Madrasa of Mahmud Gawan, Bidar

“Is this Mosque in Iran” was my first reaction when I saw a photo of this place. Well it’s not, located at 130 kilometers from Hyderabad in small town called Bidar!  I was shocked that many of the elders around me hadn’t known much about the city or Mahmud Gawan.

Mahmud Gawan was an Iranian merchant who arrived in the Bahamani Sultanate at around 1453 CE. Due to his honesty, simplicity and knowledge he impressed the Bahamani Kings. He ultimately rose to the post of prime minister and was much respected among the local population. One of the reasons for the collapse of the Bahamani Sultanate was that Mahmud Gawan had been murdered by one of the King’s men.

Mahmud Gawan had seen the greatest architectural marvels in the form of Madrasas all around the world including places like Khorasan and Samarqand. A Madrasa is an educational institution for Islamic studies, so he decided to construct something similar. Mahmud Gawan was very rich due to the international trade he carried out during his time at the court and used that to fund the construction of this Madrasa at Bidar.The Madrasa had an imposing three-story building with 100 feet tall minarets in four corners (when built) of which only 1 minaret remains. There were thirty-six rooms for students and six suites for the teaching staff. Boarding and lodging was free for travelers acting almost like a Sarai (resting place). It had a matchless library of three thousand volumes. The Madrasa was supposed to attract the most eminent theologians, philosophers and scientists from all around the world, but due to the long distance of traveling not many actually ended up coming here from the west!The Madrasa ran effectively for over two centuries, but unfortunately the Madrasa suffered as Bidar witnessed a series of political struggles after that.  After Aurangzeb conquered the city of Bidar, the Madrasa was then used as a military barrack. An explosion which happened inside this military barrack caused a large portion of the Madrasa to be destroyed during that time.One may still be able to notice the grandeur of the Madrasa today, a few remains of the glazed tiles, the large courtyard, the rooms in the triple storied grand complex containing so many rooms reminds you of its original splendor.
Unfortunately today a large portion of the Madrasa remains closed for tourists. I personally found it incomparable to any other Madrasa in the whole of South Asia.