Trace the growth of art and architecture in Mughal India.

Ans. 1. Mughal Architecture during Babur's time: 

Although Babur stayed in India for only four years and spent all four years fighting, he still paid attention towards architectural art. He built a mosque in Panipat and another mosque in Sambhal.

Humayun: 

Humayun's life was spent in great troubles. He kept stumbling all his life and even his death was due to a stumble. So he did not even have enough time to pay attention to the development of architectural art. He had to flee India soon. Two samples of Humayun's art are available - one, he built a mosque in Agra, second, he built a mosque at a place called Fatehabad in Hissar district of Punjab.

Sher Shah: 

Incidentally, it would not be wrong to consider Sher Shah's architectural art as well. Although Sher Shah was not a Mughal, his art influenced Mughal art. He had built the old fort in Delhi. His tomb built at Sasaram is a living example of the blend of Hindu-Muslim art. From a distance it looks like a Buddhist stupa. Hindus call it a temple; Muslims think of it as a mosque. In fact, through his architecture he paved the way for Akbar. 

Apart from this, he also built structures for many public welfare works.

Akbar:

There was progress in every field of art during Akbar's reign. Akbar was a liberal ruler. This liberalism of his is evident from his architectural art. Many buildings were constructed during his time, some of the prominent ones are:

Humayun's Tomb is a magnificent creation of his time. It is famous all over Asia. 

Fatehpur Sikri is the epitome of Akbar's best art. Many buildings were constructed here such as Jodha Bai's palace, Birbal's palace, Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e-Khas, Panchmahal, Buland Darwaza etc. Jodha Bai's palace looks exactly like a temple, Diwan-e-Khas is completely influenced by Hindu art. Panchmahal looks like a Buddhist temple. In fact Fatehpur Sikri is his best creation. 

A.M.A Shastri has also said about it that "This is the finest example of Indian and Persian talent in the field of architecture." He has actually excavated his feelings. Abdur Fazl wrote that "The emperor gets magnificent palaces and painted clothes made, whatever is inside his brain gets transformed into stone and clay.”

In addition, Akbar built forts in Agra, Allahabad and Lahore which are still famous for their strength and architecture. Akbar also built many palaces, schools, lakes etc. which are his excellent creations.

Jahangir: 

Jahangir is called a smaller version of Akbar. Like his father Akbar, he too paid attention towards the development of art. Although his focus was more on the development of painting, he still paid attention in the field of architecture as well and built many important buildings. 

He built Akbar's tomb. This tomb is famous for its simplicity. 

Itimad-ud-Daulah's Tomb is a beautiful creation of his time. Superior white marble was also used in it. In fact, it comes after the Taj Mahal in ranking. It is a unique creation. During his reign, Jahangir's tomb was also built.

Jahangir was fond of gardening. He had built several beautiful gardens in Lahore and Kashmir.

Shah Jahan:

In terms of building construction art, Shah Jahan's era was the golden age of Mughals. That is why Shah Jahan is also called the builder emperor. 

The finest creation of his era is the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal is counted among the seven wonders of the world. Perhaps no foreigner visits India without seeing it. It is truly a wonder of the world.

Its construction took almost 23 years and 50 thousand people worked to build it. Its chief artist was Ustad Isa. It was built by the hands of Muslim artists but the decoration was done by Hindu artists. All historians have praised the Taj Mahal wholeheartedly.

Apart from Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan has many other grand creations. He built the Red Fort in Delhi which is made entirely of red stone, but buildings like Diwan-e-Khas etc. inside it are made of marble. Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e-Khas inside the Red Fort are built beautifully. 

The Jama Masjid built by Shah Jahan is also a famous building in all of Asia. He had the Musamman Burj and Moti Masjid built inside the Agra Fort. Moti Masjid is famous for its simplicity, sanctity and beauty. In addition, he established and built many buildings, cities and markets such as Tahta Taus, structures in Ajmer, Shahjahanabad, Chandni Chowk etc. Shah Jahan had also laid out many gardens.

Aurangzeb: 

Aurangzeb was religiously bigoted and intolerant. So the development of Hindu-Muslim art stopped during his time. Aurangzeb had done more destructive work than construction. By demolishing some temples and building mosques in their place. He demolished the Vishwanath temple in Varanasi to build a mosque there. He built mosques in Lahore and Delhi.  

Characteristics of Mughal Architecture -

Based on all the above buildings, tombs, forts and other creations, we can write about the general characteristics of Mughal art. Dr. Ashirwad Lal has mainly stated the following characteristics of Muslim art:

1. Open courtyards

2. Huge gateways 

3. Beautiful minarets

4. Dome shaped like an inverted bowl

5. Basements

2. Mughal Era Arts:

Babur: 

Babur loved painting. He had brought some painters from Central Asia with him. He had some paintings made in Agra.

Akbar:

Even in art, Akbar's reign had the element of liberal thinking. Large paintings were made during this period, which were made with the help of new artists. Paintings of that era can be found in books like Tuzuk-e-Babri, Tuzuk-e-Humayuni, Tuzuk-e-Akbar etc. Basawan, Mohan, Harivansh, Daswanth, Sabaldas, Farukh Beg, Abu samed were some painters. 

Jahangir:

Painting reached its pinnacle during Jahangir's reign. Percy Brown said about this era that with Jahangir's death, the death of Mughal painting also happened. The development that painting saw during Jahangir's time did not happen in the entire Mughal period. Jahangir himself was a painter and an expert in this art. The main painters of this period were Farukh Beg, Muhammad, Nadir, Murad, Aqaja, Bishnadas, Keshav, Manohar, Madhav, Tulsi etc. The number of Hindu painters was higher. In this regard, Dr. Smith wrote, "The most beneficial thing we see in this observation is that Hindu names dominate the history of Mughal painting."

Shah Jahan: 

There was also development of painting during Shah Jahan's reign. The art of making new models developed. Superior brushes and expensive colors were used. Many paintings were created during this period, but the naturalness and simplicity seen in Jahangir's era was missing in the art of this period. Art became somewhat heavy.

Aurangzeb:

Aurangzeb considered painting to be against the sacred precepts of the Quran, so this art did not develop during his reign. Rather, he got the paintings in Akbar's tomb at Sikandra whitewashed. After Aurangzeb's time, painters moved to Bengal, Mysore, Hyderabad, Gwalior and other places.

Mughal painting has a great contribution in Indian history. Mughal paintings depict diverse subjects which provide information about Indian history. Instead of Persian ornamentation, liveliness and naturalness is seen in India during this period.