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.
