Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Tomb

Unclaimed

Maulana Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed  was an Indian scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian independence movement who opposed the partition of India, was buried in full honour and rituals near a sacred mosque in Old Delhi where his Tomb lies. The tomb is marked and covered by a vaulted concrete structure with four arches.The vault depicts the rich Islamic style of architecture established in that period. The tomb is open on all days. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad served as the Minister of Education (the first education minister in independent India) in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet from 1947 to 1958. He died of a stroke on February 22, 1958. For his invaluable contribution to the nation, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 1992.

Apart from the fact, that Maulana Azad played an important role in the Indian Independence struggle, the memorial is also important from the point of view of architecture in India. It is one of the initial buildings/ structures to be built by architects of Independent India and represents the shift towards post modernism in the nation. About the complex, it is a small enclosure with the a arch/ vault like structure/ memorial in the centre. The grave is also present within the complex underneath the arch. The arch has been positioned in such a way that the dome of Jama Masjid fits perfectly within it. There are two pools on either side, which usually remain empty.

This great mosque of Old Delhi is the largest in India, with a courtyard capable of holding 25,000 devotees. It was begun in 1644 and ended up being the final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. The highly decorative mosque has three great gates, four towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble. Travellers can hire robes at the northern gate. This may be the only time you get to dress like a local without feeling like an outsider so make the most of it.

Thousands of people do visits Jama Masjid every day, but few of them are aware about the fact that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (freedom fighter & the first education minister of independent India) is buried very near to it.

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