15 JULY 1922, Page 25

The Archaeological Survey of India has published an inter- esting

and well illustrated Guide to Nizamu-d Din, by Maulvi Zafar Hasan (Calcutta : Superintendent Government Printing. 6 rupees 4 amiss). The Moslem saint, Shaikh Nizamu-d Din (1238-1325), is buried in a village named after him, four miles to the south of Delhi. The tomb has long been a place of pilgrim- age, and around it are many elaborate tombs of Mogul princes and other notable persons, such as the poet-saint Amir Khusran, who died a few months after the Shaikh. Nizaniu-d Din was a. man of character, who inspired even emperors with fear. The author recalls the well-known story of the emperor who, while on his way to Delhi, sent orders to the Shaikh to leave the city before his arrival. The Shaikh, on receiving the message, remarked, " Delhi is still far off," and stayed where he was. He was justified in so far that the emperor, while resting at Tugh- laqabad, was crushed to death by the fall of the house. The remark is proverbial in India as a variant of Mr. Asquith's " Wait and see." The author describes very clearly the various tombs and shrines, some of which are of great beauty. They are under the care of the Survey. The memoir shows, indeed, that the British Raj, which Caliphate agitators denounce for its alleged hostility to Islam, takes infinitely greater pains to pre- serve Moslem monuments than the Indian Moslems themselves ever thought of doing.