Rifa-e-Aam marches on to ruin
Lack of ownership and government protection hastens threat to historic structure
The historic ‘Rifa-eAam’ club building continues to wilt under the ravages of time with no one to claim ownership and take care of this heritage structure. According to Aftab Hussain, superintending archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Lucknow, the structure does not belong to either the state or central ASI, hence, its ownership is unknown.
Raja Saheb of Mehmoodabad, who is said to have a stake in the building, also refuted the claim stating that it does not belong to him. Under the Smart City Project in 2021, the then divisional commissioner Ranjan Kumar had planned to restore over a dozen heritage structures within a 12-kilometer radius in Lucknow’s Qaiserbagh area, including the Rifa-e-Aam Club.
One year on, the structure lies worse than before with most of its parts decaying and a portion of it being encroached by locals, who say they have been living there for ages. The ground is being used by the locals for parking vehicles and the corridors have been used by scrap dealers to dump their stuff. “The building is often used for marriage purposes but we don’t know who authorises it and where the money goes,” Swapnil Rastogi, a local and heritage enthusiast said. An officer from Lucknow Smart City Project, wishing anonymity, said that the detailed project report (DPR) was made in 2021 but no one seems to know what happened to it. Today, Smart City Project officials have no idea about projects discussed a year ago.
“The project was discussed in a meeting with the then divisional commissioner, and a proposal was made for it as well. However, the ball on this issue stopped rolling at that point, and no action was taken thereafter,” said SC Singh, general manager, Smart City Project, Lucknow.
Historical significance
The club was established by nawabs and taluqdars in 1860 to hold family functions. The club has witnessed many important events and movements on its premises pre-independence, including the signing of the famous Lucknow Pact (1916) between the Indian National Congress and Muslim League. It is also witness to speeches of Mahatma Gandhi on HinduMuslim unity in 1920 and also to Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel during the Swadeshi Movement in 1922.
“It is said that the club was formed in response to the British government’s racial discrimination, as all British establishments displayed the sign ‘dogs and Indians not allowed’. The nawabs and taluqdars formed their own club which was later named Rifa-e-Aam and opened to the general public,” said Rastogi, who also launched a campaign in 2020, where over 5,000 city residents signed a petition on change.org demanding immediate restoration and protection of the structure.
Himanshu Bajpai, Lucknowbased Dastango, who performed Dastangoi on the building at the site last year, said, “I devoted 10 minutes to this historic structure, on its beauty, so that people could start collecting and see the beauty that has been forgotten. This is the only way for me to convey a message through my work.”