Historical Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque, Kolkata

The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque, Kolkataww.itimes.com

The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque, Kolkata, www.flickr.com


The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque.Kolkata .places-to-visit-in-west-bengal.blogspot.com
The metropolitan city of Kolkata, once the capital of the British empire has lots of historical monuments that take us back in time when the British had wielded enormous power over the vast Bengal province - then undivided.
 

The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque, built in 1832 by  Prince Ghulam Mohammed, the youngest son of Tipu Sultan of Mysore is  just a remnant of  architectural and cultural heritage. Also known as Tipu Sultan Masjid, this famous place of veneration, has attracted  people of  all faiths.  It is  located  on Dhartamtalla Street and, as usual, this historical place was not well taken care of by the governments - Center and State and it was in a poor condition. Since the initiation of underground  metro  rail project,  the  masjid structure  had become weak.  Seraj  Mubarki, Mohammad  Sharfuddin,  Izhar Khan and Syed Zafar took sincere efforts to restore this mosque back to past  glory and formed what was called ''The Tipu Sultan  Shahi  Masjid  Protection  &  Welfare

 The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque.en.wikipedia.org
Committee'' in 1980. Upon negotiations with the  Kolkata Metro authorities to repair the damage caused by the construction underneath the building, the authorities agreed to rebuild the mosque. The same protection committee is involved in the activities of the mosque  and does social service,  regardless of religion and caste. In the aftermath of 2004  Tsunami (December, 26) that left behind a trail of deaths, destruction and chaos along the East coast of India, in particular Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Orissa, the Masjid committee members raised funds for the helpless victims and their families, as part of Prime Minister's relief funds.


The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque examplifies typical Indo Mogul architecture of beauty and workmanship with double-aisled  hall and is adorned  by multiple domes. There are about 16 domes and 4 Minarets present in this historical mosque. The intricate designs of the mosque and  the  rounded  arches drawn  from  classical  architecture  bring  out
 
www.indianetzone.com
a subtle European look. 


This mosque is worth visiting as the name is associated with a famous, but controversial ruler of Mysore who terrorized the British army in all Angelo-Mysore wars in the later part of 1700s.
Tipu sultan was killed on the battle field at Srirangapatna, now in Karnataka in May, 1799 by the British Army led by Lord Wellesley. Paradoxically it was  Bengal that was the  first rich province gobbled up by the East India company under the command of Robert Clive.
  
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipu_Sultan_Mosque