Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Chairman Dr Umar Saif has said that the Mutiny Papers held at the Archives narrates the conduct of British government of Punjab during 1857 when troops from Punjab were instrumental in the capture of Delhi, the surrender of the last Mughal King Bahadur Shah Zafar and his ultimate trial and exile to Rangoon.
He was addressing while visiting the exhibition Fall of Mughal Empire held at Anarkali Tomb, Punjab Archives, which is a part of Punjab Archives Digitisation Project undertaken by PITB to digitise catalogue and make accessible the documents held by the Punjab Archives.
PITB Chairman Dr Umar Saif further stated that the major issue with social science research in Pakistan was the availability of sources. This project opened up great repository to the world to engage and learn from it using the medium of visuals, text, music and poetry while this exhibit sketched a unique picture of the end of the famed Mughal Empire in South Asia.
The exhibition opened at Anarkali’s Tomb, Punjab Archives on the weekend.
Opening the exhibition, Services Secretary Ahmed Raza Sarwar appreciated the work of the Archives and PITB teams in putting up this exhibition.
“The decline of Delhi and its fabled culture was a central feature of our history and the pictures and poetry from leading poets of that time, portrayed the scenario in a special way,” he noted.
Archives Secretary Tahir Yousaf while emphasising the multidimensional nature of the archive said that the archives was not just a repository of documents as it was a museum, a living object, where one engaged with the past, while looking towards our present and the future.
The exhibition displays prints from the original collection of Charles Ball’s The History of the Indian Mutiny which was etched in the year following the great Rebellion. It also showcases original documents from the siege of Delhi, the storming of Kashmiri gate, the surrender of Bahadur Shah Zafar and his trial and the treatment of the royal family. Coupled with the prints are couplets from the major poets of the era, including Dagh, Mirza Sauda, Momin, Zauq, Ghalib and indeed deposed King Zafar himself.
Published in Daily Times, September 4th 2018.