Shikargah

Terrorizing wild beasts were often tamed by Mughals who considered themselves as protectors of people, sources record over seventy shikargahs situated in mountainous forests, deserts, Indo-Gangetic floodplains, rocky outcrops, and coastlands.{{cite web|title=The Formulation of Imperial Authority Under Akbar and Jahangir| first1=John|last1=Folsom|last2=Richards|page=286|publisher=Cambridge University Press| jstor=20488083| url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20488083}}File:AkbarHunt.jpg

• Agra Shikargah, Uttar Pradesh {{efn|Abu’l-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. 1, 297 mentions Simawali, Samugarh, Dahra, Jalesar, Rupbas, Bari, Somauli, Alapur, Simawali, Bhatinda, Sunnam, and Bhatnir as favoured shikargahs and manzil-gahs near Agra; The Bayaz-i khwushbu’i, a seventeenth century handbook for Mughal noblemen, mentions Dahra Bagh as a hunting garden where Mughal emperors encamped and hunted on numerous occasions, and which was frequented by Jahangir.}} {{efn|Mundy, Sketches, pages:37–41, 48–51; Mundy mentions shikargahs in the vicinity of major cities such as Lucknow (37–41), Fatehgarh (48–51), and Belaspore (73). Captain Mundy recorded the above facts during Governor General Henry Hardinge's pre-1857 tenure, the biggest tiger hunt which has not been met since 1911 was done by Henry Hardinge's grandson Lord Hardinge then Viceroy of India (1910-1916), who shot a tiger than measured 11 feet and 6 inches.}}
• Ajmer Ana Sagar Lake, Nur Chashma Shikargah, Rajasthan {{efn|A

painting attributed to Nanha portrays Jahangir and Rana Karan of Mewar 1615, at Anasagar c.1623, R316/S.163}}{{efn|Bailey, ‘Sweet-Smelling Notebook’, pages:132–33 mentions Jahangir hunting regularly in the favored Nur Chashma (Hafiz-Jamal) hunting garden near Ajmer; See Jahangir, Tuzuk, vol. 1, pages:182, 232, 234, vol. 2, pages:75–76. ; Jahangir, Jahangirnama, page:202 mentions Jahangir hunting at Nur-Chasma 38 times between 1613 and 1616.}}

• Burhanpur Bagh-i Zaynabad Shikargah, Madhya Pradesh {{efn|Awrangabadi and Ibn Shahnavaz, Ma'asir al-umara, vol. 1, page:158 mentions Shah Jahan hunting lions in shikargah, Burhanpur, 1630. Painting attributed to Daulat, c.1635, the Windsor Padshahnama, f.220b,RCIN 1005025.au.}}
• Hissar-i-Firuza Shikargah, Haryana {{efn|Akbar captures his first cheetah in 1560, Hissar Firuza shikargah. Painting by Tulsi and Narayan, c.1590–95. From an Akbarnama manuscript, IS.2:2-1896}}
• Narwar Shikargah {{efn|Abu’l-Fazl and Khwaja Nizam al-Din mention Akbar’s early forays into Gujarat to capture wild elephants in mid-1564 in the forests around Narwar and Gwalior a halting place}}
• Pakpattan Shikargah Pakistan {{efn|Abu’l-Fazl, Akbarnama, vol. 2, page:522 mentions that in 1571 Akbar had a similar spiritual experience at Pakpattan after visiting a Sufi saint; Painting by Miskina with Mansur portrays Akbar hunting in a qamargha ring in Lahore in 1567, c.1586, IS 2:56-1896; by Sarwan, c.1586, IS 2:55–1896. From an Akbarnama manuscript.}}
• Mahemdavad Shikargah Ahmedabad, Gujrat {{efn|Abu’l-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. 2, 248 mentions Mahmud Tughlaq as founder of Mahemdavad Shikargah }}
• Palam, Delhi Shikargah, New Delhi
• Sheikhupura (Jahangirpur/Jahangirabad) Shikargah, Lahore, Pakistan {{efn|Jahangir, Jahangirnama, page 69;Jahangir, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, vol. 1, pages:90–91, vol. 2, pages:182 ; Jahangir, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, pages: 44, 318 ; See also Catherine Asher, Architecture of Mughal India (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1992), pages:125–27 and 205. In 1607, Jahangir ordered the construction of a hunting tower, the Hiran Minar, dedicated to the memory of his favourite pet antelope which included a gateway, four corner pavilions, and an octagonal baradari pavilion at the end of a causeway in the middle of the large man-made reservoir He also built the village of Jahangirpur and fort by 1620.}}

File:Nawab of Junagarh and his son in the 1870s.jpg in the past and carries weight also with me is that the forest is the last sanctuary of Indian lions,” said the last Nawab of Junagadh.

Sixth Junagarh Nawab Mahabat Khanji II (1851-1888) in 1879 had banned the killing of the lions in Gir and his son Rasul Khanji (1892-1911) in 1892 banned the killing of the peacocks.{{Cite web|title=Untold Story of How an Erstwhile Princely State Saved Gir's Lions from Extinction|date=10 August 2020 |url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/235146/world-lion-day-gujarat-gir-national-park-nawab-junagadh-british-rule-india-nor41/|

publisher=The Better India|access-date=10 August 2020}}]]

File:Gir forest.jpg is at Gir. The very first lion census in 1936 presented a total figure of lions as 287 which has increased to 674 as of 2020]]

File:India, Benares, 19th century - Sari - 1981.218 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif and festive colors (metallic shades in recent times)]]

In movie The Deceivers (film) (1988), the hunting party scene includes the phrase: "There is no greater pleasure than the hunt, for it reveals the essence of life and death." This line reflects the cultural and philosophical undertones of the film, which explores themes of deception, power, and morality in colonial India. {{Cite web|title =A Content Analysis of the Portrayal of India in Films Produced in the West|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254693061_A_Content_Analysis_of_the_Portrayal_of_India_in_Films_Produced_in_the_West|access-date =23 December 2024}}

File:Salim Kills Rhinoceros and a Lion.jpg

File:The royal hunt (6125045224).jpg

File:Tiger hunt in the mountains (6124556819).jpg

File:The Emperor Akbar hunts at Sanganer on his way to Gujarat (6124504229).jpg

File:Akbar Hunting Black Buck-Akbarnama.jpg

File:Shirin praying While Khusrau hunting.jpg

File:The young hawk and the hunt.jpg

File:Jahangir's Lion Hunt ca. 1615, Aga Khan Museum, Geneva.jpg

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Wildlife conservation

Shikargah

Category:Wildlife conservation in India

Category:Conservation-reliant species