‘Makeover’ plans for Humayun’s Tomb may include a fine-dine, café and elevators. Here’s why historians are horrified.

Humayun’s tomb, built by the patronage of his son and Mughal ruler Akbar in Delhi back in the 16th century, is a sight to behold. Surrounded by sprawling gardens and architecture beautiful enough to have inspired the Taj Mahal, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is also home to a total of 130 graves. Now, the Ministry of Culture has approved a project that would allow a private company to give this 400-year-old monument a “makeover”.

The Sabhyata Foundation, a brain child of the Dalmia Bharat Group, has been granted stewardship of four historic monuments, including Humayun's Tomb as part of the Indian "Adopt a Heritage 2.0" initiative. With the blessing of the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India, the nonprofit plans to introduce measures to increase footfall, improve amenities and even introduce sound and light shows in the premises (of what is a tomb).

The organisation’s vision document mentions that it wants to create special events at Humayun’s Tomb that focus on different topics like Sufi beliefs, Humayun's work in astronomy, and the contributions of Rajput women to the Mughal empire.

While the MoU doesn’t say so, anonymous sources from ASI and whispers from other sources suggest that the plans include a fine-dining restaurant, a café and even elevators in various gates of the heritage site. The vision document has references of an event dining space and also mentions “relocating” trees that have been there for centuries.

Why this “renovation” could be a terrible idea

Critics argue that these plans violate the sanctity and spirit of the monument, which is not only a masterpiece of Mughal architecture but also a mausoleum. The tomb’s char-bagh garden — a unique feature that influenced the design of the Taj Mahal — also forms an integral part of its heritage status. As reported by The Wire, some experts think that having song and dance in a mausoleum would be vulgar.

Sentiments aside, conservation experts have raised concerns about the long-term impact on the structure. According to UNESCO, the authenticity of Humayun's Tomb is preserved through the mausoleum, surrounding structures and garden maintaining their original form, design, materials, and setting. The tomb and nearby buildings remain largely unchanged from their original state. Most conservation efforts so far have focussed on using traditional materials like lime mortar and employing historic building methods. This includes removing 20th-century additions such as concrete layers from the roof, replacing them with lime-concrete, and restoring original patterns by replacing cement plaster with lime mortar. Similar restoration practices were applied across all the garden-tombs in the complex

However, a restaurant, resulting waste disposal and construction could weaken the mortar used in the monument, a unique blend of ingredients like jaggery and lentils. The installation of elevators and the potential damage from increased foot traffic could exacerbate these risks. Not to mention, this could violate The Ancient Monuments Act of 1958, which strictly regulates such modifications to protect historic sites from harm.
Considering how the Dalmia group is mainly a cement company and its founder was an accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, the Ministry of Culture’s decision to hand over an islamic monument to the organisation has raised eyebrows.

Already, the Dalmia Bharat Group’s plans for Humayun’s Tomb echo its earlier controversial adoption of the Red Fort in 2018. Their new MoU with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also covers other historic sites, including Purana Qila, Safdarjung’s Tomb and the Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

Historians and archaeologists fear that these changes, which they think are driven by corporate interests, represent a shift toward commercialisation, threatening the integrity of India's invaluable cultural heritage.