Rifa-e-Aam Club poised to regain lost glory
UP’s first Indian club of the pre-independence era, which is a squatters’ hub at present, tops the list of structures to undergo transformation under the smart city project
LUCKNOW: The heritage structures in the state capital that are in a shambles are all set to regain their lost glory, as the urban development department is set to carry out restoration of more than a dozen edifices under the smart city project.
The historical Rifa-e-Aam Club, UP’s first Indian club to come up in the pre-independence era, tops the list of structures to undergo transformation.
“Under the project, we have shortlisted Kaiserbagh area. We will restore the area within 12km of its radius, labelled as area base development (ADB). The ADB also covers the restoration of all historical structures, including historical Rifa-e-Aam Club that is lying amid heaps of garbage,” said Ranjan Kumar, divisional commissioner.
“The club’s restoration would not only save an important heritage structure from getting lost but will also make the present generation aware of its historical importance,” said Roshan Taqui, a city-based historian.
Taqui, who has penned several books on the nawabi-era structures of the state capital, said the structure was perhaps state’s first Indian club to come up in pre-Independence era and it had also been part of thee freedom movement.
The club was established by nawabs and taluqdars in 1860 to hold their family functions. “It is said that since all British establishments carried a board mentioning ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’, the nawabs formed their own club. Later on it was named as Rifa-e-Aam and was opened to commoners.
He said the building had been a witness to many historical events and to the speeches of many great personalities and literati, including India’s first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Munshi Premchand, Mohammed Amir Ahmad Khan and others.
“The club also hosted meetings of All India Muslim League and Indian National Congress that eventually led to Lucknow Pact of 1916 that was signed in the main hall of the building,” Taqui added . Presently, the club is situated amid a mound of garbage as the surrounding area is used by the locals to dump filth. Besides, the building is encroached upon by beggars and the homeless, who are living on the premises .