Dara Shikoh

News: The Ministry of Culture recently set up a seven-member panel of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), headed by T J Alone, to locate the grave of the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh

Facts:

  • Dara Shikoh (1615-59) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
  • He was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin (later, Emperor Aurangzeb) and executed in the struggle for the imperial throne.
  • Dara Shikoh is described as a “liberal Muslim” who tried to find commonalities between Hindu and Islamic traditions. He translated the Bhagavad Gita as well as 52 Upanishads into Persian
  • He is also credited with the commissioning examples of Mughal architecture such as the tomb of his wife Nadira Begum and Shrine of Mian Mir in Lahore, the Dara Shikoh Library in Delhi, the Akhun Mullah Shah Mosque and the Pari Mahal garden palace in Srinagar, Kashmir.