Malik Rihan Dargah, also known as Malik Rihan tomb, is a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

in Sira,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India. It contains the grave of Malik Rihan who was the governor of Sira province in the 17th-century. It has a square plan and illustrates the Indo-Saracenic style in Deccan architecture.

Location

The tomb is located in the Sira town which is a

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Tumkur District Tumakuru District is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is the third largest district in Karnataka by land area with an area of 10,598 km2, and fourth largest by Population. It is a one-and-a-half-hour drive from ...

in the Province of Sira in the

Indian State India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

of Karnataka. It is a municipal town on the National Highway (NH-48) (from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

), and is away from Bangalore.

History

Sira was near the eastern edge of the region under the control of the

Bijapur Sultans The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's ...

from 1638 to 1687, before Aurangzeb dismissed them and expanded the Mughal empire. Sira was also the place where Hyder Ali began his career, before seeking employment with the Wodeyars and later organizing a coup to dismiss them to found the Mysore Sultanate. His son Tipu Sultan forced the relocation of most Muslims from Sira to a new town he founded on the island of Seringapatam. This led to a large decline of Sira. While under the control of Bijapur Sultanate, Malik Rihan was appointed the

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

(governor) of Sira by the

Adil Shahis Adil (also transliterated as Adel, ar, عادل) is an Arabic masculine given name and surname. Adil is a variation of the name Adel, an Arabic male name that comes from the word Adl, meaning "fairness" and "justice". It is a common name in the ...

from 1638 to 1651. This mausoleum was completed in 1651, over his tomb.Sira monuments, Mysore Archaeological Report 1917, pp. 11–12 In October 2012, under the High Court order, the Hazrath Malik Rehan Dargah- Wakf was brought under Section 65 of the Wakf Act, 1995 by the Karnataka State.

Features

The mausoleum built in 1651 in Mudéjar style has a square plan. It has a central hall, with a sheltered arcade with sculpted brackets. The dome on the top is "three quarters hemispherical" with Adil Shahi-style "domical finials". It illustrates the Saracenic style. The tomb, which is a protected monument under the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

(ASI), is located close to the Jama Masjid, Sira.

Other structures

Apart from the

Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka Fort The Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka Fort in Sira in Tumkur district of Karnataka is named after the Nayaka ruler Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka, who had ruled over Sira in the early 17th century as a palegar under the Vijayanagar Empire. After their rule, th ...

, the Juma Masjid close to the tomb was built in 1696. The masjid is decorated with five arches in the facade. Ornamented parapet walls are built above the arches. The roof of the masjid is made up of three domes.

References

{{reflist Tombs in Karnataka 1651 establishments in Asia