![Golconda View](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Golconda_View.jpg)
Naya Qila ("New Fort", also spelled ''Naya Quila'') is an extended portion of
Golkonda Fort
Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparu ...
in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, India.
It was built in 1656 by Sultan
Abdullah Qutb Shah
Abdullah Qutb Shah (also transliterated in different ways) was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1626 to 1672.
Abdullah, son of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah, was a polyglot, a ...
as further defence for the
Mughal armies. This integral part of the Golkonda fort contains many historic structures. There are strange figures and animals worked out of stone and stucco on the walls of the outer fort facing the Naya Qila. It is one of the least explored heritage sites of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
partly because it has become part of a golf course, which makes access for visitors complicated.
History
During the rule of Sultan
Abdullah Qutb Shah
Abdullah Qutb Shah (also transliterated in different ways) was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1626 to 1672.
Abdullah, son of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah, was a polyglot, a ...
(1625–1672), Mughal governor of the
Deccan Plateau
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
,
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
aimed the fusillade against Golkonda Fort in January 1656. The mighty Mughal army kept up the cannon-fire but the fort stood firm. After a four-month siege, the Mughal army withdrew in April 1656. Due to heavy fusillade by the Mughals, the fort became weak and Fort walls started leaning, thus to avoid future attacks and loss Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah ordered for the repair of fort walls and the extension of Golkonda fort, thus the construction of Naya Qila was started in the year 1656 and was completed with more additions by Sultan
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, also known as Abul Hasan Tana Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, sovereign of the Kingdom of Golconda in South India. He ruled from 1672 to 1686. The last Sultan of this Shia Islamic dynasty, Tan ...
.
and nearly, 30 years later when
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
become the emperor, again he set his sights on the Golkonda he completely avoided the place because the place from where he aimed the fusillade, stood the Naya Qila. A rock masonry structure with moats, it made the Golkonda all the more impregnable. In 1687 Aurangzeb annexed Golkonda.
The fort was designed and constructed by Mustafa Khan, the royal architect of the
Qutb Shahi dynasty
The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the coll ...
;
Makkah Masjid and
Toli Masjid
Toli Masjid (1671 AD), also known as Damri Masjid, is a mosque in Karwan, Hyderabad, India. It is 2 km from the Golconda fort on the way to Charminar. Built by Mir Musa Khan Mahaldar during the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah in (1082 AH). Th ...
was designed and constructed by him.
Attraction
* The Persian garden (''Bagh-i-Qutb''), built by Abdullah Qutb Shah (1625–1672).
*''Hatiyan ka Jhad'' ("Elephant-sized Tree"): This famous
baobab
''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...
located on the premises of Naya Qila is more than 400 years old. Arab traders introduced this tree to Hyderabad
and it was given to Sultan
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (4 April 156511 January 1612) was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar. He was an able adm ...
by
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
traders. This tree have the girth of 27.40 meters (89 feet). The cave formed in between the branches of this tree. There are various stories centred on this baobab tree and one of the famous stories is related to its cave which helped some 40 notorious thieves to hide themselves
some 400 years ago.
*The Mosque of Mustafa Khan: build in memory of the royal architect of the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
*Mosque Mullah Khiyali: constructed in memory of the royal poet of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Both, Mosque of Mustafa Khan and the Mosque of Mullah Khiyali are critical examples of the early architecture of Golkonda.
*Naya Qila Talab: a water tank situated within the Naya Qila. Currently, this water body is badly-neglected.
Ruins of the Naya Qila contain 350 years old fragments of earthen pipes used for water supply during the Qutb Shahi rule.
Controversies
The construction of the
Hyderabad Golf Course in the Naya Qila area met with a lot of resistance from various NGOs and organisations.
According to them, the Golf Course and the almost exclusive access given to its members was against the proper use of the Heritage site which should give easy access and ownership to the public above anything else. There were also protests organised by the farmers who were displaced by the construction of the Golf Course who were eventually offered land in the city in return for their land in the Golkonda fort area.
The controversy regarding the historic lands' use as a golf course also sparked debates among scholars part of the heritage and conversation circles around the 'Adopt a Heritage' scheme of the government of India, under which the Dalmia Bharat Private Limited was allowed to adopt the
Red Fort
The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift hi ...
. There have also been concerns regarding the negative ecological implications of the Golf Course, outlined in a comprehensive document shared by the NGO, Better Hyderabad.
References
See also
*
Charminar
The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana The Charminar's long history includes the existe ...
{{coord missing, Telangana
Tourist attractions in Hyderabad, India
History of Telangana
Medieval India
Buildings and structures in Hyderabad, India
Hyderabad State
Former capital cities in India