Cons Red - Fort Report

Conservation at the Red Fort New Delhi 2003
table of contents:
Neher-i-Behist & Bagh-i-Hayat Baksh
> Destroyed Evidence for Medieval Hydrological System
> Reconfigured & Reconstructed Terrace
> Contravened Conservation Standards
Hayat Baksh Extant Traces covered or removed
Intrusive lighting Features
Repaved Pathways
Reconstituted Features
Shah Burj
Marble Pool re-Pointed with Cement
Diwan-i-Khas & Khas Mahal
> Damaged Scale of Justice Jali
> Renovated Pietra Dura
s ta t e m e n t o f p u r p o s e
As a public-spirited group of citizens, we draw your attention to
the reckless renovation work at the Red Fort.
We present herewith evidence of a cavalier approach to
conservation that perpetuates a 'chalta hai' attitude towards a
scientific discipline. The present works at the fort viol ate
international norms of conservation that could disqualify its
b i d to ach i e ve Wo r l d H e r i tag e stat us . A dh o c m e asu r es o f
'beautification' in the name of restoration attack both protected
material heritage and the cultural identity of a society.
Who is to be held responsible for the criminal negligence in
the execution of well-established guidelines? who answers for:
> the eliminatiion of authentic evidence of material heritage,
and thereby our identity
> the replacement of this authentic heritage with new design
elements in violation of international conservation charters
> the presentation of a complex, integrated hydrological
structure as a decorative feature
> the alteration of a traditional architectural ethos
with an aesthetics of public-works landscapes
> the devaluation of high-quality traditional skills
by patronising substandard workmanship
> the denial of our basic right to be informed
about the state of our heritage
The Red Fort is amongst the finest Mughal

monuments in India- a talismanic emblem of the
subcontinent's struggle against colonial rule.
The palace at Delhi is, or rather was, the most magnificent palace in the
East perhaps in the world... The gems of the palace (remain), it is true, but
without the courts and corridors connecting them they lose all their
meaning and more than half their beauty. Situated in the middle of a
British barrack-yard, they look like precious stones torn from their settings
in some exquisite piece of Oriental jewellers work and set at random in a
bed of the commonest plaster.
James Fergusson, History of India and Eastern Architecture, 1910,
in Nicholson, Venturi - The Red Fort Delhi,
London: Tauris Parke Books (1989)
C o n s e r v a t i o n a t t h e R e d F o r t, S h a h j a h a n a b a d , N e w D e l h i . 2 0 0 3
the Red Fort

An axonometric view shows
buildings up until the
British occupation in 1858
(adapted from Sanderson)
in Nicholson, Venturi
(1989) p.122
Circled is the area under
scrutiny in these papers.
Of all the Mugal monuments of Delhi which are now

invested with so much interest owing to the city having
become once more the Capital of the Indian Empire, the
Fort of Shah Jahan will, to the majority appeal to the most.
Sanderson (in ASI Annual report 1911-12,1915, p.1)
In the larger context Red Fort played an enormous symbolic

role for the Indian people throughout the country, both
during and after the freedom movement. On the morning of
15 August 1947, it was from this port Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru the first prime minister of independent India,
addressed his countrymen to commemorate a day that had
long been sought.
A S Mukherji
Mukherji, The Red Fort,
Delhi: Oxford University Press (2003)
Compared with its counterpart in Agra, the palace

in the red fort of Delhi is a unified whole. Its main
parts were conceived all at once, rather than built
up piecemeal over time, and though it has some
later additions these have not destroyed the
original basic pattern. however, it is much less well
preserved than the Agra palace, for various
historical reasons.
After half a century of destruction adn neglect, a
programme of restoration of the surviving parts was
begun by the Archeological Survey in 1903.
GHR Tillotson
Tillotson, Mughal India, London: Viking (1990)
Configuration & Hydrology before...
there are several indications that the Neher-iBehist went underground and reappeared all
along the Eastern terrace of the royal palace.
Left: Neher flowing
through the Hammam,
photo Mukherji (2002) p.115;
Right: through Diwan-i-Khas,
photo Dube, Ramanathan
(1997) p.124;
Below: Mukherji (2002) p.141
These photographs of excavations in

2002 reveal traces of a scientific
system of terracotta pipes contiguous
with the streams that fed the fort
gardens and palaces.
Specific names and uses of separate
pipes- for big and small baths, for
tanks, canals, and passages-were
marked on the tank from which they
flowed onwards
This was a complex, precisely graded
system of waterworks activated by
gravity, as recently revived as part of
the restoration of Humayun's tomb.
Photos taken during

excavations, 2002.
Courtesy Ratish Nanda
Configuration & Hydrology ... after

footprint of Moti Mahal
before...
& after...
In the present configuration, oblong scallops create
a uniformly paved pool that bears no resemblance to
any Mughal structure or historical precedent
the footprint of the

Moti Mahal plinth,
where the Neher goes
underground, has
not been preserved.
Photo taken 09/2003
Configuration & Hydrology after...

A puzzling aspect of this arrangement is that in such a dusty
climate as Delhis, the water that flowed into hammams and
the private rooms of the emperor was allowed to first flow
uncovered. An explanation for this may be that the trees
flowers and the plantation both within the gardens and
around the Fort produced a micro climate that ensured
reduced level of dust. And it is also probable that at the point
at which these channels entered royal paviions or hammams,
a system of filtration removed any adhering particles and
purified the water before it was heated or cooled for bathing.
Mukherji (2002) p.116
in the newly finished 'restoration' a

truncated scallop extends right to the
wall of the hammam. this was most likely
a portal in and out of the royal baths to
the terrace, probably done in marble like
the rest of the Neher. a platformed area
here, visible in the photograph above,
would have extended over the intake
pipes, allowing residents to enter and
exit the hammam. It is safe to infer that
the king did not step down and wade into
a stagnant pool at this point.
The end result is the creation of a still,

leaky waterbody, below.
In the process of this so-called

restoration, all evidence of the highlyevolved water circulation system of the
mughals has been at best concealed, and
at worst destroyed.
photos taken 09/03
The eastern wall of the

Fort, retaining this
terrace with its
cosmetic changes and
two leaky water bodies,
is already weakening
(refer to 'Red Fort regalia is a
damp squib', the Pioneer
artical in Annex A)
photo Vijay Kumar (2002)
These cosmetic changes

are clearly not
addressing real
conservation issues.
there are several indications that the Neher-iBehist went underground and reappeared all
along the Eastern terrace of the royal palace.
Left: Neher flowing
through the Hammam,
photo Mukherji (2002) p.115;
Right: through Diwan-i-Khas,
photo Dube, Ramanathan
(1997) p.124;
Below: Mukherji (2002) p.141
These photographs of excavations in

2002 reveal traces of a scientific
system of terracotta pipes contiguous
with the streams that fed the fort
gardens and palaces.
Specific names and uses of separate
pipes- for big and small baths, for
tanks, canals, and passages-were
marked on the tank from which they
flowed onwards
This was a complex, precisely graded
system of waterworks activated by
gravity, as recently revived as part of
the restoration of Humayun's tomb.
Photos taken during

excavations, 2002.
Configuration & Hydrology ... after

footprint of Moti Mahal
before...
& after...
In the present configuration, oblong scallops create
a uniformly paved pool that bears no resemblance to
any Mughal structure or historical precedent
the footprint of the

Moti Mahal plinth,
where the Neher goes
underground, has
not been preserved.
Photo taken 09/2003
Configuration & Hydrology after...

A puzzling aspect of this arrangement is that in such a dusty
climate as Delhis, the water that flowed into hammams and
the private rooms of the emperor was allowed to first flow
uncovered. An explanation for this may be that the trees
flowers and the plantation both within the gardens and
around the Fort produced a micro climate that ensured
reduced level of dust. And it is also probable that at the point
at which these channels entered royal paviions or hammams,
a system of filtration removed any adhering particles and
purified the water before it was heated or cooled for bathing.
in the newly finished 'restoration' a

truncated scallop extends right to the
wall of the hammam. this was most likely
a portal in and out of the royal baths to
the terrace, probably done in marble like
the rest of the Neher. a platformed area
here, visible in the photograph above,
would have extended over the intake
pipes, allowing residents to enter and
exit the hammam. It is safe to infer that
the king did not step down and wade into
a stagnant pool at this point.
The end result is the creation of a still,

leaky waterbody, below.
In the process of this so-called

restoration, all evidence of the highlyevolved water circulation system of the
mughals has been at best concealed, and
at worst destroyed.
photos taken 09/03
The eastern wall of the

Fort, retaining this
terrace with its
cosmetic changes and
two leaky water bodies,
is already weakening
(refer to 'Red Fort regalia is a
damp squib', the Pioneer
artical in Annex A)
photo Vijay Kumar (2002)
These cosmetic changes

are clearly not
addressing real
conservation issues.
Configuration of the Neher-i-Behist...

cornice details along waterway edges
before...
& after...
Photos taken during excavations, 2002.

sections of cornices
Photos taken 09/03.
likely before
as suggested by
the main channel,
left, in the Hayat
Baksh garden
and at present
after renovation
10
Water flowed from the

Neher-i-behist, through
these concealed pipes
under the terrace,
leading into the Hayat
Bakhsh garden
Left: Reconstructed plan of the Bagh-iHayat Bakhsh, in Ebba Koch (2001)

Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology,
Delhi, Oxford University Pub.
Below: Notional sketch
Evidence of stairways
descending into the
garden can be seen in the
retaining wall of the
terrace.
These correspond to the
morphology of the Neheri-Behist, and the streams
intersecting the Hayat
Baksh garden
Photos taken 17/09/03.
11
Conservation Standards... preserving extant traces

The evident traces of stairways leading from
the Neher-i-Behist Terrace down to the Hayat
Baksh garden have recently received Limeplaster infill
photos taken on 17/09/03.
This ad-hoc concealment of

extant architectural traces
indicates a wilfull neglect of
their significance in the
larger architectural and
hydrological scheme, with no
effort at either preservation
or restoration.
Photos taken on 24/09/03.
12
Public Campaign to Misinform

MM Kaye's book 'the Golden Calm' is based on the post-1867 reminiscences
of Emily Metcalfe, an English memsahib, her mother Lady Clive Bayley and
her father, Sir Thomas Metcalfe, a resident at the Mughal court who
commissioned illustrations of the Fort from Delhi artists in his 'Delhie Book'.
Illustration from 'the Golden Calm', ed. MM Kaye (1980), Webb & Bower,
Great Britain, reproduced from the 'Delhie Book' by Sir Thomas Metcalfe
This was the 'evidence'

cited by the Minister in
the same newspaper "the Nehr-i-Bihist which
was covered under earth
and debris, was
excavated and then
restored with red
sandstone in conformity
with the description and
photographs(sic) given in
the book written by
Metcalfe (sic) titled
Golden Calm(sic)."
Another example of the Neher-i-behist depicted by an artist of

the period, showing the linkage of the terrace to the garden.
Illustration from 19th century copy of M. Salih Kanbo, Amal-iSalih, British Library Collection, reproduced in Ebba Koch (2001)
Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, Delhi, Oxford India Pub.
Significantly, this was a private area, part of the royal household, and hence
shielded from the eyes of painters. These painters would have relied on
chance sightings, descriptions and imaginative renderings of existing stylistic
conventions and work drawings.
These illustrations do not stand scrutiny as authoritative,
incontrovertible evidence towards creating blue-prints for restoration.
13
The Minister released these

photographs, through an unsigned
article in a national newspaper, a day
after the first media reports
revealing the fiasco at the red fort.
Misleading the public, the minister
cited this as proof of the "original
structure revealed after ASI
excavation".
The photo actually shows the newly
constructed cement structure, made
to retain the modified Neher-i-Behist.
in the subsequent photo, a platform

with brick-rubble infill and
sandstone cladding further
obscures the footprints of the Neher
and moti mahal.
These "restorations" have now been
completed, unchallenged.
14
May 2002 Neher-i-Behist during excavations

photo courtesy: S. Makhija
15
Conservation Standards... pointing marble with cement
Shah Burj
The Shah Burj, or royal tower, was used for the
private council meetings that were part of the daily
routine of the emperor. It was accessible only to the
imperial princes, the vizier and a few important
courtiers who had the emperors special confidence.
Koch (2001) Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology, p.219
From the pavilion attached to the Shah Burj, water
drawn from the river below would have flowed into a pool
at the head of the Neher-i-Behist, and continued from there
into the fort's complex system of waterways.
at the source of the Neher-i-Behist in the Shah Burj,

Pointing with white cement (a bag of which sits beside the artisan)
A material analysis by an independent conservationist is requested.
16
Conservation Standards... Shah Burj
Careless reactivation
of Water flow
leaks have developed on
the east wall of the Shah
Burj. This indicates
improper pointing and
water-proofing in the
source pool, from where
water is seeping into the
plinth and foundation of
the structure. The damage
from this flow into the
stagnant Neher-i-Behist
will soon become evident.
Below, cement pointing
and other inappropriate
measures taken to staunch
the flow, endangering
the building.
photos courtesy: S Makhija
21 Oct. 2003.
17
Conservation Standards... preserving extant traces in-situ
Conservation Standards... Paving pathways PWD-style
several alternatives, true to period technologies,

are available.
For instance, hexagonal-patterned brick
paving in the paien bagh or ladies garden
of Jehangir's Lahore Fort
photo Crowe, Haywood, Jellicoe, Patterson
(1973)p. 154,155
18
Conservation Standards... intrusive lighting features
before media reports

New lighting features
along pathways in the
Hayat Baksh Garden.
Photo taken early
September 2003
after media reports

The Minister claimed that
this pathway lighting was
required for thesound and
light show, when the Red
Fort's son et lumiere does
not extend to this part at
all. (refer to annex A)
However, soon thereafter
the lamps were removed
from this same stretch a small change considering
the serious issues raised by
renovations at the fort, but
an acknowledgement of
culpability.
Photo taken late Sept. 2003
indiscreet lighting
continues...
Floodlight mounted on
dome of protected
structure
Photos courtesy A.G.K. Menon,

Oct. 2003
19
Conservation Standards... Reconstituted features

The Zafar Mahal stands amidst
fountains in a pool where four
canals converge. The south
and north canals emanated
from the small Sawan and the
Bhadon pavilions.
Right: Photo from E. Moynihan (1979)
Paradise as a Garden In Persia
and Mughal India, p. 136
New Fountainheads
Newly carved fountains have been
added in a denser and atypical
arrangement in the channel
flowing between the Sawan and
Badhon pavilions.
The photograph above indicates
their original form and placement.
Those below document successive
generations: the older, with
weathered blue paint from a
previous beautification effort, sits
unmoored beside an inaccurate
reproduction; fragments from
the succession.
Photos taken Oct. 2003
20
Conservation Standards
in electrification
& water storage
details of the pipes being laid
under the new paving of the
Neher-i-Behist terrace
cemented water tanks created under

the extant footprint of the Moti Mahal.
Photos 09/03
Footprint of Moti Mahal,
in Koch (2001)
21
Khas Mahal*
scale of Justice Jali before...
One of the finest specimens

of Mughal lattice-work in
the country.
The screen carved with the scale of justice, part
of emperors insignia, formed a transparent
vertical boundary between two central arcade
verandas on the north and south faces. The
Neher-i-Bahist channel flowing below the screen
bisected the open width of the Khas Mahal.
This space, cooled by the water channel, seems
to have been a favourite spot of the later
emperors, who are often depicted in the court
paintings with the screen of justice, silhouetting
their profile amidst the hint of the breeze and
the prospect of a vista of marble pavilions.
above: 19th cent. illustr. from Kaye (1980) p.75

left: uncredited photo from a common postcard;
left below: photo taken in 1997,
from Mukherji (2001) p. 31
Khas Mahal, or special palace, was

*theThe
emperors personal living quarters, with
multiple verandahs and chambers.
Its parts were variously designated the
Khwabgah , the House of Dreams or more
prosaically, the Sleeping Chamber; the
Tasbih Khana or Chamber of Telling Beads;
the Toshakhana or the Baithakkhana , the
Robe Chamber or the Sitting Chamber.
22
scale of Justice Jali after...
Is there a first-information/
police report, or any other
records establishing liability
or accountability?
photos taken o9/03, allegedly

two months after breakage.
23
Diwan-i-Khas
renovated Pietra Dura
It is this place that the king, seated

in a chair, his Omrahs standing
around him, grants more private
audience to his officers, receives
their reports, and deliberates on
important affairs of the state.
Bernier (1996), Travels in the Mughal
Empire, AD-1656-68, p.265
No picture can give an adequate idea

of it, for in design, proportion,
material and finish, it was faultless...
a more wonderful building does not exist
in the world."
Metcalfe
Metcalfe, in Kaye (1980) p. 168
photo: Nicholson, Venturi (1989) p.115
Shah Jahan chose to describe

this marble pavilion in
words inscribed on its
southern interior arcades:
Agar firdaus bad zamin ast,

hamin ast, hamin ast
if there is paradise on earth,
it is this, it is this!
photo from Nicholson(1989) p.51
The descriptions of
Diwan-i-Khas by most
writers convey a picture
of a delicately lavish
interior containing
painted gold decoration,
finely carved marble
screens, glass infill on
arched windows, and a
ceiling of pure silver.
Plan of the Diwan-i-Khas

showing its 32 pillars, all
delicately inlaid.
Photo taken 09/03

24

assessing Material-use & skill
Documentation of works
Documentation of each stage in the conservation
& restoration process is mandatory.
There must be records of every stage of
conservation for each face of the 32 columns
in the Diwan-i-Khas (approx. 120 faces)
It is incumbent on the ASI and its contrators
to maintain and furnish these public records.
a comparitive study
by independent conservationists and specialists,
based on ASI records, is necessary.
an in-situ assessment
of restoration and expert advice by presidenthonoured master craftsmen, for which a request
for has been made to the ASI.
varying state of inlays

on different Panels
in the Diwan-i-Khas
Photo taken 1966, ASI no. 1062-66
To p
e
Photo taken 1989, in Nicholson, Venturi(1989), p.120 Mid d lle
Photo taken 2003, after restoration Bottom
25

Material-use
& Craftsmanship
possible
Comparable inlays from the Taj Mahal, Agra,
demonstrate the fine pietra dura craftskills that could still be brought to bear
in restoration, where appropriate.
photos from Joshi, Okada, Nou(1993) p.21, 34, 64
Stone (Cornelian, Lapis, Jaisalmer

etc.)was carefully selected (with the
choice of shades obtained by the
heating of stones such as Cornelian
& Jaisalmer) to achieve the subtle
gradations in hue at the turning of
a leaf or petal
There is no justification for craftsmanship
of a quality inferior to the original Mughal
or British colonial work, when today the
skills and the technologies employed by the
country's craftspeople are vastly improved.
Interviews of mastercraftsmen who have
received presidential awards reveal that
none have been consulted.
26

Replacement of Inlays
the removal of surviving inlays, and
replacement by an inferior grade of
material and workmanship, to effect
uniformity.
The Contrator for the restoration of
inlays was changed after work was
unsatisfactorily 'completed' on 20
columns.
(according to the accounts of craftsmen
working on-site, in early september)
Negligent choices
examples of careless
inlay with poor,
discoloured stone, &
finishing with epoxy
photos taken 24/09/03
27
Diwan-i-Khas
pietra dura panel
clearly indicating incompatible
adhesive usage & irreversible
restoration procedures.
photo 2002
courtesy: s. Makhija
28
Diwan-i-Khas
pietra dura panel
indicating the removal of original material
prior to current restoration work
photo 2002
courtesy: s. Makhija
inappropriate filling with epoxy suspected

(refer to previous image)
permission for evaluation requested.
29
Bibliography
S. P. Blake - Shahjahanabad The Sovereign City in Mughal India 1639173, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1993)
Crowe, Haywood, Jellicoe, Patterson - The Gardens of Mugal India,
Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. (1973)
Dube, Ramanathan - Delhi, The City of Monuments, New Delhi:
Timeless Books (1997)
M.M. Kaye (Ed.) - The Golden Calm,
Devon: Webb & Brown Ltd. (1980)
Ebba Koch - Mugal Art and Imperial Ideology Collected Essays ,
New Delhi: Oxford University Press(2001)
Ehlers, Krafft (Ed.) - Shahjahanabad/Old Delhi Tradition and Colonial
Change, New Delhi: Ajay Kumar Jain for Manohar Publishers (2003)
Joshi, Okada, Nou - Taj Mahal, Paris: Abbeville Press Publisher (1993)
MARG, Vol. XXXIX, No.1, Patrons of Art: The Mughals and the Medici,
Bombay: MARG Publications.
Masselos, Gupta - Beatos Delhi 1857,1997, Delhi: Ravi Dayal Publisher
(2000)
E. Moynihan - Paradise as a Garden In Persia and Mughal India, New
York: George Braziller, Inc. (1979)
A. S. Mukherji - The Red Fort of Shahjahnabad,
New Delhi: Oxford University Press (2002)
Nicholson, Venturi - The Red Fort Delhi,
London: Tauris Parke Books (1989)
G.H.R. Tillotson - Mughal India, London: the Penguin Group (1990)
Illustration credits
All uncredited photographs & images in these papers
contributed by R. Sethi & S. Chatterjee
Credited Contributors: S. Makhija, A.G.K. Menon
30

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Conservation at the Red Fort New Delhi 2003

The Red Fort is amongst the finest Mughal

the Red Fort

Of all the Mugal monuments of Delhi which are now

In the larger context Red Fort played an enormous symbolic

Compared with its counterpart in Agra, the palace

Configuration & Hydrology before...

These photographs of excavations in

Photos taken during

Configuration & Hydrology ... after

the footprint of the

Photo taken 09/2003

Configuration & Hydrology after...

in the newly finished 'restoration' a

The end result is the creation of a still,

In the process of this so-called

The eastern wall of the

These cosmetic changes

Configuration & Hydrology before...

These photographs of excavations in

Photos taken during

Configuration & Hydrology ... after

the footprint of the

Photo taken 09/2003

Configuration & Hydrology after...

in the newly finished 'restoration' a

The end result is the creation of a still,

In the process of this so-called

The eastern wall of the

These cosmetic changes

Configuration of the Neher-i-Behist...

Photos taken during excavations, 2002.

Photos taken 09/03.

Configuration & Hydrology before...

Water flowed from the

Left: Reconstructed plan of the Bagh-iHayat Bakhsh, in Ebba Koch (2001)

Conservation Standards... preserving extant traces

This ad-hoc concealment of

Public Campaign to Misinform

This was the 'evidence'

Another example of the Neher-i-behist depicted by an artist of

Public Campaign to Misinform

The Minister released these

in the subsequent photo, a platform

Public Campaign to Misinform

May 2002 Neher-i-Behist during excavations

Conservation Standards... pointing marble with cement

at the source of the Neher-i-Behist in the Shah Burj,

Conservation Standards... Shah Burj

Conservation Standards... preserving extant traces in-situ

Conservation Standards... Paving pathways PWD-style

several alternatives, true to period technologies,

Conservation Standards... intrusive lighting features

before media reports

after media reports

Photos courtesy A.G.K. Menon,

Conservation Standards... Reconstituted features

cemented water tanks created under

scale of Justice Jali before...

One of the finest specimens

above: 19th cent. illustr. from Kaye (1980) p.75

Khas Mahal, or special palace, was

scale of Justice Jali after...