Anarkali Tomb

It is now believed that Nadira Begum (named “Anarkali” due to her red like complexion like a “pomegranate” in full bloom)  died in mysterious circumstances when Akbar was away in Deccan.

There are different versions exist on her death. In which one account is her natural death when Emperor Akbar was visiting Deccan and he ordered to build a tomb.

In other accounts, which are not verily proved by historian is being poisoned by other courtiers after receiving orders from Prince Salem (Jehangir) when she was concubine of Akbar too and the mother of Danial (Jehangir’s brother).

And the most popular version is of this s that when emperor was in Deccan, Prince Salim made advances on the beautiful woman, and on learning of this the emperor ordered that she be buried alive so that any misunderstanding between the emperor and the prince be removed.

Here, we cannot ignore the fact that court historian had also recorded the natural death of “Danial”s mother.

A note from a British traveller William Finch, who visited Lahore in 1608, three years after Prince Salim ascended the throne as Emperor Jahangir. “The King (Jahangir), in token of his love, commands a sumptuous tomb to be built of stone in the midst of a four-square garden richly walled, with a gate and diverse rooms over it,” wrote William Finch. But he failed to provide any other detail and this can be in result of his imagination.

The tomb of Anarkali is one of the most significant buildings of the Mughal period.

It is an ingeniously planned octagonal building. Circular in shape and roofed by a lofty dome, the tomb once surrounded a garden, called Anarkali Garden, but during the last couple of hundred years it has been put to several uses. Under the Sikhs, the mausoleum was occupied by kharak Singh. Later it served as the residence of General Ventura, the Italian General of Ranjit Singh’s army. Under the British, The tomb was converted into Church (a protestant Church) in 1851 right after 2 years of British Control on Lahore. Few years later, it was converted to St. James’ Church in 1857 till 1891. Since then, it has been used as Punjab Archives Museum with an amazing treasure for those interested in the history of British Punjab.