Sealed: Humayun’s Tomb

The Delhi Police conducted an hour-long meeting this evening at the monument,preparing the deployment plan for Sunday while a large number of police officials carried out security checks around the site. The Humayun’s Tomb Complex and the area around it have been under constant surveillance since November 2,and the place is periodically visited by sniffer dogs.

Obama is slated to visit the monument around 4 pm on Sunday and,according to sources,he will come to the site directly from the airport after landing in the Capital. Though no special preparations have been made by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),sources said either ASI Director General Gautam Sengupta or Culture Secretary Jawhar Sircar is expected to receive Obama at the site. Senior officials of ASI and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) are likely to show him around.

Around 20 children of conservation workers,who are being tutored in makeshift schools run at ASI sites,and five tutors will meet the US President during his 40-minute walk through the site. According to sources,Obama himself had asked the US Embassy to arrange for a meeting with the underprivileged kids.

The children,between five and eight years of age,started attending the makeshift schools about a year ago. The ASI had started the schools,keeping in view that a large number of migrant workers were camping at the heritage sites. Most of the workers come from remote areas in Rajasthan,Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh,and are unskilled or semi-skilled workers working under contractors.

At present,these makeshift schools are run at Red Fort,Purana Quila,Qutab Minar,Tughlaqabad,Safdarjung’s Tomb and Qila Rai Pithora.

The site also has traditional craftsmen from Dholpur who are renovating ancient jaalis and pillars. If these artisans acquire security clearance,even they might get a chance to meet the US President. A special exhibition,aimed at explaining the site’s historical significance and background,may also be set up on the occasion.

Humayun’s Tomb,which draws over a million visitors every year,has been a popular destination among foreign delegates. While the site was visited by Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenny last year,2010 has witnessed visits by German President Horst Kohler and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle until now.

Centered around the conservation of Humayun’s Tomb,the AKTC is implementing an urban renewal project in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India,Central Public Works Department and Municipal Corporation of Delhi. As part of the project,the US embassy is co-funding an English education programme for 200 youths from the Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin,and the conservation of Sunderwala Burj through a grant under the American Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Scheme.

Humayun’s Tomb,the first garden tomb in the Indian sub-continent,had created a precedent for subsequent Mughal architecture and eventually paved way for the construction of the Taj Mahal.

The Humayun Tomb gardens were restored in 2004,and conservation works are being undertaken on the mausoleum of the Mughal emperor and associated buildings based on exhaustive archival research and documentation.