SRINAGAR: The Mughal Mosque at Hassanabad in Srinagar, once a formidable and exquisite structure, now exists only in memory and archival imagery. It once existed on the road, not far away from the Imambarah, where now a girl’s madrassa operates.
Built in 1664 CE (1075 AH) by Saif Khan, a Mughal subedar, the mosque was an architectural masterpiece celebrated for its grandeur. Some accounts attribute its construction to another Mughal subedar, Fazil Khan. A poetic inscription by Khawja Ali Akbar, a prominent poet of the era, encapsulated its glory and significance in verse, praising the mosque as unique and matchless in the world.
The mosque, located on the main road of Hassanabad, was distinguished by its intricate architectural elements. Archival images from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reveal massive masonry piers, suggesting that the structure was not square but linear, possibly comprising three bays with a prominent central mihrab bay. The interiors were adorned with limestone, featuring cusped arches similar to the entrance portal of the Pathar Masjid, another Mughal-era monument in Kashmir. The mosque also showcased moulded plasterwork, or qalb kari, particularly evident in the detailing of the muqarnas, a design motif shared with the shrine of Thag Baba.
The mosque was not just an architectural marvel but also a testament to the literary and artistic heritage of the Mughal era. A poetic inscription, or qita-i tarikh, composed by Khawja Ali Akbar, commemorated its construction and conveyed its symbolic significance. The verses lauded the mosque as a place of worship unparalleled in its uniqueness, describing its creation as an act of wisdom and divine inspiration. The poem’s elegance reflected the sophistication of Mughal artistry, blending poetic thought with monumental architecture. This literary flourish added another layer of distinction to the mosque, underscoring the cultural confluence of faith, art, and intellect that defined the Mughal period.
Despite its magnificence, the mosque met a tragic fate during the Sikh rule in Kashmir. Historians recount how its stones were repurposed by Colonel Mehyan Singh, the Sikh subedar of the region between 1834 and 1841, for the construction of a ghat at Basant Bagh, near the royal citadel of Sherghari. The limestone takht-posh from the mosque became part of the ghat’s decorative elements, remnants of which were visible until recently before being obscured by modern stone retaining walls as part of the Jhelum beautification drive.
Although the mosque was severely damaged, it remained partially intact for some time. Early 20th-century photographs by the ASI and references in European travelogues, albeit with occasional inaccuracies such as attributing the mosque to Empress Nur Jahan, provide glimpses of its past. The final visual record of the mosque can be found in an image taken by Life magazine’s renowned American photographer, John Burke, in 1964, capturing the Muharram procession entering the Imambada at Hassanabad. In the photograph’s corner, the mosque’s masonry ruins are visible, offering the last tangible evidence of its existence.
Today, the site of the once-majestic mosque houses a madrassa for female students, marking a poignant transformation of a historical landmark into a contemporary educational institution. The legacy of the Hassanabad mosque, however, lives on in the collective memory of Kashmir’s rich architectural heritage, serving as a testament to the region’s historical and cultural significance.
(The news story is based on a series of tweets by Hakim Samir Hamdani, Kashmir’s respected architect-historian who has a specialisation in medieval Muslim architecture.)
