The ruins of the nineteenth-century Mubarak Manzil Palace in Punjab’s Malerkotla town indicate the State’s neglect and apathy towards its heritage, which not only has architectural value but is closely associated with sentiments of Sikhs and Muslims alike.
Last week, the 103-year-old Begum Munawwar-ul-Nisa, the wife of Malerkotla’s last ruler Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan, passed without witness the ‘Mubarak Manzil Palace’ restored to its pristine glory. In the year 2021, the previous Congress government had approved the acquisition and conservation of the palace, which gave a ray of hope that the European architectural style built palace would get a new lease of life, but the restoration work is yet to take off.
The State government decided to acquire the palace after Begum Nisa, the last family member of the Malerkotla’s royal family had written to the government stating that the 150 years old palace was an invaluable heritage property and it was her last wish was to see it restored in its original shape.
“Begum Sahiba was quite optimistic that she would be able to see the palace in its old grandeur, it was her last wish, but it couldn’t happen. She died last week with her unfulfilled desire,” Mohammad Mehmood, who has been associated as private secretary of the Begum for the past four decades,” told The Hindu.
“The palace is in ruins for the want of upkeep, which was the result of family dispute and financial constraints. After the dispute was resolved, Begum Nisa urged the State government to take over the palace and conserve it. She kept one room on the first floor for herself and the rest, around 29 rooms, were handed over to the government. We all including the Begum were hopeful that the government authorities would restore it quickly. But it’s been over two years yet no restoration work has started. A team of experts visited the palace in 2022, but since then we have heard nothing,” he said.
Malerkotla’s significance in Sikh history has been immense as people, especially Sikhs, revered Sher Mohammed Khan, former Nawab of Malerkotla, who raised his voice of protest against the execution (bricking alive) of the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh - Sahibzada Zorawar Singh (nine years) and Sahibzada Fateh Singh (seven years) by Wazir Khan the then Governor of Sirhind region in the year 1705. According to local legend, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, had blessed Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan and the people of Malerkotla that the town would live in peace.
Pointing out that Sikhs have the utmost regard for the Malerkotla’s royal family, Gurcharan Singh Grewal, general secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) - the body responsible for the management of Gurdwaras said the government should speed up its efforts to restore the palace.
“The sentiments of Muslims and especially Sikhs are attached to Malerkotla for obvious reasons. We want the government should take immediate steps to conserve this heritage palace. I recently visited the palace to meet Begum Nisa when she was alive and found that the palace is in a deplorable state. Its restoration would be a befitting tribute to the Nawabs of Malerkotla to perpetuate the rich legacy of the historic town,” he said.
As the demand for the palace’s conservation has again caught the limelight, Malerkotla’s Deputy Commissioner, Palavi said keeping in view the sentiments of people necessary steps for early restoration of the palace would be taken. “We will share the people’s sentiments and convey them to the State’s tourism and cultural affairs department for initiating steps to restore the palace,” she said.
