Khooni Darwaza — The gate with a blood-stained history

You could not find a more innocent-looking structure if you tried. Nondescript, almost. Most who do not know better, barely give it a cursory glance when they happen to spot it.

But get closer if you dare and have a real good look. Khooni Darwaza literally means ‘he Bloody Gate’. It is a gate of the sixth city of Delhi. Some of the gates in the other cities are the Delhi Gate, the Kashmiri Gate and the Ajmeri Gate. These three are well-known landmarks.

Khooni Darwaza is one of the thirteen surviving gates in a good condition in Delhi. It was constructed by Sher Shah Suri. If only walls could talk!

Khooni Darwaza, also spelt Khuni Darwaza, is situated on the Bahadur Shah Zafar road, opposite Feroz Shah Kotla and was previously known as Kabuli Darwaza due to the fact that the road from this gate led to Kabul.

If you ever visit this place, you will hear stories that in the monsoon, one can see blood dripping from the ceiling of this gate! Eeks! Just imagine the sight!

However, a scientific explanation is that it is actually the rust from the joints of the gate that drips when it comes in contact with water, having a reddish colour that can be mistaken for blood!

GATES, GATES AND MORE GATES!

Delhi, for some odd reason, seems to be a city of gates. In 1611, European merchant William Finch had described Delhi as the city of seven castles (forts) and fifty-two gates.

Just imagine that! How would any new visitor figure out which gate to enter from? And of course, they all had names. More gates were built after that period during the Mughal rule and the British rule.

How many kings and queens has Delhi been ruled by? Belonging to so many different cultures, many of them left their mark on this city in one form or another. The historical monuments found all around Delhi are a testimony to these rulers' almost-obsessive yen to leave behind something permanent, for posterity.

This gate we are referring to was originally called Lal Darwaza, or Red Gate. A nice innocent name, one would think.

Jahangir's Revenge

Jahangir so wanted the throne after his father Emperor Akbar’s death that he was ready to do anything for it — even punish anyone who even thought differently on this subject!

One such strong and capable person who felt that Khusrau, Akbar’s eldest son, should be the next emperor instead of Jahangir, was Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana. Rahim made the mistake of making his thoughts public. This led to a dual tragedy in his life.

Let’s go back in time a little. Rahim was the son of Bairam Khan, who had helped Akbar and acted as his regent after Akbar’s father, Emperor Humayun’s death. Akbar had named Rahim as one of his Navratnas, or respected figures in his court.

Jahangir developed a certain dislike towards him, which intensified when Rahim supported Khusrau’s claim to the throne after Akbar’s death. Rahim was also instrumental in getting the support of Raja Man Singh and Mirza Aziz for Khusrau. However, Jahangir still became the emperor of India and in order to get back at Rahim, he had both his sons executed at Khooni Darwaza. Their bodies were left hanging there for days to make an example out of them!

Aurangzeb’s All-Consuming Ambition

The hunger and greed for the Mughal throne did not end there. There was yet another bitter struggle between brothers that took place when Dara Shikoh was declared the heir to the Mughal throne by Emperor Shah Jahan himself, which made things worse for him. He was the eldest and the most-favoured son of Shah Jahan.

This favouritism gave rise to animosity among the other three brothers. Dara was favoured not just by his father but also by his older sister, Princess Jahanara Begum. He was not really a military man though; he was more inclined towards philosophy and the arts. He was liberal and unorthodox, quite a contrast to Aurangzeb who was very orthodox. On September 10, 1642, Shikoh was confirmed as the heir to his father’s throne.

His father conferred many titles on him-Padshahzada- i-Buzurg Martaba (Prince of High Rank) and Shahzada- e-Buland Iqbal (Prince of High Fortune).

Shah Jahan also appointed his favourite son as the governor, first of Allahabad and then of Gujarat. Matters were alright, at least on the surface, until his father’s health began to decline. He was appointed governor of Multan and Kabul on August 16, 1652, and was raised to the title of Shah-e-Buland Iqbal (King of High Fortune) on February 15, 1655 by his doting father. But on September 6, 1657, the worsening of the health of Emperor Shah Jahan triggered a desperate struggle for power among the four Mughal princes, though only Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb stood a chance of being victorious.

At that point, all four of Shah Jahan’s sons were governors of different parts of his kingdom. However, it was Prince Shah Shuja who made the first move, declaring himself as the Mughal emperor in Bengal and marching towards Agra, while Aurangzeb had Prince Murad on his side.

The unending support of his father and sister did not help Dara Shikoh much. Yes, he did defeat Shah Shuja in the battle of Bahadurpur on February 14, 1658, but Aurangzeb and Murad routed him in the Battle of Samugarhon just about three months later. Wasting no time, Aurangzeb took over the Agra Fort and imprisoned his father. Now that he was in full control of his father’s kingdom, he did not need Murad’s support anymore. So he imprisoned Murad in the Gwalior Fort! And as if that was not enough, the brother who had helped him get to power was executed on December 4, 1661 on a trumped-up charge of the murder of the diwan of Gujarat.

After the loss at the Battle of Samugarhon, Shikoh’s luck did not change. He fled to Delhi. Then he gathered his army again for the final battle of his life-the battle of Deoraj on March 11, 1659. He lost and fled. He then asked Malik Jiwan (Junaid Khan Barozai), an Aghan chieftain, for protection, probably assuming that since he had saved Jiwan from being trampled to death by elephants on Shah Jahan’s orders, this would be a good time for Jiwan to repay his debt. But no, that was not to be. Malik Jiwan betrayed him and handed him over to Aurangzeb!

Aurangzeb then had his brother sit atop a dirty elephant and paraded through Delhi, but he had not bargained for the support that Shikoh had of the people. They berated Aurangzeb and Malik Jiwan for how they humiliated Shikoh.

Aurangzeb realised that he could not afford to keep his brother alive and let the sympathy of the people grow for their prince and risk a revolt. So the wicked, wily Aurangzeb accused him of considering all religions equal and comparing Allah to other gods of the Hindu people. The trial happened in front of qazis and mullahs, which was nothing but a mockery of justice. Dara was convicted.

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The charge of his assassination was given to slave Nazir. Nazir and four other assassins entered the prison in which Dara was kept with his son. One of them pulled his son Sipihr Shikoh away from him and Nazir beheaded him while his young son watched. The decapitated head was placed on a plate and shown to Aurangzeb as proof that it was indeed his brother Dara Shikoh who had been decapitated. Legend has it that Aurangzeb ordered that the head be put in a box and presented to his ailing father! Can you imagine the horror and sorrow Shah Jahan must have gone through? Shikoh’s head was hung at the by-now-infamous Khooni Darwaza for days, as a warning to anyone who was against Emperor Aurangzeb!

Hodson's Folly

Many decades later, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, was accepted as the emperor of India by the rebels of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the First War of Independence.

He named his eldest surviving son, Mirza Mughal, as the commander-in-chief. However, the inexperience and indiscipline of the Indian soldiers led to their defeat.

British forces suppressed the rebellion. Major William Hodson obtained the surrender of the emperor, and the next day asked for an unconditional surrender from the three princes at Humayun’s Tomb. The princes, who were probably suspicious, had refused to surrender, demanding guarantees of safety.

On the following day, with about 100 horsemen, Hodson returned to insist on an unconditional surrender from the princes. A huge crowd gathered in support of the princes. Hodson did not want a skirmish, so he ordered the crowd to disarm themselves. They all followed his order.

While ninety of his men collected the arms from the crowd, Hodson sent ten of his men with the princes to Delhi on a bullock cart along with sixteen members of the royal family.

As they approached the city gate, a crowd of people again started to gather around them, and Hodson ordered the three princes of the Mughal dynasty-Bahadur Shah Zafar’s sons Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan and grandson Mirza Abu Bakht — to get off the cart and to strip off their top garments. He then took a carbine from one of his troopers and shot them dead at point-blank range, but not before stripping them of their signet rings, turquoise arm bands and bejewelled swords.

Their bodies were ordered to be displayed in front of a kotwali, or police station, near Chandni Chowk, and left there to be seen by all.

This tragedy occurred on September 22, 1857. Hodson’s actions were controversial even at the time. Bahadur Shah II was put on trial. However, since Hodson had previously guaranteed his life, he was exiled to Rangoon (now called Yangon), in Burma (or Myanmar), where he died in November 1862 at the age of eighty-seven.

CONCLUSION

With such a gruesome history, it is no wonder that the gate is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of the many people who died here under such tragic circumstances! Some people even claim to have seen blood on the walls of the structure during daytime! Stories and rumours will keep on growing, with imagination running riot.

— Excerpted from A Dozen and a Half Stories - Strange and Mysterious Places the World Forgot by Arti Muthanna Singh and Mamta Nainy, with permission from Rupa Publications