Mir Baqi

Mir Baqi Tashqandi (Hindi: मीर बाक़ी ताशक़न्दी, Urdu:میر باقی تاشقندی), also known as Mir Banki^[1] was a Mughal nobleman of medieval India, during the reign of the first Mughal emperor, Babur. He was the governor of the then province of Awadh. In 1528, he had the Babri Mosque constructed in Ayodhya, which later became the focal point of the Babri Masjid - Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.^[2] He was a Shia Muslim by religious affiliation.^[3]

As Babar's conquest of North India progressed to Awadh after the Battle of Panipat, Mir Baqi was instrumental in helping the fledgling Mughal empire subdue and pacify the region, and was appointed by Babar to replace the pre-Mughal governor of Awadh, Shaikh Bayazid, who fled.^[4]

See also

• Babur
• Babri Mosque
• Ram Janmabhoomi

References

1. ^ "History of Ayodhya Temple-Masjid Dispute". One India. September 23, 2010. http://news.oneindia.in/feature/2010/ayodhya-dispute-history-ram-temple-babri-masjid.html. Retrieved 30 September 2010. 
2. ^ Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed Noorani (2003), The Babri Masjid question, 1528-2003: a matter of national honour, Tulika Books, ISBN 8185229783, http://books.google.com/?id=4kJuAAAAMAAJ, "... the Mughal Emperor Babar's Governor at Awadh, Mir Baqi Tashqandi, built the Babri Masjid (mosque) at Ayodhya ... The mosque was built in 1528 ..." 
3. ^ Rafiq Zakaria (2002), Communal rage in secular India, Popular Prakashan, ISBN 8179910709, http://books.google.com/?id=r93ND-z5d9cC, "... The mosque was built by one of his generals, Mir Baqi, who was a Shia; Babur was a Sunni. Mir Baqi had built it for the exclusive use of Shias; Sunnis, as a rule don't pray in Shia mosques and vice-versa ..." 
4. ^ Department of District Gazetteers (1959), Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers, Government of Uttar Pradesh, http://books.google.com/?id=fHQbAAAAIAAJ, "... The latter reached Avadh as a result of which Bayazid and his family escaped to Ghazipur ... He appointed Baqi Tashqandi the governor of Avadh, who subdued the ..."