Description
The period of the effervescence of the Mughal rule in India, i.e., from the advent of Babur in 1526 A.D. to the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 A.D., covering a span of almost two centuries, has been very eventful, both politically and culturally. The Mughals were not only great conquerors and administrators but also men of refined tastes, having a deep interest in various branches of ‘Fine Arts’ including paintings architecture, poetry, music and dance. The modern Slates of the Punjab and Haryana also saw many far-reaching developments during this rule. While the history of these two States has been extensively written about, little attention has been paid to the study of various branches of art that flourished here during the Mughal rule. It was during this period that some of the finest works of architecture, ever created in India appeared on the face of the earth, British scholars like Fergusson, Cunningham, Keene, Cole, E.W. Smith, Rodgers, Marshall, Havell, V.A, Smith, and Percy Brown have studied the Mughal architecture and their pioneer works have, undoubtedly, laid the foundations for the advanced studies of the subject. However, but for a few archaeological reports, none of these scholars has referred to the Mughal monuments in the Punjab and Haryana. They had such a vast sphere to cover under their survey that for all their exhaustive efforts they could not but focus on the outstanding monuments only.