Hyderabad is a plateau region and it is highly impossible to build such a long tunnel on that time, many historians claims on this debate on social media.
The curiosity of Hyderabad’s history buffs was stoked yet again last weekend, when contractors building new barracks for policemen at a site just a stone’s throw from the Charminar stumbled upon two underground arches and tunnel ways. The stone masonry could lead to anything, but around the Charminar, any such discovery quickly stokes the mythology of the tunnel to Golconda. As eager residents swarmed the site to see the Golconde ka surang it was decided to refer the find to the state archaeology department.
At this site, in a locality called Chelapura, just a turn from the crumbling 400-year-old Sher-e-Batil Kaman, one of the four archways around the Charminar, there used to be until a few years ago some decrepit Nizam-era police lodgings which were demolished down to build modern amenities for policemen. The structures below could have been bunkers built for the Nizam’s constabulary. Or even the Golconde ka surang.
Social Media Debate
The Bella Vista bunker is no story but a fact, with city-based photographer and heritage enthusiast Mohammed Habib-ur-Rehman confirming it with his photos of the structure, which has a board calling it the Prince Azam Jah Tunnel. Discussions on a Facebook page run by Habib-ur-Rehman, ‘Paigahs of the Deccan’, indicate it could be a bunker that was built by the royals during the Second World War, presumably to escape air strikes. Habib-ur-Rehman says though it is mentioned as a tunnel, it was actually a bunker.
“I heard the tunnels were constructed during the Qutb Shahi period to enable an escape during attacks. Also, our grandparents used to narrate tales of hidden treasures kept in those tunnels,” says Mohd Farooq Taher, a government school principal.
Historical Studies and Findings
Retired Assistant Director of Census Operations, Khaja Moinuddin, who conducted a survey of Hyderabad in 1962, also has mentioned about the tunnel. He wrote that in 1936, during the Nizam era, the then Commissioner of Hyderabad Municipality Inayat Jung and Director of Archaeological Ddepartment Ghulam Yazdani conducted a detailed survey of the tunnel and a map was also prepared by them, which was officially submitted to the then ruler Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan. He adds that tunnel excavation works were taken up at different places around the Charminar and a tunnel was indeed found and a report submitted. However, there is no clarity on what happened afterwards.
Mohd Safiullah, historian, says the existence of the Charminar-Golconda tunnel is a myth. “Hyderabad is a plateau region and it is highly impossible to build such a long tunnel. There was an underground palace though, around the Mahboob Chowk tower, spread over 4.5 acres which caved in,” he says.
Some historian claim the unveiled reality of that era which is still a mystery. And the ASI officers make a clear statement of tunnels, underground bunkers and underground palaces were exists in Golconda rulers history in Hyderabad.
Official Version
According to ASI authorities a comprehensive survey of Hyderabad done in 1962 led to several clues and evidences of a secret passage between Charminar and Golconda. In 1936, the then Commissioner of Hyderabad Municipality Inayat Jung and Director of Archaeological Department Ghulam Yezdani conducted a detailed survey on the tunnel and a map was also prepared by them. The map was officially submitted to the then ruler Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan.
The excavations revealed that the tunnel had at least two branches, one from Saif Nawaz Jung-ki-Deorhi to Mitti-ka-Sher and from Mama Jameela-ki-Deorhi to Doodh Khana Allah Rakhi Begum passing through Sahr-e-Batil Kamaan.
The tunnel passed through Laad Bazar, Saif Nawaz Jung-ki-Deorhi, Doodh Khana Allah Rakhi Begum, Koka-ki-Tatti, Puranapul Darwaza, Karwan Sarai, Toli Masjid and Langar Houz area. A detailed report in this regard is believed to have been submitted to the VIIth Nizam. However, it is not clear why no follow-up action was taken on that report.
Is Study and Research On?
Still study and research is in full swing with reputed history scholars and researchers in Hyderabad universities and institutions. Let’s wait and see, what result will come out in near future. #KhabarLive #hydnews