Namak Haram ki Haveli: Delhi is a very interesting city, especially for those who like history. Delhi is one of the cities of India which has witnessed the history of all three periods, ancient, medieval and modern. It is said that Delhi has been destroyed and rebuilt seven times. Thousands of such stories will be buried in its chest which we read in books or hear somewhere. One of them is the story of ‘Namak Haram Ki Haveli’. A trace of betrayal is still present in Kucha Ghasiram Gali of Old Delhi. ”Namak Haram ki Haveli” present in this street; Whoever passes in front of him, only one word comes out of his mouth ‘traitor’. Let us know why a mansion or the owner of a mansion was named like this.
How did the mansion get tainted
After all, why did people start calling this magnificent mansion ‘Namak Haram’? To understand this, let’s go to a little history. By the beginning of the 19th century, all the princely states of India had accepted the slavery of the British rule. But some princely states were still fighting the British, one of them was the young Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar of Indore. All the princely states surrendered before the British but Holkar had decided to fight against the slavery of the East India Company. There was a person named Bhavani Shankar Khatri among the loyalists of Yashwant Rao Holkar, but there came a time when there was a rift between Holkar and Khatri and Khatri joined hands with the British.
How did the mansion get tainted
After all, why did people start calling this magnificent mansion ‘Namak Haram’? To understand this, let’s go to a little history. By the beginning of the 19th century, all the princely states of India had accepted the slavery of the British rule. But some princely states were still fighting the British, one of them was the young Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar of Indore. All the princely states surrendered before the British but Holkar had decided to fight against the slavery of the East India Company. There was a person named Bhavani Shankar Khatri among the loyalists of Yashwant Rao Holkar, but there came a time when there was a rift between Holkar and Khatri and Khatri joined hands with the British.
Used to give intelligence information to the British
Khatri now used to give all the intelligence information related to Holkar and Maratha army to the British, in 1803 there was a fierce battle between Holkar and the British army in Patparganj area. Journalist RV Smith in his ‘Patparganj: Then and Now’ It is written that the fighting between the British and Maratha soldiers continued for about three days. Mughals were also fighting on behalf of the Marathas, but the Maratha army had to face defeat in this battle.
The traitor got a mansion as a gift
Bhavani Shankar Khatri had betrayed in this fight and supported the British. . Pleased with Khatri’s loyalty, the British gifted him a luxurious mansion at Chandni Chowk, where he started living there with his family. After which people started calling Khatri as Namak Haram and Khatri’s Haveli as ‘Namak Haram Ki Haveli’… The stain that was on Khatri’s hem at that time was not erased even after two hundred and fifty years and even today people call him ‘Namak Haram Ki Haveli’. The mansion is called the mansion of Namak Haram. Today people have been living in that mansion on rent for fifty years.
