Delhi's Red Fort and the Jama Masjid

After the Commonwealth Games were over for me, I had one last day of being a tourist in Delhi before heading off to teach English to slum kids. More of that later.


I walked to Delhi's Red Fort (not to be confused with the Red Fort at Agra), which was once a Mughal fort and has played an important part in the history of Indian nationalism and independence. There was not much left on the inside of the once-massive Mughal fort, after the British cleared it out in the 19th century. Still, the fort itself is an impressive sight and can be seen from quite a distance.

The Museum of Indian Independence was of special interest to me, as my own ancestors were involved - but on the side of the British. One ancestor, William Kelman, received a medal for his participation in the Affair at Kurnool in 1839, which the Museum described as one of the first coordinated moves towards Indian independence. The link above provides an entirely different view, and was written by a British Officer in 1911.


The other interesting viewpoint was that Indian independence in 1947 seemed to be attributed almost entirely to Subhas Chandra Bose, who opposed Mahatma Ghandi's views on non-violence and organised Indians to fight alongside Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. Gandhi and his part in the struggle for independence was seen as very much a small part in the story. Although he is mentioned, Gandhi has some photos and a diorama of him, whereas Bose has several galleries devoted to his life and his wartime exploits.

My next stop was the Jama Masjid, a large mosque built around 1650 by Shah Jahan, who also built the Red Fort. The ushers were grumpy and rude, and insisted that all westerners wear ridiculous outfits (see the photo below) regardless of how well they were covered and whether or not they were actually Muslim. Not much to say about this mosque - if you've seen mosques before there is little special about it, apart from its age, and the attitude of the custodians makes it an unpleasant experience. As a rule, Indians are overwhelmingly friendly and helpful, but as with anywhere, there must be exceptions to the rule.