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| Located in the grounds of Guru Gobind Singh
Indraprastha University, Delhi, near the General Post Office,
is the Dara Shikoh Library of the Department of Archaeology,
Delhi Administration. The building is of immense historical
importance as it was built by Shah Jahan's liberal intellectual
son and chosen successor, Dara Shikoh, and was later used as
a residency by Sir David Ochterlony, the first British Resident
of Delhi. Dara Shikoh was murdered by his brother Aurangzeb
in 1659 and his property along with this library passed through
several hands before the British finally took it from Marathas
in 1803. |
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| Sir Ochterlony renovated the original building
of Dara Shikoh and added the pillars and the verandah to the
older structure. The present library was one of the rooms used
by Dara Shikoh. If one looks carefully one can differentiate
between the architectural designs of the interior (Mughal) and
exterior (British) of the building. This task can be a bit time
consuming because the building was damaged to a great extent
during the 1857 war and robbed of its precious books. However,
one can still imagine the grandeur and opulence in which the
first British Resident lived in Delhi, by looking the majestic
building. The building also characterized the nature of its
first occupant, Sir Ochterlony. He was one of the only British
officers who fully adopted the Mughal culture, customs, traditions
and lifestyle. |
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