Ahmedabad: An 1886 report on Ahmedabad’s historic monuments offers a striking glimpse of the city’s built heritage 140 years ago, documenting encroachments, neglect, and early preservation efforts. One passage describes how the Ahmed Shah Mosque in Bhadra had been taken over by a squatter who began constructing shops on the premises. The structure, the report notes, was saved after the collector and his deputy intervened and secured control of the building on behalf of the govt. The report, published as a book titled “A Scheme for the Protection and Conservation of Ancient Buildings in and around the City of Ahmedabad”, was authored by then-acting collector A W Crawley-Boevey. In it, he urged the Bombay govt to enact a law “for the protection of these ancient buildings, to sanction the appointment of recognised custodians for each important building or group of buildings, to sanction the appointment of an official caretaker for all Ahmedabad buildings under govt charge, and provide in the Public Works Department budget a substantial annual sum for petty repairs...”.Prof Ramji Savaliya, former director of the BJ Institute of Learning and Research, said the document is regarded as one of the earliest consolidated efforts to conserve monuments that are now part of the built heritage of Ahmedabad, a Unesco World Heritage City.“The report talks about artisans on the premises of Queen’s Mosque, ‘calico stampers’ in the mosque of Mohammed Ghaus, the near-destruction of Malek Alam Mosque in Danilimda, and old buildings making way for private residences. The report paved the way for the identification of buildings with heritage value and their conservation,” he said.Among the examples cited is the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, which the report says had been converted into an office for the Daskroi mamlatdar.With World Heritage Day observed on April 18 to raise awareness of the diversity, vulnerability, and conservation of cultural and natural heritage, experts say Ahmedabad’s architectural landmarks have survived due to sustained preservation efforts over generations. They say it is every generation’s duty to ensure the monuments are visible in the future.
