Valley Project to settle the 25,800 square kilometer desert of Cholistan, by taking canals from the river, if this area had been settled, how prosperous Bahawalpur would have been today. What did we know that time is going to devastate even inhabited lands.’

If this happens, this palace will be inhabited once again. Royal palaces and forts in India have been converted into hotels and museums. Falak Nama Mahal, the palace of the Nawab of Hyderabad Deccan, has also been transformed into a hotel. Taragarh Palace, the summer residence of the Nawab of Bahawalpur in Palampur, India, has also been converted into a hotel and preserved. National School of Drama is established at Bahawalpur House in New Delhi. But we are destroying our heritage as reward. To restore this heritage, the government and the royal family of Bahawalpur made a strategy together.