Darkhast land and the Church of Our Lady of Assumption in Chennai

Every time I write an article or make a video about the history of Madras (i.e. Chennai), my head is pounding with more information. Last week was no different and I am grateful to those who generously shared their knowledge.

The first concerns Goddess Nimishamba, the subject of my last article in this column. Karthik Bhatt, who knows everything there is to know about our city, kindly directed me to the Census of India 1961, Volume XI D, which deals with the temples of Madras State. It was a pleasure in itself to name the names of those who put this together, for there were holy names from the IAS; among them was my dear friend P. ‘Bob’ Murari, then Deputy Census Examiner. And many of the essays in the book undoubtedly bear the hallmark of Bob’s writings.

Sri Nimishambal Ishwari temple, records say, was built in 1836 or thereabouts. Therefore, current claims that the tomb is four centuries old are clearly false. Its builder was Krishnaswamy Raju, about whom nothing more is known. He built it on a 3 cents (1300 sq m) plot of land, near Kasi Chetty Street. In 1884, Venkatalakshmi Ammal donated a mandapam. The two shops at the front pay rent to the shrine and help maintain it. I was also wrong in assuming that it was one of the Chitrakars who donated to the temple. From his name, Krishnaswamy Raju seems to be one of the Rajapalayam Rajus.

The second story is about a YouTube segment in which I described the sights of Madras in a 1977 Tamil movie. Adu Puli Attam Starring actors Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Sripriya. Most were simple; Some bits of T. Nagar and Mount Road and a nice shot at Fort Station with a clear Cooum flowing. However, I was surprised by a rather dilapidated church. According to the movie, it was somewhere in Kancheepuram. I left this as a question to the audience and many responded; One of them said he used his Google lens to locate the venue. It was Our Lady of Dharkast Church in Kancheepuram district. As the city has now expanded, the area has a Chennai PIN code: 600045.

The church, which I could not find any information about except that it was built in 1894, is very well preserved. It did not fall victim to the modernization frenzy with little regard for heritage that has swept through so many examples of its kind. And it looks pretty well-groomed compared to what I saw in the movie. But it was the word Dharkast that caught my attention.

What does ‘Darkhast’ mean?

in urdu, darkhast It means a petition or request (not Dharkast), and in East India Company terms it means a grant given by the government of India, especially in the Madras Presidency. Porobok lands belonging to homeless or oppressed people. poromboke incidentally it has nothing to do with Lord Pembroke as some would have us believe. This Madras curse is of early Tamil origin and purampokku – land outside the boundaries of a town or village and therefore a form of communal land.

A scan of court records reveals that Darkhast land grants are always preceded by a demand (darkhast) from a person/institution in need. This was considered an absolute sale to the grantee from the government, and the grantee had to comply with certain conditions; end use determined. There was also a lock-in period during which the buyer could not sell.

Considering that Chengalpattu is a vast region full of water bodies and fields, it seems to have abundant water resources. darkhast lands. Interestingly, Chengalpattu was also the pioneer district. panchami lands. This was the brainchild of Chengalpattu Collector JHA Tremenheere in the 1890s. Acting on his advice, the government handed it over to Dalits permanently. panchami lands. These are non-transferable when it comes to sales outside the Community.

It doesn’t look like that darkhast lands. According to records, the Catholic Church was one of the biggest beneficiaries of this plan. The land where the Church of Our Lady of Mercy is located was a parcel. It is just off the Chennai Outer Ring Road and Darkhast Road leads to it.

An online search reveals that this is now an area with “an active real estate and rental market offering residential land and rental properties.” In the 1977 movie, everything was wild and the church was in a pretty miserable state. Welcome to Our Lady of the Assumption, Chennai. You have long enjoyed idyllic landscapes and soon you will replace them with residential colonies and multi-storey buildings.

On the bright side, it was fun to see the signs announcing the place as Darkash, Dargah and Darkasthu. But his origins of grace and goodness were interesting.

(Sriram V. is an author and historian)