M S VATTS SUPERINTENDENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA; DID DISCOVER GRAVE OF USTAD AHMAD LAHORI IN AURANGABAD.

M S VATTS SUPERINTENDENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA;
DID DISCOVER GRAVE OF USTAD AHMAD LAHORI IN AURANGABAD.

Pandit Madho Sarup Vats was an archaeologist, who later became Director General of Archeological Survey of India. He was well familiar with Lahore, for he had done his studies at University of Punjab Lahore, in the Sanskrit language. He is famous for his work on Harappa civilization as well as Mohenjo-Daro. A totally unbiased scholar who did serve in many ways. In the course of his Superintendence, he came across the grave of Ustad Ahmad Lahori, outside Aurangabad city. Perhaps Khuld Abad. He wrote about it in his article on Repairs to the Taj Mahal in Ancient India. The unfortunate part was that it was the year 1946 and in 1947 Pakistan came into being. No longer the time to please the Muslims of the area.

In a foot note in the magazine “Ancient India”, he wrote that there is an epigraph on the tombstone of Ustad Ahmad Mimar written by his son Lutufullah Ahmad Muhandis.  The epigraph talks of Ustad Ahmad as being the Architect of the Taj Mahal of Agra, Red Fort Delhi and the Jamia Masjid, Shahjahanabad. Such an important tombstone went unrecorded. M S Vats died on 7th December, 1955. Our dear Friend in Patiala R.P. Srivasthava was contacted by us to research on the papers of M.S. Vats and he contacted his wife, But no luck. Trace was not possible. It seems that the grave was kept as a secret by Indian authorities.

Eventually it will come out, but till then we have to revert to other sources. Like the Diwan of Lutufullah Muhandis, namely Diwan Muhandis for the same information. This is well known manuscript and clears follies of so many scholars on the same subject. Art and architecture are a pure source of things. One should keep bigotry away from it. It is worthy of being recorded, and perhaps with so many Indians making Vlogs on Youtube on architecture, someone may eventually find it. We in Pakistan have no capacity to explore its location. Thank you, M.S. Vats for your contribution!

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