History of Fatehpuri Masjid

The historical mosque Fatehpuri Masjid in Delhi was built in 1650 by Fatehpuri Begum, one of emperor Shahjahan’s wives. Facing Red Fort, the historical seat of Mughal power, Fatehpuri stands as a silent spectator, witnessing all historical events right from the Mughal and British periods till date.

Fatehpuri Masjid was in a way a rival of the Jama Masjid, the latter built by Shahjahan and the former by his devoted begum, who thought this to be the best way to commemorate herself. The mosque is not one of the best specimens of Mughal architecture because the building materials were of poor quality.

During the Mughal days the mosque housed some beautiful fountains and a huge central tank. But in 1857, after the Mutiny, British troops occupied the mosque and the soldiers left no stone unturned to damage the monument. They carved their names on the beautiful red sandstone walls and held parties inside the monument with liquor flowing in abundance. Moreover, some of them used to even climb the pulpit in a drunken state and preach nonsensical sermons.

Such disorder continued for some time until finally the Masjid was handed back to the trustees. The British had auctioned off the courtyard to Seth Chunna Mal. But at the Delhi Durbar in 1877, that too was handed back to the Muslims in exchange for four villages in Mehrauli. There are a few graves in Fatehpuri Masjid including those of Hazrat Nanoon Shah, Shah Jalal, Mufti Muhammad Mazhar and others.

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