Shah Gada’s Dargah

Shah Gada's Dargah a small single-domed Mughal building giving the impression of a Kiosk, lies between the Jami Masjid and the Katra in the Mughaltuli area of the old Maldah town (West Bengal, India). There is an open space in front with a small gateway. Shah Gada does not seem to be a well-known figure, and his whereabouts are not known even from legends, which are common to most of the darvishes. There are two historical inscriptions attached to the shrine: one over the doorway of the gateway refers to the building of a mosque by Sultan nasiruddin mahmud shah of the restored Iliyas Shahi dynasty, and the other over the doorway of the tomb itself speaks also of a Jami mosque built by Sultan Alauddin husain shah. It is generally conjectured that Shah Gada flourished during the time of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. The extant tomb was possibly erected over his grave in the Mughal period. [ABM Husain]