The Mubarak Begum Mosque also known as Randi ki Masjid (Prostitute's Mosque) is a 19th-century historical red sandstone mosque belonging to the Mughal Empire located in Hauz Qazi, Shahjahanabad, Delhi, the Chawri Bazaar metro station in India. The mosque is also referred to as courtesan's (tawaif's) mosque. On 19 July 2020, the central dome of the mosque collapsed due to heavy rainfall.[1][2] It was reported that only a part of the dome was crashed down around 6:45 am.[3] Currently the mosque is under the custody of Delhi Wakf Board.
History
The mosque was built in the early decades of the 19th century in 1823 by a nautch girl called Mubarak Begum who also served as a tawaif in the Mughal court.[4] The mosque was built during the Mughal era.
She was born into a poor Muslim family initially pursued her career as a dancing girl in Pune.[5]
When East India Company was established in India, Britishers made it compulsory for army men to either come along with their wives, or marry native women temporarily. "No Indian families would've agreed, so these ladies were their only recourse." It was Delhi's first British resident, David Ochterlony (who was a two time British resident to Mughal emperor's court in Delhi in 1802 and in 1822), who married Mubarak Begum and built a mosque in her honour. "For the first time, a nautch girl, not royalty, had commissioned a mosque and so Randi ki Masjid became the informal name."[6] After the death of Mubarak Begum in 1878, the control of the mosque was taken over by the British government.[7] It is one of the three mosques to be constructed by women in medieval India.[8]
Structure
The mosque is built up of red sandstone and lakhori bricks as a two-storey structure. The upper floor consists of prayer chamber containing three domed compartments. It also comprises three red and white striped domes and three arched entrances under each dome.[9] It was reported that the mosque was last repaired and maintained in 2016.
