A love affair that saved Portuguese from Mughals
When A Portuguese Woman Intrigued With An Emperor In The Mughal Empire
Juliana Dias da Costa was a prominent figure in the Mughal courts during the reign of Bahadur Shah I. We trace the Portuguese woman’s story, historical significance, and the reason why she has faded to obscurity since then.
It was an unusual love affair between a woman of Portuguese origin and a Mughal prince.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
[ Gauree Malkarnekar ]
Dona Juliana Dias da Costa (1658–1733) was a woman of Portuguese descent from Kochi taken to the Mughal Empire's court of Aurangzeb in Hindustan, who
Dona Juliana Dias da Costa (1658–1733) was a woman of Portuguese descent from Kochi taken to the Mughal Empire's court of Aurangzeb in Hindustan, who became Harem-Queen to the Mughal emperor of India Bahadur Shah I, Aurangzeb's son, who became the monarch in the year 1707.
Dona Juliana's family fled the Dutch conquest of Portuguese Kochi (Cochim). She herself ended up in the Mughal court at Delhi, serving the family (wife and mother) of the then prince Shah’Alam. She continued to do so after the prince fell into disfavour with his father and accompanied him into exile. She was rewarded when Shah’Alam became Emperor (Shah) Bahadur I upon his father's death and her influence in the court became great, even though she remained a Catholic in a Muslim state. She is said to have ridden on a war elephant beside Bahadur Shah during his battles to defend his authority, and even after his death she continued to be highly considered, although with less influence.
During her period of strongest influence, while Bahadur Shah I was still alive, she was frequently sought out by European powers like the Dutch, Portuguese, the British, and the representatives of the Pope. She provided much assistance to the Society of Jesus, including helping the Italian Jesuit missionary Ippolito Desideri (1684-1733) in his mission to evangelise Tibet. In recognition of her many contributions and services to the Jesuits she was recognized as a Patroness of the Society.
Sep 23, 2013 - All this was once part of the estate of Dona Juliana Dias Da Costa, a Portuguese lady who came to be known as Bibi Juliana in the time of ...
Mahratta Officer by the name of Captain Manuel D’Eremao (c1744-1829).
buried in kishan ganj Armenian cemetary
The stories of Bungalow No. 8
a church came up near the Red Fort under the aegis of the Baptist Mission in 1814. It was later moved to Chandni Chowk while in between St James’s Church was built in Kashmere Gate
by Col James Skinner.
The early Christian communities were based in Subzi mandi, Civil Lines, Kashmere Gate, Mori Gate, Turkman Gate, Daryaganj, Paharganj and, of course, Chandni Chowk.
A love affair that saved Portuguese from Mughals
Jul 23, 2017, 04:15AM IST TNN[ Gauree Malkarnekar ]
It
was an unusual love affair between a woman of Portuguese origin and a
Mughal prince. And such was the intensity of their love that the
Portuguese woman, Dona Juliana Dias Da Costa, held sway over
Aurangazeb's son, Shah Alam, and she not only helped safeguard
Christians in the then Mughal-ruled India but also assisted in spreading
on the faith in Portuguese India.
Juliana Nama, a book by former director of National Museum in Delhi Madhukar Tewari and archivist Raghuraj Singh Chauhan, has for the first time pieced together information from five different languages, including Persian and Portuguese, to bring to light the role of this lady-in-waiting to Shah Alam.
Tewari and Chauhan stumbled upon the diplomatic role of this Portuguese Catholic lady in the eighties and spent four decades to write arguably the most comprehensive documentation of Mughal, Portuguese, British, Dutch and French interaction in India. They narrate the Portuguese tactics for survival with the Mughals through the story of the love affair between Juliana and Shah.
From the time they established a settlement in Hugli with the favour of Mughal emperor Akbar, the Portuguese were comfortably living there till they managed to annoy his son with their transgressions, leading to him sacking the settlement in 1632. As a result, "4,000 Christians were taken captives in lamentable conditions" to Agra. Juliana's parents, according to the book, are said to have been among these prisoners and so Juliana was born in Agra around 1645, by which time her mother was attached to one of the ladies in Shah Jahan's harem.
Following her parents' death, Juliana was brought up by Father Antonio de Magalhanes in Delhi.
And this upbringing under the patronage of Jesuit Fathers, including years spent in Goa, according to the authors, made her proficient in skills that would make her a diplomat par excellence. "Skills like her proficiency in languages, international exposure to the happenings around the world, including the knowledge of international trade and merchandise, knowledge of medicine and surgery as the Fathers had in their company Portuguese doctors from Goa, and above all the royal manners and customs," helped her gain experience, write Tewari and Chauhan.
Though Juliana was married, she was widowed young, paving the way for her entry to the Mughal court through Father Magalhanes in 1681-82.
"Aurangzeb entrusted the education of Prince Muazzam (later Shah Alam), his second son, to Juliana. She was 17 and his youngest tutor. Muazzam was 18 and was filled with remorse for the merciless imprisonment of his grandfather Shah Jahan," says Tewari, and the seeds of a lifelong love affair were sowed.
The book provides Portuguese letters written by the viceroy in Goa to the King in Portugal telling him of the favour Juliana holds in the Mughal courts.
Juliana, states the book, moved wherever Shah Alam was posted by Aurangzeb, including to Goa to put an end to the threat posed by the Maratha leader, Sambhaji. When later Shah Alam was suspected of treason by Aurganzeb and jailed, Juliana is believed to have risked her life to make his seven years in prison comfortable by smuggling items of luxury.
This loyalty bore fruit when Shah Alam finally ascended the throne after his father Aurangzeb's death.
The book elaborates the role of Juliana in helping Shah Alam win the battle to the throne against his own brothers. Juliana is said to have got Shah Alam to deploy Portuguese gunners in his artillery, which proved a successful move.
The book says of her correspondence with the Portuguese viceroy in Goa as her influence rose in the Mughal court under Emporer Shah Alam, "What becomes more than clear from the exchange of these letters to and from Juliana is not only the higher position attained by her at the Mughal court after the release of prince Shah Alam, but her continued devotion in making favours to the cause of Christianity from the Mughal territories as well."
Besides her diplomatic services, the book also documents the financial help extended by Juliana to the Portuguese. "It was around 1707 that she is said to have given the province of Goa a great fortune variously estimated to the tune of 40 to 150 contos. In 1734, when she died, the Goan Personnel report of 1735 hailed her as the 'Worthy Benefactress of the College and Mission of Agra' in a most unusual statement."
The book mentions another incident of her help in Portuguese survival.
When Emperor Shah Alam Bahadur Shah ascended the throne in 1707, he planned to raise a modernized fleet under a French general for the Mughal navy. But the insecure Portuguese sought to avert the future threat the French would pose. They employed the services of Juliana to convince Shah Alam against collaborating with the French. A feat she successfully achieved.
Juliana Nama, a book by former director of National Museum in Delhi Madhukar Tewari and archivist Raghuraj Singh Chauhan, has for the first time pieced together information from five different languages, including Persian and Portuguese, to bring to light the role of this lady-in-waiting to Shah Alam.
Tewari and Chauhan stumbled upon the diplomatic role of this Portuguese Catholic lady in the eighties and spent four decades to write arguably the most comprehensive documentation of Mughal, Portuguese, British, Dutch and French interaction in India. They narrate the Portuguese tactics for survival with the Mughals through the story of the love affair between Juliana and Shah.
From the time they established a settlement in Hugli with the favour of Mughal emperor Akbar, the Portuguese were comfortably living there till they managed to annoy his son with their transgressions, leading to him sacking the settlement in 1632. As a result, "4,000 Christians were taken captives in lamentable conditions" to Agra. Juliana's parents, according to the book, are said to have been among these prisoners and so Juliana was born in Agra around 1645, by which time her mother was attached to one of the ladies in Shah Jahan's harem.
Following her parents' death, Juliana was brought up by Father Antonio de Magalhanes in Delhi.
And this upbringing under the patronage of Jesuit Fathers, including years spent in Goa, according to the authors, made her proficient in skills that would make her a diplomat par excellence. "Skills like her proficiency in languages, international exposure to the happenings around the world, including the knowledge of international trade and merchandise, knowledge of medicine and surgery as the Fathers had in their company Portuguese doctors from Goa, and above all the royal manners and customs," helped her gain experience, write Tewari and Chauhan.
Though Juliana was married, she was widowed young, paving the way for her entry to the Mughal court through Father Magalhanes in 1681-82.
"Aurangzeb entrusted the education of Prince Muazzam (later Shah Alam), his second son, to Juliana. She was 17 and his youngest tutor. Muazzam was 18 and was filled with remorse for the merciless imprisonment of his grandfather Shah Jahan," says Tewari, and the seeds of a lifelong love affair were sowed.
The book provides Portuguese letters written by the viceroy in Goa to the King in Portugal telling him of the favour Juliana holds in the Mughal courts.
Juliana, states the book, moved wherever Shah Alam was posted by Aurangzeb, including to Goa to put an end to the threat posed by the Maratha leader, Sambhaji. When later Shah Alam was suspected of treason by Aurganzeb and jailed, Juliana is believed to have risked her life to make his seven years in prison comfortable by smuggling items of luxury.
This loyalty bore fruit when Shah Alam finally ascended the throne after his father Aurangzeb's death.
The book elaborates the role of Juliana in helping Shah Alam win the battle to the throne against his own brothers. Juliana is said to have got Shah Alam to deploy Portuguese gunners in his artillery, which proved a successful move.
The book says of her correspondence with the Portuguese viceroy in Goa as her influence rose in the Mughal court under Emporer Shah Alam, "What becomes more than clear from the exchange of these letters to and from Juliana is not only the higher position attained by her at the Mughal court after the release of prince Shah Alam, but her continued devotion in making favours to the cause of Christianity from the Mughal territories as well."
Besides her diplomatic services, the book also documents the financial help extended by Juliana to the Portuguese. "It was around 1707 that she is said to have given the province of Goa a great fortune variously estimated to the tune of 40 to 150 contos. In 1734, when she died, the Goan Personnel report of 1735 hailed her as the 'Worthy Benefactress of the College and Mission of Agra' in a most unusual statement."
The book mentions another incident of her help in Portuguese survival.
When Emperor Shah Alam Bahadur Shah ascended the throne in 1707, he planned to raise a modernized fleet under a French general for the Mughal navy. But the insecure Portuguese sought to avert the future threat the French would pose. They employed the services of Juliana to convince Shah Alam against collaborating with the French. A feat she successfully achieved.
Juliana Dias da Costa
Dona
Juliana Dias da Costa was a woman of Portuguese descent from Kochi
taken to the Mughal Empire's court of Aurangzeb in Hindustan, who became
Harem-Queen to the Mughal emperor of India Bahadur Shah ... Wikipedia
Died: 1733
Juliana Dias da Costa - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliana_Dias_da_Costa
Juliana Dias da Costa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dona Juliana's family fled the Dutch conquest of Portuguese Kochi (Cochim). She herself ended up in the Mughal court at Delhi, serving the family (wife and mother) of the then prince Shah’Alam. She continued to do so after the prince fell into disfavour with his father and accompanied him into exile. She was rewarded when Shah’Alam became Emperor (Shah) Bahadur I upon his father's death and her influence in the court became great, even though she remained a Catholic in a Muslim state. She is said to have ridden on a war elephant beside Bahadur Shah during his battles to defend his authority, and even after his death she continued to be highly considered, although with less influence.
During her period of strongest influence, while Bahadur Shah I was still alive, she was frequently sought out by European powers like the Dutch, Portuguese, the British, and the representatives of the Pope. She provided much assistance to the Society of Jesus, including helping the Italian Jesuit missionary Ippolito Desideri (1684-1733) in his mission to evangelise Tibet. In recognition of her many contributions and services to the Jesuits she was recognized as a Patroness of the Society.
Was it Juliana or Joga? - Delhi - The Hindu
www.thehindu.com › Today's Paper › FEATURES › METRO PLUS
x
Mahratta Officer by the name of Captain Manuel D’Eremao (c1744-1829).
buried in kishan ganj Armenian cemetary
Delhi’s Christian link
The stories of Bungalow No. 8 
and Bibi Juliana reveal Delhi’s connection with Christianity
While revisiting Shahjahanabad, the Christian community’s contribution to its development needs to be viewed in its historical perspective. Delhi’s Christian link goes back to Mughal times when there were two Armenian Catholic churches built in Jahangir’s reign, one of them near the old Subzi mandi and the other near a slaughter house which were destroyed during the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739.
Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire - Wikipedia
Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Shah%27s_invasion_of_the_Mughal_Empire
Emperor Nader Shah, the Shah of Persia (1736–47) and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Persia,invaded the Mughal Empire, eventually attacking Delhi in March 1739.
These churches were repaired in 1722-25 by Father Desideri, though some accounts say he rebuilt a church in 1723 that was opened for worship on All Saints’ Day (Nov 2 of that year). The Jesuits interestingly were working in the city over 100 years earlier in Akbar’s time.
Then after the capture of Delhi by Lord Lake,
Then after the capture of Delhi by Lord Lake,
Battle of Delhi (1803) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Delhi_(1803)
The Battle of Delhi took place on 11 September 1803 during the Second Anglo-Remembering the Battle of Delhi - The Hindu
www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/...the-battle-of-delhi/article3874401.ece
Sep 9, 2012 - The anniversary of the Battle of Delhi goes largely unnoticed. ... was the British Commander-in-Chief, Lord Lake, and his agent in Delhi was the ..a church came up near the Red Fort under the aegis of the Baptist Mission in 1814. It was later moved to Chandni Chowk while in between St James’s Church was built in Kashmere Gate
St. James' Church, Delhi - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James%27_Church,_Delhi
St. James is an Anglican church in Delhi, India, built in 1836 by Colonel James Skinner. .... St. James'Church, Kashmere Gate, Delhi, 1836-1986, 21st November commemoration of the 150th anniversary of consecration. Published in 1986 .by Col James Skinner.
James Skinner (East India Company officer) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Skinner_(East_India_Company_officer)
Colonel James Skinner CB (1778 – 4 December 1841) was an Anglo-Indian military adventurer in India, who became known as Sikandar Sahib later in life, and ...
Early life · Career · St. James' Church · Descendants
A home in the hills for Col James Skinner - Times of India
timesofindia.indiatimes.com › City
Oct 14, 2015 - Here live those descended from Col James Skinner, founder of Skinners Horse Regiment. Lillian Skinner, sister of the late Michael Skinner, theA home in the hills for Col James Skinner
Prachi Raturi Misra| TNN | Oct 14, 2015, 09.51 PM IST
MUSSOORIE: Look out carefully, or you might miss this cottage tucked away on the Barlowgunj-Jharipani Road of Mussoorie. It has bright yellow nameplates on the sides of the gate: 'Sikander Hall', they proclaim, bright and clear.
Here live those descended from Col James Skinner, founder of Skinners Horse Regiment. Lillian Skinner, sister of the late Michael Skinner, the last of the Skinners to command the regiment, is a treasure trove of historical information. Scottish historian William Darlymple, author of White Mughals relied on her memory, using it as a reference library of sorts.
Gopal Bharadwaj, chronicler of Mussoorie and historian, said, "Rockcliffe Parsonage (now Christ Church), Evelyn Hall (now Shevlin Estate), Beffet Hall (now Kasmada Castle), Mount Rose and North View were all once owned by the Skinners. James Skinner's widow, Sophia Elizabeth Skinner, lived in Mussoorie for several years. Sikander Hall in fact was bought by one of James Skinner's granddaughters, Alice, on the liquidation of the assets of the old Crown Brewery."
James Skinner, part-Scottish and part-Rajput, was referred to as Sikander Sahib and wrote several books in Persian, among them "Kitab-i tasrih al-aqvam" (History of the Origin and Distinguishing Marks of the Different Castes of India), now with the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
Skinner turned to scholarship rather late in life. As a young man, thanks to his mixed parentage, he could join neither the East India Company army nor any of those of the Indian rulers.
In 1795, however, he managed a place in the regular army of Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindia. The next eight years saw him learning many sharp Maratha tactics. At just 22, he was commanding three battalions, Bharadwaj said.
A near-death experience in 1800 while on the battlefield of Uniara (in modern Rajasthan) was what spurred him to swear that if he lived, he would build a church. St James Church in Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, where Skinner lies buried, was the result of that oath.
During the Anglo-Maratha War of 1803, after the Marathas were routed, Skinner was dismissed for being British! That was when he was invited to raise a regiment of Irregular Cavalry for the East India Company. Skinner accepted the invitation on condition that he and his regiment would not be forced to fight the Maharaja of Scindia.
The new regiment Skinner raised was the Skinners Horse Regiment
. Their war cry, 'Himmat e Mardaan Madad e Khuda' (God helps the brave), has led their charge, and the regiment went on to win some rare laurels. Many of the men were from Haryana. Skinner also lived in Hansi, Haryana for several years, and that is where he died.
In his book Mussoorie Medley, photographer Ganesh Saili writes, "Born of a Rajput mother and a Scotsman, he lived like a Moghul, preferring to be addressed by his formal title: Nasir-ud-Dowlah Colonel James Skinner Bahadur Ghalib Jung. But to those around him, he was simply 'Sikander sahib'. A Christian by upbringing, he still managed to keep a harem of Hindu and Muslim wives, and to keep the peace built them in turn a church, a mosque and temple too. He raised Skinner's Horse on February 23, 1803, choosing for them the bright yellow tunics or the 'Clothes of the Dead' as warriors who had sworn that if they could not win, they would do battle and die."
Probably tired out after many battles, Col Skinner retired to the sylvan beauty of Mussoorie, where he acquired many large properties.
When he died aged 63 in 1841, Sikander Sahib was probably a contented man. His epitaph at St James Church in Delhi reads: "Here rest the remains of Late Colonel James Skinner CB who departed this life at Hansi 4th December 1841. The body was disinterred, removed from Hansi and buried here on January 19, 1842."
Here live those descended from Col James Skinner, founder of Skinners Horse Regiment. Lillian Skinner, sister of the late Michael Skinner, the last of the Skinners to command the regiment, is a treasure trove of historical information. Scottish historian William Darlymple, author of White Mughals relied on her memory, using it as a reference library of sorts.
Gopal Bharadwaj, chronicler of Mussoorie and historian, said, "Rockcliffe Parsonage (now Christ Church), Evelyn Hall (now Shevlin Estate), Beffet Hall (now Kasmada Castle), Mount Rose and North View were all once owned by the Skinners. James Skinner's widow, Sophia Elizabeth Skinner, lived in Mussoorie for several years. Sikander Hall in fact was bought by one of James Skinner's granddaughters, Alice, on the liquidation of the assets of the old Crown Brewery."
James Skinner, part-Scottish and part-Rajput, was referred to as Sikander Sahib and wrote several books in Persian, among them "Kitab-i tasrih al-aqvam" (History of the Origin and Distinguishing Marks of the Different Castes of India), now with the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
Skinner turned to scholarship rather late in life. As a young man, thanks to his mixed parentage, he could join neither the East India Company army nor any of those of the Indian rulers.
In 1795, however, he managed a place in the regular army of Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindia. The next eight years saw him learning many sharp Maratha tactics. At just 22, he was commanding three battalions, Bharadwaj said.
A near-death experience in 1800 while on the battlefield of Uniara (in modern Rajasthan) was what spurred him to swear that if he lived, he would build a church. St James Church in Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, where Skinner lies buried, was the result of that oath.
During the Anglo-Maratha War of 1803, after the Marathas were routed, Skinner was dismissed for being British! That was when he was invited to raise a regiment of Irregular Cavalry for the East India Company. Skinner accepted the invitation on condition that he and his regiment would not be forced to fight the Maharaja of Scindia.
The new regiment Skinner raised was the Skinners Horse Regiment
1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Horse_(Skinner%27s_Horse)
The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a cavalry regiment of the Indian Army, which served in the British Indian Army before independence. The regiment was raised
Colonel of the Regiment: George VI of the Unit...
Notable commanders: James Skinner
James Skinner (East India Company officer) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Skinner_(East_India_Company_officer)
Colonel James Skinner CB (1778 – 4 December 1841) was an Anglo-Indian military adventurer in India, who became known as Sikandar Sahib later in life, and is most known for two cavalry regiments he raised for the British, later known as 1st Skinner's Horse and ...
3rd Skinner's Horse - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Skinner%27s_Horse
The 3rd Skinner's Horse was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was originally raised at Hansi by Lt.-Col. James Skinner as the 2nd Regiment of ...Yellow Boys - Skinner's Horse - Bharat Rakshak - Indian Army & Land ...
www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/Units/.../411-Yellow-Boys-Skinners-Horse.html
Mar 27, 2012 - Skinner's Horse: – One of the most distinguished cavalry regiments of the Indian Army was raised by legendary Lt. Col. James Skinner in 1803 ...Yellow Boys – Skinner's Horse » Indian Defence Review
www.indiandefencereview.com/yellow-boys-skinners-horse/
Feb 14, 2016 - Skinner's Horse: – One of the most distinguished cavalry regiments of the Indian Army was raised by legendary Lt. Col. James Skinner in 1803 ...Army chief visits Skinner's Horse - StratPost
https://www.stratpost.com/army-chief-visits-skinners-horse/
Oct 2, 2010 - Indian Army Chief of Staff, Gen Vijay Kumar Singh was been appointed the fourth Honorary Colonel of the Regiment of Skinner's Horse on .... Their war cry, 'Himmat e Mardaan Madad e Khuda' (God helps the brave), has led their charge, and the regiment went on to win some rare laurels. Many of the men were from Haryana. Skinner also lived in Hansi, Haryana for several years, and that is where he died.
In his book Mussoorie Medley, photographer Ganesh Saili writes, "Born of a Rajput mother and a Scotsman, he lived like a Moghul, preferring to be addressed by his formal title: Nasir-ud-Dowlah Colonel James Skinner Bahadur Ghalib Jung. But to those around him, he was simply 'Sikander sahib'. A Christian by upbringing, he still managed to keep a harem of Hindu and Muslim wives, and to keep the peace built them in turn a church, a mosque and temple too. He raised Skinner's Horse on February 23, 1803, choosing for them the bright yellow tunics or the 'Clothes of the Dead' as warriors who had sworn that if they could not win, they would do battle and die."
Probably tired out after many battles, Col Skinner retired to the sylvan beauty of Mussoorie, where he acquired many large properties.
When he died aged 63 in 1841, Sikander Sahib was probably a contented man. His epitaph at St James Church in Delhi reads: "Here rest the remains of Late Colonel James Skinner CB who departed this life at Hansi 4th December 1841. The body was disinterred, removed from Hansi and buried here on January 19, 1842."
The early Christian communities were based in Subzi mandi, Civil Lines, Kashmere Gate, Mori Gate, Turkman Gate, Daryaganj, Paharganj and, of course, Chandni Chowk.
In the Civil Lines lived Europeans and Anglo-Indians in posh bungalows. Bungalow No. 8 became a disputed property recently. The Cambridge Brotherhood Mission house exists in Court Lane and the Lt Governor’s residence (earlier occupied by the British Commissioner) in Raj Niwas Marg, the erstwhile Ludlow Castle Road.
In Daryaganj were Christian settlements near the Cavalry Lines, in Old Pataudi House and Turkman Gate, where the Holy Trinity Church came up in 1904. Incidentally, there used to be an “Army chapel” in the main Daryaganj market, which has now become a shop. The Turkman Gate church was erected in a Muslim locality, though it was earlier proposed to be built in Ajmeri Gate, but for the discovery of an underground reservoir of Aurangzeb’s time. This came to light when the church foundation was being laid and so it was shifted to the present site. The parish cemetery, however, was where the Ajmere Gate side extension of New Delhi station has come up near the old Thomson Road. The graves, which were quite old, were either demolished or moved to Trinity Church, Burari and Rajpura Road cemeteries. It’s pertinent to point out that a Christian cemetery existed in Delhi as early as 1650 (Shah Jahan’s period) and the number of Roman Catholics was 120, which increased to 300 in 1686 (Aurangzeb’s reign). They now number over a lakh.
The cemetery in Lothian Road was closed to burials in the 1960s. The Paharganj cemetery, however, is still in use. The CMS Protestants worshipped at St James’s Church, the Catholics in St Mary’s (the mother Church of Sacred Heart Cathedral) which came up in 1865 after the First War of Independence in 1857, as the existing prayer hall was demolished at that time and the priest in-charge, Fr Zachery of Tretti killed. As for the Armenians, their cemetery is there in Kishanganj, near Old Delhi station, but in a badly dilapidated state because of neglect and encroachments. This cemetery also has some Dutch and Portuguese tombs of those attached to the Mughal court along with their matriarch, Bibi Juliana of Aurangzeb’s reign. It was Bibi Juliana’s sarai in Okhla that has now made way for DDA flats in a colony named after her as Julhana Sarai. Among her descendants were the Dominga family, headed by Mrs Dominga D’Eremao who allotted land for the resettlement of Christians displaced from Raisina Hill during the building of New Delhi. Near this settlement of Masihgarh has now come up the Church of Our Lady of Good Health, which is the venue of the annual devotions to the Virgin Mary in the first week of September.
Coming back to Kashmere Gate and Chandni Chowk, it is worth mentioning that the Christian population there included quite a few Europeans, who bore the brunt of the 1857 war of independence, with some of them like the Beresford family being killed. The Skinner family, however, escaped that fate as its members were in Hansi, their ancestral estate. However, the church they built was vandalised and the graves in the compound, including that of William Fraser, were desecrated.
One other reason for the Skinners not suffering so much in those days was because their ancestor, Col Skinner was known as Sikandar Sahib to the Delhiwallahs and had a Muslim wife too in Meerut, whose children were brought up as Mussalmans. The Colonel had also repaired the Kashmere Gate mosque built by the widow of a Mughal army commander and consequently earned much goodwill.
After 1857 the Christians re-established themselves in the city but the Europeans shifted to the new Cantonment for safety. A few Christian families are still living in Old Pataudi House, besides the ones in Turkman Gate, Kashmere Gate and the Civil Lines as reminders of the community’s old link with Shahjahanabad. And, of course, the schools they built have become important institutions, though Nirmala College has made way for Kirorimal College and Ludlow Castle, where the British had their Delhi Club once, has become a Model School after its demolition.
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