Is Kalhuvakaru Mosque Mughal Architecture?

According to an article in Haveeru Daily, Kalhuvakaru Mosque is an example of 'miniature' Mughal architecture. How accurate is this statement?

Examining the mosque, the first thing one observes is that the mosque does not exhibit any of the typical features of Mughal architecture. These features are:

• Jaroka: Overhanging balconies;
  
• Chhatri: Stone canopies that resemble umbrellas;
  
• Chhajja: Stone eaves;
  
• Jali: fenestrated stone carvings. Dhivehi word 'jaali' has more or less the same meaning;
  
• Guldasta: Flower shaped pinnacles;
  
• Charbagh: Quadrangular gardens.
  

So what architectural features does the mosque have? The most prominent feature is the coral carving in the base structure. This is more or less identical to the carvings in Hukuru Mosque, built during the time of Ibrahim Iskandharu (1648-1687). (Hukuru Mosque was built a few years after Taj Mahal was completed in 1653.)

Coral carving is an ancient art practiced in the Maldives since time immemorial. Evidence of this can be found in tomb stones in Koagannu Cemetery of Meedu Addu Atoll, which date back to the 12^th Century CE. This was 400 years before the first Mughal Emperor, Babur, defeated Ibrahim Lodhi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 to establish the Mughal Empire. Mughal architecture came much later. (The picture above contrasts Mughal stone carving and those found in Male mosques.)

The other striking feature in Kalhuvakaru Mosque is the wooden ceiling decoration. This type of ceiling decoration is not part of Mughal architecture, which uses interlaced stone-and-masonry arches and vaults for this purpose. On the other hand, such ceiling decoration is found in some temples of Sri Lanka.

It might be interesting to find out why experts who saw Kalhuvakaru Mosque thought it is Mughal architecture. Is it simply because it's a mosque and Mughals were Muslims? In the 16 years I spent in India, I have seen hundreds of Mughal buildings and mosques, none of them resembling Kalhuvakaru Mosque even remotely.

[To read the Haveeru article in Dhivehi click here.]

BBC: Blast carnage at shrine in Iraq

The howling of the wounded echoed through a nearby hospital where the victims were admitted, the hallways packed with security forces and anxious family members looking for loved ones … …

At Friday prayers in Tehran, former Iranian President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani condemned Thursday's attack on pilgrims. "The incident yesterday was a very, very hateful example of those who harm religion in the name of religion," he said.

Lying on a stretcher, her head and hand bandaged, Sabiha Kadhim, 50, said: "I was near the shrine and suddenly there was a huge explosion and a fire broke out.

"I saw human body parts everywhere."

According to new statistics from Iraq's health ministry since 2005 when violence worsened more than 87,000 Iraqis have been killed.

For more details click here.

Preventing Hospital Mishaps

The demonstrations against ADK Hospital following the tragic deaths of 37-year-old pre-school teacher Aishath Shaheen Mohamed and her unborn baby following a caesarian section on Monday brings to sharp focus yet again the increasing frequency of suspected cases of medical malpractice in the Maldives. The few cases that have gone up to the court, thanks to pro-bono lawyer Husnu Suood, such as those of Ali Zakhwan and Aishath Iyan are just the tip of the iceberg. Even those two cases are still pending in the court.

Shaheen, who had a past history of 2 caesarean deliveries, was admitted to ADK Hospital on 19th April. She was taken up for surgery the following day after her baby was diagnosed dead by hospital doctors. Her condition worsened following surgery and was referred to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where she died soon after.

The matter is under investigation by Maldives Police Services as well as ADK Hospital. Thus it is inappropriate to express any opinions here that would compromise the investigation. However, in the interest of preventing future mishaps certain points must be noted.

• Is there an internal system in any Maldivian hospital to review complications and deaths proactively? Or is the system geared to hush up mishaps unless relatives complain or demonstrate?
  
• So far we have only heard about Police and ADK investigations. Where is the Health Ministry investigation; and is the Medical Council sleeping?
  
• One protester, Fathimath Shirmeela, is reported to have said it was imperative the government carried out comprehensive checks on foreign doctors and their qualifications. Is the Medical Council in a position to clear her doubts and concerns?
  
• Another protestor, Hawwa Riyaza, said the purpose of the protest was to raise awareness about the poor service at the hospital. How accurate is her statement on quality? Is there an objective way to measure quality in ADK or any other hospital? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that each hospital has a system of quality assurance?
  
• Is it left to Husnu Suood to single-handedly tackle the issue of medical malpractice in the country?
  

 

 

Why Maldives was not in ILO

Till yesterday, when People’s Majlis resolved that Maldives could join International Labor Organization (ILO), it had the dubious distinction of being on a very short list of countries refusing to join the organization, a list that was headed by North Korea. The long delay in joining ILO had historic reasons that date back to the late 70s and early 80s, when a large number of Maldivians were employed as seamen in foreign shipping lines.

People from those days could perhaps recall many incidents of returning seamen going to jail straight from the airport, though not many would have understood why. At the bottom of the mystery was the reason why foreign lines preferred Maldivian sailors: they could make Maldivians work for a pittance, as they were not protected by any local or international laws. As such, Maldivian sailors were paid very low wages compared to the minimum wages in Western countries. When ships called at US and EU ports, lawyers representing labor unions helped the Maldivians file cases against the shipping lines and get large amounts of money as compensation.

Those days the government took a hard-line against those who filed such cases. Perhaps officials felt they were detrimental to the continued employment of Maldivians as sailors. This is not the place or time to discuss whether that policy was right or wrong. The issue is raised here to give background information on why Maldives was not an ILO member all these days.

Some interesting points:
There were a couple of interesting points during the Majlis debate. One was the assurance that joining ILO would not automatically impose any obligations on Maldives. This assurance betrays lack of understanding of how international legal instruments work. They follow a familiar pattern. First, countries are made to accept the parent convention. This would then be used as the thin edge of the wedge to pry open sufficient space to push in ‘optional protocols.’ Soon, the country would be overwhelmed by implementation and reporting obligations.

The other interesting point was the reservations Maldives made while deciding to join ILO. This was mainly to enable the country to continue denying the right of worship to expatriate workers.

Must an atoll council be an atoll council?

The term 'Atoll Council' as defined in the decentralization bill currently under debate in the Majils has led to a political maelstrom and a war of words between the President and his Attorney General, who believes the councils are unconstitutional. Below is what the Constitution says on the subject.

Article 230 (b): "For the purpose of governing the administrative divisions according to the principles of decentralization, the President has the power to create institutions, posts, island councils, atoll councils and city councils, as provided in law."

Schedule II of the Constitution lists out the 'administrative divisions.' The list comprises 21 divisions: the existing 20 atolls of Maldives plus Male.

In the light of Article 230 (b) above, the President has the power to create 5 entities, three of which are councils. The question is where do these councils belong?

Let us start with 'island' council, probably the least controversial among the three. There appears to be no dispute that the word 'island' here refers to the existing administrative islands of Maldives (which in some cases could be more than one in a geographical island, e.g. Fuvahmulah).

Defining 'city' council is also not that controversial. According to common perception, Male is the nearest to a city that the Maldives has. Further, Schedule II lists Male as an administrative division. Since it is the only division in the list which is not an atoll, putting 2 and 2 together, it is reasonable to assume that 'city council' belongs to Male.

This brings us to the bone of contention –atoll council. Attorney General Dhiyana Saeed appears to favor the view that an atoll council should belong to one of the 20 atolls listed as administrative divisions in Schedule II. However, this is not how the draft bill on decentralized administration sees things. According to the bill, an 'atoll' council need not belong to just one administrative atoll. Rather it could belong to the 2 - 4 atolls in the provinces proposed by the bill.

The decentralized administration bill is currently in the Majlis, where members will decide the issue and pass the law. After that it could perhaps go to the Supreme Court for a ruling on whether the law is constitutional.

Heritage vital to the survival of Maldives as a nation

The recent history of Kalhuvakaru Mosque is a virtual barometer that reflects the cavalier treatment meted out to Maldivian heritage by successive regimes. It is also a damning clue to why the younger generation has lost its sense of identity and pride in the nation.

Built of ebony wood (the black color of which gives the mosque its name) on a carved coral stone base, Kalhuvakaru Mosque dates back to 1789, to the regime of King Hassan Noordeen I in the Maldives and the French Revolution in Europe. Till 1978 it was located near the National Football Stadium.

In 1978 Kalhuvakaru Mosque was dismantled to make way for a larger two-storey mosque. The old woodwork and masonry was auctioned off and bought by Furanafushi resort, where it was reconstructed. After Maumoon Abdul Gayoom became president later that year he took action to get back the mosque. The Australian owner of Furanafushi donated the mosque to the government (It was not bought back as claimed by the government).

Maumoon’s action appears to have been motivated more by politics than any love for heritage. This is indicated by the fact that the mosque was not restored back to its original historical site. Rather, it was placed in an insignificant corner of Sultan’s Park and left to decay. Perhaps it would have been better maintained if it was left in Furanafushi.

Kalhuvakaru Mosque was not the only historical structure demolished during the regimes of Ibrahim Nasir and Maumoon. The list includes, Aa Koattay Buruzu and other forts in Male, most buildings in the royal palace compound, Sifainge and numerous historic mosques in various parts of Maldives.

Last year, under an externally funded project, restoration work was started on Kalhuvakaru Mosque. The mosque was reopened by President Mohamed Nasheed on Monday. Speaking at the ceremony he said that history and heritage were the most important distinctions of a country. This is a significant departure from the past policy on nationalism and heritage, giving a ray of hope for national revival.

Theemuge Audit Report

The latest in the 'time bomb' series of Auditor General's reports, this one on Presidential Palace Theemuge, confirms what we have known all along. Despite celebrating the diamond jubilee of constitutional rule in the Maldives, the concept of state property remains the same as it was during the era of absolute monarchy.

From time immemorial right up to this day, Maldivians believe that state property belongs to the ruler. Up to the dawn of 20th Century it was the King; afterwards it was the Prime Minister and finally now it's the President. The conviction runs so deep that despite the current Constitution requiring that presidential entitlements must be limited by law, such a law remains yet to be passed eight months into the Constitution.

Against this background, each year during the past 30 years, Presidential Palace budgets have been passed by the Majlis, each one larger than its predecessor. No member of the Majlis had ever dared to question the size of the budget or how it was spent. No wonder then that the Auditor General found what he found in Theemuge expenditure, some of the highlights of which are:

• $ 17 million spent on construction of Theemuge;
  
• Over 300 staff employed;
  
• Rf 45 million spent on staff out of a total budget of 187 million;
  
• 55 cars at the service of the Presidential Palace;
  
• 11 plots of land dedicated for Theemuge in various parts of Male;
  
• 4 houses in 4 regional airports for the President's personal use;
  
• Presidential suites in Colombo and London High Commissions.
  

Auditor General has recommended that former President Gayoom be asked to repay what he spent on his extended family from Theemuge budget. This is likely to take us back in time to the first half of 20th Century, when Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanu (former Prime Minister and Bodu Bandeyri) faced a similar predicament. He was supposed to have replied, "You know how these things are. We don't keep accounts here, so it's difficult to determine what's mine and what's the government's. Let's do one thing. I have three houses, Maabageechaage, Maafannuge and Athiree Maafannuge. I'll keep two; the government can have one, Athiree Maafannuge."

By a strange coincidence, the house that Kilegefaanu gave that day was today's Theemuge.